Naya Rosa
8:36 p.m.
Death-Cast did not call because she is not dying today.
If only there was truth to the rumors that Death-Cast employs psychics because Naya would like to have known what this day
would hold when she woke up. It is a blessing to know that she will not die, but that does not warn her of life’s troubles.
Naya thought the hardest part about her day was going to be when Alano called in the morning, informing her and Joaquin that
he will not be returning to New York for the gala as he feels an obligation to help protect Paz Dario from himself. She admires
her son’s character. There is no celebrating ten years of Death-Cast when Alano knows this company’s historic failure upended
Paz’s entire life. As upsetting as that news was, that was nothing compared to Alano’s Death-Cast status being exposed by
Carson Dunst and Andrea Donahue.
Now that the world knows how vulnerable Alano is, Naya is desperate for him to return home with her and Joaquin, or to return to the mansion, where there’s a panic room should the Death Guard coordinate another attack on his life. But she cannot scare Alano into this decision or he will rebel against her as he continues to do with Joaquin. It would be one devastation for Alano to die and another for Alano to cut Naya out of his life.
There is a small comfort in meeting Gloria Medina, a woman so extraordinary and heroic that Naya knows that Alano will be
loved under her supervision (and safe thanks to Shield-Cast’s).
Naya rejects Gloria’s apology for starting dinner on a heavy note.
Gloria dabs her eyes with her napkin. “Well, I haven’t had my people do a background check on you all yet, and I’d love to
learn more about you.”
“All you need to know can be found in my memoir,” Joaquin says.
“We’ll go pick up a copy,” Gloria says, reaching for her phone as if to order one now.
“He’s joking,” Naya says.
Gloria blushes. “Oh!”
“What would you like to know?” Naya asks.
“How did you two meet?”
It’s been over thirty years since Naya and Joaquin met, and while the basics of their story are agreed upon—such as Joaquin
falling in love with Naya’s laugh while they were two eighteen-year-olds hanging out at Sip-N-Serenity, a charming coffee
shop in Queens that did not survive the Great Recession—many other details have become cause for many he-said, she-said debates:
Naya says she was laughing at a friend’s joke, and Joaquin says she was reading a funny passage in a book.
Naya says she welcomed Joaquin’s presence, and he says Naya wasn’t trying to give him the time of day (which, let’s say Naya
was reading a book—and she was not!—then of course she would want to get back to reading).
And Naya says Joaquin offered to buy her coffee, but he says he offered a scone.
What Naya does not say to her hosts is how whenever she and Joaquin tell this story, playfully fighting over the details,
she wishes they knew the truth. If only they were more like their remarkable son, who captures the world as if holding a video
camera, then they would know not only if it was a joke or book that Naya was laughing over, but which joke or book, as well
as the coffee order or the type of scone. Those memories are all lost, but it is indisputable that after thirty years together,
Naya has given Joaquin the time of day.
She says, “I confessed my love first.”
He says, “Those words made her laugh my second favorite sound.”
They both agree on this so deeply that Joaquin wrote about it in his memoir, Life and Death-Cast , as well as other details from their relationship, all of which they now tell their hosts, including how they shared a shoebox
apartment, saved up for weekend trips, created traditions, and supported each other’s dreams. Dreams as wild as Death-Cast
that allowed them so many luxuries like houses and traveling.
“I never got to travel as much as I’d like,” Gloria says.
“We are looking forward to our honeymoon in Puerto Rico,” Rolando says as he pulls the pizza out of the oven.
“Well, we’ll see. Our funds might be going elsewhere now.”
Joaquin shakes his head. “You have this one life, and you have spent most of it caring for others. You must treat yourself.
In fact, let us treat you to an all-expenses-paid stay at our resort.”
“That’s too kind,” Gloria says.
“It’s our absolute pleasure,” Naya says.
“I am not sure if I’ll be able to go...” Gloria places her hands on her belly. “We’re expecting.”
Naya is overcome as her body—her heart —remembers the many times she was struggling to conceive as loved ones not only started their families but also continued
to grow and grow their families while she still awaited one child. Then her brain catches up and she remembers she has her
remarkable son and she celebrates Gloria’s news with another toast.
She overhears a conversation between the boys.
“You didn’t tell them?” Paz asks.
“I wanted to respect your mother’s privacy,” Alano says.
She raised her son well.
As Joaquin excuses himself to the restroom, Naya checks in on how Gloria is feeling.
“Very nervous. Very, very, very nervous,” Gloria says. “It’s high-risk, obviously, so I’m constantly living in fear of miscarrying.”
“I didn’t know that,” Paz says.
Gloria puts on a brave face for her child. “I’m fine, Pazito. It’s normal to be worried.”
“Were you that stressed with me?” Paz asks.
“Yes, but I wasn’t forty-nine.”
“Maybe you should do a nine-month stay at that resort,” Paz says—jokes?—no, says.
“If that is what you need, we can make that happen,” Naya says. Peace during pregnancy is invaluable. “I’m always available
if you need to talk over your fears. I had twelve miscarriages before getting pregnant with Alano.”
Gloria is shocked. “Twelve?”
Naya will never forget the first time her cramps led to the discovery of light spotting. “Twelve.”
Gloria offers her condolences.
Naya tears up. “Not a single day has passed where I haven’t stopped to imagine life with each and every baby I lost. I wanted
to be their mother so bad. My pregnancy with Alano was terrifying. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, not even as he was surviving
longer than the other babies. Then Alano was miraculously born, but my fear of carrying him to full-term now shifted to keeping
him alive.”
“That fear will never leave us,” Gloria says.
“No, it won’t.”
Naya and Gloria smile at their attentive children, but Naya feels a twinge of guilt because Gloria does not know Alano saved
Paz from killing himself.
Does Naya not have a responsibility to tell Gloria that her son was literally on the edge of death, not as an employee of Death-Cast but as a mother? Naya would want to know the same if her son—the son she risked her life to birth—ever found himself high above the world, wanting to fall.