Chapter Two: A Drink and A Friend
"Hey," Connor greets the bartender as he sits at the bar, looking forlorn. "Do you have a Corpse Reviver? Number one, preferably."
Desmond studied his customer's face, his eyebrows furrowed. "I can make that. But that's for hangovers. You're not too drunk, are you?"
"I took one glass of wine," Connor answered, "but I think I need something… stronger, something to lift me up."
Desmond nods sympathetically at his friend then whips up a cocktail glass and cheerfully reassures him. "Okay, one Corpse Reviver, coming right up."
Connor was glad he had Desmond help him find a place for the wedding reception and that the new hotel Desmond worked for would discount their alcohol and banquet service for this grand occasion; being friends and confidants to each other, Connor was glad he could trust Desmond with anything. Although at first his parents disapproved being friends with a college drop-out and with family issues, Connor defended Desmond and had helped reconcile him with his father and relatives—something that was similar with Connor's own relationship with his dad, Haytham, before. From then on, they are inseparable.
Connor felt a tap on his shoulder; turning, Prudence and Warren's son, Hunter, was smiling and holding his pair of drum sticks. "Don't forget, we're playing some songs within thirty minutes, after their cool down and some dinner."
Connor grins and nods at him. "I'll send a message on your phone if I'm backstage, okay?"
Hunter's lips turns into a wide grin, nods enthusiastically and runs back to the dance floor, who meets up with a girl his age.
"Kids grow up too fast, do they?" Desmond asks rhetorically as he placed Connor's drink in front of him; Desmond, too, has produced a drink of his own and gently swirled his drink inside a rocks glass. "Stirred, with more dry cognac and some lemon zest, just to put more life in that Corpse Reviver you want."
"Thanks," Connor lifts his drink to toast Desmond's and takes a sip; upon swallowing, Connor scrunches his face and sighs, shaking his head. "That was strong."
Desmond smirked. "You said Corpse Reviver, then there you go."
"I wasn't complaining," Connor retorted, chuckling. "This is good."
"That's the art of bartending," Desmond comments after he sips from his glass of light rum. "So, what's up? Why d'you shuffle here, taking Corpse Revivers and all? Some problem?"
Connor takes a breath and exhales it before he answers him. "Grandpa."
Desmond's lips twitch to a smile; Grandpa Edward never lets anyone rest with what he wants to say. "Oh boy."
"He's being senile, I think," Connor explains, "He went to me, asking why I wasn't dancing and flirting like he expects a Kenway to do, and suddenly goes superstitious that I'm not touched."
"Wait, what?" Desmond stutters. "Touched?"
"It's a way of saying that he passed on to me his ways," Connor continues, "Because I'm his grandson; understandably and culturally, families hold on to those beliefs that children take after their parents' personalities, too."
Desmond smirks again. "If that's true, then I've taken a lot of the bad from my family instead of the good."
"Don't say that," Connor comments. "Anyway, I should not be this affected. My grandfather's concern is trivial."
"True," Desmond adds, but his tone becomes teasing. "But speaking of passing on the Kenway charms weren't you and Dobby on together before?"
Connor groans in frustration. "It was one night of drunken debauchery, nothing else! Damn it."
Desmond chuckles, his body shaking from his laughter. "Oh my God, I remember that one time you, Shaun, Kanen and Dobby were on a game of beer pong and you lost—"
"I swear to God, Desmond," Connor threatened. "If you don't shut up—"
"And then Dobby made you kiss her pet dog! God, there was slime on that dog's mouth!"
"—I'm gonna make sure, you're life—"
"And then, afterwards, Shaun prank-called Rebecca but flopped on the sofa! Then he ended up barfing on the floor, but he was still walking and talking nonsense! Seriously, I think you and Shaun clicked and made up your own drunk language!"
"—You are going to be miserable, Desmond Miles! Why are you bringing-"
"Then all of you forgot what you were all playing and you tried to challenge Dobby into a game of rock-paper-scissors—Oh God, my stomach, I can't take it anymore!"
Connor groans again as Desmond stifles his laughter by folding his arms around his face on the countertop of the bar. 'Jesus, Desmond."
But Desmond wasn't quite done. "So Dobby asked you the rules on rock-paper-scissors and then you explained she wins a McDonald's Happy Meal! But you went to her room with her and showed her your condom instead and you did it with her! And then, did you remember what you asked her? It was a pick-up line-"
"No! I don't-!"
