Loved In Pieces (49 page)

I carefully rolled to my back. I kissed him again and followed the contours of his body with my hands, trying to bring him even closer to me. He was beautiful. We were beautiful together. I was completely in love. He was part of me, interconnected, one heart. He moaned and then slowed. We relaxed into each other.

“
Lia
,
yo
u’re
the sexiest girl alive,
ya know
. I absolutely love you.”

I opened my eyes and smiled at him with sheer joy. “I love you
. T
hat was
…beautiful. Thanks
for my tattoos, too
.”

We had a wonderful time
in Malibu
that evening and walked arm in arm along the beach at sunset, stopping often to listen as at t
he waves crashed onto the beach
. We
watch
ed
the dolphins swim close to the shore. We came back to the house before 9 pm and cuddled in the hot tub until I couldn’t bear being so close to his body anymore.

“I smiled and bit my lip. Well, we haven’t tried the guest suite yet. I hear the bed is quite comfortable.” I pulled Manuel from the hot tub, grabbed a towel for each of us and headed inside.

Manuel
chuckled
while I pulled off my suit and wrapped the towel around me. He did the same. “Wow. Ok
ay
… I never imagined you’d be so seductive.” He laughed again, “You’ve always been irresistible, though. You get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

When we made love after coming in from the hot tub I felt rapture before he did again. But after I calmed down, we were able to truly enjoy each other’s bodies, the exquisiteness of his sensual touch and the rhythm of our movements as if we were gracefully dancing as one.

Making love with Manuel shattered my diamond
gland and
heart.
I
let love overwhelm me. I did not feel sinful. I felt awakened. I felt new.

I woke up in Manuel’s arms the happiest I had been
since I could remember
. We were in my bed because
we had to get
the guest bedroom ready again for
Dad
and Celia. It was Friday, the day before the graduation ceremony.
Michelle
chartered
a jet and was picking up
Dad
and Celia from Palo Alto on her way home from Vancouver. Celia understood the context from which
Michelle
made
the
horrendous decision and did not judge her harshly.
Dad
, on the other hand, was going to take the opportunity to have it out with her.

“Good morning, Angel. I slept great
, h
ow about you?”

“Awesome
. I love sleeping with you. It’
s very comforting, very nice.” I kissed Manuel’s cheek and relaxed back into his chest.
I
asked,
“So what are we going to do today? When does your mom want you
home
?”

“Well, I have to work at four. Sorry. I wish I could be with you all day and night. We should meet
my mom
for some coffee.
My dad might be there too.
Liz
would really like to see you and have proof that she didn’t mess us up.”

He smiled at me and kissed my hand.

“Holy shit!
Lia
,
you’re
covered in blood!” He looked at my sleep shirt. We both looked at the sheets. There was blood everywhere. “What the hell?” He was out of the bed in an instant looking at me and at the sheets, completely frazzled.

“Are you in pain?” I asked. “There’s blood on your side and underwear. What did you cut?”

“I feel great. What did you cut?”

I was out of the bed, too. It was obvious that the blood came from me but I didn’t feel any pain. We both went to the bathroom. I felt funny walking and looked at my underwear. It was soaked with blood.

“Wow!” I
squealed
. “I got my period
!
I
am
going to be able to have kids
!
I’m so happy!”

Manuel busted out laughing.
“Shit,
Lia
. I just had a heart attack.”
He hugged me, shaking me from his laughter. “Congratulations on getting your period. Now get in that shower. I’ll get everything in the washer.”

Manuel was used to doing his family’s laundry.
He did have a fourteen-year-
old sister and a mom.
He was not at all embarrassed or grossed out. I took off my sleep shirt, wrapped it around my underwear and handed the bundle to him. He laughed and shook his head as he started cleaning up the bed.

While Manuel was in the shower, I texted Dr. Jack and told him I just started my period. He asked if I could come in at 10 am. I thought that would be fine but needed to check with the
m
an.

“Can we swing by Dr. Jack’s lab at 10? We should have enough time to see your family.
Or
I can also go by myself so you can spend some time with them. Whatever works for you.”

“Sure,
Lia
. But this is a celebration day. We’ve met many more milestones than we had intend
ed in the last 24 hours, so
we
should meet my mom.
” His smile was absolutely naughty.

“
You’re
so evil, such the seducer.
You
know
that once I have my first Krispy Kreme there is no telling what I will do next. What would
Elise
do if I tell her
I cheated
? She’d
give up on
me for my utter lack of discipline.” I laughed. I ha
d
not eaten a donut in four years. I
had
a few pieces of
cake,
several
croissants,
a few
brownies,
pasta
and pizza: all off-limit foods. But a donut, essentially a
n
iced
,
fried
cupcake, was beyond forbidden. Liz walks to Krispy
Kreme
every Friday morning. It’
s her indulgence.

He started rushing.
“Let’s go, it’
s 8 am.
” He explained, “
She’ll just be getting there now.”

