Chapter 11, The Dance Contest.
When the night of the final came upon them, Susie and Katey took a cab to the small theatre where it was held. Javier met them there. Susie took a seat behind the few judges in the empty theatre and watched, smiling at Katey. Who was so nervous that she barley said anything to Javier. If they didn't win, she might not be able to go home. And how could she stay? She had a job, an apartment….a life.
"Just calm down. We'll win." Javier said to her as they walked out onto the stage. They danced their best. They tried so hard. And at they end, they knew they had won. Susie, who was peaking over the shoulder of one judge at their scorecard, had apparently scored them well. Susie was making 10 signs. They sat down behind the curtain as the judges made their final decisions.
He and Katey looked up when they heard the curtain swish. Actually, she did. He had been to dazed, since she had her head on his shoulder; the most loving gesture she had made since she'd been back. Strange, considering the way they had left.
It wasn't one of the judges standing there, it was Susie. They both looked up expectantly. But she shook her head.
"Well, you got third prize. Apparently you were the last people tonight. No money, but you got a great little trophy." She held up a small, bronze trophy. She put it in Javier's hand.
Katey was in shock. How could they have lost? What was she going to do?
"Javier, she's still asleep. She didn't want to see you yesterday, or the day before. I think you're getting your hopes up." Susie said.
It had been three days, and after they lost Katey went right into her room and shut the door. She wouldn't see Javier, although Susie told him that she said she didn't blame him in the least.
Now he was standing in their apartment, badgering Susie into letting him in.
"I'm worried about Katey. This isn't like Katey." he said. She sighed and let him in and he sat at the table while Susie made lunch.
"You mean it's not like the old Katey.
"Huh?"
"You know what I mean. But you don't really know Katey anymore. She changed after she met you. Not in a bad way," she said when she saw his face. "In a good way. She's was…unhappy. She just wouldn't admit it," Susie smiled. "That's Katey. If something's wrong, she'll never admit it. Did you know that she never told our parents that she was pregnant? They never even knew until she started to show. She just likes to seem perfect. She says she's sick. That's why she won't see you. She claims I gave her food poisoning."
"When was the last time you saw her like this?"
Susie shrugged. "She was in a funk when you told her not to write. The last time she wouldn't get out of bed, though, was when she lost the baby."
"Really? You would think she'd be relieved." Susie looked at him angrily, an he knew that he had said something bad.
"Oh, no. she tried not to show it, but she was so happy that she was pregnant. I mean, not at first. At first, she was terrified. But then, she got used to it, and she was happy. It almost seemed like she had you again. She even picked out names." Susie said, nostalgic.
"Like what?"
She paused, thinking. "Oh, lots. She was really unsure about girls names. I think her top one was Meg. Or Aelis. I can't remember. One of those."
"Aelis?"
"Yep. Celtic thing. She was really into that then. She liked old magical stuff. King Arthur and crap."
"And boys?"
"Oh, that was definite. She always knew, even though I thought it was kind of dumb. She wouldn't have her mind changed, though. It was Alexander. You know why? She'd never tell me." he nodded.
"Alejandro was my father's name. I told her once that if I ever had a son, that's what I would name him. To honor him. She knew I would like that."
Javier, sitting backwards in the chair, looked at the counter. It was cluttered with ingredients for the omelets Susie insisted he'd love. The ledge over the sink was cluttered with pictures of the girls and their family and friends. Javier stood up and stood next to Susie so he could pick one up to inspect more thoroughly.
"Did you bring this?" Javier asked. Susie glanced up from the tomatoes she was slicing.
"No, Katey. It's her favorite. It was on her mantle in her apartment. Huh. I didn't notice she brought it." Susie looked at him and smiled.
Javier rubbed his finger along the plain wooden frame. It was him. December five years ago, Susie had taken a picture of him and Katey with her new, color camera. It was of them on the beach where he had first introduced her to afro-Cuban dance.
That day, they had been having so much fun. After leaving La Rosa Negra, they had bought some bad, cheep beer and drank it on the beach. The way the girls were acting, he had believed that it was both of their first drinks. They had all gotten silly, and soon they were lying on the sand playing truth-or-dare.
"Okay, Susie," Javier said. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Okay. Is this your first drink?"
