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“Next time, swat him on the nose like a dog,” I said. “Carry a rolled-up newspaper with you.”
“Excuse me?!”
“The man who bothers you. Hit him on the nose… or spray him with a water bottle. It has the same effect.”
At first, it seemed my humor fell short. Stefania continued staring at me as though I were speaking Russian and not English. The case of nerves inside of me deepened. I assumed others would find my calm, observational humor amusing.
But Stefania did not.
“Have a good evening,” I said, about to depart.
“No, wait… that was funny,” she said, holding out a hand and touching my arm. “I’m sorry I kinda had a delayed reaction. I’m out of it. Lots of problems. But you’re right—maybe I will carry around a newspaper to whack him real good on that schnoz of his!”
The color deepened on her cheeks.
I yearned to tell her how beautiful it made her look. Though I held back when I caught the eye of Lena in the background. She begged without words for rescue. The guilt was far too much to ignore.
“Pardon me.”
Stefania remained where she was at the buffet table. I interrupted the gentlemen seated with Leandro and Lena, inviting myself into the conversation. Leandro liked that I was composed yet calm regardless of the situation.
His favor made it easy to infiltrate his family and carry out the Kozlov’s sabotage.
Minutes later, when I looked up at the buffet table, Stefania was gone.
I believed it would be my last time so close in her presence; I did not expect to encounter her so soon after.
Later that night, I went out for a smoke on the veranda. The scene I walked onto was similar to the one from earlier.
“Cesar, I really mean it… get your hands off me!”
Only this time the pushy man had cornered her, entrapping her against the side of the building.
It was not my concern. If I were as smart and strategic as I should have been, I would have walked away.
But witnessing her struggle, her golden hair swinging as she pushed at him, was my undoing. I was hurrying over with a clenched fist before I gave it any thought. I grabbed the pushy man by the shoulder and struck him down.
Then, as he tried to swing back at me, I produced my trusted pocket knife and slashed him across the face. He grunted and threw his punch anyway, to which I responded with a block of the clumsy fist. I struck him again, harder on the second punch, and he crashed to the ground in humiliating defeat.
Turning to Stefania, I offered my hand. She hardly hesitated, slipping her hand in mine despite the bloody knuckles and bloodier knife.
We stepped over him, walking away.
“Are you alright?”
She brushed hair from her face and nodded. “Mostly. But I’m getting real tired of these guys thinking they can touch me like that. All ‘cuz my Pop’s marrying me off.”
“Why?”
“What d’you mean why? I’m his daughter! He’s got no son. Which means my only value is who can he marry me off to,” she said in a shrill voice. “I’m nothing but a bargaining chip. He’s got to pick his successor in the guy who I marry. I’ve got little say in it.”
“That… does not sound fair.”
“Fair’s just about the last thing my Pop cares about.”
“Well, you should swat him on the nose too.”
She spent a second staring at me with a side look, then she smirked. “Is that your solution to everything?”
