Lead the Way (3 page)

He has no idea what he is going to do with his life.  He has no direction, no ideas, and no options.  He’s at a crossroads.

Luckily, money is not an issue.  Pretty much every cent he’s earned from the past ten years of being in the military is sitting in a bank account.  He’s never had anytime off to do any spending.  There have been no vacations and no extravagant purchases in his life.  Now, he supposes he will be able to do all of those things with all the free time he’s suddenly found himself to have.

He puts his car into gear and heads over to see his Aunt.  He just wants to get the key, go to the house, and have a pity party for a while.  He wants to mourn his loss.  He thinks that he’s entitled to that.  He’s sacrificed so much for his country.  He’s allowed to be depressed for a while. 

* * * * *

“Hi, Mom,” Eva says to the computer screen when her Mom’s face pops up.

“Hi, honey.  How are you doing?”

“I’m okay, Mom.  Just been working on my new book.”

“I’m glad to hear that.  Your father and I are just getting things together to go to Costa Rica.”

“Sounds like fun,” Eva says, envious.  She wishes that she could do things like go on vacation.  Before the accident, she had mapped out all the places in her mind that she wanted to visit.  She and Mira had designated themselves traveling partners.  They had a trip planned for a couple of months after the attack.  They had to cancel.  She felt bad, but Mira was more than supportive.

“It should be.  As you know, your father and I have been there before.  It’s one our favorite places to visit.”

“I know.  I’m sure it will be really beautiful there.”

“I’m sure it will be too.  Honey, what’s the matter?  I can tell by the look on your face that something is wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong, Mom.  I’m fine.”

“It’s the trip, isn’t it?  I know what you’re thinking.  You wish that you could travel.”

“That’s not it.”

“Don’t lie to your Mother, Eva.  A Mother can tell when their child is lying.”

“Alright Mother, it’s true.  I was just thinking about how I used to want to travel and see different parts of the world.  Actually, the desire is still there, but I won’t be traveling anytime soon.  It’s all been stolen from me, Mom.  The only thing I’m going to see is the four walls of my apartment.”

“Honey, I know you’ve had a terrible time.  Why don’t you go back to your Doctor?”

“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you, it’s pointless?  Doctor’s can’t help me.  My illness is too severe.”

“I don’t believe that, and I will never will believe that.  I will never give up hope that you’ll be able to beat your disease.”

“Mom, face reality.  I’m damaged.  There’s no fix.  Any plans of being a normal human being went out the door the day I was attacked.  It’s a done deal.” 

“I hate to see you like this.  It breaks my heart.  You’re my only daughter and I love you so much.  I don’t want to see you in pain.”

“Mom, I’m okay.  I’m alive aren’t I?  You can talk to me.  I’m still here, so don’t worry about me.  I have somewhat of a life and a career.  It’s not completely hopeless, I guess.  I’m still the daughter you gave birth to.  I’m still flesh and blood.”

“And I’m thankful for that.  Your father and I love you, more than life itself.  We just want you to be happy.  You get that, right?”

“Of course, I do.” 

Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of the buzzer from downstairs.  Someone wants to come up.  Eva’s heart starts to flutter and she starts to sweat.  It happens every time someone shows up unexpectedly.  She hates how the fear completely takes over her and she can’t control it. 

“Hold on a second, Mom.  Rosa?” she calls, nervousness present in her voice.

Rosa comes out of the bedroom with a duster in her hand.  She takes one look at Eva and can see that she’s scared.  “Carino, I’m so sorry.  I forgot to tell you that my nephew is coming to pick up my house key.  He’s coming to stay with me for a while.  Don’t worry; you don’t have to be scared.  My nephew is a sweetheart.  You’re going to love him.”

Eva focuses back on the computer.  “Mom, I have to go.”

“Okay, honey.  I’ll call you before we go to Costa Rico, okay?”

“Okay, Mom.  I love you very much.”

“I love you too.”

She nervously smoothes out her clothes.  She feels a little aggravated.  She doesn’t like it when strangers come inside her apartment.  It makes her skin crawl and she wishes the entire time that they would just leave.  She doesn’t like other people seeing her.  She doesn’t exactly know why.  It’s something that started after the attack. 

She tries, but she can’t be mad at Rosa.  Every time she tries to get mad at Rosa or hold a grudge against her, it doesn’t work.  Rosa is just too sweet to stay angry at.  Plus, how could she be mad at Rosa for doing a good deed and helping out her nephew.  What kind of person would she be if she made a stink about Rosa helping her family?  She decides she has to suck up her feelings.  Plus, he won’t be staying long, she hopes.

Rosa answers the door when there is a knock.  Eva listens as Rosa speaks in Spanish to her nephew.  It reminds her that she is supposed to be learning Spanish.  It’s just another thing she’s been putting off. 

When Rosa and her nephew come around the corner into the living room, Eva is surprised.  She didn’t expect that Rosa’s nephew was going to be drop dead gorgeous – like Brad Pitt gorgeous.  She didn’t expect to be attracted to the person that was going to enter her apartment and retrieve a key.  The man that stands before her has surprised her. 

“Eva, this is my nephew, Gabriel.  Gabriel, this is Eva.”  Rosa introduces them.

“Nice to meet you,” Gabriel says and puts out his hand for Eva to shake.

“Eva, doesn’t like to shake hands,” Rosa intervenes, saving Eva the embarrassment of having to explain it herself.

She doesn’t like to touch strangers and she doesn’t like strangers touching her.  She watches Gabriel’s reaction.  He puts his hand down.  She can’t read if he finds anything weird about his Aunt’s statement about her.  His face is expressionless.  They lock eyes.

“Auntie, I’m in a bit of a rush.  I’m really worn out and just want to get to the house, so I can lie down,” Gabriel says, breaking their stare.

