A/N:

This chapter is unedited. It may also have formatting issues but I figured getting the story out was more important than such details. I'm not a professional writer nor do I wish to become one.

Chapter Sixteen

"I'm not kidding! You have to take it back to the store!"

Ana's urgent tone of voice made heads turn sharply. Feeling the stares of the people around them, Mia was astonished to learn Ana didn't appear afraid to make a scene.

"Okay, Fine!" Mia retorted, rolling her eyes. "This is totally NOT worth an argument." She then pulled out the makeup bottle, held it partially hidden in her fist and marched it back to the store. "There. Are you happy, now?" She turned to Ana in an exasperated tone after setting the bottle squarely on the shelf.

"May I help you ladies?"

Ana turned. It was the same makeup artist that had assisted them before. She was surprised to see that the girl had already forgotten them. But then, as a look of recognition flashed on the woman's face.

"You came back for your complimentary makeover session?" She asked, smiling. And before she realized what was happening she was being led to her station with the promise of a special promotion.

Ana was curious to see what this special promotion was. Besides, it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up a foundation bottle while she was here. Yes. Maybe it would help making here look prettier, older and more sophisticated.

"Our skin is always changing due to our activities, climate and even hormones. That's why I tell every woman that you will look your best if you analyze your skin on a day to day basis, climate to climate basis in order to promote healthy radiance," the woman said while getting the tools ready. She'd selected several shades of foundation and concealer to try on Ana's skin. "I'm going to give you some general guidelines that if followed will make a world of difference in your skin now and in the future. This here is our starter kit, it has everything you need for your skin."

Mia settled back to watch with a laid back expression. Every couple of minutes she would wander off to look at merchandise. Ana tried to follow her movements but it was hard since the makeup artist was so distracting.

"What's your name again?"

Ana didn't think she'd told her name. "I'm Ana."

The girl smiled. "I'm Alice. What do you think? We could go a shade lighter on your concealer, but I think this is a good match."

At first Ana was against the idea of a concealer but now that she saw them together, she could see a big difference, she thought as she studied herself in the mirror.

"I like this," Ana smiled. She suddenly looked older and prettier. Her problem had always been looking younger than her actual age. "How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm... nineteen? Twenty?"

"Eighteen," Ana replied as Mia headed back in their direction.

Alice finished off by applying lipstick and mascara.

"Wow. You look stunning. Wait till Christian sees you," Mia smiled for the first time since their little squabble.

Ana smiled back. "So what is the special promotion you mentioned?" She asked Alice.

"With the purchase of the primer, foundation and concealer. $93 value, yours today for $59. It's our best sale of the year," Alice said in a chirpy tone. When Ana hesitated, she pulled a set of makeup brushes out of her drawer that came in an attractive pink colored case. "Just for coming in today, we're throwing in this makeup set of five brushes valued at $60 absolutely free."

Absolutely free? All Ana could think about was that amount-the $60-was exactly the amount of money she had in her purse at the moment, what she had managed to save in the last couple of months. It was mind-boggling. She didn't know which was more surprising, that the brushes cost that much money or that she would be getting them for free. By the way, this getting-stuff-for-free scenario reminded her of the conversation she had with Christian after the pizza guy failed to deliver their pizza in a timely manner.

Both Alice and Mia were looking at her expectantly. Hmm. She supposed she needed to make a decision. Hmm. "So, I would be getting all this for $59, right?"

Alice nodded as she wiped her station clean getting it ready for her next customer.

Ana bit her lip. She was torn. She really loved the makeup kit but at the same time she felt it was way too much money to spend on makeup alone.

"We'll take it," Mia announced and when Ana started to protest she reminded her that it was really her brother's money and not hers and that his specific instructions were: Get Ana something nice. "And I think this definitely qualifies as something nice," she smiled.

"Let's grab a quick bite," Mia said making a beeline for a place called Cinnabon.

"This is absolutely delicious," Ana said after taking a bite of a cinnamon roll.

"Every time I have this, I feel like I've gone to heaven and back," Mia giggled. "From the minute Christian told me about you, I knew I had to bring you here." She took a few more bites with an expression of delight. "Christian tells me that you two have to attend an interview with the INS?"

Ana's smile faded at the sudden change of topic. "Yes."

"What are your plans for the future?"

Ana shifted in her seat. Darn it! She wished that Christian had prepared her for what to say. As it was, she was going to need to improvise. She finished the last bit of her cinnabon, surprising herself. They were that good.

"I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

…..

Christian and Ana

The public restroom was huge and pristine clean. It had an actual lounge area with plush couches, side tables and lamps. The lounge alone was as big as her living room back in Cuba. After a moment of initial confusion, Ana moved past a woman coming in the opposite direction who was holding the door for her. She thanked her and walked in to the stall area. There were about twenty stalls and there was a stream of women coming in and out. Ana leaned against the wall and retrieved her phone from her purse. Thankfully it was on the home screen and was able to dial Christian right away. He didn't pick up until the fifth ring.

