cruel.” He rubbed the stress lines on his forehead.
Flor sat at her vanity, her back to her husband. In the few weeks since he had explained his plans for Soledad, a rift had formed between them. It was unintentional, but as a mother, one of her young was being threatened. She had been sick for the last few weeks, and her doctor blamed it on stress. She was torn between her loyalty and duty to her husband, and her fierce, protective love for her child. The vicious battle waged each day, from the moment her eyes opened in the morning, until the time her mind would finally allow her to sleep. And then, her sleep became tormented until she again opened her eyes, only to start the unrelenting cycle again.
That night at the feria , when Emmanuel had met Soledad and disrespected her with great disregard to what he was doing, Flor had wanted to kill him. She’d also wanted to kill her husband. She and Eduardo had always lived to protect their children. Why didn’t he now?
“Are they in love?”
“What do you mean?”
She finally turned around to face him. “You know what I mean. Are they in love? My daughter and the boy?” She could no longer even use the word our.
“Flor, how can I know?”
“Eduardo, don’t act stupid. You know what love looks like. You know what it feels like.”
His silence answered her.
“Eduardo, this is killing me. This is killing you. You will never forgive yourself for what you are about to do. There has to be another way. I will get a job. You can go back to school or find another job. Please, there has to be a way.”
Flor watched emotions play across her husband’s face, and for a moment hoped he would listen to reason.
“Enough!”
Flor jumped off her seat and rushed to close the door. The children didn’t need to be damaged any further by overhearing their parents argue.
“Emmanuel is coming for dinner. The plan remains intact.”
“How will you ever live with yourself?” Flor sneered.
She left the room without another word. She needed to go to her daughter and try to prepare her for what was to come, without disobeying her husband. She suddenly felt the rift erupt.
Soledad descended the staircase with guns blazing. She knew what was coming. Her mother had gone in and casually mentioned that the “weird man from the feria would be joining them for a business dinner with her father.” The same man who’d disrespected her.
Forced to come down for this dinner, Soledad had dressed herself in the heaviest clothes she owned, covering every possible part of her. She would have worn winter clothes if it wouldn’t have been uncomfortably obvious. This man would not violate her tonight, not in her own home, what used to be a sanctuary. She was further mortified to find that when she turned the corner into the dining room, everyone was seated and there remained one seat. Her seat. Next to Emmanuel.
She wasn’t a stupid girl. She was at the top of her class, a feat not usually reserved for females. She’d been accepted into Stanford, another achievement not typically attained by women. There was not a stupid bone in her body, except that which had led her to believe that her family loved her, that her father loved her.
In an instant, she knew the what , but she didn’t understand the why . It all began to put itself together. Her father’s eagerness to introduce them at the feria , his urgency for her to return home, so urgent that he went into Mexico to gather her himself. She was an animal being led to the slaughter. This was a business dinner all right, and she was the business.
Her father, now sitting red-faced at the edge of his dining chair, staring at her expectantly, was apparently willing to sell her off, to trade her soul for whatever his selfish ambition was. Everyone now stared uncomfortably as she stood in the doorway assessing this situation. It was as if time stood still while the white walls of the dining room began to look concave and suffocating,
Flor sat at her vanity, her back to her husband. In the few weeks since he had explained his plans for Soledad, a rift had formed between them. It was unintentional, but as a mother, one of her young was being threatened. She had been sick for the last few weeks, and her doctor blamed it on stress. She was torn between her loyalty and duty to her husband, and her fierce, protective love for her child. The vicious battle waged each day, from the moment her eyes opened in the morning, until the time her mind would finally allow her to sleep. And then, her sleep became tormented until she again opened her eyes, only to start the unrelenting cycle again.
That night at the feria , when Emmanuel had met Soledad and disrespected her with great disregard to what he was doing, Flor had wanted to kill him. She’d also wanted to kill her husband. She and Eduardo had always lived to protect their children. Why didn’t he now?
“Are they in love?”
“What do you mean?”
She finally turned around to face him. “You know what I mean. Are they in love? My daughter and the boy?” She could no longer even use the word our.
“Flor, how can I know?”
“Eduardo, don’t act stupid. You know what love looks like. You know what it feels like.”
His silence answered her.
“Eduardo, this is killing me. This is killing you. You will never forgive yourself for what you are about to do. There has to be another way. I will get a job. You can go back to school or find another job. Please, there has to be a way.”
Flor watched emotions play across her husband’s face, and for a moment hoped he would listen to reason.
“Enough!”
Flor jumped off her seat and rushed to close the door. The children didn’t need to be damaged any further by overhearing their parents argue.
“Emmanuel is coming for dinner. The plan remains intact.”
“How will you ever live with yourself?” Flor sneered.
She left the room without another word. She needed to go to her daughter and try to prepare her for what was to come, without disobeying her husband. She suddenly felt the rift erupt.
Soledad descended the staircase with guns blazing. She knew what was coming. Her mother had gone in and casually mentioned that the “weird man from the feria would be joining them for a business dinner with her father.” The same man who’d disrespected her.
Forced to come down for this dinner, Soledad had dressed herself in the heaviest clothes she owned, covering every possible part of her. She would have worn winter clothes if it wouldn’t have been uncomfortably obvious. This man would not violate her tonight, not in her own home, what used to be a sanctuary. She was further mortified to find that when she turned the corner into the dining room, everyone was seated and there remained one seat. Her seat. Next to Emmanuel.
She wasn’t a stupid girl. She was at the top of her class, a feat not usually reserved for females. She’d been accepted into Stanford, another achievement not typically attained by women. There was not a stupid bone in her body, except that which had led her to believe that her family loved her, that her father loved her.
In an instant, she knew the what , but she didn’t understand the why . It all began to put itself together. Her father’s eagerness to introduce them at the feria , his urgency for her to return home, so urgent that he went into Mexico to gather her himself. She was an animal being led to the slaughter. This was a business dinner all right, and she was the business.
Her father, now sitting red-faced at the edge of his dining chair, staring at her expectantly, was apparently willing to sell her off, to trade her soul for whatever his selfish ambition was. Everyone now stared uncomfortably as she stood in the doorway assessing this situation. It was as if time stood still while the white walls of the dining room began to look concave and suffocating,
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