Eric
My desperation is getting the best of me too. Oh God! What am I going to do without him?
I cry tears of happiness when I find out Flyn got the invitation. My little grump is starting to live life.
I love you too, Eric, and I miss you.
From: Eric Zimmerman
Date: May 30, 2013, 15:30
For: Judith Flores
Subject: I don’t know what to do
What do I have to do to make you answer my messages?
I know you’re getting them.
I know from your father that you’re well. Why don’t you call me?
My patience is breaking down day by day. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes for you.
I love you, baby.
Eric (the asshole)
When I close my laptop after the most recent email, I sigh. I suspected my father would keep him up to date.
The tables have turned. Now he’s the one who writes, and I’m the one who doesn’t answer. Now I understand what he was feeling back then. I try to forget him like he tried to forget me, and I know he won’t let me do it, just like I didn’t let him.
45
The day I get back to Madrid after my week in Llanes, my heart is split even farther in two. Knowing Eric is looking for me makes me unsure of even the very air I breathe. Time has not healed the pain but rather has raised it to levels I never thought existed.
I call my father, and we have a long talk.
“Papá, Eric makes me so mad and . . .”
“You’re no saint yourself, darling. You’re pigheaded and challenging. You’ve always been that way, and you’ve finally met your match.”
“Papá!”
My father laughs.
“C’mon, sweetheart! Don’t you remember what your mother used to say?”
“No.”
“She would always say, ‘The man who falls in love with Raquel will have a peaceful life, but the man who falls in love with Judith, poor thing! He’s gonna be in a ruckus day in and day out.’”
I grin at the memory.
“And she was right, sweetheart. Raquel is how she is, and you’re like your mother, a warrior! And to put up with a warrior, there are only two options: either you find some fool who never opens his mouth, or you find another warrior like Eric.”
“And what are you, Papá, a fool or a warrior?”
My father laughs again.
“I’m a warrior like Eric. How do you think I could have put up with your mother any other way? And even if God took her from my life too soon, no other woman has touched my heart, because your mother set the bar very, very high. And that’s what’s happening to Eric, my treasure. After meeting you, he knows he won’t find anyone like you.”
“Yeah, anyone as dumb as me,” I joke.
“No, darling. He won’t find anyone as smart. As bright. As fun. As funny. As grumpy. As aggressive. As wonderful. As beautiful. He won’t find anyone like you at all, sweetheart . . . at all.”
“Papá . . .”
“Just as I suspected, Eric belongs to you, and you belong to him. I know it.”
I can’t help laughing. “Oh, Papá, you’d make a priceless soap-opera writer!” As always, talking to my father relaxes me. He wants the best for me, and he thinks the best thing for me is that German, even though I’m still not sure.
That night, when I open my laptop, I have a new message from Eric.
From: Eric Zimmerman
Date: May 31, 2013, 14:23
For: Judith Flores
Subject: Don’t leave me
I know you love me even though you won’t answer. I saw it in your eyes the last night at the hotel. You threw me out, but you love me as much as I love you. Think about it, darling. You and I, now and forever.
I love you. I want you. I miss you. I need you.
Eric
Why is he so romantic?
When I turn off the light in my room, I think again about the only thing I’ve thought about lately. Eric. Eric Zimmerman. I smell his T-shirt.
I wake up with a start at six o’clock in the morning. I dreamed about Eric. I can’t get him out of my mind even in dreams.
He’s going to be the death of me!
Angry, I can’t get back to sleep, so I get up. Needing an outlet for all this rage, I decide to clean the whole apartment. That’ll calm me down. I get down to it, and by ten o’clock in the morning, I’ve created such chaos, I don’t know how to put the place back together.
I’m a wreck. My heart is beating like crazy, so I decide to get out of the apartment and go running. Raising my heart rate a little will do me a world of good. I’ll work out the adrenaline. I pull my hair back into a high ponytail and put on some black crop pants, running shoes, and a T-shirt.
Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Opening the door without looking first, I’m dumbfounded when I see Eric. He’s more handsome than ever, dressed in a white shirt and jeans. Surprised, I try to close the door, but he doesn’t let me. He sticks one foot over the threshold.
“Darling, please, listen to me.”
“I’m not your darling, or your baby, or your sweetheart, or anything. Get away from me.”
“God, Jude! You’re breaking my foot.”
“Pull it out and I won’t break it,” I respond while trying to close the door with all my strength.
But he doesn’t move.
“You are my love, my darling, my baby, my sweetheart, and besides that, you’re my woman, my girl, my whole life, and a thousand other things. And that’s why I want to ask you to come home with me. I miss you. I need you, and I can’t live without you.”
“Go away, Eric,” I growl while I uselessly battle with the door.
“I’ve been an idiot, darling.”
“Oh yes,” I say.
“An idiot in every sense of the word for letting the best thing that ever happened to me get away. But idiots like me recognize their mistakes and try to make things right. Give me another chance and . . .”
“I can’t,” I shout.
“Darling . . . I’ve tried to give you your space. To give myself space. But my life without you doesn’t make sense. I can’t sleep. You’re on my mind twenty-four hours a day. I’m not living. How am I supposed to live without you?”
“Buy yourself a monkey,” I snap.
“Look, I was wrong. I hid what I knew about your sister, and I had the audacity to get angry with you for doing the same thing.”
“It’s too late . . . I don’t want to hear it now,” I insist, about to cry.
“Let me in.”
“No.”
“Please, Jude. I’m an asshole. The biggest asshole in the world, and I’ll let you tell me so every single day of my life, because I deserve it.”
My strength gives out. Listening to everything he tells me is starting to get the best of me, and when I stop pushing against the door, Eric opens it completely.
“Listen to me, baby . . .” He looks around. “You started cleaning the whole apartment? Wow, you really are pissed!”
“And before you go on spouting pretty words,” I spit, furious, “I want you to know I’m never going to put my life on the line again for everything to turn out wrong. I don’t want to stop doing the things I like because you want to keep me in a glass cage. I refuse!”
“I love you, Miss Flores.”
“Sure you do.”
And, taking us both by surprise, I slam the door in his face. My chest rises and drops. Eric has done it once again. He’s told me the prettiest things a man can say to a woman, and I, like a fool, have listened to him.
I’m an idiot.
All of a sudden, I hear a voice. Is that Simona? I open the door, and, openmouthed, I see Norbert and his wife.
“Miss, since you left the house, nothing has been the same. If you come back, I promise I’ll help you fix up your motorcycle whenever you want.”
I raise my eyebrows, and Simona, after giving me a hug, kisses me on the cheek. Taking me by the
hands, she whispers, “Judith, I miss you, and if you don’t come back, the boss will torture us for the rest of our days. Is that what you want for us?” I shake my head no, and she goes on. “Anyway, watching Emerald Madness alone isn’t the same as when we watched it together. By the way, the other day, Luis Alfredo Quiñones asked Esmeralda Mendoza to marry him. I recorded it so we could watch it, you and I.”
“Oh, Simona . . . !” I sigh and put my hands over my mouth.
Suddenly, Susto and Calamar run into my apartment and start barking.
“Susto!” I shout when I see him.
The dog leaps up, and I give him a hug. I’ve missed him so much . . . Then I stroke Calamar.
“You’ve gotten so big, you little runt.”
The animals jump around me, obviously delighted. They haven’t forgotten about me. Leaning against the wall, Eric is looking at me when Sonia walks in with an enchanting smile and kisses me.
“My darling, if you don’t come with us after what Eric has put together, you’re as pigheaded as he is. This son of mine loves you so much.”
I’m just staring at her in shock when my father walks in.
“Yes, sweetheart, this boy loves you very much, and I told you he’d come back to you! Now here he is. He’s your warrior, and you’re his.”
“Papá . . . ,” I sob, putting my hands over my mouth.
