Chapter 18
Luna
From the moment I woke to the flight attendant coming around to tell us we were descending into El Catey Airport, everything felt different.
The smell of humidity was in the air, and it wasn’t cold anymore, even with the jet’s air conditioning still blasting.
The warmth clung to my skin, and excitement, pride, and emotion flooded my body.
I’m here. I’m home.
Sel and I clap as the wheels hit the tarmac, as is tradition. Rio and Tito laugh, but do the same.
After-party, we boarded the flight at 3:00 a.m. We are all tired, but now, everyone is wide awake, taking photos as we ride to Rio’s hometown, Las Galeras. The bright sun rises on the horizon, and I take pictures of everything because I don’t want to miss a single detail.
Rio is unusually quiet. He hasn’t said much since we landed. There’s something tense about him, but I don’t want to press him. Sel and Tito are in their own world, whispering to each other.
“It’s not just us,” Rio whispers in my ear.
I look at him and shake my head, touching his cheek. “Let me in.”
He kisses my hand. “You’re already in.”
There’s that sadness in his gaze, and I just want to kiss it away, but I hold myself back to give him space.
“We’re here,” the driver calls out, and we stop in front of a large gate, which opens up.
Rio lowers the window and leans in, yelling, “Julio!”
“?Muchacho!” the guard at the gate yells back. “Bienvenido a casa.”
Rio sticks his hand out the window to shake his. “No vemos mas tarde.”
We drive down a long driveway that curves around a line of palm trees.
The water comes into view, an intense turquoise segueing into teal and aqua, forming a gradient that fades into the sand.
It is gorgeous beyond anything I’ve ever seen, and when we reach the house, it’s like a dream in white.
It’s the type of house you see in a magazine or the movies with two floors, balconies, terraces, and windows so wide you can peek inside from where we stand.
It also brings home something I haven’t stopped to think about. He’s rich.
“What do you think?” he asks.
“It’s so beautiful.” I look from the water to him. “How do you leave this place?”
He chuckles. “Reluctantly.”
We pull up to the front, where security guards walk around. One of them comes to open our door, greeting Rio with a warm smile and a hug. Tito climbs out first and helps Sel. We are the last two to get out, and there’s the joy every Dominican experiences when our people come home.
Warm hugs and tight handshakes.
A petite older lady rushes out of the house. “Mi bebé.”
Tito rushes to her, lifts her like a feather, and rocks back and forth with her. The noisy kisses he places on her cheeks have my face hurting from smiling so hard.
When he puts her down, she turns to Rio. She’s half his size and practically disappears in his arms as he hugs her.
“Tía Chelo.”
She starts to sob, and my heart doubles because Rio holds on tighter, but the pain is there in his gaze.
“Te extranamos mucho.”
She’s telling him how much she missed him without being able to see the agony reflected in his face.
When she pulls back, he wipes her tears so gently. She hugs him again, and then her gaze drifts to me, her eyes widening.
He steps back, his hand reaching for mine. “Tía, this is Luna.”
Her gaze follows the movement of his hand, and the raised eyebrow says it all. She’s questioning who I am and why he brought me here. But she moves forward and kisses my cheek.
“Mucho gusto, Luna.”
“El gusto es mio,” I say.
Her smile brightens. “Oh. De la mia.”
One of mine.
That fills my heart. She meets Sel next and immediately hooks her arm around her elbow, ushering us up the stairs lined with roses and hibiscus. Inside the house is an open-plan area with a direct view of the water.
“Waking up to this view must be amazing,” I whisper.
“It is,” she says. “Go settle on the terrace. I’ll get you some coffee.”
“Tía, come sit.”
“Después del café.”
Rio takes my hand, and we go to the terrace where we settle into rocking chairs. Tito and Sel go with his aunt.
“She wants to know who I am.”
A smile spreads across his face. “She said it. Tu eres mía.”
You’re mine.
My pulse quickens, and I force myself to tame it. “She said de lo mio. Not specifically to you.”
“Tell yourself that.” Then he chuckles. “She liked you. If she hadn’t, I would have gotten a look.
She has been very protective of me since Mami died.
Tía moved down here when she got sick to help me care for her.
After, she couldn’t go back to New York.
She kept my mom’s house. It’s on the other side of this one.