Susie hesitated.
"Well, no. Remember that waiter I met last summer when we went to that resort in Vermont? Kellerman's, or something? Anyway, I mete this really cute waiter…he asked back to the staff quarters one night and he offered me one." Susie shrugged, her eyes on the sky above them. Katey laughed.
"What is it with you and waiters?" she asked.
"Me? What about you?" they both looked at Javier, who looked back, innocent.
"What?"
Katey laughed, and mimicked him.
"Ohhh, look at me. I am Javier. I am just this little Cuban boy and I have no idea what these crazy American girls are saying." They all started to laugh. When they came to their senses, Susie reminded Katey it was her turn to ask Javier.
"Okay, truth or dare?" he thought.
"Dare."
"Okay," Katey thought. "I dare you to wear my swimsuit until we go home."
"Ehh….eh--no."
"Yes, you chose dare! It's fair!" Susie yelled.
"But--but--what will you wear?" he sputtered. Katey looked around. She hadn't brought another one.
"My towel."
"What?"
"Cover your eyes."
And so when they made sure he wasn't peeking, she stripped full off and wrapped a towel around herself. It was, definitely, the most spontaneous thing her sister had ever done, Susie decided. It was good she was different.
When Javier was instructed to turn around, he pulled on her bikini top. That was as far as he would go, he insisted. He saw Katey and let out a long, low whistle. The two saw each other and started laughing.
"Wait, wait! It needs something." Katey surveyed Javier's newfound sexuality. Then she reached down and scooped up a handful of sand and dropped it into the top of the bikini. Susie did the same for the other side.
"Stop! Let me get this with my camera!" Susie pulled it out of it's case and quickly snapped the picture.
Now, Javier looked at it. The two of them were lying next to each other. The ocean glittered like a thousand sapphires behind them, and the sun dropped low, making a round paper cut-out like circle in the water. The two of them were laughing so hard their eyes were tearing up, and they were both half sitting up. She had her hand on his chest, and his arm circled her waist, his fingers spread wide. His other hand was in her hair, one finger pressed against her temple.
The girls had wondered about this small gesture when they got the pictures developed, but Javier remembered why. He liked to feel her pulse. When they were lying together, or just dancing, sometimes he'd put his hand on her heart or hold her wrist tightly. To make sure that she was really there. That she wasn't an angel or some other divine being; sent to help him be better. She was so perfect, so unreal. He was so grateful. He'd marry her then, if she would say yes. Susie's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
"You really were in love, weren't you? Even then, you both knew. You really did."
"Yes. I really did."
But it wasn't him that said it. It was Katey, standing in the doorway. Javier wondered how long she'd been there. To him, she had never looked so beautiful. No makeup. Her hair was wet and knotty from her shower, and she had her bathrobe pulled tight around herself. And she was staring at Javier, raptly.
"I didn't think you'd come."
"I came."
"I didn't tell you." Susie said.
When they were eating their omelets, Katey suddenly paused and looked around.
"What?" Susie asked.
"You know what we need about now?" She asked. She and Susie made contact. "Ah." Suddenly they both stomped loudly on the floor. They scared the bejesus out of Javier, who jumped a foot and then muttered curses under his breath at them in Spanish. They had made him spill half his water down his shirt front. They laughed. He dipped his fingers in his water glass and flicked water onto Katey, who shrieked and laughed.
When Susie was cleaning up, Javier, who had been helping her, went to the bathroom. When he didn't come back, she peeked through the crack in the door into Katey's room.
The two of them were sitting on Katey's bed. He was slowly combing out her hair. They were quiet and looked happy. There. Thought Susie. As it should be.
Katey was combing her hair when Javier knocked on the door. She had changed into a dress and had been pulling at her hair for what seemed like forever, and she was close to tears. Wordlessly, he saw what she was doing and took the comb from her hand. Gently, he started to work through the knots. She wiped at her eyes and she looked at them in the mirror. They both looked at the same time, and they saw each other looking. They smiled, small smiles. Both thinking of that time when this would have seemed welcome. Normal, and fitting. Like that last piece of the jigsaw that you'd been working on for days. Just there, and you feel good. Accomplished in a small way.
