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“On your crutches?” Fox sprang from his chair. “I’ll help them.” He approached the couple and smiled. “Let’s use the elevator so you don’t fall.”
“Elevator?” Peter whispered. “The house has an elevator?”
Libby rose and squeezed his arm. “That isn’t really the issue, is it, Dad?”
“No, of course not. I can’t let Rafael take the blame for this. I’ll join them.” He waited until Fox had guided Alfonso and Cirilda from the room before he took a step toward the door. “I did what I thought was best, Maggie. I would have told you mother everything when we got home.”
“I understand,” Maggie assured him. “Let’s go into the living room and have coffee there. I’ll wait for Rafael to open presents.”
Peter peered in the den, and when Linda didn’t throw anything, he entered. “Please don’t blame Rafael. I asked him not to reveal the details of his past.”
His wife had collapsed on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest. “Rafael told me about his sister’s rape and the unfortunate result, but I can’t abide your shielding me from the truth. Why did you think I couldn’t handle it?”
“That wasn’t my reasoning,” Peter argued softly. “This trip to Miguel’s home has been difficult for you, and I didn’t want to burden you any further.”
“Difficult?” Linda shook her head. “I’ve been grateful all these years Maggie is nothing like her father. Miguel spoke only what was expedient, and now you’re doing it.”
Peter was skilled at defense, but he couldn’t excuse his behavior. “If you want to yell at me all the way home, fine, but don’t spoil the evening for Maggie and Rafael. They have presents to open, and I’m sure they’d rather spend their wedding night together than here with us.”
Linda hesitated before she stood and her expression hardened. “First promise me you’ll tell me the truth in the future. I don’t care if everyone I love is stricken with a fatal disease. Don’t leave me in the dark where I’ll be unprepared.”
Peter took a step toward her. “It might be impossible for me to say something that awful, but I promise to try.”
He looked so remorseful, Linda walked into his arms and hugged him tight. “We have to be a team.”
“I know, love. I’m sorry.” He looked over her head at Rafael. “Let’s go back to the party.”
Rafael opened the door. As they walked by, he felt an uncomfortable surge of guilt for not telling them Carmen had tried to kill Maggie, or that someone had it in for Santos. The Aragon home was not usually such a dangerous place, but he was glad he’d soon be taking Maggie away. He followed his new in-laws into the living room.
It stretched across the front of the house, with walls painted a sunny yellow and the elegant furniture upholstered in pale fabrics to set off the bright colors of the modern abstract art. A Wassily Kandinsky, with his signature strange floating objects, was displayed on one wall, and balanced on the opposite side of the room by a painting by Swiss artist, Paul Klee, with a riot of color in the background overlaid with black lines forming fanciful faces.
Peter entered the seldom-used room, and he could only stare. “Those are originals, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Santos answered. “Our grandfather, Augustin, had a keen eye for art. Some of the family paintings are on loan to museums, but these are kept here.”
Knowing a diversion when he heard one, Rafael reached for the beribboned package on the top of the pile. He gestured toward his new in-laws. “Please make yourselves comfortable.” He took his place beside his bride. “I didn’t expect presents.”
“I’ll send wedding announcements when we get home, and you’re sure to receive many more gifts from our friends,” Linda promised.
“Their good wishes will be enough.” Maggie unwrapped a beautiful silver bowl from her parents. “Thank you so much. We can use this for so many things.”
An ivory silk nightgown and negligee had a card from Patricia and Libby. The set slipped from the box in a romantic swirl. “I love this!” Maggie exclaimed, while Rafael responded with an embarrassed smile.
There was a heavy box from Santos, the twins and Fox. When Rafael opened it and found a beautiful set of sterling silver flatware, he looked to Maggie. “This is too much.”
“No, it isn’t,” Santos insisted. “It’s from the family. Maggie ought to have something that belonged to the Aragon family for her own.”
Maggie picked up a spoon to study the elegant modern design. “This is so pretty. Are you sure you want this set to leave the house?”
“We have too much of everything,” he assured her. “Besides, it’ll remind you to invite
us to come for dinner.”
Thinking of his tiny apartment, Rafael laughed, then quickly caught himself. “As soon as we rent a larger place, you’ll be our first guests.”
“Do you need china?” Connie asked.
Maggie squeezed her husband’s hand. “Don’t tell me you have dishes put away somewhere you’d like to give away.”
