AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Really, Leticia. You never knew?” Blanca quizzes.
A fading memory enters my mind, about why I don’t drink with family, well, the senior members, because I always end up doing something embarrassing like I did on my wedding night. “Remember when we went to Valencia, Cristina? Was it three years ago? She promised never to drink again after that,” Blanca says as she talks about me.
“Very funny,” I reply, remembering that this is my first and last glass of wine with this meal.
Cristina isn’t satisfied with just leaving the retelling of that night on that note.
“You were snoring so loud, you woke yourself up twice. That night you vowed to never drink again.”
“I confess, I did say that I wouldn’t drink again, but never say never.”
They all burst out in laughter as the entrées, meatballs, olives, a selection of cheeses, and the grilled vegetable platter, are served and they really take me back to being home in Cobeña. I can see the way they both sigh, that they’re thinking the same thing. We naturally pass each dish to each other, carefully arranging the serviettes on our lap, and inhaling the tantalizing scent in front of us.
“¡Qué aproveche5!” We smile as we lift our forks up and then start to dig in. Each bite is met with a hum, my hunger being satisfied more and more. I rinse a bit of it down withwater, rather than some more wine as I try to pace myself, and then I tuck in again.
“I don’t understand, Leticia. I did notice that you’ve lost weight and cut your hair like her. I did find it strange, but then why do it on the day? Why pretend to be Belén?” Cristina asks as she sucks in a breath and takes a rest from eating. She swirls the wine in her hand and then slowly sips on it. I can tell by the way she’s looking at me, she wants answers. Cristina is not only my cousin, but my best friend too. I can tell I’ve hurt her, something I wouldn’t want to do in a million years, but I’ve managed to do it.
I take in a deep breath, thinking how to explain the last four to five weeks to my cousins so it makes sense to them. Even though looking back at it, it doesn’t make any sense to me.
“Well, I got to the library and Belén said she had a call from the doctor. She can’t have kids.”
“Good!” Blanca says with relief. She’s not Belén’s favorite person. Blanca married her childhood sweetheart Miguel as soon as they finished high school and she was pregnant soon after. That was five years ago, and Belén said they were stupid and too young to get married and refused to attend their wedding. Blanca said that she didn’t want her there, and since then, they haven’t spoken. Blanca came to NY to let the past be in the past. When Belén found out that she was coming, Mamá had to beg Belén to put her on the invite list.
I only found out the day before the wedding, because I was too busy doing errands for Diego and flying back from Barcelona and suffering from jet lag.
“I know she didn’t want me to come. I know the truth, Leticia. You don’t have to hide it from me,” Blanca says with a reassuring smile.
“I want to know what her not having babies has to do with you,” Cristina says.
“Can you believe that until today, Belén still reminds me that I owe her for sitting in for me for the exam? She brought that up and said that I had to marry Diego and give him a child.”
“¿Qué6?” Blanca chokes on her food once again.
“Looking back, I felt as if I was helping her out,” I admit.
“There was no way that Diego wouldn’t know. Maybe not on the day, but he would figure it out. You’re too different,” Cristina says, sipping on her wine. “I just don’t know why you would do all that for her.”
“He knows,” I sigh.
“And has hecho el polvo con el!” Cristina screams.
“¿Qué?” Blanca screams as she tugs my arm.
“But why? If he knows, then why …” Blanca pauses as she opens her mouth wide. “You love him!” she says while waving her finger at me.
“She hates him, not loves him.” Cristina shakes her head. But then she can see the reaction on my face, and her eyes widen.
I think about what she’s saying, the time that I’ve spent with him, learning Japanese, sightseeing, and his body. There’s not one part of me that hates him anymore, but my heart skips a beat when he’s in the room.
“But, you’re not married. You know that, right?” Cristina says as she brings me down to earth. “You signed as Belén. Not Leticia. The kid idea. Forget it. I don’t know what you were thinking these last few weeks, but it is over now.”
I find myself speechless as Cristina has made a good point. Belén is doing my job. I’m playing his wife, but then I’m not really his wife.
“Typical Belén, she puts this crap on you. I bet she can have kids and she made the whole thing up. We don’t have to go through the list of things she has done in the past.”
I dismiss the idea of her lying to me on the wedding day, it makes no sense.
“She’s still my sister. Not only that, no matter what, she’s my twin.”
