here?”
A knock on the door interrupted them and another technician entered the room. She looked at Javier and then at Teresa.
No longer feeling the energy to fight and wanting to get the test results as quickly as possible, Teresa nodded to acknowledge she was fine with him staying in the room.
For the next half hour, Teresa tried to focus on the grainy images of her breasts on the monitor and not the man at the foot of the bed nervously observing the wand being rubbed over her exposed chest. After a doctor walked in to explain their findings when the technician was done, Teresa swallowed back her tears and nodded.
“Can we go somewhere to talk?” Javier asked quietly after she left the changing room. He rose from his seat in the main waiting room and walked with her to the exit door.
“Now is not a good time.”
Teresa tried walking on shaky legs and hated that Javier’s presence was what kept her from collapsing to the ground.
Once they were outside, he pointed to a pavilion across the street. “We’re going over there.”
Taking her hand in his, he led her to a bench and waited until she looked at him before he started to speak.
“I never loved her.”
Teresa chortled and rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”
Javier slowly shook his head. “No, our arrangement was meant to be for business.”
“Okay, then go back to your wife or business partner or whoever the hell she is and leave me alone.”
Javier leaned back on the bench. He quietly replied, “I can’t unless I plan to visit her grave.”
Feeling her eyes on him, Javier continued. “Isabel died ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“We never should have married, but it was what my father required for me. She was a nice girl, a pretty girl, but I never loved her. I didn’t know how to love her,” he explained. “A lot of the sites were in remote locations and Isabel claimed she didn’t like being alone. She insisted on going with me when I had to be away from home for months at a time. I was okay with it, but it grew tiresome. Isabel wanted children and I didn’t want any. So every day she would remind me and every day I would tell her why children were not an option for me. That was until I came home to find her collapsed on the floor.
“I found out later that Isabel had breast cancer. She knew for some time, but kept it from me. She thought that once I found out, I would definitely refuse having children with her.”
Teresa held onto his hand and felt it tremble inside hers.
Javier looked away, fighting to mask his pain. “We were hours away from proper medical facilities and she had been seeing a woman that relied on herbs and crazy potions up until then. By the time I could get her to a doctor that evening, it was too late. The cancer had metastasized and it was my fault for not realizing my wife was so ill.”
“You didn’t know,” Teresa explained. “You can’t blame yourself.”
Javier shook his head and released his hand from her grasp. “She died unhappy. I was too selfish to give her what she wanted because I was still angry about my own existence.”
“Javier,” Teresa started.
“No, querida . It’s fine. I know different now, but for a long time that’s how I felt. That’s why I vowed never to let another woman get that close to me. I refused to get in a relationship, because women expect things when you’re in a relationship. I didn’t want to put another woman through that so I avoided dating altogether. Then when you called yesterday, I knew I couldn’t lose you. Not the woman I love.”
“I didn’t call you,” she replied.
He held out his phone and touched the screen to play the voicemail message. After she heard part of the accidental message, he added, “We need to get you another phone, amor .”
“D id you say you love me?” Teresa asked, pressing her hand to her chest nervously.
Javier reached for the hand and kissed it. “I more than love you. I want to spend my life with
A knock on the door interrupted them and another technician entered the room. She looked at Javier and then at Teresa.
No longer feeling the energy to fight and wanting to get the test results as quickly as possible, Teresa nodded to acknowledge she was fine with him staying in the room.
For the next half hour, Teresa tried to focus on the grainy images of her breasts on the monitor and not the man at the foot of the bed nervously observing the wand being rubbed over her exposed chest. After a doctor walked in to explain their findings when the technician was done, Teresa swallowed back her tears and nodded.
“Can we go somewhere to talk?” Javier asked quietly after she left the changing room. He rose from his seat in the main waiting room and walked with her to the exit door.
“Now is not a good time.”
Teresa tried walking on shaky legs and hated that Javier’s presence was what kept her from collapsing to the ground.
Once they were outside, he pointed to a pavilion across the street. “We’re going over there.”
Taking her hand in his, he led her to a bench and waited until she looked at him before he started to speak.
“I never loved her.”
Teresa chortled and rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”
Javier slowly shook his head. “No, our arrangement was meant to be for business.”
“Okay, then go back to your wife or business partner or whoever the hell she is and leave me alone.”
Javier leaned back on the bench. He quietly replied, “I can’t unless I plan to visit her grave.”
Feeling her eyes on him, Javier continued. “Isabel died ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“We never should have married, but it was what my father required for me. She was a nice girl, a pretty girl, but I never loved her. I didn’t know how to love her,” he explained. “A lot of the sites were in remote locations and Isabel claimed she didn’t like being alone. She insisted on going with me when I had to be away from home for months at a time. I was okay with it, but it grew tiresome. Isabel wanted children and I didn’t want any. So every day she would remind me and every day I would tell her why children were not an option for me. That was until I came home to find her collapsed on the floor.
“I found out later that Isabel had breast cancer. She knew for some time, but kept it from me. She thought that once I found out, I would definitely refuse having children with her.”
Teresa held onto his hand and felt it tremble inside hers.
Javier looked away, fighting to mask his pain. “We were hours away from proper medical facilities and she had been seeing a woman that relied on herbs and crazy potions up until then. By the time I could get her to a doctor that evening, it was too late. The cancer had metastasized and it was my fault for not realizing my wife was so ill.”
“You didn’t know,” Teresa explained. “You can’t blame yourself.”
Javier shook his head and released his hand from her grasp. “She died unhappy. I was too selfish to give her what she wanted because I was still angry about my own existence.”
“Javier,” Teresa started.
“No, querida . It’s fine. I know different now, but for a long time that’s how I felt. That’s why I vowed never to let another woman get that close to me. I refused to get in a relationship, because women expect things when you’re in a relationship. I didn’t want to put another woman through that so I avoided dating altogether. Then when you called yesterday, I knew I couldn’t lose you. Not the woman I love.”
“I didn’t call you,” she replied.
He held out his phone and touched the screen to play the voicemail message. After she heard part of the accidental message, he added, “We need to get you another phone, amor .”
“D id you say you love me?” Teresa asked, pressing her hand to her chest nervously.
Javier reached for the hand and kissed it. “I more than love you. I want to spend my life with
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