I wasn’t quite ready to go. I was so happy that I wanted to talk about something first. I stopped him at the
garage
door and held his hand. “Manuel, I want to get married.”

He smiled. “I’d love to get married.” He asked, “Did having
the best night of your life
and getting your period bring this on or do you want to grow old with me and can’t wait another minute to get started?”

I laughed
and explained
, “I have a ton of money, am in love
with my soul mate
, and want to have your babies. I can now. I don’t know how long I’m going to live so I want to start
living
.”

He
kissed me. “
I don’t think we should get pregnant right away but, yeah, let’s get married. That would be awesome.
Let’s talk about it over lunch.
”

I smiled, completely elated, and
wrapped
my arm around his waist as we left the house.

We took the Vespa. Carlos picked me up off the ground in a hug when he saw me, rattling off how proud he was of us in Spanish.

The donut was delicious; truly, truly amazing. I said so and they all laughed. I immediately planned on doing the Santa Monica stairs to the canyon
that
afternoon to burn the calories off from
the donut
.

“I like your new necklaces
.  Y
ou each have half of a heart.
I’m
so glad you two have finally become one heart. I love you both,” Liz smiled. She was feeling
overcome
.

“Thanks, Liz. I love all of you, too. Thanks for being family to me for
sixteen
years.”

Manuel smiled and we all hugged each other. Janet sat between Carl
os and Manuel. She smiled, “It’
s great that the sexual tension has left the building. That was getting to be too much!”

We all ignored Janet. This time, Liz didn’t say anything. She had learned.

“Thanks, and no thanks, for the donut.
I’m
certain that
I’m
now addicted. I need to leave now to see my doctor. Is it okay if I borrow Manuel or did you need him before he goes to work?”

“Lord. Man
ny
can do whatever.
He’s more mature than I am.
Are you feeling okay, Marie?
Uncharacteristically, Manny has told us little but we know
you’re
very sick.
”

“Mom, remember we are calling her “
Lia
” now.”

“I don’t care what you call me. Whatever name is fine. I’m really still both:
Lia
or
Marie. I feel good
,
but
I’ve
run into some complications with my physical development. I’ll fill you all in when I know what exactly is going on.”

I was physically feeling really good. I was emotionally scared to death. I didn’t know what Manuel had told them but I hoped very little. If he followed the rules, he would have said nothing. But I wouldn’t blame him if he needed to talk about it with his parents.

Manuel smiled, “
Lia
and I want to get married. We’re gonna talk about it more at lunch and then I want to talk about it with you guys. Will you be home?”

Janet screeched, “What?! Manny, you don’t have to get married just because you had sex. You can be so stupid!”

Carlos interrupted Janet,
“
¿Y a ti que te importa?
”

Carlos put his hand on Manuel’s shoulder, “
Claro
, Manny. I took the day off to be with you.” He and Liz gave each other a look that communicated apprehension. The smiles on both of their faces disappeared into tense lines.
We both already knew what they thought about us getting married at eighteen.

He looked at Manuel and then at me. “But first, please, let’s talk. Janet,
w
e’ll come back
inside and get you
after.”

Manuel held my hand and walked me outside to the back parking lot. Carlos put his arm around Liz
and
lean
ed
against the brick building. He smiled at her. She raised her eyebrows and sighed.

Carlos started, “You
know each other. You know what’s inside, see each other’s souls. You are on different tracks that seem like different worlds. They are. Manny is a high school student. He works, hangs out with his friends, studies. He comes home to a mom and dad and sister, a family. Manny, you’re not lonely. You have no one relying on you to perform. You don’t know what that feels like. Liana Marie is an actress. She works, maintains her brand, travels. People fuss with her constantly. She comes home to an empty house. She texts you, Tom and Michelle. She’s a business. Hundreds of people feed their families because of her success.” He looked at both of us, seeing if he communicated anything.

I responded, “We know that, right?”

Carlos shook his head. “Manny didn’t know who you were
at your birthday party
. It makes him insecure.
Now you’re not well.
” He looked at Liz and touched her cheek. “We were there, too. I lost my true love, was too late when I figured it out, and thought about her every day. Liz accepted me, forgave me. I was lucky.”

Liz added, “Our worlds seemed incompatible. I thought he was a liar, traveling non-stop, calling me drunk from parties and telling me he loved me
and
missed me. It’s lonely to love a performer.”

“People were always around me, telling me what to do, what to wear, what to say. I’d see Liz between shows and
,
every time, the sparkle in her bright eyes and the power of her kiss
struck me
.
I lost myself
on tour
. I had to quit.”

I knew all that. I didn’t party. I wouldn’t let Manuel down. Oh, I kissed Bryon
and probably have a tumor
.

Carlos continued, “But you kids are not us. Marie can’t quit. She will get into situations where your love will be tested. Manny must love the actress. She’s the same person in a different
role
. As your worlds come together, Manny will see new things and be tested, too.”