"Hello?" He sounded busy and distracted. "Ana? Is everything alright?"

"Yes," she quickly answered. Her heart skipped at the sound of his voice. Focus, focus! " Mia is asking me questions about us. What am I supposed to say? You should have prepared me," she's said barely able to control her anger. She kept her eyes fixed on the door, half-expecting Mia to come in looking for her any minute now.

Ana heard him let out a long exhale. "I told her you and I had hit it off and that it was love at first sight. I didn't want to have to answer any questions. So I lied."

Ana's heart sank. So he lied. She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it as though she'd just been slapped. "What do you want me to say?" She asked in a thin voice.

"It's up to you, muchacha linda ( beautiful girl)," he said. Hearing him speak the words in her native language sounded like a sweet caress, especially because they weren't speaking face to face. "Feel free to add any details as long as it doesn't contradict our story, anything you come up with it's fine with me. Your dad hired me to bring you to states and we fell in love and it was love at first sight. That's it. You can mention the upcoming interview with immigration if you want...but it's just a formality. You and I are married for life."

Married for life.

Ana closed her eyes at that moment, ignoring the hustle and bustle of people around her. How she wished, right now, more than anything, that his words were true. How she wished she could see his face right now. Visions of him as they lay in bed this morning, him touching her down there, giving her the most amazing rush she'd ever experienced.

"Are you waiting in line?" Someone asked.

The question abruptly brought her out of her musings. She glanced at the stall directly in front of her and shook her head. She then went to the sink area and peered at herself in the mirror. She really liked what she saw, she really looked prettier. She glowed. She could hardly wait for Christian's reaction. The thought made her giddy with excitement. Smiling at the world, she made small talk with the woman beside her at the mirror. The woman pulled a brush out of her purse and started brushing her hair; Ana followed suit and dug out her comb. In doing so, her fingers bumped against the wrapper of the Nutri-grain bar from the airport. Hmm. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. But it had only been five days ago.

She came out of the restroom. A quick glance at their table told her that while she was gone, Mia had been deeply entertained with her phone. She breathed a sigh of relief; she now had a few extra seconds to rehearse her answer to Mia's question about her future with her brother.

"Hey, you're back," Mia said without glancing away from her phone. Ana shook her head at the girl's level of absorption which would be would be out right dangerous in any public place in Havana.

"So what next?"

Mia looked up from her screen. "Christian said something about grocery shopping...but that's boring. I say, takeout for dinner," she went on, her attention alternating between Ana and her phone. "Besides, we'll have time to go to a couple of stores. What else do you need? Hmm...yes, you wanted to get some hair accessories or something?"

Ana cocked her head. "Takeout?"

"Yeah. How about some Chinese food?"

Ana still gave her a blank look.

Mia made full eye contact. "Takeout. We go to the restaurant and order the food to go. We take it home."

"I don't think that will be necessary...I can cook a healthy meal in no time at all."

Mia pursed her lips. "I tell you, Christian loves Chinese." Suddenly, her expression changed. Don't tell my brother...what happened was a big mistake, believe me," she said with an anguished expression that touched Ana. She was no stranger to suffering, she'd suffered and witnessed unspeakable suffering herself. "Christian won't forgive me this time, he already told me if I mess up he will not give me another chance," she broke down completely then, tears streaming down her cheeks as she related through gasps her sob story of how her family had never truly understood her. Maybe it was true that she had made some bad decisions in the past but now they wouldn't get past that and assume the worst. "Please, Ana. Don't tell Christian...he will completely blow this out of proportion, I know he will. He will kick me out and right now I have no money and no place to stay."

Ana hesitated. Maybe the thing with the makeup tester wasn't such a big of a deal? Was it worth breaking up the family? Was it true that Mia had nowhere to go? Ay, Dios! She hated being in the middle of this family crisis. She now had to make some decisions based on incomplete information as Christian had told her very little about himself and his family. She had no choice but rely on her own instincts. And right now her instincts were telling her to keep her peace.

"Ana? Please?"

"I won't say anything, don't worry."

Mia smiled gratefully and reached for Ana's hand across the table. "Thanks. Hey, are you finishing your cinnabon?"

Ana lowered her head and savored the last few bites of her caramelized pastry. A thought still nagged her. Even though it would have been easier to leave things at that, she felt she had to say what was on her mind. "I hope you realize how lucky you are, Mia. You have so many advantages, so many blessings here in the United States of America...so many things that people in other parts of the world don't have."

Mia raised a brow and nodded. "Yeah," she murmured noncommittally.