"I'm sorry I made you cry so much." Javier sounded close to tears himself. She looked at him. He stared back into her eyes, all traces of his grin gone from his face.
"You didn't."
"I did," his voice cracked. "When I didn't come with you. When I told you not to write. When you lost the baby. It was all my fault….." he dropped the comb and sat back on the bed. He covered his face with his hands. He felt…ashamed of himself. Then he felt her hand on his face.
"No. It wasn't you. It was never you." he looked at her, such kindness in her eyes, and regretted everything that he had ever told himself about them never being able to work out. She was the one, he knew. She just was.
No questions or doubts or maybe's. No airport good-byes or letters signed with love. Well, maybe one or two. But they would all hold the promise of togetherness that was right around the corner. This was it. He let her get away before, but he wouldn't now.
He reached his hand out and touched a lock of her blonde hair right near her temple. He felt a shudder go through the girl. Why? He touched her all the time when they were dancing.
And then, just as suddenly, she kissed him. He felt his head lay back against the pillows of her bed and could feel her soft weight overtop of him. He put his hand in her hair and she could feel her fingers smoothing out his eyebrow. And then trailing against his cheeks.
Suddenly, there was yelling in the living room. Susie and someone that sounded like….his mother? They both sat up quickly and ran to the door.
Susie was standing in the vestibule with Mrs. Suarez, who was making wild gestures with her hands. Then she saw Javier and started to point a finger at him while coming towards him. He baked away slowly until he bumped into Katey, who held his hand. His mother was yelling at him in Spanish, which she understood nothing of.
"Javier Alejandro Suarez! You don't come home all night, and I worry that you are out pulling a Carlos, maybe getting that nice American girl pregnant! You stay out all night, then when I need you you are nowhere to be found! You're not at the club, not at work, not at Maria's, not with your friends! Then where do I look? I don't know! Finally, when I think you're dead, I get the sense to look here, and now you're kissing some girl! Well, you better come with me right now young man 'cause we got a big problem!" she yelled.
"What? What?" he yelled in English. She sighed. She got going in English.
"Your brother is back. And he's mucho drunk and I think he's hurt, and he's asking for Rafael. He comes at me and Chabe with his rifle thing and we get out quick! I left Rafael with your sister and that's where I leave the baby when I come find you! Now come with me!" she walked up to him and grabbed his ear and pulled him out the door, all the while scolding him in Spanish while he whined for her to let go of his ear. He was a man for God's sakes. She never did this to Maria…
The two girls watched them go, shell-shocked.
"Do you think I should go with them?" Katey asked. Susie nodded.
"They might need you." Katey grabbed her purse and quickly followed them out the door. She met them on the stairs. Mrs. Suarez had released her son's ear and now they were debating what to do about Carlos.
"Can I help?" Katey asked. They both turned around, startled by her voice.
Mrs. Suarez's face softened. She had always liked Katey. from talking to her and hearing about her from her son, she thought that she was probably the best thing that had ever happened to her son. And after all, she had helped Javier win the $ 500 that had helped them back on their feet. She was a nice girl, even besides. Smart. She hoped that maybe she could get Javier to go back to school.
Mrs. Suarez had always had high hopes for her youngest son. If Mr. Suarez were still alive, he could have been anything. He could have gotten out of Cuba; gone to college.
"No. But thank you." Javier said. He didn't want Katey to see just how dysfunctional his family really was. Hers was so normal, it was a big comparison. Mrs. Suarez poked her son, startling him.
"What?" he asked in Spanish.
"She wants to help. She wants to be part of your life, Javi."
"How do you get that from what she said?" he asked. Mrs. Suarez sighed.
"Just do it." she said. Javier sighed.
"Yes," he held his hand out to her. She took it and let him pull her along.
They went to his sister's. Katey had heard Javier talk of his sister adoringly numerous times. Maria, his sister, looked a lot like him. She was beautiful and had long, straight hair that went past her waist and had the same nose as Javier and his mother. She also had the trademark grin that pegged her as a Suarez. She said something to Javier that Katey didn't understand, but she heard her name. Javier blushed and his sister smiled.
