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“Would you like to see one?”
She studied me. “Only if you want to show me.”
I took her hand and led her to Rosa’s room. I unlocked the door and motioned for her to enter. My heart nearly burst with joy when the first thing she did was ring the bells. Next, she stepped to her left and, walking clockwise, approached themandirand bowed to the lonemurti.“Namaste.” She turned to me. “This is for Rosa, isn’t it?”
I bowed my head. “It is.”
She motioned to themandir. “Did you build this?”
I smiled and nodded.
“It’s truly beautiful and such a lovely tribute.”
“You’re the first person to see it other than me,” I confessed.
“I’m honored.”
I told her about my intention to place Saraswati and how themurtibroke apart in my hand. Jaicon didn’t comment right away but appeared to be deep in thought.
“I wondered why there was just the one.”
“I have not been able to decide on another.”
She nodded. “The answer will come to you.”
“What would you like to do now?” I asked when I led her outside.
“Are you, by chance, hungry? I haven’t eaten since, um, yesterday, maybe?”
I pulled her close to me and kissed her temple. “I am famished.”
“Can we please go to Cenaduria Dona Maria? I’ve been craving her chile relleno.”
I took her to the restaurant that had room for only ten patrons. Since we were the only two there at the time, we did not rush. Over margaritas, appetizers, and finally chile relleno, which we shared, Jaicon filled me in on what she’d been doing the last few months.
“I have this feeling Manual Varilla and AMPS are connected,” she said, leaning in closer to me. “I just haven’t been able to connect them.”
“My nephews Salazar and Rascon came to help rebuild the center right after the fire. They mentioned something about working with you.”
Jaicon took a bite of the relleno and closed her eyes. This issogood. It’s a tossup between this”—she pointed to her plate with her fork—“and curry. I ate so much of it while I was in the UK, but I’ll never tire of it.”
“One of my favorite spots for curry is right here in Alamos. It’s Papel Dosa.”
She grinned at me. “Holding out on me, Tryst? Why am I just hearing about this now?”
“There are many, many things around here I haven’t shown you yet.” One in particular, although I doubted I’d be able to tonight.
“I’m looking forward to all of it,” I said, smiling.
“Seriously, the relleno is so good. You don’t mind if I finish it, do you?”
I grabbed her hand that held the fork and brought it to my mouth. “Mmm,” I groaned, closing my eyes and savoring the flavors of the poblano chile peppers stuffed with queso asadero. “You’re right. It is my favorite relleno too.” When I opened my eyes, the expression on Jaicon’s face had changed. Rather than the violet blue her eyes were mere moments ago, her black pupils were now ringed with a thin line of color. I vividly remembered the last time I noticed desire in her eyes. It was her first day on the ranch, and even then, I wanted her more than my next breath.
She cleared her throat. “So, um, what have you been doing with yourself?”
“I have a project that has taken much of my time.”
“I’d love to hear about it.”
