“People genuinely take advantage of me.”
“That, too,” Felicia replied. Both sisters broke out into laughter. A pause left them both in deep thought about one another. Felicia was the first to comment, “Why have we never been closer?”
Rosa didn’t know how to answer that question. She realized that she had made sure there was an insurmountable distance between them. She did it in part to keep her baby sister in the dark about the horror that had been inflicted on her. Rosa’s shame had convinced her for so long that she deserved what her uncle had done to her. And she had felt that her sister, the beautiful one, should never know about something so ugly. At one point, Rosa had fretted over the possibility that their uncle could destroy Felicia as well. But as Felicia grew, Rosa could see she was far more headstrong than Rosa. Rosa’s emotional stability had been destroyed with the death of her mother, leading her into a pattern of victimization.
Felicia, on the other hand, recovered more rapidly from their mother’s death. She never would allow herself to be victimized. But Rosa now realized that Felicia, too, had fallen into an unfavorable trap. The outward beauty hid a deep insecurity. The more men Felicia allowed to love her, the more she thought she was worth being loved. Thus, ironically enough, her little sister, too had been a victim.
“Why haven’t we ever been closer?” Rosa pondered, repeating the question. “I guess we were too busy growing up.”
“Stupid, huh?”
“Definitely.”
“Do you think we can change that?” Felicia asked.
“I think we can rectify anything.” Rosa walked across the room. She put her arms around her younger sister, the doe eyed beauty with the flawless skin. “I love you,” Rosa told her.
“And I love you, too,” Felicia replied.
Their father walked into the study. He appeared nervous and edgy. There were visible lines on his face, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look much older than he ever had. “Sit down, please,” he said.
Both young women sat down opposite him in front of his desk. “What is it, Papa?” Felicia asked.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this.”
“What?” Rosa asked.
Antonio turned toward his eldest daughter, tears in his eyes. “Oh mija, I am so sorry.”
“What are you talking about, Papa?” Rosa asked, feeling a sinking sensation in her stomach.
“I apologize to both of you for not being a better father.”
Rosa and Felicia glanced at each other, baffled by this display of emotion.
“There is no easy way to say this, so bear with me. At first, you may not believe anything I’m about to say, but I assure you, all of it is true. I’m going to begin by saying that we had a very terrible person within our family.” He paused to wipe the corner of his eyes. “Your Uncle Emilio is someone I never really knew. He deceived me for years, pretending to be someone I could trust and love. But I was wrong. He did terrible things to this family that I am only now finding out about.”
“What are you talking about, Papa?” Felicia asked, but Rosa already knew that her father had discovered the truth.
“He told many lies. He stole from me. But worst of all, he stole from you.”
“Papa?” Rosa said. It sounded more a plea than a question. She shook her head hoping that if he knew what her uncle had done to her that he wouldn’t reveal it to her sister.
“It’s all right, child.” He folded his hands in front of him on the desk. “What I have to say will only become a reality when you see with your own eyes. I am as shocked and confused as you both will be.”
“Papa, you’re scaring me,” Felicia said.
“I have some wonderful news that comes from a tragedy. The tragedy is what Emilio took from us many years ago. I don’t know how to say this, so I am just going to say it.” He sighed heavily. “Rosa, Felicia, your mother is alive.”
“What?” they responded in unison.
“I know it sounds unbelievable, but I have seen her with my own eyes. She is truly alive. Emilio had your mother kidnapped all those years ago. There never was a car accident. She was brutally abused, and suffered for many long, hard years. She has been living in a convent for most of the past ten years, recovering from the brutality Emilio inflicted upon her.”
“What?” Rosa said. “No! Why? I don’t understand.”
Felicia’s face was pale.
“I know, my sweets, it sounds like the ranting of a mad man, but I am not. I know it sounds ludicrous…”
“But it’s true.” Lydia finished his sentence as she walked through the door. She stood there, with both of her daughters staring in disbelief, not knowing how to react.
Rosa’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She couldn’t speak.
“Mama?” Felicia stuttered.
“Yes, it is.” Lydia walked over to her daughters.
Rosa stood up slowly out of her chair. Vertigo nearly overcame her, but she managed to stay on her feet. She couldn’t believe she was staring into the face of her mother.
Lydia held out her hands. Rosa took them. She still could not utter a sound. Tears clouded her vision. She touched her mother’s face and hair. Lydia smiled at her. It was her.
“Mama! Oh God, Mama! Mama.”
Her mother pulled her in tight and held her. “I’ve missed you, mija. I have missed you so much.” She stroked her hair as she’d done when her daughter was a child. She even smelled like she had when Rosa had been a child—like gardenias.