Inside her apartment was beautiful. It actually reminded Katey a bit of her own. Maria was obviously an artist; there were beautiful paintings on the walls, and there was a stack of blank canvas behind the door. There was also a cup of assorted sized paintbrushes next to the sink. Flowers and plants grew everywhere, and sitting on shelves up against the window over the sink were numerous cooking plans and herbs. Lemon thyme, hothouse tomatoes, tiny cacti. And the walls were painted the same color as Katey's apartment. Pictures sat on every flat surface, mostly of Maria and the little boy that Katey learned later was her son. Katey picked one up and studied it.
"This is very good." she remarked. Maria looked up from the pot she was stirring.
"Yes, my husband took that. He's a photographer. A bit of a lost art here now, but he'll never take another job. And with what he makes and what I earn from my art, we're provided for." Katey was astounded by Maria's spirit. She probably shouldn't have been, since she was related to Javier, but she was a surprise. She never mentioned that her husband was missing, she put on a happy and cheerful demeanor. She reminded Katey of Susie in the best way, but on happy pills.
Mrs. Suarez and Javier were in Diego's bedroom with him, Rafael and Chabe.
Katey was dicing tomatoes to help Maria with lunch (they ate late there) when Maria suddenly broke her silence.
"So, you're the little American girl Javier was so in love with." she said it as a fact, not a question.
"W-what?" Katey asked.
"Oh, you know what I mean. You really had him wrapped around your little finger. Shame you had to go home. But, there are so many shames in life. It's your fault not at all."
"What do you mean, so many shames?" Katey asked. Maria shrugged.
"Well, look at Javi."
"What about him?"
"Oh, he could have been anything. We were so proud of him. He's so, so smart. He was top of his class before he had to leave school, did you know that?" she asked. Katey shook her head.
"He never told me."
"Well, no. He wouldn't. He's not the type to brag on anything. Especially not to you. Hw always felt inferior to you about that sort of thing."
"What?"
"Oh, you know. You were this smart, beautiful American girl with such a bright future, you seemed to have all the answers. On top of things. And there he was, a high-school drop-out. But if you'd have stayed, maybe…"
"Maybe what?"
"Well, he said once that being with you made him want to be better. Maybe if you would have stayed, he might have gone back to school. And if he hadn't been so stubborn and had gone with you to America, he would have gone to school. And he wouldn't have just been a dancer, either. He would have done what he really loved." Katey dumped the tomatoes she had been dicing into the pot Maria was stirring.
"What's that?"
"Before he started dancing, he wanted to be a journalist. He went around everywhere writing in his little notebook. He loved books. And when I started to work at the paper, he would visit me and he thought it was a neat idea. But he was eight, so that shows what he knew…but he would have been good. Whatever he does, he does good. That's Javier." she smiled.
"He never told me." Katey said again.
"Well, you know. He never wanted to quit school. But that was what he had to do. And he always felt like the man of the family, even with Carlos around," she stopped and sighed. "That poor boy. He always thought he could do so much. Especially after little Rafael showed up. He always tried to seem like he was fine. Especially after you left. He really got sad. He even didn't dance for a while. That kind of scared us," she shrugged and poured the creamy sauce into a bowel and picked up an avocado and a knife from the counter. Katey watched her slice up the avocado.
She knew why Javier adored his older sister so much. She was, if possible, even more talkative than he was. And she had the determination and the brightness that Katey now associated with all of the Suarez's.
"But it's good you're back. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time." Maria smiled at her and squeezed her hand. Katey smiled back, unsure of how to respond to this.
But she was saved when Javier walked in and asked about lunch.
"Do you need to be getting home or can you stay for lunch?" he asked Katey.
"Oh, are you sure there's room for me?"
"Yes, of course! Sit down!" Maria said. "Actually, go get Mama and the babies and tell them lunch is ready." Katey did what she was told.
"What did you two talk about?" Javier asked, laying out plates and tableware.
"You." she began to put the food on the big, butcher-block table in the center of the room. Javier looked up sharply.
"What did you say?" he asked suspiciously. Maria was his confidant; he told her everything. Well, almost everything. But knowing Maria, he knew that she could have spilled his worst choices and most heavy regrets without ever thinking of it.
"That you're pretty." Maria gave her brother a kiss on the cheek as Katey came into the room with Rafael on her hip.
