Page 84 of No Merciful Corruption

There are still memories to be made, joy to be had. Maybe that’s enough.

FOUR YEARS LATER

THE NEWLYWEDS

Dahlia

Barcelona, Spain

August

“Iwasn’t expecting a lot, you know.” I say.

Alejandro casts a glance in my direction. “Don’t start.”

“But a hello at the door would’ve been nice. Maybe some flowers,” I say, walking past a row of bouquets in black buckets covering the marble floor. “A cake. A cute welcome back banner hanging from upstairs.”

“Dahlia.”

“Or even a little music!” I drop my purse on the diadem table and remove my sunglasses. “I’m not asking for much.”

“We’re still being inundated with wedding gifts and you want a welcome home committee?” He looks around for an empty spot in the great hall, of which there are few—an accomplishment considering its size—and dumps a stack of boxes near the basement door. “That seems excessive.”

I open my mouth to respond but don’t get the chance. Upstairs, a door opens and the clickity-clack of a pair of heels bounces off the stone walls. Only the top of a very tiny head can be seen bobbing up and down across the mezzanine before whizzing down the stairs, at which point a mountain of black curls comes into view.

I break out into a smile. “Is that my little Rita Hayworth?”

“Titi!” Allegra’s high-pitched squeal echoes across the room. “You’re home!”

I remove my sun hat and leave it on the table with my purse and sunglasses. There’s a maze of gifts on the floor and I narrowly avoid tripping over a glass swan on my way to the foot of the grand stairs. Allegra doesn’t bother taking the rest of the steps on her way down and instead leaps into my embrace the moment she’s close enough.

“¡Los vi!” she exclaims. “Los vi de la tana.”

“Ventana, Lela.” I squeeze her tight and smother her with kisses. “Why are you so cute? Who told you to be so cute?”

She dissolves into a fit of laughter and squirms in my grasp. “Titi, Titi, stop!”

Alejandro comes up behind me and smooths a hand over her hair. Allegra reaches for him and he takes her into his arms. We’ve only been gone two months but I feel like we missed so much. Was she always this tall? Was her speech this clear before?

“Tio, prometiste traerme algo de Talaland.” She wriggles around in his grasp until she’s hanging upside down.

“Se llama Tailandia, mi amor. Thailand en ingles.” He corrects gently. “¿Dónde están tus padres?”

She points. “Upstairs.”

“Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs.” He rocks her back and forth and ascends the main staircase to the upstairs apartments. I wrap an arm around his waist to keep him steady since he can’t hold onto the railing. “And your Tia?”

Allegra taps her cheeks. “Haciendo su maquilla.”

“Se está maquillando, Lela.” I glance at Alejandro. “I still think we should get that tutor.”

“She just mixes things up sometimes, that’s all. Right, Lela?” When we reach our apartment door, he pulls up her shirt to blow raspberries on her belly. Allegra lets out a glass shattering howl before descending into a fit of giggles.

Diego rounds the corner of the hallway into the apartment foyer. “Is someone murdering my child?”

I throw my arms up. “Finally! I was beginning to think no one cared.”

Diego smiles and kisses my cheek. “Welcome back.”