Chapter 42
I just want you to be happy
Jorge
Now that the kids and I have finished eating, I’ve decided to leave them and use their nap time to pay Victoria a visit.
Carolina told me yesterday afternoon that things between her and my sister are going pretty well, and although I’m very happy for both of them, I can’t help but worry.
I know they’ve suffered a lot over the past five years, that they’ve regretted choosing divorce as the only solution to their problems, and that they love each other even more now than they did back then.
But now they don’t live together anymore; they have separate lives, and I don’t know if they’ll be able to find a middle ground that makes them happy.
As I walk through the hotel hallways toward the room Elena prepared for Victoria, I haven’t stopped thinking about the strange twists of fate.
All this time, I wondered why I had let them get divorced, but right now, I know it happened so they could mature as people.
My sister, back then, had just started college, and Victoria was beginning to work at what she’d dreamed of her whole life.
It wasn’t the perfect time for them. Carolina hinted to me that the two of them have broken down all the barriers that stood in their way to keep them from falling apart, which makes me believe things are serious.
I knock on the door with my knuckles and tuck my hands into my pants pockets.
I’ve never been good at being patient, and when I see she isn’t opening the door, I knock again, harder.
I glance at my watch and sigh; it’s five in the afternoon, and maybe she’s enjoying the beach before heading back to Madrid. But Victoria appears on the other side.
“Jorge?” she asks, surprised. “I thought it was Carol calling.”
“No, well…” I laugh and rub the back of my neck. “Sorry. I’ve caught her habit of insisting until people pay attention to me.”
“All the bad habits are contagious,” she says with a smile. “I was talking to my boss about a work matter. Did you need something? I was just about to go see your sister,” she adds, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Elena’s in town; she went to see my mom. Though I don’t know if she’s back yet,” I say, clearing my throat right after. “I came to talk to you.”
“Are you going to give me the lecture about us, too? Carolina warned me you would.”
“What do you think?” I point inside her room. “Will you let me in, or should we go to the café and get something to drink?”
“We can talk here and then grab a coffee.”
“Okay…” As soon as she steps aside, I walk in until I reach the double bed and take in the spaciousness of a bedroom ready for a couple. “Elena didn’t leave a single detail out, did she?”
“Well, she thought you’d be coming with someone. Don’t blame her.”
“Carol mentioned that you’re going back to Madrid for a few days.” I feign interest as I take a seat on one of the sofas. “Are things pretty hectic at the paper?”
“To be honest, I already knew some things were going to happen there,” she confesses, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Though that’s not why I’m going back.” She pauses, tucking a couple of strands of hair behind her ear as she crosses her legs.
“I’m doing this to end my relationship with Joana.
I don’t know if Carolina told you, but we had a fight, and, well, things have happened that… ”
“With Elena, I imagine.”
“When I got there and saw your sister, something just clicked inside me,” she explains in a nervous tone. “At first I thought it was normal, but the night we went out to dinner…” she sighs. “Things happened that even I didn’t expect.”
“Don’t give me the details, please.” I cut her off before bursting out laughing. “You can’t stay in that relationship when you’re in love with my sister.”
The fact that Victoria is being so open with me says a lot.
I can see the confidence in her green eyes, and that puts me at ease enough to relax and settle more comfortably into the armchair.
I don’t want to pry too much, nor do I want to come across as harsh with her, so I take a few seconds before speaking.
If this is happening, it’s because it’s meant to be; I’m the kind of person who believes everything has a hidden reason, and this situation is no exception.
“So, you’re serious about Elena…” I murmur without further ado.
“I love your sister, Jorge. I always have,” she replies sincerely. “When we broke up, I made the mistake of thinking that would be best for both of us, but it wasn’t. And when we saw each other, all it took was looking into each other’s eyes to know that everything was still there, just dormant.”
“And how do you plan to be with Elena and work in Madrid at the same time?”
“I was just setting up a meeting with my bosses about that very thing,” she replies, gesturing toward the phone. “Joana told me this morning that they’re making changes to the staff.”
“You still haven’t answered my question.” I press my lips together and raise an eyebrow. “And it’s not that I’m not worried about your job, but right now that’s what could screw things up the most when it comes to being with Elena.”
“I know that, Jorge.”
“It’s just that no matter how hard I try… My sister lives here and has her own life here, and you’re in Madrid. Tell me how that can work out.” I wave my hands and run my fingers through my hair. “Because I can’t see how it fits together.”
“I haven’t told Elena yet, but I’m planning to quit the newspaper and…”
“Quit? After everything it’s cost you to be there? Do you realize it was because of that job that you divorced my sister?” I remind her before standing up.
“And what do you expect me to do? Stay there and break up with her again?”
“No. All I’m doing is opening your eyes so you can see the reality of the situation,” I add in a conciliatory tone.
“What I want most is for you to be happy, but you can’t just drop everything and be done with it.
If you do that now, you might regret it in the future, and do you know who’ll be to blame?
” I ask, looking her in the eyes. “You can’t abandon everything for one person, not even for my sister.
You have to find a middle ground.” Victoria, who until then had been smiling, looks at me with a distraught expression, not quite sure what to say.
I know I’ve been harsh and too realistic, so I step closer to her and crouch down so our eyes are at the same level.
“Listen to me, do you want things to work out with Elena?”
“What do you think?” she replies and sighs. “Anyway, I’d been thinking about leaving the newspaper, but not journalism. I mentioned it to Carolina; maybe I’ll become a columnist or write a book. There are lots of options.”
“I like that idea a lot better.” I give her a gentle tap on the nose. “I swear I’m the first one who wants things to work out for you two. You can’t imagine how happy it makes me to hear my sister laugh.”
“Imagine how I feel.”
“Who would’ve thought my wedding would be what you needed to get back together?” I ask with a touch of irony. “If I’d known, I would’ve proposed to Carolina a long time ago.”
“To be honest, you were a little slow, weren’t you?”
“You were too quick,” I point out. “I still remember my sister’s face when you proposed to her in front of everyone.”
“It was the perfect moment, don’t give me that.”
“If you say so…” I burst out laughing. “Now let’s go get that coffee. I’m craving something chocolatey, and Elena told me the guys at the restaurant make a brownie that’s to die for.”
“And how come I haven’t heard a thing about this?”
“That’s the perk of being the boss’s brother,” I boast, and as soon as she grabs her things and we both leave the room, I walk out with the feeling that things between them will go much better this time.