At seven, Rafael was small, as his father and uncle had been at his age. But he was smart, and he picked up on things. He vaguely remembered this pretty blonde woman, even though he had been almost three when she left. He had heard his grandmother and daddy talking about her with Uncle Javier. He had heard her name enough to know her as 'K'.
Katey set him on the ground and he tugged at his aunt's skirt.
"Ria?" he asked in his childish lisp.
"Yes?" she bent down and picked him up. She held him at the sink as he washed his hands. When she set him down again, he tugged on Javier's pants. They were a little big, a hand-me-down from Carlos and they almost came down when Rafael pulled on them. He quickly tugged them back up before Katey saw his underwear. He the asked something in Spanish that Katey didn't understand. Javier laughed and said something in return. Rafael then ran over to Katey and hugged her around the waist. She laughed.
"What did you say?" she asked.
"He asked Javier if he married you if you would be his aunt like me." Maria said, lifting her son up and helping him wash his hands. Chabe, now eleven and perfectly capable of washing her hands by herself, crowded her sister at the sink and tried to wash her hands, too.
"And what did he say?" Javier shot his sister a look she didn't see.
"He said-- ahh! Javier Alejandro Suarez--" she started yelling in Spanish when Javier picked up a lime left lying on the counter and pegged it at her.
"Sorry. I was trying to get it in the sink." he smirked. She picked up a dishtowel and swatted at him with it, but he laughed and jumped away.
When they were eating lunch, the children were interrogating Katey. None of them knew enough English yet to ask her directly, but each would ask their mother or aunt or grandmother or uncle or brother, who would ask Katey and then tell them what she said.
"Diego and I want to know what you do." Maria said.
"I'm a journalist for the New York Times. I have my own column. That's why I'm here." Maria and her mother made impressed humming noises. Maria told her brother, in Spanish, that this was just the girl for him and why didn't he ask her to marry him? He blushed and told her to eat her soup. Katey listened to this exchange and then Mrs. Suarez asked her if she was still dancing. She shook her head.
"I haven't really found much time. Work takes a lot out of me." Mrs. Suarez nodded.
"Are you dating anyone?" Maria asked.
"Well, Katey better get going. Her sister will start to wonder." Javier said loudly. They excused themselves and he insisted on walking her home.
While they were walking through the Oceana, they heard music coming from a hallway off the lobby. They followed it to see the old dance instructor. A little older, but still fit.
"Hey! It's my little championship dancer! Katey, how are you?" he asked.
"Wow, you remembered my name! It's so good to see you, Charles." she gave him a hug. Charles shook Javier's hand amiably.
"So, now that you're back, are you two going to answer the dance contest again?"
"Oh! I--don't know. We were in this contest thing, but we lost, and…" Katey trailed off.
"It wasn't that original routine thing, was it?"
"Yes, why?" Javier asked.
"That was a complete scam. One of my pupils was in it, but it was a total joke. They people claimed to be dance officials, but all they wanted was the money."
Katey turned to Javier. "I thought you said that it didn't cost anything." he shrugged.
"It wasn't that much. I just wanted to help you out like you helped me."
"He wanted to help you out! What a lie!" Susie said over dinner that night. "He wanted you is what he wanted. He is so in love with you, Kate!"
"He isn't. We're friends. Just friends." Katey picked at her pasta.
"Oh, puh-lease! You two are so stupid. And so am I, for not telling you to go for it before. Which you totally should You're going to, aren't you?"
Katey stood up. "Suze, while I'd love to chat about our collective stupidity, I have to go work on my article." she went into her room and shut the door.
She sat at her desk and pulled out a pad of paper. She tapped her fore-finger on her pen. Her dad had given it to her when she had gotten her job at the Times. It was heavy, some sort of black stone with mother-of-pearl inlays.
"And by the way," Susie called from the kitchen. "Mom and Dad should be here soon." Katey jumped up and ran into the kitchen where her sister was doing dishes.
"WHAT!?"
"Yeah, I told you they were coming for Thanksgiving. How could you forget?"
"I gotta go." Katey ran out the door.
"Hi." she said. He was standing at his gate, where Katey had been yelling his name for ten minutes.
"I need your help."
"Come in." he ushered her inside to the little courtyard outside his house. They sat at the table and she fiddled with her hands.