We can walk there later so you can see the entire property. ”
“Why doesn’t she stay here?” I ask without thinking then almost kick myself. He brings girls here. “Privacy.”
He shrugs. “Yeah. I need my space to write and make music. I like having people over and partying here, but once it’s over, I need to recharge.”
“And women,” I say, because we are not children, and he’s being super coy.
“Not as many as you think. It’s a new build.”
“How many am I thinking?” I don’t know why I’m asking these questions.
He’s serious and pinning me with his gaze. “One.”
Probably his ex, Perla.
I’m saved from saying anything by his aunt's return. They start catching up and talking about family and the property.
I excuse myself to go to the bathroom and grab a moist wipe to freshen up. When I come out, he’s waiting for me in the middle of the living room.
“Let me show you around.”
He shows me the rest of the first floor. In addition to the rooms, there’s also a bedroom. “Tito’s room.”
As if on cue, Sel’s laughter carries out.
We chuckle and move along. He walks me up the stairs, and it’s just as breathtaking as the downstairs area with three rooms, including a studio and an office. Then, he opens the door to a bedroom toward the front of the house.
My breath catches. It’s an indoor-outdoor room where the panoramic glass doors have no frames and fold open to create a seamless transition. It’s warm, but there’s a great breeze. The massive bed, with its two nightstands, faces the water. There’s a couch and a sitting table along the far wall.
“Wow. This is so amazing.”
“Thank you.” It’s so cute how bashful he is, or maybe it’s more. He seems nervous, his jaw tight, his shoulders tense. Is it regret for us coming here? It’s kind of soon.
We go stand by the railing, looking out, and for the first time, I reach out, my arm on his back. “Why do you look so uncomfortable? If this is too soon, we can go.”
He brings his arms around my shoulders. “Coming back—
“Rio, can you come down?” Tito calls out.
He sighs but presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I’ll be right back. I’ll explain. Lay out or look around.”
He heads back through the room and down the stairs. The sky is quickly turning gray, with storm clouds hovering in the distance over the water. Lightning flickers like a flash of a camera, making me flinch. It’s going to rain. That sucks—I was hoping to go to the beach today. There goes that idea.
I walk to the other end of the balcony, which is furnished with an outdoor bed, a breakfast table set, and a fire pit.
The balcony panoramic glass doors are open, and on the other side of the wall, there’s a huge spa bathroom with a large oval freestanding tub and a standing shower.
It’s all modern, including the rainfall shower.
Everything is impeccable, as if new.
Man, he’s rich-rich.
On the other side, the double-sink counter spans half the wall.
There's so much space and perfect lighting, thanks to the window between the sinks. It’s a makeup girlie’s dream.
I’ll need to try getting ready here. Through the window, a bohío, a small house in the native island style, catches my eye.
The teal siding with reddish frames around the windows and door gives it such warm appeal.
The roof is made of zinc planks, reminding me of my grandma’s house in the campo.
It looks like…wait, there’s a photo of that house at Rio’s place in New York.
He walks through the door as I wave an imaginary makeup brush over my cheeks while staring at the little house.
“I love your bathroom. It’s like a dream.”
He walks up behind me and hooks his hands around my waist. “You’re a dream right here.”
Rio kisses me below my ear, and his body presses against mine. I feel every part of him as he molds himself to me. I let my head fall back and offer him my mouth. He indulges me with his lips, opening his mouth, brushing his tongue over mine.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
He nods. “The press knows I’m here. They want me to do interviews. Maeven is on the job.”
“How did they find out you’re here?”
“They always find out, but it’s okay. It’s more respectful here.” His fingers trail along my belly. “What do you want to do today? Do you want to explore the town?”
“I would like that. I wanted to go to the beach, but that rain will be here soon.” I hook a thumb toward the water. Then my gaze catches the little house. “Hey, who lives in the casita?”
He lifts his head from my neck and looks at it. “It’s my great-grandmother’s house. She was the original owner of all this land. When she died, it became my grandma’s. Mami was born there.”
His voice is soft and colorful as he says it, the tenderness clear.
“It’s beautiful. It reminds me of the colorful traditional paintings similar to the photograph at your place. Which is beautiful by the way.”
“Thank you.” He stares at it for a minute, and shifts in his gaze when it meets mine. There’s something turbulent in his eyes, reminding me of the storm looming outside.
“Do you want to see it?”