“Of course, let me go and get it.”

She leaves Gabriel and Eva alone, while she goes to get the key.  Eva can feel her face turning red.  She feels like she wants to run and hide in the bedroom and escape Gabriel’s stare.

“You have a really nice place here,” he says, looking around.  “Pretty swanky.”

“Thanks,” she replies, not sure what else to say.

“I would love to live in a place this nice.  It must cost you a pretty penny to live here,” he continues, seemingly oblivious to Eva’s feelings of discomfort.

“It’s not cheap, that’s for sure.”

Their conversation is interrupted by Rosa returning to the room.  “Here you go,” she says, giving Gabriel the key.

“Thanks, Auntie.  I’ll see you at home, then?”

“I get off at around five-thirty.  When I get home, I will make you a nice dinner, okay?”

“Aunt Rosa, you don’t have to do anything for me.  I can take care of myself.”

“Carino, don’t be foolish.  You know that your Aunt loves to cook for her nephew.”

“Alright, if you say so, I won’t put up a fight,” he says, smiling at his Aunt.

Eva watches their interaction.  She can tell that there is a lot of love between them.  She finds herself wondering what Gabriel’s story is.  Why does he need to stay with Rosa?  Why doesn’t he have a place of his own?  She brushes the thoughts away.  She’s so nosey.  It’s none of her business. 

“It was nice to finally meet you, Eva.  My Aunt has told me about you.  It’s nice to put a face to a name,” Gabriel says, smiling at her.

She wonders what Rosa’s told him about her.  She wonders if she’s told him how bat shit crazy she is.  “Likewise,” she says, looking at the ground.  She finds it’s hard for her to look him directly in the eye.

She watches him leave the apartment.  She breathes a sigh of relief when he is gone.  She hates how she feels.  Gabriel coming to the apartment should have been no big deal, but it isn’t.  A normal woman would have probably admired Gabriel’s handsome good looks and tried to score a date with him.  Not her though.  Meeting Gabriel caused her to almost have a panic attack.  She’s so sick of herself. 

“Rosa, I’m going to take a nap.”

“Okay, Carino.  I’ll wake you up when supper is ready.”

“Okay, thanks Rosa.”

“No problem, Carino.  Have a good rest.”

* * * * *

“She doesn’t like to shake hands.” 

His Aunt’s statement is the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up from his nap.  He wonders why someone wouldn’t want to shake hands with another person.  She doesn’t like physical contact for some reason.  It’s strange, but it's not the craziest thing he’s ever heard about or seen.  When you spend time as a soldier at war, you see people do things you never thought possible.

He wonders what is up with his Aunt’s boss.  What’s her deal?  There’s obviously some issues.  He wonders what would cause someone to not want to be touched.  He thought that human beings absolutely required physical contact as a part of their basic needs for survival.  He can’t imagine being able to withstand not having someone touch him ever again, especially of the womanly persuasion.       

His thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door.  He moves the curtain aside and looks out the window.  It’s his Aunt.  He quickly lets her in. 

“Hi Auntie, how’s it going?”  He takes the grocery bags she’s carrying from her and put them on the counter.

“I’m okay.  You make yourself at home?”

“Of course,” he says and kisses her on the cheek.  “I copied the key on the way home.  Your key is on your dresser.”

“Good.  I never even thought of that.  You’re a smart boy, Carino.”

“I try,” he says, helping her take her coat off and hanging it up.

“I stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  I’m going to make your favorite.”

“No! Arroz Con Pollo?”

“Yes, Carino.  Sit down.  Let’s talk.”

  There is nothing better than his Aunt’s cooking.  One thing he missed most about being on active duty was home cooked meals.  He would never tell his Mother, but she could never rival his Aunt’s cooking.  The skills of his Aunt in the kitchen are unmatched.  He has yet to meet anyone that can cook better than his Aunt Rosa can.  He’s convinced that she must have been a five star Chef in her past life. 

When she cooks, she never measures anything.  She simply goes by her eye.  He loves to watch her.  It’s like watching a sculptor creating the most magnificent statue or a painter painting the most beautiful painting.  She builds the most delicious meals from scratch.  He doesn’t know how she does it.

While she cooks, he tells her stories about war and his friends.  She gets him to open up about how he feels about being discharged from the military.  She has always been good at being able to drag his inner most thoughts and feelings out.  He’s always felt comfortable speaking to his Aunt about personal things.  She never judges him and she has always kept his secrets from his parents, as long as they weren’t life threatening.  There are only a few people that he completely trusts, and his Aunt is one of them.

“Auntie, can I ask you something?”

“Mi hijo, you know that you can ask me anything.  What do you want to know?”

“It’s about your boss.  Today, when I was there, you said that she doesn’t like to shake hands.  What did you mean?  Why doesn’t she like to shake hands with people?”

“What I tell you, you have to promise that you will keep it between us.  You have to promise that you won’t mention anything in front of Eva, okay?”

“I promise.  I won’t say anything to anyone.  Whatever you tell me I will keep to myself.”

“Okay.”  His Aunt sits down and takes a sip of her wine. 
This must be serious
, he thinks to himself.  “Well, five years ago, Eva was attacked on the street.  She was raped and nearly beaten to death by some maniac.  He nearly killed her.”

“Holy shit.”

“Mi hijo!”

“Sorry.  Go on.”

“A guy passing by the alley saved her life.  He beat the guy up and the guy was arrested.  He was sentenced to five years in jail.”

“Okay, it’s starting to make sense now.”

“Now, she can’t leave the house.”

“She can’t leave the house?  You mean she hasn’t left the house in five years?”

“The only time that she’s been out of the house in the past five years is was when she was forced to testify against the guy that attacked her.  Other than that, she stays in her apartment all the time.”