48
Tequila, salt and lime
There were hings about Nikita that drove me crazy, one of which was how she continually made me feel excluded from her life, as if there wasn”t a commitment to me in her mind beyond having sex. And that frustrated me.
Now she intended to take my son to Saint Petersburg so that my mother-in-law could raise him. Was that why she wanted to change his last name, to rip him away from me? Adriano had already suffered enough, and he might not be my blood son, but he had become a part of my life, just as his father had, or Aleksa, or Dante, who weren’t blood relatives either, yet I felt them as part of my family.
It had been days since I last stopped by the bar to chat with Dante. I needed someone”s advice, or just to vent, and as everyone knows, people who work behind a bar tend to be the best at giving advice.
”Blessed are the eyes,” he whispered. ”Has your little lady let you off the bed leg and allowed you to come to the den?” I gave him a smile.
”Yes, today she forgot to lock my ankle.”
”You look thinner. That Russian is sucking the life out of you.” He made an obscene gesture with his hand and tongue.
”That Russian is driving me crazier than she should. I needed some fresh air and a friend”s chat.”
”Well, you”ve come to the right place for that.” He filled a couple of shot glasses with my favorite whiskey. ”To the women who drive men mad.” We clinked glasses and drank.
”What”s the celebration?” asked a sharp voice from behind me.
Dante raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, giving a slight nod.
I turned around immediately because there, in front of me, with a conspiratorial smile, was the woman I had denounced the past two weeks: Irene.
I hadn”t contacted her since the last night we spent together, not even responding to her WhatsApp messages, putting it off time and again.
”Hello,” I greeted her, feeling a bit guilty for having so openly ignored her.
”Hello. I saw your motorcycle outside and thought I”d come in to say hi, but if you”d rather I didn”t stay, I”ll leave.”
There was no reproach in her voice, she looked as beautiful as ever, the scar on her forehead had healed quite well. She seemed a bit unsure about my response.
”Shall I get you the usual?” Dante, with the cloth on his shoulder, gave me a complicit look.
He was giving me an opportunity to talk, and I owed it to Irene. She looked at me questioningly.
”Yes, the usual,” I confirmed. The woman”s face immediately relaxed and she took the stool closest to mine. It was strange because I felt like she was a stranger, even though she had been by my side for more than two and a half years. The Nikita hurricane had swept through everything, even the closest people who had always been there to support me.
”I don”t even know what to say...” I muttered a bit embarrassed.
”You don”t have to say anything,” she sighed sadly.
”Yes, I do need to say something. I”ve been too absent and, at the very least, I should have replied to your messages; you don”t deserve to be ignored. Sorry, it”s been some complicated and very absorbing weeks.”
”It”s okay, I understand that it must not be easy to adjust. Don”t take my words the wrong way, I wouldn”t want to offend your marriage or your wife.”
She fell silent.
”It”s not being easy,” I admitted, ”you”re right about that.”
Dante placed two tequilas in front of us and continued drying glasses from the dishwasher.
”I wanted to see you,” she admitted reservedly. ”Not in a couple”s way, because we were never that, but I did consider myself your friend, aside from us sleeping together, and I thought we were adults, that even if you didn”t want anything more with me in that aspect, we could talk about it and not lose the friendship. Not replying after I sent you those photos and videos... I don”t know. I felt ridiculous and a bit hurt. Because I would have understood a, ”Hey, Irene, this sleeping together thing is over because I want to try with my wife.” But the silence... The silence was as if you pushed me away completely, as if I didn”t even deserve your response. It hurt, and I needed to tell you so it doesn”t fester inside.” She placed her hand on her chest.
It was early, so it was still a good time for a beer in peace. I approached the counter. Dante was drying some glasses when he saw me. He immediately dropped the cloth and slapped his hand against mine.
”Damn,” I rubbed my face, ”I”ve been an idiot, I”m sorry, I”ve behaved terribly and you have every right in the world to be angry with me.”
”I know I have the right, but I don”t feel like it. I”ve missed you a lot and Adri too. It would hurt me a lot not to see him again. Hasn”t he asked about me these days?”
”Yes, of course he has asked. In fact, the day you sent me the videos we were going to call you to have lunch together, but then Nikita was shot and everything got complicated.”
”They shot your wife?! But is she okay?” I nodded. ”How awful, I had no idea! It”s understandable that you didn’t respond...”
”No, it”s not, you didn”t deserve that. Above all, as you”ve said, you are my friend and that shouldn”t have changed. Forgive me.”
”Don”t apologize anymore. True friends are always there, even as time passes you know they accompany you and just a glance or a word is enough for them to cross the country if you need them.”
”Irene, seriously, I”m a jerk, you don”t deserve me,” I squeezed her fingers.
”Then let”s toast to my friend, the jerk.” She grabbed her lemon. ”They say no pain lasts through two bottles of tequila, and as far as I know, this bar has a good arsenal.”