“Yeah, I would love to.”
He takes my hand, and we walk down the stairs. Sel waves from the pool. Tito walks over with two Presidentes in hand to join her.
His aunt is in the kitchen with another woman who is prepping food.
Rio blows her a kiss. “I’m going to show Luna Abuela’s house.”
“No se estén mucho. La comida va a estar lista a las doce en punto.” His aunt tells us.
Tito pauses to look at us, and then he keeps going. His aunt’s eyes are rounded, but she smiles and nods.
Rio leads me out the back of the house. I want to ask what that weird reaction was, but along brown lizard, nearly as long as my arm, slithers quickly across the grass. My heart lurches and I almost jump on Rio’s back.
“I hate those things.”
He laughs. “Mariguanas? They’re harmless.”
“But creepy AF.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep them away from you.”
“My hero,” I say, breathless, without losing sight of the demon beast.”
When we reach the door, we pause, and the two red cayena bushes are so charming, they look like a painting. Rio tugs at the chain around his neck and removes it, taking out the charm. He uses that key to unlock the door. I knew it was a key, but I thought he meant symbolically.
And then I remember his words. It’s the most valuable thing I own.
He opens the door and pushes it, and it’s like stepping back in time. It’s small, but it has a traditional small mahogany living room set, a settee loveseat, and two individual armchairs. The oval mahogany table is topped by a doily in the same shape. In the middle, there’s a vase with roses.
In the corner, there’s a seamstress’ dress form mannequin with a wire on the bottom with an old measuring tape draped over the neck.
On the other side, in front of a tiny kitchenette, is a wooden table and two high-back guano chairs.
The embroidered white tablecloth frames the table and features a fruit bowl in the middle, filled with real-looking mangos, oranges, and cherries.
He closes the door, and I get a whiff of sweet, ripe mango fragrance in the air.
The fruit is real. So are the roses.
“I love this,” I say with my eyes on the black and white and vintage photo on the wall.
The bride’s long white veil trails down and out onto the floor while the much taller groom holds both her hands as they face each other, smiling on their wedding day.
Both resemble Rio but that pales in comparison to the next photo.
The young woman in the flowery sun dress standing next to the sewing machine could be his doppelganger.
His mami.
“God, you look like them.” I turn to look at him, and I’m caught by the way he’s staring at the photos.
And then he exhales.
I touch his face. “What is it?”
He kisses my wrist. “I’m always scared of entering whenever I come back.”
“Why? It’s so peaceful here.”
“It’s a long story.”
The patter on the zinc-plank roof has me looking up, and then the rumbling of rain outside begins. “I think we have time. If you feel up to it…”
He shows me toward the back, which is sectioned off by a curtain. “I remember so vividly my first time coming here after Mami died. I was a wreck. Wherever I went, I felt anger. Here, I felt a presence I couldn’t see.”
My heart knots as I cross the threshold and blink, because even though the same traditional wood planks are all around, in this room, there’s a modern bed, and on the wall, a framed TV displaying traditional Dominican art.
It’s probably sixty inches. Under the TV, there are video games.
On the opposite side, the king-size bed is made with dark-blue bedding and nestled between two nightstands, lamps, and a charging station.
In the bathroom, there’s a clawfoot tub with a curtain around it on the far end.
Lounging clothes—like the sweats and tank tops he likes— rest on an armchair near the bed.
Something occurs to me. “There’s air conditioning.”
“Yeah, I had it installed because when the sun hits the roof es un infierno.”
He’s here a lot.
“Rio, this is where you stay. This is your real room.”
Yeah, he nods but doesn’t move from the middle of the room.
“This is where my peace is. I just have to get through the first few minutes. I’m always worried I won’t feel her, like she’s really gone.
But once I settle down, I remember: she will never leave.
Especially now with you. Thank you for coming with me. ”
I move to him, wrapping my arms around his chest.
“Thank you for sharing it with me. I’m never going to forget this.”
He holds me tight. “We can go back to the main house. I know you like the view, and that’s better for a getaway. It’s more romantic.”
I pull away. “Are you serious? You just opened your heart to me. The only view I need is right here.”
His head rears back, his eyes lingering on mine for a few ticking seconds.
“Luna, I love you.” His eyes go round as if he didn’t know he was going to say that. But he did, and now my heart is racing as if it’s trying to escape my body.