My father gives me a kiss.
“Be happy, my love.”
Two heavy tears fall down my face. “Babe!” my sister yells, excited. “Please forgive Eric for not telling you about my separation. I threatened to beat him to a pulp if he did. He got us all together to ask you to forgive him. How romantic! What a wonderful way to show he loves you! I need a man like that, not some brute.”
I look at Eric. He’s still leaning against the wall, and he’s not taking his eyes off me. At that moment, Marta walks in and winks at me.
“If you say no to my idiot of a brother, I swear I’m bringing everyone from the Guantanamera to convince you while we take shots and yell, ‘Azúcar!’” I laugh. “Think about what it meant to him to ask us all for help. Go on, love him as much as he loves you.”
I laugh. Eric laughs too, and my niece yells out, “Auntie! Uncle Eric promised I can go with you this summer for three months’ vacation at your pool, and as far as the bo—Flyn, he’s really cool. Wicked! You wouldn’t believe how he plays Mario Kart. He’s amazing!”
This is like the Metro at rush hour. My living room is full of people while Eric looks at me with his precious blue eyes but doesn’t step into the apartment. Suddenly, Flyn arrives. As soon as he sees me, he throws his arms around my neck. He hugs and kisses me. I love his kisses. When he lets go, he runs out the door, and I laugh when I see him dragging in the red tree. That makes me laugh. I look at Eric, and he shrugs his shoulders.
“Auntie Jude,” says Flyn, “we still haven’t read our wishes, and I’ve changed mine. The ones I wrote weren’t very nice. Anyway, I told Uncle Eric I was hiding secrets too. I told him I was the one who shook up the Coca-Cola that day so it would explode in your face, and it was my fault you fell in the snow and got that ugly cut on your chin.”
“Why did you tell him that?”
“I had to tell him. You’ve always been nice to me, and he had to know.”
“Oh! By the way, darling,” says Sonia, “after this year, we’ll always have the holidays together. We’re done celebrating apart.”
“Yay!” yells Flyn, and I smile.
“And we’ll be there too,” adds my father, excited.
“Yay!” Luz applauds, and Eric laughs with his hands in his pockets. Our eyes meet, and just when I think no one else is coming, Björn, Frida, and Andrés walk in with little Glen. The two men don’t say a word. They just look at me, hug me, and smile. And Frida, hugging me too, murmurs into my ear, “Punish him when you forgive him. He deserves it.”
We both laugh, and I put my hands over my face. I can’t believe it. My apartment is full of people who love me, and Eric put it all together. They all look at me, waiting for me to say something. Eric is the only one still outside. Decidedly, he walks up to the door.
“I love you, baby,” he declares. “I’ll say it alone, in front of our families, and in front of whoever else it takes. You’re right. After Hannah, I was trapped in a loop that did neither me nor my family any favors. I was wrong, especially about Flyn. But you came into my life, our lives, and everything changed for the better. Believe me, love, you are the center of my existence.”
A fluffy “Ooooooh!” escapes from my sister’s mouth.
“I know I did a lot of things wrong. I have a bad temper, and I can be cold, boring, and impossible. I’ll try to fix it. I won’t make any promises, because I don’t want to fail you, but I’m going to try. If you agree to give me another chance, we’ll go back to Munich with your motorcycle, and I promise to be the one who claps and screams for you loudest when you compete at motocross. If you want, I’ll even go with you on Hannah’s motorcycle through the fields by the house.” And, fixing his eyes on mine, he whispers, “Please, baby, give me another chance.”
You could hear a pin drop.
My heart pumps at a frantic pace.
I love him . . . I love him and I adore him. This is the romantic Eric who drives me crazy.
I walk out of my apartment, approach Eric, and, standing on my tiptoes, I draw my mouth close to his, suck on his top lip and then his bottom lip, and, after biting him with the tips of my teeth, I declare, “You’re not boring. I like your bad temper and your face when you’re in a bad mood, and I’m not going to let you change.”