Felicia approached them and Lydia opened her arms to include her youngest daughter. The women stood there in that embrace for several minutes and with all the time they’d lost from each other’s lives they could have remained there for the rest of their lives. For each one there, the girls who had now grown into women and for the woman who had had a good portion of her life stolen from her, they’d found themselves whole again.
The three cried, speechless, in that embrace as their emotions overwhelmed them. “Mama, Mama!” Felicia kept repeating the word, laughing and regressing back to the age when her mother had been taken from her.
Antonio watched, guilty about not having investigated Lydia’s death more thoroughly, allowing her life to be lost to the hands of his insane brother.
After some time, the three women sat down together, staring unbelievingly at one another. There was so much catching up to do, so much explaining, so much damage to be undone. The four of them sat talking for hours into the night. Food was brought into them at dinnertime. Felicia and Rosa could not believe what their mother had faced all those missing years.
Finally, late in the evening, Felicia stood up. “I’m sorry, but I’m exhausted.”
“Of course. We have the rest of our lives to spend catching up,” Lydia said. She hugged her youngest daughter good night.
“Mama?” Felicia asked hesitation in her voice.
“Yes, mija?”
She glanced away, almost as if she were ashamed. “Would you do something for me?”
“Of course. I would do anything.”
“Will you tuck me in my bed and sing to me like you did when I was a little girl.”
Lydia rose and took Felicia’s hand. “Come on, mija, let’s put you to bed.”
Rosa stood up as well.
Antonio stopped her and whispered, “Your mother and I need to speak with you. Will you stay and wait?”
“Yes.” Rosa had an idea what they wanted to speak to her about.
Her stomach twisted into knots as she heard her mother’s voice coming from her sister’s room, singing lullabies that she had not heard in many years. Again, tears came to her eyes and her father sat down by her, wrapping his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder.
After some time her mother returned and sat down on the other side of her.
“You know, don’t you?” Rosa asked. “You know what he did to me.”
“We know,” Antonio said, squeezing his daughter’s hand. “I wis
h you had told me. I wish I could’ve protected you.”
“It’s not your fault, Rosa” Lydia interrupted him. “None of this was your fault.”
“I know. Finally I know that,” Rosa managed to say. With those words, Rosa for the first time felt a true sense of relief, as if nothing bad could ever reach her again. She hugged her parents, and thanked God her mother had been returned to her.
*****
Antonio, exhausted from the last few days, had made a decision after seeing that his life had turned into a mountain of deceit. He must tell Alejandro the truth. He’d feared this day, but he knew the time had come.
The two walked among the coffee crops, as they’d become accustomed to doing over the weeks that Alex had been staying with him.
“I can’t believe it,” Alex exclaimed, hearing about Lydia. “I never wanted to say this, because I knew he was your brother, but I always thought Emilio was a bad seed.”
“You have the same instincts as your mother.” Antonio replied.
“Well, yes.” Alex stopped walking. He faced Antonio. “How did you know that? About my mother having good instincts?”
“There’s something else which I think you’re going to find quite amazing. I’m not sure how you’ll take this. I can only pray you won’t hate me.”
“Hate you? You’re like a father to me.” But as he said it, and meant it, a sinking feeling spread from his brain down and settled into his gut.
Antonio looked into Alex’s eyes and said, “I am your father.”
Alex didn’t respond at first. Finally through gritted teeth, he said, “That isn’t funny, Antonio.”
“It’s not meant to be. I’m telling you the truth. Your mother and I were lovers.”
“That’s impossible.” He shook his head, his denial vehement. “My father was a cold hearted man who abandoned my mother. That’s not you.”
“No, Alex. Your mother was a good, decent woman who did not agree with the way I made a living. After I thought my wife had died, she came here for a couple of weeks. I even saw you once in Los Angeles, when you were a little boy. I wanted to marry her, then bring you home. But I lied to her. I made her a promise that I would become a legitimate businessman. She found out that I had no intention of ever keeping that promise, so she left, doing everything in her power to keep me away from you. She felt I would be a bad influence on you.”
“I don’t believe you,” Alex’s voice raised. “No. No. I don’t believe you! Why are you saying these things? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry.” Antonio reached out to touch Alex on the shoulder. He pulled away. “Alex, It’s all true. I didn’t even know about you until after your birth and I wanted desperately to go to you and your mother. But I was afraid she would refuse me, and I was right. I sent her money over the years. It was the only thing she would accept from me. Please believe me when I say that I have always loved you. I’ve always wanted you here with me. But I respected and loved your mother. And I would never have gone against her wishes—even if it meant I couldn’t see you.”