"You asked, 'do you need a milkman right now? If you do, would you want it on the front or on the back?'"
Desmond bangs his fists on the countertop as he continued his laughter.
"We regretted that ever happened." Connor added.
Desmond wipes a tear away and tries to speak between breaths. "The fun part was that she wasn't that entirely drunk. She was taunting you!"
"I hate you," Connor comments.
"Well…at least, oh God! At least the Kenway legacy is secured!" Desmond manages to say before he stifles his laughter once again.
"I really hate you."
After two minutes of recovery and finishing his Corpse Reviver Desmond continues, "Well, Dobby was a sport. Now she's with Clipper. Hopefully, we'll play beer pong again, I'll get the camera and see the magic of drunkenness unfold. Maybe you and Shaun would invent another language."
"I don't remember what happened to Kanen," Connor reflected. "So I was with Dobby… where was he?"
"Oh, I helped him barf the beer out in the bathroom," Desmond answers flatly. "Then he ate some sandwiches. I didn't drink too much that's why I managed to get your antics on tape. Bet that would prove Grandpa Edward—"
"No!" Connor interjects, panic rising in his voice.
"Just kidding, Connor," he assures him while patting his shoulder playfully. "It's still on my computer. No one knows what we did—except for us."
Connor glares at Desmond and clicks his tongue. "How are we friends again?"
Desmond simply shrugs his shoulders with a smirk and picks up Connor's empty cocktail glass to be cleaned.
She could not believe it; her own boyfriend, her own beloved would accuse her of flirting with other men and cheating on him when he himself had done it several times over, and yet she comes back to him every time, because she wants to believe that things have changed and would become better.
But tonight, no more!
It was a good thing Sofia, her boyfriend, and his friends supported her and invited her to be in the wedding of Sofia's boyfriend's friend's wedding; she thought it was a good idea to be away… well, almost a good idea.
She did not know anyone in there and tried to be good company, but loneliness crept to her as the dance floor became crowded with couples dancing with the bride and groom; they are all marvelous people but she was nobody to any of these people. She wished her brother and wife were here, but they had declined the invitation because of their own plans; they don't even know that she had another row with her boyfriend and she intends to leave him soon; if they did know, they would have done something terrible to him and they would know how much of a naïve person she was for loving such a scoundrel.
Oh, the humiliation! And for someone who was esteemed to be a wise and mature young woman, ultimately became putty and immature and close-minded about love! Was it even 'love' when she first met him?
"Would you like to dance?" One of Sofia's boyfriend's friends asked her, gesturing a hand in a gentlemanly way and she politely complied; he led her to the dance floor and they swayed with the slow music. He was handsome and such a gentleman, making her smile with his jokes and talking to one of his friends in light banter. Another man asked her to dance—this time, an older man—and she went on with it, with the earlier young man leaving them and finding another dance partner.
"You look troubled," he inquired and she hoped she had to avoid that. Did she really look that sad and lonely and dejected by life's lessons of love and men?
"I am fine, thank you," she answered and they continued to dance.
He nods kindly, like a father to his daughter, and she smiles a little wider.
"Are you with the groom's family?" He asks, his eyes scrutinizing her if she resembled anyone he knows.
"No," she answers, "I'm invited by a friend, Sofia Sartor. Her boyfriend, Ezio, knows a lot of people and, well, I couldn't say no without being rude."
He chuckles. "Actually you can, if you're English like me."
They both laugh at his joke as the song ends. The old gentleman introduces himself. "My name is Haytham, Haytham Kenway."
"Arlette," she returns and they shake hands. "Thank you for the dance."
"I must be off," Haytham says as his eyes follow someone behind her. "My wife's here and I promised her to dance to the next song. We like this one!"
"Of course," she nods and leaves the dance floor, but meets Mrs. Kenway along the way; Arlette, instead of going back to the table and be alone again, goes to the bar, wanting suddenly to be heavy with a shot of liquor or two. The bar was occupied by three other customers: another couple, by the looks of it, sat just two seats from the left; they make her a little jealous as she observes them, fully in love with each other; the other is another older man, with a thick black beard and striking blue-green eyes. A leashed Pomeranian below his seat lay fast asleep despite the noise.
