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¡Mierda!1
Sun's barely up and here I am, half hopping through Manhattan, because I’m not a jogger and yet I’m dodging pedestrians and leaping over puddles, all because I'm late. Really late.
Which wouldn't be an issue if I wasn’t the chief bridesmaid to my twin sister’s wedding. Belén and I may be twins, but we’ve had so many conflicts in the past, and I think her asking me to be her maid of honor is her way of mending our relationship.
As much as I try to be on time, something always comes up, like this morning. I was exhausted after getting in late last night from my flight from Barcelona to get the something borrowed fromTía Maria2. The crystal rose brooch is hers and she can’t make it to the wedding because she has to go to a funeral of some relative I can’t remember. So, I had to fly all the way there just to get the something borrowed because it is traditional. And Tía doesn’t trust the post, and supposedly, it is my duty to make sure that everything is perfect today. I should have gone last week, but unfortunately, when you work for Diablo, aka my sister’s future husband, it’s hard to get time off work.
I explained to him about needing to go to Barcelona.
He explained this is what UPS and all those other services are for, and they call it next-day delivery.
When I said this tomy tía Maria, she nearly had a heart attack.
“Six months you been in America, and you forgotten about your traditions.”
I didn’t know what she meant then, and even as I look back, I still don’t get it.
What does tradition have to do with getting an unnecessary flight?
No one seems to respect that I work for the most obnoxious, stuck-up, grumpy boss, who just so happens to be marrying my sister today.
“Maybe he’ll give me a break after he marries you,” I said to Belén the other day while teasing her. It’s clear why they are getting married—they both have the same sense of humor.
None.
“No. He’ll probably be harder on you because he’ll have to spend some time away from the office,” she replied.
Making me wince, and my lame attempt at a joke felt more like a punishment for even attempting to crack one or whatever you do with ice in America.
Ever since Belén and I were children, we were told we would be part of arranged marriages which were agreed between the two abuelas. To say Diego’s abuela runs the Aranda de Hernandez family is an understatement, and I can say the same for mi abuela, but we’re not rich like them.
Abuela and Abuelo ran a bar in a small Spanish village called Cobeña. Aftermi abuelo3 died, it became too much formi abuela4, so my parents took over. We all lived in the same house, and my parents used to help out with the running of the bar.
Diego was supposed to marry me, and Belén his older brother Jorge. Mi abuela said that values were lost, and the decision was made years ago for us to marry the boys. They didn’t want to keep it completely old-fashioned, so we’ve been in contact over the years. They visit Madrid, their village is in a suburb calledDaganzo de Arriba, and whenever they visit, they make sure to come and see us.
Diego has always treated me as if I’m sort of a menace to the family, and part of me likes winding him up. When I was younger, I loved seeing his face when he arranged for us to go to dinner and I turned up in jeans and a shirt, whereas he wore a suit as if he were going to a wedding on our first date.
Yet he’s never treated me like so many boys did over the years, and I loved the way he looked out for me, but we stopped dating when his brother Jorge went missing, and has been for the last six years.
I was turning eighteen and was told Diego was no longer marrying me, but Belén. I could do whatever I wanted, which is why I ran into the arms of my ex, Alberto. I was desperate to be loved. I felt rejected and hurt by the way Diego didn’t seem to mind marrying Belén instead of me. It made me feel undesirable that he would marry anyone but me when I thought there was a connection between the two of us. But I soon learned it was clearly only one-sided.
I hate to admit it, but Diego and I were like fire and ice, whereas he and Belén are more suited. They’re both as cold as each other and tend to just blend. It’s been hard over the years seeing them together without thinking of myself in her place, especially because she’s my twin.
I can’t deny that as much as Diego drives me crazy at work, he’s hot. He has hazel eyes, and his teeth are so damn white that they could be ivory keys. There’s no one like him. Sometimes Ilook to see if maybe he has a spot, a mole, anything that would make him look normal like us.
Whenever he enters a room and everyone jumps into place. He’s had that magic since he was a kid, even if he is the youngest of his brothers.
Lucas, the middle child and only two years older than Diego, made it very clear that he has no interest in the family business, which got him off the hook. Arranged marriages were only for those who would stay in the family business of real estate, bars, and restaurants not only in Spain, but over most parts of the world as their empire grew. They’ve added some tech apps to their portfolio, too, growing and expanding their businesses since Diego took over as CEO. He wants to expand the business to Japan, so the marriage, which should have taken place next year, is now taking place now, because his new business partners are very traditional and he feels that they would secure the deal with him if he’s married.
I work for him so I can improve my English. When I was a kid, everyone was happy speaking Spanish, and now it’s all doom and gloom. If you don’t speak English, you don’t get a job. You’re lost in the world, and you’ll remain jobless forever. I’m not sure how that’s possible for someone like me. Someone who is an artist. Or was an artist.
I was born with a pencil in my hand, and I could sketch all day long until I was old enough for my parents to allow me to paint. Then, I was still told by my peers, friends, family, and even dead relatives (one time playing with a Ouija board with my friends) that I needed to learn English or I couldn’t do anything.
It was an obsession in which all my dreams and hopes of being an artist had to be put on hold, because I need to perfect my English which was deemed as more important than being an artist.