"So. What's going on with your brother?" Javier shrugged. "He's staying with Maria. He won't tell anybody why he's back. And he won't go outside. Maria and I think he's running from the police, but Mama won't listen to us. She says 'he's family'." he mimicked his mother's voice. "Why did you need my help?"
"See, my parents are in town--"
"Ah. I see."
"See what?"
"Nothing. It's just that your parents always make you so nervous. That is not what I know, it is just that when you talk about them it's usually a sore subject for you. That's all."
"Well, I don't want to ask them for money, and I don't have enough to pay for the fine…I only need a little."
"I can lend you money."
"Oh, no! You don't have to do that!"
"Ah. But do you have a plan?"
"Well, that's where you come in. Charles today was talking about the dance contest. I picked up a flyer and it says that it's the first one since the one we were in. And I thought maybe if we could just get to the finals….I could have enough money to go home," she paused. "And whatever we win, we'd split, of course. But…"
"I don't need the money. I don't."
"But what about for school?" he looked at her and stood up, his back to her. He rubbed his hand down his face and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I take it you talked to my sister." Katey bit her lip and nodded, that he didn't see. "She told you I dropped out?"
"Yes."
"Then she told you I wanted to be a journalist."
"You never told me."
He shrugged. "It's like my brother-in-law's pictures. A lost art in Cuba now." he turned to face her. "But I want to, though. I do."
"Want to be a journalist?" he chuckled.
"No. Want to be in the dance contest."
She nodded. Then a moment of remembrance passed over her, and she pulled something out of her purse. It was a card, which she handed to him. He took it, confused.
"What is this for?" she shrugged.
"To thank you. I was hoping that you'd say yes. And…for all of the birthdays that I missed."
He opened the card. Inside it read : To Javier. Susie says nobody can make me smile like you. Katey. No love. Just Katey. Inside there was also a little slip of paper.
"Oh, you show that to the guy at the counter. At the music store. Pete's Music Store."
"Pete's? Very American. Strange that it would be here now."
"I know. The name made me go in. And I saw something that I thought you might like. And besides, he owes me a favor."
"What'd you do?" Javier was intrigued.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she stood up and stretched her arms above her head. "And now I have to go home. My parents are coming to visit." she made a face. "And now I have to go be interrogated about work and men and my goals and why aren't I married yet? Oh, what fun."
He smiled. "I can walk you back."
"You'd better not."
"Why? You're parents don't like me?"
"Think, Javier. You got me pregnant. When I was 18."
"Ah. I see. Well, I shall just have to make them like me. See you tomorrow? 8 good?"
Katey nodded her head.
They were already there when she got home. She tried to slide in the door unnoticed, but her dad was sitting on the couch.
"Look who decided to say hi."
"Hi, Dad." It was as if she was eighteen again. She sat down next to her father and hugged him.
"So, what've you been doing besides work? Susie says you're almost never home."
"Ah, you know. Seeing if things are the same. How's work?"
"Work's good. Strange being back here, isn't it?"
Katey nodded. He had no idea. "How long are you guys staying?"
He shrugged, a typical Bert Miller pose. "Thanksgiving's tomorrow. Your mother says she likes it here so much that she might just stay. I'll come back for Christmas, then maybe we'll go home after New Years."
"Long time. 'Night, Dad."
She went into her room and shut the door. She stood against it and sighed.
"Hi." Susie said, making Katey jump a mile. She had had no idea that Susie was in the room.
"Do you know how long they're staying? How am I going to dance with them around, asking about where I'm going?"
"So he said yes?"
She nodded and sat down on her bed. She kicked off her shoes and put her pillow over her head. She screamed into it; the sound muffled.
"That bad?" Katey nodded. She rolled over.
"I feel…eighteen." Susie smiled, both of them nostalgic. "I never thought that we would be back to this. Never thought that things would be just…the same as they were after we left."
"Can I tell you something?" Susie asked. Katey sat up and looked at her. "Even though…even though you two got separated and then he got you pregnant, I'm still really… jealous of you two. You were so in love. So in love. And you still are, which is strange since you've been apart for so long. Love almost never lasts like that."
Katey, who had been quiet through all of her sister's little speech, nodded. Susie had said things like that before, and Katey had always listened, but she never tried to tell her sister how wrong she thought she was. How could that be worthy of jealousy? And she didn't love him anymore. How could she? It had been so long, and there were so many miles in between.
