GRINGA (61 page)

             
I smile and cock my head. ‘Cos if you do, I’ll have to jump in and save you and
I’m
really tired and my steak’s getting cold and
I’m
all vodkad out and ...’

    
             
He just stares. No hugs or talk of how relieved he is to see me.

             
‘Well, you’re definitely not going to jump,’ I say, disappointed at the cold front
I’m
experiencing.

  
             
Suddenly, I hear Taco Bell squealing. She’s inside Diago’s Jacket. Must have heard my voice and
she’s
feverishly trying to get to me. Diago reaches into his jacket, takes her out and places her on the ground. 

   
             
‘Taco
Bell
!’ I shriek, opening my arms to her. She races over to me and licks my face.
‘You’ve grown so much!’ I say as I hug her wriggling body to me. ‘At least
she
missed me,’ I say, sticking out my bottom lip.

    
             
No answer.

    
             
‘What about you? I probe, trying to filter the disappointment out of my voice. ‘Bet you didn’t miss me, huh?’

    
             
He walks slowly over to me.
‘Payton, where ... where you been, Payton?’ His voice is low and hesitant, almost sad
.

    
             
I shrug. ‘Oh
,
here, there, up, down ... a JLO concert ...’ 

  
             
He smiles and I feel a surge of love shoot through m
e
.
I’m
so happy to see him; I give a damn about the cold front.

             
‘Diago,’ I stammer, ‘I ... sorry for ... for stab
b
ing ... ’

   
             
He lunges forwards, grabs me and hugs me so hard, I struggle to breathe.

             
‘Now
…
that’s
…
what a call a good
…
reception,’ I croak as I melt into his embrace and accept his delightful kisses. I belong in these arms. I really do. 

    
             
‘I miss
ed
you,’ he whispers between kisses, his voice thick with emotion. ‘So much.’

    
             
He holds me away to look at me, then lifts me into the air and swings me around, yelping with delight while Taco Bell barks and runs circles around us.

             
‘I though
t
I never gon see you again and I was sad,’ he says, slowly lowering me to the ground and
squeezing me to him.

  
             
‘Oh yeah? Is that why you’re throwing such a big party?’ 

  
             
‘Is no
t
my
party. Is Christa. I
was
sad,’ he confesses.

  
             
‘Yeah?’ I ask, cupping his face with my hands. ‘
I’m
glad you were, cos I missed you Diago. That’s why I came back.’

    
             
He smiles and nods several times. Both of us don’t attempt to conceal our happiness. We’re beyond
playing games.
    

  
             
‘You belong here, no?’ he says softly and I nod and rest my forehead on his chest, overwhelmed by my love for him.

  
             
‘Payton?’

             
I like it when he says my name. Especially now – it’s warm and musical and filled with love.

     
             
‘Yes, Diago, I belong here, in your arms.’ I snuggle into him. Then I notice the bandage on his arm, a reminder of me losing me temper. ‘Gosh
! S
orry about this. And your chest?’ I open his shirt buttons to look at the wound, but there’s nothing. ‘Where ...?’ I look at him, confused.

    
             
‘Jus
t
my arm,’ he says. ‘No
t
my ches
t
.

    
             
‘Really? Cos your shirt had blood all over it.’

    
             
He explains that it was blood transfer from the wound on his arm. 

    
             
‘Ah! Thank God for that. I thought I may have unwittingly performed a cardiac bypass on you or something.’

    
             
He squints at me. ‘Wha
t
do
you
mean?’

    
             
‘Eh, heart surgery,’ I say, kissing his chest several times.  

  
             
We lie on the grass in each other’s loving arms. I fill him in on Juan and Enfermera and about all the fruit and vegetable diet I’ve been on. ‘
I’m
really hungry, Diago,’ I say.

    
             
‘You are
hungry
? Okay, le
t us
go back
so
you can eat.’

             
As we walk, he tells me that everyone was looking for me, including my family. Family, as in my father
.
I don’t for one moment kid myself that Elaine or
Paris
would scour the mountains
of
Mexico
in search of
me.

    
             
We slip into the party and my plate of food is gone.
Cleared away. I’m horrified. Diago quickly
helps me dish a plate of hot food and is startled at the amount of meat I threaten to consume.

   
             
Just as we s
it
down to eat, I hear someone shout out my name. Rosa and Maria have just spotted me. Ecstatic and emotional at the sight of me, they hug and shower me with kisses.
I’m
touched
by
their tears. Now I feel loved and wanted. It’s a great feeling and
I’m
really happy, although,
I’m
plagued by the thought of my steak getting cold and rubbery again.

    
             
Diago must have noticed me looking at my steak longingly, because he intervenes
. ‘She’s hungry. She need to eat.’

             
‘You hungry?’ the look on
Rosa
’s face is one of horror.

             
‘Come here now, child,’ Maria say and ushers me to the table. ‘There is too much food here for you to be hungry.’

             
I start to eat but that doesn’t stop them from asking questions.

             
Diago is amused when I talk with my mouth full. Says I remind him of his men. With a stuffed mouth, I explain that
I could very w
ell be morphing into one of them.

    
             
The food is wonderful and I eat voraciously, but to my utter disappointment, I can’t finish it. My stomach has shrunk and I have to call it quits. What an anticlimax.
I make a mental note to take a doggie-bag.

   
             
‘So, the Prodigal girlfriend returns.’

   
             
I look up to see
Paris
smoking a cigar and sporting a nasty black eye.

    
             
‘
Paris
ohmigod
! What the fuck happened to you?’ 

    
             
She shrugs. ‘
Relax, its just f
oreplay.’

    
             
‘Tongue! I warned you about him, Paris
.
I warned you!’

             
She takes a sip of her drink. ‘You sound like my
old lady
.’

    
             
‘What are you still doing here? I expected you
would have g
one back to
Siempre
when I left
.’

    
             
‘What for? Your father’s a bore and the fun’s here. ‘
’
Sides my dragon is here.’

    
             
‘Elaine’s still here? You serious?’

    
             
‘Talk of the
old
devil,’
Paris
scoffs and looks past me.

    
             
I look behind and see Elaine approaching. ‘Wow! I can’t believe both of you stayed while I was gone.’

    
             
Elaine stands in front of me and shakes her head. ‘So you came to your senses,’ she says, a look of disdain on her milky white face. ‘When did you ...?’

   
             
Diago
jerks to his feet and takes my
hand. ‘Come with me,’ he says. ‘I wan
t
be alone with you.’