Broken Soldier: A Novel

by Clara Frost

  “Well, I hope she enjoys the experience, at least. I know your mother can come off as prickly at times.” He entered and found a place to sit on the love seat.

  “How very diplomatic for an old soldier.” Rafa lowered himself into the chair opposite, giving Yaya space in the middle to distribute the presents. “Between Mamá and Antonella, Lorena and Bernardo, I think Em has been a little overwhelmed.”

  “Culture shock can do that the first time you’re out of your own country.”

  Rafa raised an eyebrow. Culture shock? Surely his father wasn’t so disingenuous. It wasn’t the country that was the problem; it was Mamá and Lorena.

  “Yeah, okay, you’re right,” his father conceded. “It’s not always been easy for me, either.”

  “So before the ladies get here, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. I need to do some jewelry shopping.”

  Rafa’s dad grinned. “Ring shopping?”

  Rafa nodded.

  “And you want me to go?”

  “Yeah. It was you or Lorena, and honestly, I don’t want to put myself in a position where I’m alone with her.”

  “Can’t say I blame you for that. Just tell me a time and a place.”

  “I was thinking--”

  Mamá and Yaya strolled in, Mamá clutching a steaming cup of coffee and Yaya clutching a cane.

  “Yaya, are you alright?” Rafa asked in Spanish, getting up to help her.

  “Arthritis. Getting old isn’t easy, Rafael.” Rafa helped her into her chair. “It beats the alternative, though,” she said when she was seated.

  “Yaya will be fine, Rafa,” his mother said. “Where is your girlfriend?”

  “Upstairs.”

  “Well, is she awake?” Rafa’s mother sat beside his father.

  “She is,” Emily said from the door. She took a moment to inspect the room and went straight to the chair at the opposite end of the room from Mamá.

  “Yaya, do you want me to help with the presents?” Rafa asked.

  “Please.”

  The presents were stacked in front of the Nativity, one or two per person. Rafa found one for his mother from his father. It was simple red paper, meticulously taped together with a plain bow stuck to the corner. The other presents went out in whatever order he found them.

  “Yaya, how about you go first?” Rafa suggested.

  Yaya unwrapped her first present, slitting the tape with a fingernail and folding the paper into a neat bundle before opening the box. She pulled out a pair of hardbacks, one a shiny, new Valdez in its dust jacket, the other a first edition Grisham that had taken Rafa an afternoon in Denver’s used bookstores to find.

  “Oh, they are beautiful,” Yaya said. “Thank you, Rafa.”

  “You’re welcome, Yaya.” It felt good to give her something she genuinely appreciated.

  His parents opened their presents, and then it was his turn, if he was going strictly by age. Instead, he turned to Emily. “Em, do you want to go next?”

  She looked hesitant at first, but finally tore into her first present. The first box was medium sized, and she paused as she scooped the smaller jewelry box from within and opened the lid. Rafa couldn’t tell if she was overwhelmed or afraid or just simply surprised.

  “Oh, wow,” she said, displaying the contents of the box. A pair of diamond earrings glistened inside.

  “Do you like them?” Rafa asked.

  “They’re beautiful.”

  Rafa gave her a few moments to ooh and aah over them, then opened the present she’d given him. Inside he found a sleek jogging watch, complete with GPS.

  “It tracks your distance and speed,” Emily said. “I thought you might enjoy it if we go skiing again.”

  “Or when it warms up enough to jog,” Rafa said.

  Emily nodded.

  “I love it,” he said. “Thank you.” He leaned over, giving her a long kiss. If his mother had a problem with it, she could suck on a lemon.

  The rest of the morning proceeded without any overt animosity; his mother even made a half-effort to be polite to Emily. For her part, Em mostly avoided Mamá, but it was no more than he expected. Not like he could blame her.

  Chapter 26

  EMILY turned from side to side, admiring her new earrings. They really were gorgeous, and if Rafa had seen her hesitate when she opened the package, it was because she’d thought it was a ring for a split second. And for that split second, she’d been excited by the prospect.

