AWAKENING (9 page)

“That one.”

Alfonzo closed the gap and gripped the dude
so hard by the
throat;
he gagged and turned scarlet as he was forcefully led backwards toward a rear
exit.
Security appeared and with less force escorted his friend in the same direction. They heard the door in a distance clang shut and Jessica laughed,
“I hope
primo
kicks his ass
!”

Selange rolled her eyes and spun around
on the stool
. Alfonzo was a hot-head. Where the hell did he come from anyway?

Jessica sat back down, “
Maricón
had a lot of fucking nerve.”

Selange spotted the guy with the glasses. He had out his wallet settling the tab. “I’ll be back
Jessica,
I’m just going to thank that guy for what he did.”

“What he do, he didn’t do shit?”

“Jess, be nice. He tried.”

“Trying only means you failed. That guy would’ve got his ass kicked.”

Selange rolled her eyes and very carefully navigated a few stools down the bar until she made it to Mr. Glasses. “Thanks, let me take care of your bill, it’s the least I can do.”

“No, thanks.
I paid already.
I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Well, we appreciate you for getting involved.”

He put out his hand,
“I’m Tony.”

She took it and they shook,
“Selange.”

He reached in his pocket for a business card
and passed it to her, “Maybe, you might need me again.”

She laughed
,
holding the card between two finger
s
, “Never know.” She read the print out loud
“Antonio Vegas,
Canciller
de la
Escuela
. What happened to
Jorgé
Montoya?”

“He retired three months ago.”

“Oh.” She was about to thank him and be on her way when Alfonzo and security returned. He
noticed
her
newfound friend and
swiftly approached.

Alfonzo leaned in the middle of his ex-wife and
the nerd.
He noticed the business card and snatched it out of her delicate little fingers, “Antonio, School Chancellor. Nice title.
You both like education, that’s good.
” He sat the card on the bar, “
Let me educate you Antonio Vegas, hold on to your card, save it for another woman easily impressed by it. This is the mother of my children. There are four…yes four kids at home waiting for her and rolling in bed with you is not going to happen, el noche. Get it?”

The guy rushed out the place like hounds were chasing him. Alfonzo chuckled, “
Pendejo
!”

Selange frowned, “You’re a rude bastard.”

Alfonzo’s eyebrow arched severely at the odor of liquor
clinging to her breath
and he took hold of her arm bringing her to his side
. He bet if he released her she’d bust her ass. The woman couldn’t drink for shit. “Lo siento –but h
appy hours over.”

His legs started moving and Selange didn’t have a choice
and trotted alongside him with an unsteady gait
.
Alfonzo was angry, she could always tell by the jawline
and how it
pulled tight
. He couldn’t hide the bulge near his cheekbone
as
it pulsed
and protruded from
the
taut skin.
She didn’t like being
dragged
along or
how
Jessica
had to
scamper
after them in her ridicul
ously
high heels
shoes.
Selange seethed under her breath, “You ha
ve a lot of nerve. I swear,
wh
at the heck is wrong with you
?”

His mouth was at her ear, “
You better hope no one saw that gun coming out
of your pocketbook, Clint Eastwood or your ass is in big trouble.
”

“
Oh,
shut-up. I had my hand in my bag, just in case.”

Her legs were moving rapidly. He had a good grip on her and from appearances they were a cordial couple in a hurry to leave.
Alfonzo
’s
date peered at him with a
quizzical expression a
s the
y
neared. He slowed
to say,
“Be back, babe.
I have a f
amily
situation
.
Order whatever you like.
”

The woman nodded
;
she understood. Family can embarrass the heck out of you sometimes. “No, it’s okay.
Just h
urry back.”

“
Just hurry back,” Selange mimicked as she
took in the dark hair woman with the cosmetically altered boobs. Ugh, cheap. He’d sunk in taste hadn’t he? She
glared at him
and he got her through the door without a scene. Once, they stepped onto the pavement she immediately
fired with all guns
.
“You sonovabitch.
Don’t you ever
tell me when it’s time to
leave.
I wasn’t ready to go
. Who
do you think you are
; w
e’re not married anymore, remember?”

Lou and Crazy Nicky were out the
ir
cars, hurrying
across the street.
Alfonzo
snatched
the purse from her hands,
“You’re not getting this back. Oh hell no, you
’re drunk. You’re going home if I have to drag you there before you kill somebody
.
”

He let her go and she stumbled. He went to steady her and she swiped his hand away as she recovered,
“
G
o
back inside with
Miss Silicone and
stay out of my business
!”

The slurred sentences were
n’t
lost on his ears, neither
were
the way she braced herself, legs apart and the gentle sway.
She was a very pretty drunk
and a
n easy mark for unscrupulous men,
innocent looking perverts like Antonio Vegas.
“You’re drunk.”

“
Pssst
, not
!”

Jessica
watched quietly
from the sideline their PDA. It was her acronym for
P
ublic
Displayed A
rgument. She
grimaced;
damn shoes were starting to hurt her feet. She pulled them off and focused on the attractive pair in the center of the sidewalk exchanging words. She wished Alfonzo would cool it already, like damn, he was sitting in there with some chick and acting like S
e
lange should sit home washing dishes or something.

“Primo, you wrong. Why don’t you chill
and leave her the fuck alone
!”

“
Jess,
silencio
!”