The musical band on the stage was preparing another song, but the lead man was entertaining the audience while the crew fixed the technical wirings once again.
"So, while the technicalities are being prepped up," he said over the microphone, his voice full of bravado and humor, smiling. "How about one game?"
The audience cheered and whooped; some stood on their seats and waving their hands wildly, like they were in some concert.
"Okay, okay, okay," the lead man laughs and settles them down. "One game for everyone's viewing pleasure! This one's called 'Give Me This' because honestly, I don't know what to call it and the objective is simple: I tell you what or who to bring me—yes, who, like a person—and the first one to get as many of them correctly is the winner. I need two teams with six players only. Mr. Hickey, no cheating!"
A man from the crowd jeers, "When have I ever did, Connor?" Then the crowd laughs.
Soon, the two teams have formed and the games began: first, Connor requested 'simple things' like a balloon that specifically says 'Got Trolled' or their dinner's fried duckling's left thigh, to the laughter of the crowd; then there were tasks that required for the challenger to do specific things like singing a particular song, or doing a ridiculous action, to please the one who was holding the item. Claudia, Malik and Duncan's short rendition of Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' showed them moon-walking, Malik hiccupping some of the lyrics and Duncan blurting into a different song ["This is how to be a Heart Breaker/Boys they like a little danger!"], admitting he didn't memorize it within two minutes of accepting the challenge; Petruccio, holding a prized Eagle feather, still gave them the item Connor tasked them to do.
"Now, the last challenge," Connor says in a fake commanding voice, his face deadpan, "I need one of you to dance Gangnam Style… and freeze when the music stops! But while you're dancing, you need to find Charles Lee and bring him to me! The first team to get him wins!"
"Oh God, I can't with this game," the woman on Arlette's left was laughing so hard she clutched her boyfriend's sleeve for support or else she'd topple over; her boyfriend, however, had folded to hug his stomach, his face in a rictus of laughter. The black-bearded man a few seats away, however, shifted to hide his face after he had grabbed his sleeping Pomeranian from the floor and hid his pet on his lap. The man must be Charles Lee.
The music began and would stop to see the dancer freeze on the spot; the whole crowd was laughing and looking for the man all at the same time, inquiring friends, relatives and waiters if they've seen a man with a luxurious-looking dog around.
"Don't tell anyone," a handsome bartender informs the couple and Arlette as he observes the competition in amusement. "Let them find him."
Charles Lee hissed under his breath. "For goodness sake, Desmond, don't even look at m—"
"THERE HE IS!" someone from the crowd shouted and a limelight streaked to illuminate him; Charles froze on his seat and slowly turned around, his Pomeranian yapping enthusiastically in his lap.
A little girl was dancing the Gangnam Style and was approaching Charles, a smile on her face. "I got you!" she exclaimed.
"Looks like Sef's little girl gets the gold medal!" Connor announces as the little girl holds Charles' hand and leads him and the dog to the center of the dance floor; the girl's parents and sister are clapping happily from their table.
"That was awesome," Connor says as the girl approached him, beaming at everyone. "You single-handedly hunted down a wanted man and winning for your team. How do you feel?"
The girl leaned to the microphone as he placed under her chin. "Awesome!"
"On a scale of one to a hundred, how awesome?"
"Two hundred!"
Everyone chuckles and applauds.
"For finding Charles Lee and answering awesomely you win this princess crown and a gift certificate worth two-thousand dollars!"
The little girl screamed and jumped up and down, "I'M BUYING TEN TOYS! TEN! Oh, and I'll let my teammates buy stuff, too!"
Sef goes to the dance floor and hefts his daughter proudly and kisses her; then he shakes Connor's hand and leaves.
Charles then borrows the microphone. "You are supposed to sing and serenade the crowd, not have a girl do a man's job to hunt me!"
"Oh sorry," Connor sheepishly says and pats the Pomeranian in Charles' arms. "How's Spado?"
Charles beamed. "Oh, he's in good health. I must say, he bred with a female two days ago. It was sanctioned and it was done on a neighbor's clinic, so in the future, I'll have some of Spado's puppies."
Connor puts his hand on his chin thoughtfully, thinking; then, "Can I have one?"
"No."
"Well, that's all I really needed. Thanks, Mr. Lee, you're such a good sport!"
"You're welcome!" Charles leaves the dance floor, with Spado trotting happily behind him.