  “Do you like them?” Rafa asked. She had lost count, but it had to be the fourth or fifth time he’d asked her a variation of the same question since he’d given them to her the previous morning.

  “I love them. Not only are they beautiful, but they’re from you.”

  He slid behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He looked so debonair in his tuxedo. Not that he looked bad in anything, really, but the tux gave him a certain James Bond air, as if he could leap into action at any moment. Whether the action was to carry a girl to bed or to save someone’s life, she wasn’t sure. Maybe both. Either way, she loved it.

  “Good. Are you almost ready?”

  “Five minutes. I need to touch up my mascara.”

  “I’ll be downstairs.”

  Emily took the time to touch up her lipstick and her mascara both. She twitched her dress, making sure it flowed properly. It was cedar forest green with sable trim, rich and dark and long, but with a touch of Christmas. The earrings made it really pop.

  Rafa led her from the foyer to the waiting Land Rover. The elder generations were already long gone, having taken a cab into town earlier in the day.

  “Have you ever been to a Catholic wedding?” Rafa asked as they drove.

  “I have not.”

  “It’s a wedding mass, really. Nothing like what you’re used to in America.”

  “Well, I had my first mass on Christmas Eve.”

  “Just follow along with everyone else, and you’ll be fine.”

  Follow along? That sounded foreboding. Were there secret prayers she had to recite?

  A crowd of people thronged the front of the church as they pulled up. Rafa passed the keys to a valet and together they joined the line to enter. It wasn’t a church so much as a cathedral, and in the middle of Madrid, Emily could imagine Isabella I attending weddings. Or Torquemada attending burnings.

  A dome rose over the middle of a gothic front with a spire on either side. Inside, a pair of stairways swept upward, their rails decorated with ivy and wreaths. It went from impressive to awe inspiring when they entered the main sanctuary. Garlands and wreaths hung from the pillars that lined either wall, but high overhead the dome met with a burst of stars amid a blue sky.

  “Not much like it back home, no?” Rafa asked, squeezing her hand.

  “Not that I’ve seen.” It was more tasteful, more elegant, and yet, more overwhelming than anything she’d seen before.

  An usher with a patchy goatee and a teenage slouch took them to a pew midway to the front. Orange blossoms lined the aisle, their citrus scent filling the air. Emily’s eyes narrowed as she saw Lorena and Bernardo sitting a row behind Rafa’s parents and grandmother.

  “Es bien?” the usher asked.

  “Si,” Rafa replied, sliding down the seat and sitting next to Bernardo.

  At least I don’t have to sit beside him, Emily thought. She took her seat and looked around while Rafa chatted in Spanish with his friends. Half of Madrid was in the church. An elderly couple sat beside her and more people crowded in beside them.

  The woman on Emily’s right leaned over and asked her something in Spanish.

  “Non comprende Espanol,” Emily said. She wished she’d taken Spanish in high school instead of French.

  “It is a... beautiful... wedding,” the woman said, picking her words.

  “Yes,” Emily replied.

  The woman smiled and turned back to her husband, leaving Emily to people-watch in peace. The row behind started to fill, and she recognized a fa
miliar face.

  Salome entered, resplendent in a merlot colored dress. She had a boy on one arm, his face scraggly and sour.

  “Salome, how was your Christmas?” Emily asked when the other girl ended up sitting behind her.

  Salome beamed. “It was good. Emily, this is my... boyfriend. Enrique.” Salome introduced Enrique to Emily in her native tongue.

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” Emily said.

  Enrique shrugged.

  “He does not speak English,” Salome said. She passed Emily’s greeting, though Enrique only grunted in response. “He says it is good to meet you also.”

  An organ began to play in the front of the church. “Well, enjoy the ceremony,” Emily said, turning back to the front.

  The wedding opened with an ancient man in a long white and gold robe reading in Latin. Without warning, everyone stood and began to sing. Emily rose a few seconds late and stood mutely, listening to the crowd sing a hymn she didn’t recognize.

  The wedding party entered, surprising Emily again. She turned and watched Rafa’s cousin glide down the aisle. The wedding gown was black with a full veil hiding her face.

