Chapter 35 - Mary
Mary
Cat’s hand rests against the small of my back while I follow Rosa into the bungalow.
The touch is warm against my cold body. My eyes go wide the moment we enter.
The house is just as gorgeous on the inside as it looks on the outside.
Deep teal and ochre-colored walls make the place look like something straight out of a magazine, and a huge number of plants, like monstera and aloe vera, give it that same Cuban feel I got from the restaurant.
“Wow,” I whisper, and Cat’s mouth twists into a lopsided grin.
For some reason, I had expected something more modern and classic, like her apartment. Maybe because Eduardo gave me that controlling vibe, or maybe because that’s what I came to associate her with, but this house is something different.
“Do you like it, hija?” Rosa beams at me as she places her hand on my arm.
I nod because I really do. It gives the impression of an active life, something passionate. I can really appreciate that.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Gracias.”
“De nada,” I reply, and her eyebrows shoot up.
“?Tú hablas espanol? Katherina no—”
I shake my head really quickly, and Cat bursts out laughing. My eyes blaze as they find hers, and she tries to catch her breath as she looks at me apologetically. Rosa looks from me to her daughter, the confusion and amusement clear on her face.
“Sorry, Mom,” Cat smirks, “I’ve been pestering her with Spanish words, and she’s starting to pick up a thing or two.”
I smile sheepishly at that, before lowering my eyes.
“Not nearly enough to have a conversation, just the stuff she says a lot,” I offer, and I feel my cheeks heat.
Rosa just smiles and squeezes my arm.
“Perfecto,” she exhales. “You will learn soon enough.”
I open my mouth to protest when a familiar low voice comes up from behind me.
“Katherina, mi hija.”
“Hola, papá,” Cat answers, her smile softening, but her eyes sharp.
I force myself to turn slowly, and I see Eduardo leaning against the doorframe. That same tilted chin, and that same dismissive glare in his eyes, the ones he dragged over me this morning.
“And you must be Mary,” he says nonchalantly, as he steps forward with his hand outstretched.
I stare at him bewildered. Is he for fucking real? But his eyes bore into mine as he pushes on.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” he says with a soft smirk that instantly reminds me of his comment this morning.
Lie. He wants you to lie.
My bottom lip trembles, and my eyes dart back and forth as I try to decide what I should do.
If I refuse to take his hand, I will look rude, but if I say something now, Cat will know that I kept it from her.
I feel like a deer caught in the headlights, and Eduardo must smell my fear because his lip twitches up slightly.
But I can’t. I can’t flat-out lie to the woman who risked everything for me.
“Maria?”
Cat’s voice is so close to my ear that it startles me back into the present.
I turn to her, gripping her shirt to anchor myself.
I look at her with panic in my eyes, and it feels like everything is happening all at once.
My fingers twitch, I break out in a cold sweat, and my stomach cramps uncomfortably. Wait. Why did I not notice this before?
“Hey, hey, come on, sit down.”
She guides me to the nearest couch, and I sink into the soft plush while she kneels before me. Her fingertips find the inside of my wrist, while she tucks a strand of hair behind my ear with her other hand.
“Where is your meter?”
I shake my head. It’s back home, on the nightstand. I didn’t think of bringing it. Again. But Cat doesn’t get frustrated. She just nods and strokes my hair again.
“When was the last time you ate?”
I blink, barely able to focus now that there are so many thoughts running through my mind all at once. Cat asks her mother something in Spanish, and the woman walks away with long strides. Eduardo keeps his place near the door, his eyes dark and narrow as he observes.
“Baby?”
Oh, right… when did I eat last?
“T… this morning before your father—”
The words die on my lips when Cat leans back in surprise. Fuck, no, please no.
“When my father what?”
I shake my head and try to laugh it off.
“No, nothing, my brain is foggy. Sorry.”
But she isn’t buying it. Her eyes narrow as her head whips from me to her father.
“When you what, papá?”