"And thank you everyone, you are all good sports and winners this evening!"
The whole reception area clapped, cheered and some wolf-whistled and clinked their champagne glasses.
"So before we go ahead with the dancing, how about a kiss from the bride and groom?"
The newly-wedded couple didn't anymore pushing as they happily kissed in front of everyone and the whole audience whooped and applauded.
"And for that kiss," Connor drawls as the drums beat and a slow music plays. "I will honor that with a little something from Alexander O' Neal, 'If You Were Here Tonight'. It's a classic, my parents like it."
That Corpse Reviver certainly did a great job; not only did he felt zestier than usual, Connor felt that he had done a great part to entertain everyone tonight and forget his grandfather's words; in fact, his embarrassment, guilt and concern seemed to have been washed away, if only for today. Now that the party is almost at its close and the bride and groom are now cutting the cake, Connor had slinked back to the bar as his friends and relatives took pictures of the traditional event.
"Give me another Corpse Reviver, number two," Connor orders as Desmond whips out another cocktail glass and makes the liquor.
Sighing a breath of ease, Connor's eyes fall to a woman beside him, her head turned to the crowd of on-lookers; he had never seen her before, but perhaps she's one of Ezio's, well, past intimate friends.
"Excuse me," Connor lightly taps the woman's shoulder to get her attention; she turns around to him and he thought gravity suddenly increased and tugged at his stomach as he stared at the beautiful woman.
"Yes?" She asked, her brows cocked in confusion.
"Uh, I haven't seen you before," he managed to say. "I mean you must be, uh, friends with, um, Ezio?"
She nods, smiling but uninterested.
"Oh, well," Connor unconsciously tugged on his necktie but stopped himself for fidgeting nervously and held out his right hand for her to shake. "My name is Connor."
She stopped smiling and her eyes studied him; Connor is aware that she might be trying to assess if he was a pervert or a flirt who's trying to get a good score; he couldn't blame that kind of assessment, he actually thought that was quite a very smart way to be careful when meeting strangers.
"Arlette," she says after reluctantly taking his hand for the introduction. "I'm actually one of Sofia's old friends, but I know Ezio as well."
"I guess he invited you," Connor surmised as he could see behind her the figure of Ezio with his girlfriend Sofia, whispering to each other and laughing.
Arlette nods. "He was very convincing. I could not say no, but I wanted to go as well, Sofia's here…" Her voice trails off and he notes that she seemed bored or preoccupied with something. She fidgeted with her fingers and was squeezing her right arm, while her eyes are forlorn as she stared at his shoes.
She couldn't help it, though, feeling too down because after this party she'll have to go back to her house and probably answer the messages left on her telephone or the text messages on her cellphone—yes, she left her cellphone because she didn't want to see the people who care for her or answer to them because it is too much, just too much to bear to let them know that she's having a hard time trying to keep herself together because of her dumbass asshole boyfriend… Oh God, what if her boyfriend's messages on her phones? And emails? What if he's waiting outside her house?
"I'm glad you're enjoying the party," Connor comments with a smile, trying to sound friendly. "Would you like a drink? The party will end soon and the bar's going to work on its own again since they work until three in the evening."
Arlette shakes her head and tucks a lock of dark red hair behind her ear, her voice shaky. "No, no, I don't want to be a bother!"
"It's okay," Connor reassures and he smiles wider, his brown eyes twinkling even in the dimmed, festive room full of balloons and party lights, and Arlette thought she didn't deserve being surrounded by such beautiful people… And this heart-warming looking man…
"It's on me," Connor says as he picks up a drink menu and hands it to her; he calls out to the bartender.
"Yep, the Corpse Reviver's almost done," Desmond reminds him, but Connor stops him midway back to the kitchen.
"No, no, I change my mind, I'll just have a sweet wine," Connor orders and gestures to Arlette, "And you have another customer, but I'm paying."
Desmond shifts his attention to Arlette, who hesitantly brings her eyes to him and to Connor, and then he goes back to Connor, a revelation suddenly on his eyes. "Oooh, I get it…"
Connor's face fell. "No, no, Desmond, it's nothing. I, I was just…"
But Desmond ignored him and went back inside the kitchen, a smirk on his face.
Left alone, Arlette tried to avoid her new companion's eyes and murmured her order. "I'll just have this rum-flavored iced coffee and some egg salad."