Alex stared at him for several seconds. This was like a hazy dream, where everything stood still—air particles, life—all of it. He felt off balance and shaken.“If what you say is true, then why did you find me, finally?” Alex asked, his voice laden with disbelief and anger. “Why would you think that I would ever want anything to do with you?” he yelled. “Why are you telling me these lies, Antonio? What do you want from me?”
“I know this is hard to take, but please listen to me. I am not lying to you. When your mother died, I wanted to reach out and take care of you, make sure you were all right. I sent Emilio to find you. Nothing more. He took it upon himself to bring you into our business. I wanted so much more for you than a life filled with wrong doings and deceit. It was all a part of Emilio’s plan to ruin my life. Believe me when I say that I only sent Emilio to watch over you, that’s all. By the time I learned what Emilio had done, it was too late. I learned that you had already fallen into this trap. I figured that if you wanted to choose this life, then you should at least be under my care.”
“I don’t want to hear anymore!” Alex was now screaming at Antonio, his face colored by fury, his fists clenched and ready to strike. “My mother was right about you. If you’d wanted me, wanted to be a part of my life, you would have been. Life was difficult for my mother and me. And you know what? She was right, and so are you. I never needed you then, and I don’t need you now! Stay away from me! Stay the hell away and out of my life. I don’t want to be a part of you or your business. You disgust me!”
Antonio watched as Alex turned and ran back to the house, his vision blurred by the tears his deceit caused, and he knew he was watching the son he wanted so badly in his life run right out of it.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Long stemmed red roses were delivered to Bella the next morning, the card inside reading, “This is the first of a long list of surprises to come. Love, Alex.”
Throughout the day, every hour on the hour, Bella received another gift. The roses came first, then a beautiful violet colored silk dress with an open back and plunging neckline. The dress epitomized elegance and sensuality. Silver shoes and a matching purse came along in a smaller box an hour later.
Another hour went by, and a pair of one-carat diamond stud earrings arrived. After that, a matching diamond necklace and bracelet. Bella drifted between shock and elation. Each gift contained a small card that read, “I love you. Alex.” The last card contained information on where she should meet him for dinner that evening: Fernando’s, a small, exclusive restaurant set against the cliffs, overlooking Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta. He would have a car sent to drive her up from her father’s home in Costa Careyes. She glanced at her watch. Alex had flown from Colombia into Puerto Vallarta the night before and had contacted her, but they hadn’t seen each other yet, and she was dying with anticipation.
“Two hours before the car will be here,” she cried. She wanted to look her best, and was a bit miffed that he’d given her such short notice. Then she looked around her room and saw all the beautiful gifts Alex had sent her throughout the day and her arrogance vanished.
Her father walked into her room and found her flitting around, searching for a bottle of nail polish. “Did you go on a shopping spree today?”
“No, Papa. Alex sent these to me. I’m supposed to meet him for dinner this evening.”
“Ah, of course.” Javier smiled. “Alejandro sent you these things?”
“Yes. Isn’t he wonderful?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in love.” A faint pink color rose to Bella’s cheeks. “You don’t need to defend yourself,” Javier said, “I’m happy for you. Even though I wish you were still a little girl. It seems like only days have passed instead of years. And now, before I have a chance to blink, you turn into a woman.”
“Oh, Papa!” Bella walked over and hugged her father. “I’ll always be your little girl.”
“This is true.” Javier pulled away and kissed her on the forehead. “I believe you have a dinner engagement. You’d better hurry up. I’ll have the car ready when you are.”
“Thank you, Papa.”
Javier left the room, his heart swollen with happiness, but yet tainted by a small amount of pain—the kind only a father feels when he knows he’s lost his daughter to another man.
*****
Alex was waiting at the table when Bella arrived. She looked stunning, her long, dark hair cascading down her back in shining waves. The dress fit her petite figure the way Alex hoped it would, and he could smell her scent as he stood to greet her.
“You take my breath away,” he told her. “You are so beautiful.”
She had left her wheelchair in the car and was obviously determined to try and start making it through her days with only the use of the cane.
They began with drinks and Oysters Rockefeller, and soon moved on to a main course of filet mignon. Candleli
ght bounced off the bay windows, casting a glow on the bay outside and also onto Bella. The quaint restaurant was decorated in traditional old Spanish style with wrought iron chandeliers, dark wood crwon molding, and clean white table cloths—a fire in the fireplace in the center of the room burned brightly, a harp was being played in the background. Everything was perfect.
“This is beautiful, all you’ve done for me. Thank you.” Bella said.
“I would do anything for you, Bella.”
“I’m starting to believe you.” She winked at him. “Tell me, Alex, what this is all about? All of the gifts, the dinner, all of the romance.” She smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I might think you’re trying to seduce me.”
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