When Katey was getting dressed the next morning she heard the phone ringing. So she ran out into the living room (in full towel regalia) to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Miss Miller?" asked the person on the other end of the crackly connection.
"Yes?"
"Hello. This is Mr. Peters. I have a meeting, so I have to make this short, but I'm calling to ask you to stay in Cuba until we ask you back."
"What? Why?"
"I guess you haven't been reading the paper, since I hear they hate all American things there, but our readers have loved the articles you've been sending in. So we would like for you to keep sending us more. Now less on the political aspect, more on the cultural. Will you stay?"
"Y-yes." said a flabbergasted Katey."
"Thank you. I hope to speak to you soon. Good-day." and he hung up.
She was stuck.
"Stop that." Javier growled at her.
Katey laughed. "I'm sorry. It was just so funny. I've never seen you act like that before. You bullrushed him." she sniggered.
"I have no idea what that means, but judging from the sound of your voice, I didn't do it." he said as he dipped Katey. She laughed.
Javier had been waiting for her at La Rosa Negra when some guy ran by her and stole her purse. Javier chased him down and got her purse back.
"It was just…such an act of masculinity that I've never seen in you before." Katey couldn't stop laughing; the picture of him jumping the guy still fresh in her mind. Javier rolled his eyes and changed the music.
"Can you please be serious now?" he asked. She nodded, trying to keep a straight face.
After three hours, Katey had to excuse herself for lunch, which she had promised her mother she would spend with her. On her way to the hotel's restaurant, she ran into Dave.
"Kate?" he asked. He was the only on who ever called her Kate. She despised all sorts of nicknames, but she liked Dave too much at first to ask him to stop, and if she asked him now, he would ask why she hadn't said so before.
Javier had known her well enough to know that all Katey liked was being called Katey, end of story. Stop it. she told herself. Stop comparing men to Javier.
"Hey. I thought it was you. Question," he said, in his usual perky way. "You're In suit 20, right?" Katey nodded. "Well, I just got my room switched. Looks like we'll be neighbors until I go home." he smiled, so so did she.
"When's that?"
"When I finish my piece of February, whichever comes first. You?"
Katey shrugged. "My boss called and asked me to stay until he wants me back. So I really have no idea. I--I better go. I'm meeting my mother for lunch." she waved and started to the restaurant.
The two of them met at the restaurant in the hotel. Her mother was sipping a cosmopolitan when Katey got there.
"It's so nice to see you, sweetie." Jeanne squeezed her daughter's hand. Katey smiled.
"What are we doing for dinner?" Katey asked.
"Susie volunteered to make a nice, traditional Thanksgiving dinner for all of us. So please be home by nine. So, who is this boy Susie tells me you're seeing? Dave?"
Katey sighed. Trust Susie to let something slip.
"Well, he's really just…"
"He came by this morning when you were out and asked for you and Susie. He and I had just a lovely little talk. And he's a writer! You two must get along so well. And I've even read some of his work. A few months back he had an article published in that women's magazine that Boo Stevens sends me. How long have you two been seeing each other?"
Katey was thinking. Should she tell about Javier and that they were only friends, or lie and say that she and Dave were still dating?
"Katey?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked how long you two have been seeing each other."
"About a year." Katey downed her drink.
"How did he wind up here?"
"He's writing a piece on Cuba same as me." Mrs. Miller nodded. She seemed to be fighting with herself to ask something.
"How's Javier?" she asked, pained.
"I don't know. I haven't been to see him." Katey lied. A huge, huge lie. But nothing else would have been acceptable. Mrs. Miller was just starting to trust her daughter again. To know that Katey was edging herself into the safe, little box that she had built up around herself and then destroyed so completely all those years ago. Katey had been perfect, and her mother liked it that way. Now, she was finally getting back there. A good, successful boyfriend with a high-profile family. A good job. She didn't want Katey in contact with Javier at all. To Mrs. Miller, everything that had made Katey different was his fault, and he was bad for her daughter.
And since nothing but a lie would be acceptable, she lied. It would never come out, after all. Once she won the money, she would go home. And there would never be a mention of Javier again.