“I’m not scared of you. Shit, I’ll tell
tia
how you acting. She
’s
having fun and you blocking,
porqué
, jealous?”

Alfonzo seethed, his eyes flicked to his cousin, “Jess, you pushing the wrong buttons,
niña
.
Cállate
la
boca
!
”

His murderous glare officially silenced her. She sucked her teeth then crossed her arms, the high heels dangling from her hand. Alfonzo was a bully. He know
s
he still love
s
Selange,
why else would he get pissed because she was enjoying herself? If he wasn’t such a hard-ass, they could’ve kissed and made-up, but no, he wanted to flaunt women around to hurt her. Hell, Selange was not a bad person because she had an affair.
Hornier, than Jessica thought, but not mean-spirited.
Besides, what woman hadn’t thought about fucking Nico? Shit, she had at one point. It just so happens, Selange
fell victim to temptation. Had her cousin been around instead of traveling and spending long hours at work, maybe she wouldn’t have
.

Crazy Nicky and Lou stayed close to the couple. Lou recognized the potential for this to get ugly and inched even closer. They were out in public and anything his boss did was certain to find its way on the internet or the news. His boss hardly lost his cool out in public, but this tempest with his ex-wife had reached a boiling point and Lou was afraid somebody might get hurt.

“Don’t tell her to shut-up, you’re not her father. Talk if you want Jess. He’s
accustomed
to bossing people around and getting what he wants
and
if he doesn’t…” Selange poked out her breasts and pouted, “baby has a temper-tantrum…isn’t that right?”

Alfonzo might’ve laughed under differ
e
nt circumstances
, but tonight wasn’t one of them.
Alfonzo took a deep breath, “You’re
making a fool out of yourself, go home to the kids and don’t drink anymore it’s unattractive on you.”

“But when you do it, it’s what,
attractive
?
Go
to hell!”

His eyes narrowed. His body straightened into a sharp vertical line. She talked reckless. His mandible clicked at the sound of Jessica laughing like a hyena, egging her on. “Hell is where you sent me or have you forgotten?”
This wasn’t Selange. “Go home, get some coffee
, you need it!
”

“Home?”
Her eyes were
shining
. She’d turned from an angry drunk to a whimpering one.
“We had a home.
You and me.
We were a family and you left!”

His words were spoken in Spanish. The sentences were quick and explosive. “You cheated on me goddammit!” H
e took one step and stood directly in front of the
intoxicated
woman.
“Y
es
,
we sure did
have a home but
you screwed
another man like a trick
and broke it down.
You have the audacity to stand here pointing the finger at me!
”
The words were coming between
clenched
teeth
and h
e snarled
,
he was so
goddamn
pissed. “
Y
ou fucking killed me
and sent me to hell, do you understand that mujer,
when
will you ever understand what you did to me
?
”

Liquor
releases inhibitions and uncensored thoughts
,
Sel
ange
’s came out with a fury. She
faced
Alfonzo
down Brooklyn style
outside the upscale restaurant
. It didn’t matter she
stood
an entire foot shorter or lacked large fists. Her weapon was truth and
it
often
annihilate
d
the hardest of men.
“I cheated
. You’ve
scream
ed it to the world. My wife committed adultery and I’m a victim, boo-
hoo
-
hoo
! But how many times did you cheat on me you sonovabitch? Oh, is that shock and indignation I see on your face? Good! You knew I was a good wife. I held down our home and you fucked around on me
, but you can’t admit it
. Yes, I know about the after party at the club. I heard it got
wild,
you were a stud with the ladies. Puerto Rico is a small island, word gets around. People talk. Oh, and what about the trips? The guys talk, too. Women aren’t the only ones who gossip.
Let me fill you in Mr. Macho, men gossip, too. Oh yeah, t
hen, there’s Kiki, who knows how many times you might’ve hit that, then the
woman you stayed the night with
,
but, oh hey, it’s cool because Alfonzo loves
his wife
. You said you loved me but you
lied every time you kissed a
woman
.
I never lied. I loved you and respected you and would never hurt you. But
,
then
I got tired of being lonely
and
wondering if I were enough
to keep you faithful
!
” She held one finger in the air, “Once, I admit I screwed-up. Not with random people, not like some dog in a back alley, I had an affair with Nico
!
My friend
and
someone who’s been there for me when I cried over you, when I thought you were my life and without
you I’d die.
Nico
was there when you weren’t
. I didn’
t
lie when
I made love to him. I cared about him
and
he cared about me.
I didn’t
cheat;
I played your game, except I wasn’t a master player
like you
. 
You can screw
around
without discretion
and not even justify it. You’re a man
,
it’s expected. A
woman
makes a choice and does it once…yes…even once, she’s a
trick
, an adulterer
, ostracized
and her
whore
husband in his righteous indignation can
’t
forgive her.
I got pregnant and you
thr
ew me away
like garbage
and move
d
on to the next
soft
hole.” She took a step toward him unafraid and
tilt
her chin
like a sergeant eye-balling a private, “Admit it. What irks you
love
of my
life
is, it wasn’t a one-night jump-off like the whores you’ve banged, you’re upset because Nico and I made love and we cared about each other
and I got pregnant and kept his kids
. Isn’t that the truth and what you can’t swallow, you
fucking
hypocrite
?
”