"Everywhere around the world, people are coming to America. Ev'ry time the flag's unfurled, they're coming to America."

"Wh-what?"

"It's from the song, America by Neil Diamond the jazz singer."

"Jazz singer?" Mia raised her brows. "Never heard of him."

Now it was Ana's turn to be surprised. "Seriously? I grew up listening to this song. My mom had Neil Diamond's albums and listened to them whenever she got homesick," she went on with a bittersweet expression. "My grandparents emigrated to Florida before my mom was born. She was their only child. It wasn't until she was in high school that they moved to Seattle. Mom always talked about how hard it was at first to make friends as she was the new girl in town. Long story short, she got pregnant with me at fifteen. My grandparents believed the only way to save face was to return to Cuba. I grew up listening to my grandma telling everyone about the man who had seduced her poor baby daughter. My dad was only two years older," she paused taking a deep breath. "Anyway, my mom never got over being unfairly uprooted from the life she knew. I remember her crying, I remember her dancing to Neil Diamond's song whenever she got nostalgic. I remember being five or six years old listening to her stories of America." she paused, a dreamy expression on her face. "Her greatest wish was to return home where she belonged. One day we will go home together, sweet girl, you'll see...she told me again and again. But her wish never came true. She never came back. I grew up believing in the dream that we were supposed to come back together," Ana cried with a lump the size of mars lumped in her throat.

"I'm sorry." Mia enveloped both her hands in hers. "I can only imagine how hard it must have been for your mom, she had no control of her situation. Why didn't she try to leave Cuba once she became an adult?"

Ana considered her question for a long moment. She certainly remembered her having heated arguments with her parents from time to time where she threatened to board the next boat out of Cuba. After much drama and repeated pleadings, life usually came back to status quo. Life went on.

"I don't think she seriously considered leaving her mom and dad behind. Family is everything. She knew if she left she'd never see them again. Although at the same time, I think she still held hope that one day her dream would still come true."

"It's very sad."

"It is," Ana said with silent tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sure she's smiling down at you from heaven for fulfilling the dream for both of you."

Ana nodded. That was a very kind thing to say, even if she didn't consider herself a true believer. Despite her catholic traditional upbringing, she didn't feel particularly faithful. Her stay at the convent had done very little to change that.

Mia pulled out her phone and did a search for the America song. At once, she clicked on a you-tube video. She then turned so that Ana could view the video. "Wow. This dude is quite old. Is he like seventy?"

Far,

We've been traveling far

Without a home

But not without a star

Free,

Only want to be free

We huddle close

Hang on to a dream

On the boats and on the planes

They're coming to America

Never looking back again,

They're coming to America

Home

Don't it seem so far away

Oh, we're traveling light today

In the eye of the storm

In the eye of the storm

Home

To a new and a shiny place

Make our bed and we'll say our grace

Freedom's light burning warm

Freedom's light burning warm.

Ana watched the video, mesmerized. The memories came rushing over. Her heart warmed as she pictured her mother in her final days swollen with child, blissfully unaware of her fate. The memories called to her, surrounding her as she later visited her mother's grave. Her mother had loved roses, red roses especially. "You should have been here with me today, mama," she mumbled quietly, dabbing the tears from her eyes.

As the song neared the end, Ana wished with all her heart that indeed there was a thing such as heaven and that her mama was there right now watching her with the brightest of smiles, happy for her, happy for both of them. "I wish I could watch this video all the time," she said, surprising herself. Yes, the song was bittersweet but also, at the same time, it was a way to honor Carla and keep her memory alive.

"You can! Give me your phone, I'll save it for you so you can watch the video anytime," Mia offered kindly.

Ana's expression brightened. "Thank you, Mia," she replied with genuinely grateful, happy to be here right now here in America, enjoying the last bites of her cinnabon, feeling safe and free, no pressure to do anything or be anything but herself.

Mia went right to work. When she was done creating a playlist for Ana and creating a shortcut in the phone's home screen, she turned to her with a quizzical expression.

"I love this country."

"I can see that," Mia studied her for a long moment. "You might actually be more patriotic than me."

Ana laughed and Mia readily joined her. "I don't know how to explain it. But there's something about you, Ana. I think your patriotism is genuine. I can feel it. I think you have inspired me," she smiled widely. "I'm thinking patriotism is more than just reciting the national anthem or watching the fireworks on the 4th of July. It's a feeling in your heart that brings out the best in you."

Ana nodded, eyes shinning.

Mia made a motion to gather her things. "Hey, are you ready to shop until we drop?" She giggled and Ana smiled back.

Until we drop? Drop what? Ana pondered. Oh, well. She shrugged one shoulder. It wasn't until they started strolling the mall again when she was fully relieved that Mia did not bring up the question of her future with Christian again.