”That goes without saying,” I confirmed, grabbing mine. ”If life gives you lemons, add salt and tequila.” I smiled.
”And if you don”t mind, I”ll join the tequila quote challenge by joining the round and adding that everything can wait, except a good tequila,” Dante chimed in, joining us with a huge wedge of lemon in his hand. ”To good and jerk friends!” he exclaimed.
We all laughed, bit the lemon, licked the salt that my friend had sprinkled on our hands, and swallowed the fiery liquor.
After the first shot, a second followed, then a third, and even a fourth.
The distance I had self-imposed with my friend evaporated. And I felt free to explain what happened those two weeks.
She listened attentively and was happy for me when I confessed that I believed I was beginning to feel something for my wife.
She encouraged me to go all in on my marriage and took a stand regarding the revelation that Adri wasn”t my son.
”Don”t take this the wrong way, but... Nikita has a point.” I looked at her astonished.
”You”re not siding with her after what she did to you, are you?” She made a face.
”That night was tough for everyone. Neither of us behaved well. I should have shown a bit more empathy and not slept with her husband on their wedding night, no matter how much you had agreed to it. Nor should she have let her personal demons get the better of her and hit me. We lost the plot because a clothespin wasn”t enough. To be honest, I would like it if, in the not too distant future, we could coexist in this Galaxy without needing to come to blows.” I admired her attitude.
”You”re an amazing woman, the man who ends up with you will be very lucky. Most women would hold a grudge, but you...”
”I”m realistic and very self-critical. This scar will remind me of my stupidity for life.” She touched it. ”And you should do the same, be more self-critical and not just throw out distractions to divert my attention because you don”t want to hear what I have to say about your marriage. You always ask for honesty, and that”s what I was ready to give you, if you want applause, there”s a flamenco tablao two streets down where they do it wonderfully.” She pursed her lips into a breath-taking smile.
”Message received. Go ahead, shoot, I”m more of a Rifle Girl than a Camarón.”
”Okay. Partly, I understand your wife. I know you”ve told me kids aren”t her thing, but Adri is her brother”s son, the only thing she has left of him, so it”s normal she wants him to carry her surname and know that Yuri was his father.”
”But Adri is my son in every way! I registered him in my name and he”s had a really hard time. I”m not against him knowing, but later on.”
”You told me when he”s eighteen, and that”s not fair. I understand that you feel Adri is part of the family, but I also understand that she wants to give him his rightful place in hers.” I sighed. ”I”m not a psychologist, you know Juliet is better at that, but your son deserves to know the truth, tactfully of course, but you can”t deny him that.”
”And send him to Saint Petersburg?”
”No, that Nikita has to understand she can”t and shouldn”t take him away from your side. He already considers you as his family, he”s lost his mother and grandparents, he needs to be raised in a stable and secure environment, another change wouldn”t be positive.”
”That”s what I think too.”
”Both of you have been set off because it wasn”t the news you were expecting, you need to accept the truth and talk calmly, with your hearts open and without getting upset. Maybe it would be good for you to get away from everything and everyone, take a few days, be honest. If you”ve started to feel something for your wife, it would be good to show her. Some women are guided more by actions than words. Saying ”I love you” isn”t enough, because the most important actions aren”t wrapped in phrases, but in deeds.”
”The current situation is too complicated to go on a trip.”
”Look, I”m not saying you should go off on a honeymoon for a month, you can do that when you see fit. Just a few days, somewhere remote where no one knows you and where you can feel safe. Let your wife see the Romeo we all adore, the fun, adventurous, sincere, and protective guy who won us all over. It”s impossible for Nikita not to fall in love with you, because any woman would feel lucky to have a man like you by her side. And give a little on the issue with Adri to smooth things over, I”m sure she”ll appreciate it and you can reach an understanding.” I considered the possibility she had just opened up before my eyes. It didn”t seem so far-fetched. Maybe she was right and we needed a few days alone to get to know each other and clear things up, away from everything and everyone except us.
”Damn, Irene, don”t let me ever push you away again, and if I do, you have permission to send Dante over to slap me twice for being an idiot.”
”Don”t say that too loud, boss, you know I”m quick with a slap,” my friend muttered with a chuckle.
I got up from the stool and gave my friend a heartfelt hug.
”Any ideas for a getaway?” I asked, returning to my seat.
”Ummm, well, if you invite me to a beer with tequila and a slice of lime, I”m sure my ideas will clear up and I”ll come up with some unforgettable place ready for conquest.” I raised my fingers and Dante moved towards the fridge.
”Coming up, a cold round of Desperados for a man desperate for his wife.”
”Hey, I”m the one who asked for that beer!” Irene exclaimed.
”Yes, but for you, I”m going to pour an Urban Blue Beer, you deserve a fancier one, damn it.”
”I won”t object to that,” Irene accepted with her usual playful attitude. She took out her phone and placed it on the bar. ”Let”s see what destination we can find for the conquest.”