Chapter 1
“Maybe it would have worked if you hadn’t already told him you had a boyfriend, and he didn’t care about that either,” the boy reminded them.
“He’s right,” the Cuban girl nodded.
“But at least it was a better idea than the garlic one,” Jany replied.
“I don’t know, Jany. That sounds weird,” the blonde said.
“Weird at all, you fucking homophobe. Just do it and get rid of him.”
“I’m not a homophobe, stupid,” she joked back. “It’s just that I’m really bad at lying and also Noah is right; he didn’t care when I told him I had a boyfriend, so he won’t pay attention if I say I have a girlfriend.”
“Just try it with me. You have nothing to lose by trying,” the blonde urged her.
“I would pay to see that,” Noah added.
Karla shook her head with a chuckle, taking the tray her friend had prepared.
“Is that a yes?” the blonde asked as she watched her friend walk away.
“It’s a ‘maybe’,” she replied, leaving the kitchen.
The girl with warm eyes, whose face was adorned by an adorable smile, was born in Cuba but migrated from there about seven years ago when she had just turned 18 in an attempt to chase a more prosperous life, and in a way she captured her longing while her family still remained in Cuba. It was tough in the beginning, she was alone and defenseless starting a life from scratch in a place so different from what she had known, with strangers, another culture, and another language. There were days when she wanted to give up and reverse her journey, missing the warmth of home, her father’s vigorous hugs, her mother’s seasoning, and her sister’s confidence, but she didn’t give up despite the difficulties she faced. She didn’t give up precisely for them, for the promise of seeing her family free from needs and reunited with her.
She now lived in Miami and took care of sending them money to help them confront their tough situations. She had plans to bring them with her soon, and had been saving up for it, all thanks to an angel that appeared in her path. An angel she called Peter.
The remaining time to finish her shift, she spent it baking some cookies, and time flew by. Soon her shift ended and she had already left everything properly arranged for her departure.
“Jany, hurry up!” her friend urged her to leave behind the counter.
“Stop rushing me, woman, I had to organize these desserts,” she replied, taking off the apron with the logo of the place.
“You’re a procrastinator. Always leaving everything for the last minute.”
Jane rolled her eyes, then walked out from behind the counter and walked over to her friend near the threshold of the exit.
“Have a great weekend, girls! See you on Monday,” Robert said, waving goodbye from behind the cash register.
“Thanks, boss,” both women replied as they left the place.
Out there, a little further up from the cafe, on the sidewalk, there was already someone waiting for the Cuban woman. He lay on the hood, with his arms crossed, wearing a suit; his wavy, brown hair had lost its style over the course of the hours, and now shone disheveled and almost reddish from the late afternoon sun that beat down on them, while a smile adorned his face, exposing all his white teeth when he caught her leaving hooked on her friend’s arm.
He was always there at six, every day without fail to pick her up. He didn’t like her using public transportation; he didn’t like it because he feared some idiot would take advantage of her, taking advantage of rush hour and the crowds of people who boarded public buses or the metro, or of her small stature and delicate appearance. So no matter how busy he was, he would always be punctual.
“Pete!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down, and breaking free from her friend’s arm to have more freedom, she ran towards him.
Peter also ran towards her, and their bodies collided halfway, like two magnets attracting each other. He wrapped her in his arms like a winter coat and lifted her light weight off the ground before kissing her. He kissed her slowly and sweetly while their hearts went crazy in unison, being prisoners in their chests.
“You smell like cookies,” he whispered, captivated by the full lips of the Cuban woman when they broke the kiss, with their gazes locked: his honey-colored eyes sweetening the coffee of her eyes.
“It’s because it was the last thing I baked,” she drew a smile and hung onto his neck, as he put her back on the ground.
“I missed you,” he deposited a fleeting kiss on her lips, using a dramatic tone that did justice to his words.
“But I saw you at lunch, my love. It was only a couple of hours,” she rocked the tip of her nose with his while her lips couldn’t curve anymore.
“But I missed you,” he smiled broadly, just like her.
And that’s how they were; they seemed trapped in teenage love. They forgot about the world when they were together.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Jane intervened, joining them. “Don’t rub it in the faces of the poor. That’s cruel.”
Karla turned in her boyfriend’s arms to look at her friend, while he hugged her small body from behind, curving his back to be at her height, resting his chin on the Cuban woman’s shoulder.
“Your turn will come, Jany, and I’ll be the one to endure your smooches.” “I pray for that,” she crossed her fingers in front of her face, showing fervor, “and also that I get a fat wallet. A kind of very sexy and educated Sugar Daddy, especially educated.”
“But instead you choose the most boorish ones.”
“Maybe I can get something like that at the wedding my colleague is celebrating,” the boy suggested, swaying with the body of the Cuban girl in his arms.