Eduardo’s jaw ticks, and his nostrils flare. Right as he opens his mouth, Rosa enters the room and stops dead in her tracks. The tension must be palpable. She doesn’t ask, only drags her gaze over us all, before continuing her stride toward me.
She sinks down next to me and places a warm hand on my knee, drawing my attention toward her. I look at her as she brings a glass of orange juice to my lips.
“Drink, girl. It will make you feel better.”
I don’t fight it, even though I hate the sweet taste of juice.
She is right. It will raise my glucose, which is exactly what I need after running around on an empty tank all day.
My fingers shake as they wrap around the glass, but Rosa doesn’t let go.
She doesn’t fight to hold it either, but simply follows my lead.
“Juntas,” she whispers. Together.
Cat’s eyes are on me, tracing my throat as I swallow the sugary liquid. After a few minutes, I feel my stomach calm down and the warmth return to my limbs. I give her a small nod.
“Sorry,” I whisper, but Rosa shakes her head.
“No need. You can’t help this.”
Cat blinks and turns toward her father.
“Is that true, Dad? Or could this have been prevented?”
“Katherina, I have no control—”
“Are either of you going to tell me what the fuck is going on here?”
Cat’s voice is quiet but sharper than a razor’s edge. It sends an instant shiver down my spine, and I feel myself shrink into the pillows. The moment she sees it, her face changes into one of regret, and she moves toward me, kneeling again, placing her hands on my thighs.
“Maria, por favor,” she asks, much more quietly now. “Dime.” Tell me.
Rosa’s eyebrows lift, but she remains silent. Her hand, still on my knee, squeezes me softly as if she wants to spur me on, and just like that, the words tumble from my lips. I tell them everything, from the moment I answered the door to how he left me shaken and bewildered.
By the time I’m finished, Cat has stepped back from me.
Her face white as a sheet. I try to catch her gaze, but she is staring at something far outside of this room.
Her fingers are curled inward, and her fists are stiff along the length of her torso.
I want to reach for her, touch her, tell her how sorry I am for not saying anything, but Rosa’s hand curls around my wrist when I try to move.
It is almost as if she is telling me to sit this one out.
At least for now. I do, because, for some reason, I already trust her completely.
Eduardo’s jaw is tense, but he, too, remains silent, pinned down by a fiery glare from his wife. Rosa is the one commanding the room at this moment, and she tells us to yield to her daughter.
Cat’s eyes finally drop onto mine, and something seems to come over her. She steps forward, cradles my cheek with one hand, and takes my pulse with the other. A soft, relieved sigh escapes her.
“Better?” she asks so quietly, it is clearly just for me.
“Better.”
“Good,” she says, straightening again. “Then we are leaving.”
“?Hija!” Rosa yelps, her eyes suddenly filled with panic.
“No, mamá. We are not sharing dinner with the person who caused this. I will not risk her health for anything or anyone,” she hisses as she glares over her shoulder.
Eduardo moves now. His face is contorted with something that looks akin to rage. He points his finger at me, and grits his teeth.
“She is the one causing all this,” he says, gesturing wildly around him as he grunts out the words. “She is the one making you throw away everything you worked so hard for.”
“She isn’t doing any of that,” Cat snarls in a tone so low and quiet that it seems to halt her father.
“Eres estúpida, Katherina. After Alex—”
I shudder at the sound of that name, and every one of Cat’s muscles tenses.
“She is not Alex,” she snaps and turns toward him so quickly that I startle.
Rosa steadies me with a gentle hand on my shoulder, but the shock is visible on her face. I am not sure if she’s trying to steady me or ground herself. Maybe both.
“Maria is her own woman, papá. She is smart, she is funny, and she makes me happy.”
“You should make yourself happy,” he growls back. “But instead, you are willing to become a concierge just so you can date your patient. Do you not have any self-respect at all?”
“Eduardo,” Rosa hisses, but he raises his hand.