  “The dress is very traditional,” Rafa whispered once the bride was to the front of the sanctuary.

  The priest greeted the congregation, and everyone responded to him at once. Emily had been to plays that were less tightly scripted. More singing followed, and another prayer.

  Just as abruptly as they had stood, everyone sat, leaving her standing a moment before she dropped into her seat.

  Rafa leaned toward her. “I’ll warn you,” he whispered.

  Emily nodded, her face glowing. The minutes trickled past, songs and speeches, none of which she could understand. She tried to look attentive and happy, not wanting to be the only person in the audience with a frown on her face.

  “Get ready to stand,” Rafa whispered.

  Emily rose as he did. The ceremony proceeded onward, sitting, standing and even kneeling at one point. She tried her best to approach it with an open mind, and found herself considering how little it was like any of the weddings she’d attended for her college girlfriends. All those had been Protestant and half an hour, tops.

  Rafa continued warning her when to sit or stand or kneel, which made the whole thing bearable.

  She glanced over near the end and caught Lorena looking at her, a smirk on her face. Lorena met her eye, her lips curling into a cruel smile. Emily met her gaze, forcing herself to be impassive. A creature like Lorena would respond to weakness like a shark to blood.

  “Get ready to stand,” Rafa said, leaning in and blocking line of sight to Lorena.

  Emily nodded, thankful for the interruption. She thought she heard the words, “uneducated child” come from opposite Rafa, but he either didn’t hear them or chose not to respond. They all rose and the priest offered what had to be a blessing. The bride and groom kissed as Emily tried to decide if Lorena was literally making her crazy.

  The congregation filed out, and Emily and Rafa joined his parents and grandmother in the long queue of people that stretched from the front steps to a waiting limousine. Emily clutched a packet of rice, plucking at the piece of lace that bound the individual grains together.

  “You survived,” Yaya said.

  Emily nodded. “I tried.”

  “In the old days, the weddings, they went much longer.” Yaya turned, watching the bride and groom come from the entrance to the cathedral. “Don’t aim for the eyes,” she said. “I like Carmen.”

  Rafa chuckled. “And if she didn’t like her, she wouldn’t bother to unwrap the rice first.”

  The bride and groom ran past amid a shower of white, and ducked into a waiting limousine. Emily threw hers half-heartedly, tucking the lace into her pocket when the bride was past.

  “Reception now?” Emily asked.

  “Yes,” Rafa said. “Don’t worry. The reception will make up for the wedding.”

  Emily followed him to a line of people forming before a row valets. It couldn’t be past nine, but she had a feeling the night had only just begun.

  #

  Emily tapped Rafa on the elbow. “What was Salome’s boyfriend’s name?” she whispered.

  “Ricky?” His forehead scrunched. “No, that isn’t quite it. Enrique?”

  That sounded right. “Thanks.”

  Enrique sat across the table between Salome and Bernardo, but his eyes had been glued to Lorena’s chest since the moment she’d sat down at the adjacent table. Salome had caught him looking, but he hadn’t done anything to avert his gaze.

  Salome whispered something to Enrique, and his expression clouded. He responded, and Salome’s jaw dropped open. She looked at him in shock. He shrugged and got up, pulling up his sagging pants and sauntering away. Salome stared after him, eyes wide.

  “What was that?” Emily asked.

  “I… I do not know.” Salome pushed herself to her feet. “I will come back.”

  “That did not look good,” Rafa said when Salome had disappeared into the crowd.

  “Not at all. He’s been checking out Lorena for the last half hour.”

  “Really?” Rafa turned, looking for his ex.

  Emily’s stomach clenched. Not him, too. “Yes.”

  “They are probably sneaking off to a room,” Bernardo said. “Young love has no shame.”

  They hadn’t exactly been flirting, so Emily didn’t think it likely that they were putting on a show just to go sneak off and make out. “I don’t know. Rafa, do you think I should go check on her?”

  Rafa shrugged. “Give them a few minutes. Tell you what, I’ll go get some drinks, and if she’s not back when I return, we can go look for them.”