“Are you going to invite me?” asked the blonde.
“Of course, both of you, I’ll take both of you. But there is still some time for that.”
“I can wait.”
“As long as you don’t set your sights on the groom, there’s no problem,” the boy teased.
“Hey!” she protested, frowning. “Stop reminding me of that jerk, I didn’t know he was married.”
“The right one will come, Jany, don’t rush it,” her friend encouraged her.
“Meanwhile, enjoy your singleness and start accumulating cats just in case,” Peter added jokingly, receiving a fierce look from Jane, but she was holding back a hidden smile. “Just kidding, Jany, I love you,” he laughed, then planted a loud kiss on his girl’s cheek. “And you, miss,” he announced, bringing his lips close to her ear. “I adore you...” he whispered, his smile colliding against her ear.
Karla smiled broadly and turned to face Peter’s cheerful expression, kissing him again. It was never enough. So they played, leaving many chaste kisses on their lips until the boy broke the boundary and left kisses all over his girlfriend’s face, who smiled, crumpling her expression and pressing her eyes shut.
“Hugh!” exclaimed Jane, mimicking a disdainful gesture aimed at their mushiness, and with the gesture of putting her index finger in her open mouth, “Wait until you get home,” she said, as she adjusted her body to leave, waving her hand to say goodbye. “I’m leaving. See you on Saturday then.”
Peter and Karla paused their demonstrations of affection to give her their attention as she said goodbye.
“Don’t you want a ride?” he offered, separating from his girlfriend’s body as his hand, unconsciously, tangled with hers.
“No, I have to buy a couple of things on the way. Another time. Thanks,” she said, approaching them to give them a kiss on their cheeks, the gesture that would end their conversation.
“Write me when you get there,” Karla asked, watching her walk down the platform in the opposite direction.
“Okay,” she agreed, already moving away.
“Tell Daniel I’ll play basketball with him on Sunday!” Peter asked as she walked away. “Tell him!”
“I will!”
Now, they remained silent, holding hands as if they were tied by chains, watching Jane’s figure moving until it became a tiny shape that disappeared further ahead.
“So, what do you want for dinner?” the boy continued, guiding her hand to cross the street to the car.
“Pizza,” she replied without hesitation.
“Again?”
“Please, love,” she said, pouting her lips and widening Peter’s smile with her expression.
“I need to learn to tell you no, you can’t always get your way.”
“You’ll learn later, but tell me yes today,” she said, stopping the car at the door and standing on tiptoe to reach his boyfriend’s lips.
He smiled against her lips before gently caressing her cheek and slightly pulling away from her so that he could face the warm brown iris that she offered him.
“Well, I was actually expecting a more appropriate place to celebrate,” he said.
“Celebrate what?” she asked, confused.
“I don’t know; maybe having you in my life, that we’re doing well, or maybe that the Miami Heat won the game against the Lakers,” he said, wiggling his nose against hers and eliciting a laugh from her, “or that I got a raise,” he added with a grin from ear to ear.
Karla first widened her eyes in amazement, then beamed with joy in the glint of her eyes, feeling immensely happy for him, for both of them, because they were a team, she and him.
“No way, my love, congratulations!” she exclaimed excitedly, planting a fleeting kiss on his lips. “I knew you would do it. I told you so.”
“Yes, thank you for believing in me,” he replied.
“Siempre,” she declared with a smile.
Peter had appeared in the Cuban’s life when she felt most desolate. She had Jane, yes, but that wasn’t the kind of human warmth that her days needed. She needed arms that would protect her, and in which she could disarm herself if her day went badly. She needed lips that would disconnect her from the misfortunes of the world, and eyes in which she could lose herself when she was jittery. It was hard for him to win her over, but he never gave up, knowing that the prize was greater, and it was his unwavering persistence that finally caught her.
They met each other at a bar, following Jane’s successful persuasion of Karla to accompany her there. It was a difficult day for Jane, where everything had gone wrong, leaving her in a bad mood. However, her friend managed to drag her to the place. The occasion was the celebration of the blonde’s birthday, and a group of friends had gathered at the bar. Unknowingly, Jane and Karla had made a date and got to know each other. Over time, their outings and conversations led to them falling in love.
“So, do you still prefer pizza for celebrations?”
“Okay. Let’s go to a restaurant, but after dinner, I’ll still want pizza.”
Peter chuckled and shook his head at her stubbornness before kissing her again.
***
The great metropolis of Miami was provided with shadows that spread from the cosmos-filled sky. There, a private and exclusive clinic existed that offered excellent quality service in all aspects. It was in this place that Lauren, one of the busiest patients, was located. On this occasion, she was there to undergo a cardiac computed tomography. Therefore, she lay motionless inside the scanner, while several minutes passed before the procedure was completed.