“Agreed, darling.” He nods with a big smile.
“I love you, Iceman,” I finally say. “And I’m sorry too.”
Eric closes his eyes and hugs me. He squeezes me against his body, and everyone claps. We kiss, and I melt into his arms, wishing I could never let go.
We stay like that for a few minutes, until he pulls away from me. Everyone falls silent. “Baby, you’ve given me your ring back twice, but I hope the third time’s the charm.”
I smile. Surprising me again, he kneels, and, showing me the diamond ring, he blows me away.
“I know you were the one who asked me to marry you last time on impulse, but this time I want to be the one who asks, and most of all, I want it to be official and in front of our families. Miss Flores, will you marry me?”
My neck itches. The hives!
I scratch. A wedding!
Eric looks at me and smiles. He stands up, puts his mouth against my neck, and blows sweetly. At that very instant, I accept he’s my warrior, and I’m his, and, holding his face in my hands, I look him straight in the eyes and answer, “Yes, Mr. Zimmerman, I want to marry you.”
Inside the apartment, everyone jumps for joy.
Eric and I hold each other and look into each other’s eyes. I grab the door handle and close it behind us. My lover and I are standing on the landing, alone.
“You organized all this for me?”
“That’s right, baby! I had to call in the artillery in case you didn’t want to hear me, or see me, or kiss me, or give me a chance,” he whispers, kissing my neck.
I could eat him up!
“I’ve missed something,” I say, happy as a clam as I accept his sweet kisses on my neck. “What’s that?” he asks, looking at me.
“The little bottle of pink, strawberry-flavored stickers.”
Eric lets out a laugh and gives me a flirty smack on the behind.
“That and everything else you want is waiting for us in the fridge at our new house.”
“Wonderful!”
I arch against him and hold him close. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he presses me up against the wall.
He kisses me; I kiss him back. God, I want him.
“Wait, baby,” he warns me, seeming amused to see me so excited. “The house is full of people, and we’re in the hallway of your building.”
“I
’m just showing you what’s going to happen once we’re alone. Because I want you to know I’m going to punish you.”
Eric perks up. My punishments tend to be drastic. I bite his lip.
“I’m going to punish you by forcing you to make all our fantasies come true.” My lover smiles and pushes his hard erection against me. Oh yes!
After we pull ourselves together, we go back inside. After more hugs and laughing, everyone leaves while we tell them goodbye.
When we’re alone again, silence surrounds us. Eric turns to me.
“Your punishment is starting. Go to the bed and take your clothes off.”
“Baby . . .”
“Go to the bed . . . ,” I demand.
He raises his eyebrows, then his hands, and disappears down the hallway. My heart racing, I look at the boxes I still haven’t unpacked. I look at the tags. When I find what I want, I take it out, and, amused, I run to the bathroom.
When I walk into the bedroom, Eric looks at me, amazed. I’m dressed up in my naughty-policewoman costume. I finally get to try it out on him!
I make a turn, showing him the views the costume has to offer while I put on the hat and glasses. Eric eats me up with his eyes. I cheekily walk to my sound system and put in a CD. Suddenly, the hard-hitting guitars of AC/DC burst through the silence of the apartment. The chords to “Highway to Hell,” a song I know he likes, ring out.
He smiles, and I approach him like a tigress. I take out the nightstick I’m wearing on my belt, and I stand before the love of my life.
“You’ve been very bad, Iceman.”
“I can tell, Officer.”
I smack the nightstick twice against my hand. “You know what I want as your punishment.”
Eric laughs, and before I can say or do anything more, my lover, my crazy German lover, has me under his body, and, with a sensuality that drives me crazy, he whispers, “First fantasy. Open your legs, baby.”
EPILOGUE
Munich . . . two months later
“Run, Judith! Emerald Madness is starting!” yells Simona.
When I hear her, I look at Eric, my niece, and Flyn. We’re in the pool.
“I’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Auntie, don’t go!” whines my niece.
Now and Forever Page 34