Connor nods and tells a waitress the order. "Thanks."
"I'll tell Desmond," the waitress, Janey—who Connor believes has a crush on Desmond—informs him and quickly disappears to the kitchen.
The two exchanged light conversation and Connor was glad she initiated.
"So, why's a nice guy like you talking to a stranger like me?"
Connor grinned and rubbed the back of his neck; Arlette thought he looked adorable. He answered, "Just being friendly, that's all and you looked lonely. Well, nothing bad about that, but just wanting to give you company. Are you with someone, by the way?"
Arlette suddenly looked alarmed then cast down her eyes. "Oh… no, I came on my own and Sofia came to greet by the front entrance. I guess I'll leave on my own soon."
Connor's brows furrowed. "It's awfully late now. You should come with me and my family. I'm driving and I can drop you off to where you live."
Arlette shook her head, blushing. "Oh no, please! You have been too kind already! I think I can go with Sofia and then grab a taxi cab or so. I'll be fine. Thank you."
Arlette bit her nail, unsure. She had not told Sofia that she would go with her midway out after the party; Sofia may have other plans… Well, she can befriend somebody else, right? Oh, what am I thinking? This guy is offering you a way back home already and you're declining? Why would you do that? Do I even want to go home with someone? I should never have gone to this party, I'm just running away from my problem, from my boyfriend!
"Are you sure?" Connor could see from the way her eyes suddenly looked away from him and into the menu, staring blankly at it while she bit at her thumbnail that she could be fibbing to him. But what could he do? She declined so let it be that.
"Yes, I am sure." She answers in a hurried tone, but it took her five seconds to realize he had asked her something and processed it.
And that was it; Connor decided not to press her anymore as the feeling of awkwardness filled them both. He checked his phone to see the clock, said hello to a few of his friends as they passed him a slice of the wedding cake and made light talk.
"And who's your new lady friend?" Stephane asked, holding out a hand for Arlette to shake.
"My name is Arlette," she says politely and shakes his hand.
Connor introduces her to Stephane, Dobby, Shaun and Sef, who was cradling one of his sleeping daughters.
"I congratulate you and your daughter, that was quite a show-stopper she did during the game," Arlette says after shaking hands with all of Connor's friends.
"Oh thank you," Sef said, beaming wide. "She's quite the energetic ball."
"Well, we should go," Shaun said after checking his watch. "The floor's open for one more hour of partying, and you—" his eyes narrowed at Connor, a playful tone on his voice, "—seem to be playing your cards right. Well, I'm off."
"See you later," Dobby winked at Connor and left with the group, leaving Connor shaking his head at disbelief, while Arlette thought it looked amusing the way his friends tease him.
"I am so sorry about that," he said apologetically. "They think I'm dating you."
Arlette's lips twitched into a playful smile, shrugging. "Maybe we are."
Connor rolls his eyes. "Oh not you, too."
They both laugh and Arlette felt her heart melt as she hears his rich laugh, deep and full of timbre, uninhibited.
"Just barely reaching seven minutes after our first conversation, everybody's like jumping to conclusions!" Connor said after their laughter died down. "Incredible! What the hell are they thinking?"
"Well, I think you'd make good boyfriend material," she adds.
"Doubt it," he retorted. "My first date was on McDonald's when I was in high school. The girl didn't call back and I knew I screwed up."
Arlette gaped at him. "Oh my—You're kidding!? It was a first date, and then she just gave up!"
"I gave up, too," Connor said, throwing his hands in a gesture of feign surrender. "What's wrong with McDonald's? I didn't have much cash back then!"
They were both laughing hard and almost didn't hear Desmond's arrival as he set their order on the table.
"Thank you," Connor managed to say as he controlled himself not to laugh.
"So how about now?" Arlette pressed on as they began to dig in. "Now that you have a career, you're older. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Connor embarrassedly smiles as he tries to swallow his red wine. "No. I'm too busy."
"With what?"
"Hm, my career, I guess," he answers thoughtfully.
"Oh, well, it must already be very satisfying," she comments, then her smile fades. "You must lead a happy life… Well, unlike me, I—I'm unfortunate with love."
"I'm sure someone will fall in love with you," Connor said as if the matter is obvious fact. "You're attractive and intelligent, and I know you'll pick the right man for you."