  “Okay.” Emily wanted to go with Rafa, but she didn’t want to leave Bernardo alone at the table--he wasn’t the concern, so much as Salome coming back and finding him there by himself.

  “You enjoyed the wedding?” Bernardo asked.

  “It was very beautiful. Carmen looked stunning.”

  Bernardo leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Her makeup was flattering. You should see her first thing in the morning.”

  What, he had slept with her before? Emily brushed invisible crumbs from her knees.

  “I dated her sister, too. Last summer. That was a beautiful woman. Full figured.” He made an hour glass shape with his hands, as if he were running them over a woman’s hips. “Wavy, dark hair. Eyes that smoldered like the devil’s soul.”

  Emily scooted farther away. Bernardo watched her like a cat outside a mouse hole.

  “You look like her, I think,” Bernardo said. “Rafael is very lucky.”

  “You know, I think I’m going to go find Rafa. I didn’t tell him what I wanted to drink.” She hurriedly stood up, nearly tipping over her chair, and strode away as fast as her dress would let her go.

  She looked around the line at the bar, but didn’t see Rafa. A quick check of the dance floor didn’t reveal him, either. Could he be in the men’s room? She considered asking one of the younger cousins to duck inside and look, but she worried about the language barrier. A quick glance back to the table showed Bernardo still sitting, but with Lorena sitting across from him.

  Ugh.

  Emily ducked into the women’s bathroom. Harsh fluorescent lights hummed overhead amid a smell of disinfectant and flowery soap. Salome leaned over the counter, splashing water onto her face. Emily approached and stood beside her.

  “Are you okay?” Emily asked.

  Salome looked at her in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she’d obviously been crying. “I will be okay.”

  “What happened with Enrique?”

  “He ran off, but I caught up to him, and we danced for a song.” Salome sniffled. “Then he started dancing with another girl, and when the song ended, he ignored me and stayed with her.”

  “Maybe it was someone he knows.”

  Salome nodded. “He does. They used to be... what is word?”

  “Friend
s?”

  “More than that.”

  “Ah, I know what you mean, I think.”

  Salome burst into tears. “It is because I am not pretty enough. And I am too big for him. ‘Rique said that he likes small girls.”

  Emily slid an arm around Salome’s shoulder and hugged her. “You are beautiful, Salome. Any man that cannot see that is not only blind, but a fool, too.”

  “No other boys have ever been as nice to me as ‘Rique. As he was until today, I mean.”

  “Girl, there are a hundred lousy boys for every good one. How many have you dated?”

  Salome shrugged.

  So probably just the one, then. “Don’t worry about Enrique. Just be yourself and--”

  “I cannot ‘be myself.’ I am not pretty. Did you see how he looked at Lorena? If I looked like her, then...”

  “Never. Don’t compare yourself to people with different shapes. Not everyone can look the same. Women like Lorena, they sacrifice themselves on an altar of men. Their whole lives are about how they look. You are ten times as beautiful as she is.”

  It took another ten minutes of pep talks, and then a few more minutes to help Salome reapply her makeup, but Salome eventually got herself pulled together and went back out to the reception. Emily stayed a couple moments longer, steeling her nerves to go sit with Bernardo again.

  When she reached the table, Rafa had returned, but Lorena was with him. Emily stopped a dozen feet away, watching them through the crowd. Lorena had a chair pulled up right beside Rafa, and was whispering into his ear. He had an easy smile, as if her being so close wasn’t bothering him at all. Something about it seemed off. She couldn’t put a finger on what or why.

  Emily strode forward, determined not to let Lorena drive a wedge between her and Rafa. As soon as Lorena caught sight of her, she scooted away. Emily’s radar started going crazy. An innocent person wouldn’t disengage like that.

  Emily wondered if she was being crazy, but everyone at the table acted completely normal. “Good evening,” she said, sitting on the other side of Rafa. He couldn’t be falling in love with his ex, could he?

  “You okay, Em?” Rafa asked. “Where did you run off to?”

  “I went to find you. Where are the drinks?”