Lauren enjoyed a privileged life. She was about to ascend to the peak of her career, working for a renowned publishing group, with promises of being promoted to executive director upon her boss’s retirement. Her professional world knew no boundaries, but now she feared that the recent cardiac crises she had been dealing with alone would present a major obstacle to her future.
And indeed, she was right.
Yes, she suffered from cardiomyopathy that resulted in heart failure that she had been fighting for two years since her diagnosis. Throughout that time, her prolific medication had managed to stabilize her heart rate and symptoms were more tolerable, but lately her symptoms had regained intensity, turning her days into a true struggle. This frustrated and angered her, she was in a bad mood most of the time, and it was adversely affecting her personal, work, and even her love relationship.
Once the scan was finished, she met with her personal physician in his office, right there in the clinic.
“And, well?” she asked anxiously with a furrowed brow, while she looked at her doctor, who still had his eyes focused on the result of her exams and hoarseness sealed his lips.
“Your body is rejecting the medication, and it no longer has the effect it had initially,” he explained cautiously and with a calm expression.
“Will my medication change?”
“No, Lauren,” and this time he couldn’t prevail with his expression of calmness, but rather some unease showed on his features.
“Then what? How do you expect me to live with the fatigue and chest pains that have come back? Damn it! This crap is screwing up my life,” she said with her tone alternating in each word.
“I know, but it doesn’t matter if I change your medication, the result will still be the same. Your body has reached a point that precedes those treatments, and right now the inflammation of your heart is already worrisome. Have you broken the list of precautions again? Have you...?”
“No,” she rushed to deny with a bad expression at the mere assumption. “I’ve taken care of myself.”
“Okay, but the medication is no longer optimal for treatment. We have to start considering other more drastic options.”
“Like what? Surgery?”
“No, your heart is beyond repair, Lauren. Its poor performance will soon result in other organs deteriorating and failing, and your life will become increasingly limited.”
She was petrified for a few seconds, facing her doctor’s blue gaze that reflected compassion in the lines of his expression.
“Am I going to die...?” Her raised tone decayed as she pronounced those words, emerging fearful and vibrant.
“If we stop it as soon as possible, there is still hope.”
“How?”
“We can consider the possibility of a transplant, but...” He fell silent, holding her green iris in his blue gaze.
“But what?”
“I won’t lie to you, Lauren, but based on your medical history, you are not very apt to be easily selected, and if we add the rare occasions of heart donors, plus it being compatible with your blood type, I think it will be a few years before you have the possibility of a transplant.”
Lauren felt like the world was fragmenting and falling apart, like the ground was opening up beneath her, like she would fall into a dark abyss. She was stunned, not knowing how to react, paralyzed, feeling that this defective heart they were talking about was driving her heartbeats crazy, so radical that it caused physical pain spreading in her chest, like a flame burning with every breath.
“I’m sorry...” her doctor apologized with condolences. “But as long as there is hope, there is still something to hold onto.”
Lauren didn’t say anything, she just swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat obstructing her passage. She didn’t speak because she was afraid that if she did, her tears would escape tied to her words. She just left the place, ignoring her doctor’s calls asking her to stay and discuss the matter, but she needed air. Her fatigue was becoming despotic at that moment and she needed air. Using the elevator was a bestial tribulation for her, as that confined and small space would only increase her inhalations, while the pain in her chest gained more strength with each palpitation. Then, she hurried forward as the doors opened and left the building, inhaling the fresh spring breeze on that late afternoon that was dying reddish in the sky, but it was not a good idea. The pollen dissolved in the air only aggravated her breathing difficulties.
Then, she lost consciousness and her body collapsed on the ground.
***
The restless water, beaten by the current of the waves crashing against the white sand of the beach, while darkness fell like dew upon it, over two figures holding hands as they walked barefoot on the sand, sharing their peace, their love.
“Do you remember when I brought you here for the first time?” Peter asked, looking at his girlfriend walking beside him, holding his hand.
After finishing dinner and on their way home, that beach appeared in their route, attracting them to park and wander like two wandering souls on a melancholic night.
“I would never forget it, it was our first date,” she smiled, still tightening her grip on his hand. “And now that I remember, you were very clumsy that day.”
Peter burst into laughter. “What can I say? I really liked you and you made me very nervous.”
“That date was a disaster, my love. I don’t know how I went out with you again after that,” she joked, laughing.
“It was because I didn’t give up,” he said, stopping their walk to bring her small body closer to his.
“No, I think it was because Jane advised me to act like a fool on that second date to scare you away.”
“But it didn’t work,” he said, facing her with his honey-colored eyes that shone with all the devotion he had for her in just one look.