Arlette sighs in disbelief; she has had it! She cannot put up this pretense anymore. "Connor… What if you thought at first you picked right, but in the end, the person you love suddenly becomes someone you don't know anymore? What if I was wrong in the first place?"
Connor settles his glass down before he could take a sip; he took a long hard look at her dejected face and realized what must be bothering her. "You are in a relationship?"
"I want to break up with him," Arlette explained. "But I keep getting back to him because… I don't know, I keep thinking we could change for the better. But it's just me, hoping against something that can't be undone."
"Do you fear your boyfriend?" Connor asked, concerned.
Arlette's eyes widened and inhaled sharply. Did she? She had always known his temper and she had been on the receiving line before; but he never hurt her… but hurting someone doesn't always have to be physical…
"He…he cheated several times," Arlette spoke, but it was more directly to herself than Connor. "But I always forgave him…."
"Does Sofia know this?" Connor pressed, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Arlette nods slowly. "Yes, but I always made excuses. I was always busy with my research and we argue whenever it involved us leaving for work. I guess we never really made time for each other."
Connor sighs and says, "You should break up with him. If it's not working for the both of you, you shouldn't convince yourself to stay. He's cheated on you and this is taking a toll on you, or both of you."
Arlette closes her eyes, inhales deeply and exhales a long breath; her hand shakily went to her glass of coffee-and-rum mixture and took a sip.
"I will," she said, a little defiantly. "I'll talk to Sofia, just to let her know and then I'll talk to him."
Connor smiles sympathetically and brings up his glass for her to toast on. "To your promise."
Arlette lifts up her glass and says, "To my promise," meeting his glass of wine and taking a sip.
She smiles and feels a little better. She looks at him, wondering why she had never met him before if he knew Sofia. "You and Sofia are close acquaintances, right? How come I've never seen you?"
"I travel a lot," Connor said, "When I'm not busy at the university I work in, I go to Boston and help in this Homestead—"
"There's Connor!" came Grandpa Edward's voice.
Turning around, Connor waved to his grandfather and his parents, who are walking towards them. Edward's eyes went from Connor to Arlette, whose gaze wandered up and down her slowly; Arlette rolls her eyes and looks away.
"Why hello, miss," Edward greeted.
"Hello," she greeted back and gave him a small grin. Her eyes went to Connor's parents and recognized them. "Mr. and Mrs. Kenway?"
Haytham nodded and smiled in return. "Hello again."
Ziio approached her, a warm smile on her lips. "Arlette, right? It's nice to see you again. Are you friends with Connor?"
"We are now," Arlette answers and turns to Connor with a beam, who grinned back at her as an approval.
"I am glad," Ziio says, then turns to Connor. "I hope you're not drinking too hard. You're still driving, or do I have to?"
Connor grins. "Don't worry. I'm fine, I can drive."
"What about you?" Ziio goes back to Arlette.
"I'm taking a cab."
Connor intervenes. "You know what, I can drive you to your house. You can tell Sofia you're with me."
Arlette stares at him longer, her mouth slightly open, thinking; he gazes at her, too, communicating that he insists and that she shouldn't worry. She smiles and answers, "Yes, I'll give her a message. I'll go with you."
"Splendid," Haytham comments with a grin. "My sister and Charles will still fit in the van. Now, I hope Malik forgets my promise that we'd play poker next Wednesday…"
"I doubt it," Ziio snickers and they say their goodbyes to the two; Edward elbows Connor and whispers, "Nice job!" and gestures his face to point at Arlette before leaving.
"I like you parents," Arlette brightly tells him. "And your grandfather is… eccentric."
"That's not eccentricity," Connor jokes. "And I'm glad you changed your mind."
Arlette beams once again. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Arlette whipped out her phone to message her friend, Sofia, that she will be with Connor instead. Suddenly, before she even sends her text message, Sofia and Claudia appear right before, looking terrified.
"Arlette!" Claudia calls her, followed by Sofia. "Federico…and Ezio…they went outside because the manager called for someone…! Then Shaun said—"
"What is it?" Arlette asked, clutching Claudia to steady her.
Sofia finished for her. "It's Fernando. You're boyfriend, he's outside, looking for you!"
And even as the loud party music blared inside the reception area, Arlette's face was suddenly drained of color as she heard a fight seem to have erupted outside.