“No, our daughter needs to hear this.”
His gaze drags over me quickly, before he turns back to Cat.
“You have lost yourself over love before, because you did not protect yourself. Or did you forget that moment when you almost dropped out of med school?”
Cat opens her mouth to reply, but he narrows his eyes, and I feel something ugly rear its head in my chest. My fingers curl tightly around the edges of the couch, pressing deeply into the cushions. My pulse starts to pound as he continues.
“You are not thinking clearly, Katherina. You are following this girl into ruin and calling it love. But she is willing to let you lose it all. Your dreams, everything you worked for… How can you be so blind? Have you learned nothing? All this intelligence, and you—”
“Enough!”
My voice bellows from the pit of my stomach, and the single word fills the entire room. All heads snap toward me, staring at me in disbelief. I am shaking with anger and push myself slowly off the couch, walking on still-trembling legs to stand next to my girlfriend. My eyes are glued to Eduardo’s.
“You might be her father, but who the fuck do you think you are, talking to her like that?”
He frowns deeply at my words. They might be a bit crude, but he is two seconds away from hearing much worse.
“You do not approve of me,” I hiss. “I get it. You think I am willing to let her lose it all so that I can have her, and you probably believe I will toss her aside after she does.”
His nostrils flare, and his lips part, but this time, I raise my hand.
“I’m not done. You will listen to me now.”
He snaps his mouth shut and squints. I don’t know where I find the audacity to speak to this man in his own house like this, but I am not backing down.
“Cat has tried to stay away from me. I have tried to stay away from her. Everything felt wrong when we did, but when we—” I glance at her. “We just make sense.”
She smiles softly at me, her cheeks still heated from the debate, but her fingers find mine.
“I never want you to give up your dreams for me. I would never ask you that.”
“I know, amor.”
“I want you to be successful, to be happy, in whatever form that might take. If you want to build a clinic, build a clinic. Tell me what I can do to help, and I’ll do it. Even if you need me to st—”
“No!”
She pulls me against her with such speed that I slam into her rib cage. Her arms immediately snake around me, and she holds me tightly.
“Don’t you dare say that. That is the last thing I need.”
I cry into her shoulder. The tears, warm and thick, pour from me as I hold her tight. The fear leaking out of every pore.
“I don’t want to leave, but if it is what you need, I would. I really would,” I whisper hotly against her neck, and her fingers grasp me even tighter.
“Enough, amor. Enough. Don’t let his poison fill your pretty head.”
“Yes, enough, hija. You are right.”
Rosa’s voice carries something so unhinged that I momentarily lift my head to watch her move from the couch next to us. She glides like a mother lioness ready to protect her young, and her eyes are trained on her husband.
“Hija,” she says as she puts her hand on my arm. “You are not going anywhere. I’ve not seen my daughter this happy in years, maybe even her whole life.”
She glares at Eduardo.
“See, idiot? This girl is willing to sacrifice it all.”
She squeezes my arm before placing her hand on Cat’s shoulder.
“And you… You have broken our daughter’s trust. How could you be so stupid?”
“I… I just saw… After Alex…” he stammers, now undone by his wife’s sharp tone.
“Papá, I am forty-two years old. I am not the child I was back in med school. You have to trust me to make my own decisions.”
“They got you in trouble, hija.”
“And I also got out of it again,” she snaps back, and he startles at that.
“I… Katherina, you are my daughter… It’s my job to protect you.”
“No, Eduardo,” Rosa says.
She walks over to him and wraps her arms around his waist, putting her head against his shoulder.
“You stupid, stupid man. Your only job is to love her unconditionally.”
“I do. That’s why—”
“No. Unconditionally.”
His face crumbles, and he squeezes his eyes closed as he takes in a deep breath. When he opens them again, they are filled with sorrow.
“I’m sorry, hija.”
Cat nods.
“I know, papá, but it is not me you should apologize to.”
He smiles weakly and nods.
“I wasn’t.”