“But I’m glad I said yes,” she said, looking back at him with love in her eyes.
“I am also glad you did not reject me,” she said.
And they sealed their lips with a kiss under the shelter of the moonlight, with the restless ocean waves hitting against their feet while their love kept them warm.
Peter lifted his girlfriend’s small body as he kissed her, and began to run with her in his arms towards the water. Karla separated her lips from his as her eyes widened.
“Peter, no,” she warned, facing his gaze.
“Karla, yes,” he said playfully.
Karla let out a scream that was muffled underwater when her boyfriend plunged into it with her bound to his body. They emerged from the water laughing, and she splashed him while he tried to embrace her body again.
They played in the water for a while, with their wet clothes clinging to their skin, under the watchful eye of the moon. And when the cold started to hit their bodies, they were forced to get out and return to the car.
“You owe me a pizza for this,” the Cuban girl snapped, pointing to their wet clothes as they settled into the car.
“Was the pizza thing serious?” Peter asked.
“Yes, you have to get me a pizza. Let’s go to a drive-thru.”
He smiled and nodded, he couldn’t say no to her.
After getting some pizzas from a 24-hour drive-thru, they ate them on the way. Then, they drove to the house they shared in a neighborhood that was distant from the metropolis. It was a middle-class neighborhood with quiet streets and mostly elderly residents enjoying their retirement. The couple got along splendidly with them because they were not a noisy couple that disturbed their peace.
Peter turned off the car and hurriedly went to the other door to open it.
“I feel like I can’t move, my stomach is too full,” the Cuban girl commented, caressing her belly while still sitting in the passenger seat, and her boyfriend was stranded next to her door, waiting for her.
“That’s what you get for eating pizza after dinner. One day I’ll have to take you to the hospital for food poisoning,” he said.
“Is that possible?”
“I don’t know, but please don’t test it,” he said, leaning over Karla to pick her up in his arms and take her out of the car.
“What are you doing?” she asked, laughing, while Peter held her in his muscular arms.
“You said you couldn’t move, so don’t worry, I’m here to take you inside.”
She smiled and tangled her fingers in the hair at the back of his head, pulling him to her lips to kiss him.
“Did you hurt your ankle again, dear?!” a voice suddenly interrupted.
Both of them broke the kiss to point their eyes to the source of the voice, and there they saw Mrs. Miller, an elderly woman who lived next to their house. The old lady watched them from the porch of her house, while Peter held Karla in his arms.
“No, Mrs. Miller!” replied Karla. “I’m just using him as a slave to transport me!”
The old woman laughed and shook her head. “That’s right, girl. Tighten his leash!” she added jokingly.
Peter pouted, and Karla laughed even more at his expression. “Hurry up, slave, and take me inside,” she said. “These wet clothes are freezing me, and our baby must be waiting for us.”
Peter nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, then turned to look at the old woman. “Goodnight, Mrs. Miller!” he said, starting to make his way to the porch with Karla still in his arms.
“Have a nice evening!” the Cuban woman added, waving goodbye.
“Take care, and give my regards to Trueno!” Mrs. Miller called after them.
Peter managed to open the door without letting go of Karla, and when they entered the house, Trueno ran wildly to greet them. Their pet became very frenzied when they arrived home - a black German shepherd dog they had rescued from the street when he was a baby. Of course, for them, he never stopped being their baby, even though he had grown up.
Peter set his girlfriend back down on the ground to pet his dog, who was jumping excitedly around them.
“Did you behave yourself, buddy?” Peter greeted him, petting his head. “I won’t find my shoes chewed up again, will I?”
“Did you miss us, baby?” Karla asked, squatting down to hold Trueno’s head and letting him lick her cheek.
The three of them lived together and were happy.
Karla headed to the bathroom to take a shower, while Peter just got rid of his clothes in the laundry room, covering his nudity with a bathrobe, and headed to his small studio where he kept everything related to his work. He settled into the chair in front of his desk, and Trueno lay down beside him to keep him company as he always did. He pulled out some blueprints, one of his many works, but this one was special because it was a blueprint of the dream house he had designed to build someday, the house he had designed to Karla’s liking where he saw them living with their future children, oh, and also with Trueno.
He sighed at the image of his dreams. He was working to make that dream a reality and have his own house next to Karla. Of course, they already lived in one, but it was rented, and he wanted his own, just like in his dreams. His steady job and his boss had offered him a colossal opportunity for this, and now he could start to fulfill his mission. But first, he had to do something else. He had to officially ask Karla to be his wife because he no longer had any doubt that she was the right one to grow old with.
“What are you thinking about?” He shuddered at his girlfriend’s sudden voice that pulled him out of his thoughts as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
