Author's Note: The characters Roni Tubbs, Miguel Castillo, and Alison Castillo belong to xXBalorBabeXx. This story is third in a series after Caught in the Storm and After the Storm. It will help to read those first. Enjoy!
"I had a great time tonight, Miguel." Roni said in her soft, musical voice as I walked her up to the Tubbs' front door.
My hands were still in hers as we stood face to face on the porch, illuminated by the dull orange glow of the porch light. Even here she looked positively radiant. Normally Roni had a colorful but casual style, sticking to jeans and t-shirt and occasionally experimented with brightly colored nail polish. But tonight she had worn a shimmering pale pink dress which flowed to her knees and accented by a silver wrap around her shoulders. Her makeup was subtle but highlighted her sparkling hazel eyes.
And the night had truly been magical. Well, as magical as things get at a high school dance. We laughed at some silly inside jokes, danced without a care, and when it came time to slow dance, I felt like she melted in my arms. I even caught Ali giving us a wink of approval. I felt alive, really alive, for the first time in months.
"I had a great time too, Roni. It was a lot of fun! Sorry I'm not such a great dancer…" I shyly glanced down on my shoes. Ali was always telling me what a spaz I was on the dance floor. But it's not my fault she's had so much practice in those South Beach clubs she's not supposed to go to. Besides, I'm a violinist, not a dancer.
She grinned broadly. "No! You were amazing! You've got some good moves! Maybe you can even teach Ali a few things."
I burst into a laugh. "Ali? Are you kidding?" I could almost see my sister rolling her eyes at the notion. "But thanks. Hey, we still on to see the new Harry Potter movie next week?"
Her eyes brightened once more "Yeah! I wouldn't miss it!"
"Awesome!" An awkward silence fell between us. "Well, I should go. I don't want your dad coming out with his shotgun." I grinned and squeezed her hand. I recalled that day in the warehouse when we weren't sure if we were going to live or die and we shared our first, very unexpected, kiss. The moment had been such an adrenaline-filled blur, but i still remembered the softness of her lips on mine. Standing there in the moonlight with her twinkling hazel eyes staring back at me and her small, delicate hands in mine, I felt drawn to her. Time seemed to stand still as I gradually leaned closer. I closed my eyes.
And then- I froze. Fading memories of another dance, nearly a year ago, flashed across my mind. I saw Sophia twirling around the gym in a purple dress, her infectious laugh echoing in my memory. I recalled holding her hand in mine, just as I was holding Roni's, and kissing her. The purple twirling image dissolved into nothing and the laughter faded into silence. I pulled back from Roni.
Her eyes snapped open and although she clearly tried to hide it, the disappointment was apparent on her face.
I gently squeezed her hand once more before letting it go. "Goodnight, call you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, yeah sure!" She stammered and forced a smile. She waved goodbye once more before letting herself in the front door.
When I finally arrived home, I quickly changed into a pair of gym shorts and a well-worn faded t-shirt that read "Lord of the Strings" around a picture of a violin. I threw my suit over the back of my desk chair (silently reminding myself to hang it up in the morning before my mother noticed) and collapsed on my bed.
What the hell was wrong with me? I just had a date with a gorgeous girl, one that I cared about deeply. Roni filled me with hope in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. My eyes drifted across the room, to the picture on my dresser of Sophia and I at the homecoming dance last year, both of us grinning at the promise of a love we thought would never end.
In my head I knew Sophia would have wanted me to go on with my life and enjoy the night with Roni. Heck, she'd probably love to see us date then get married and have the perfect life with a picket fence and 2.5 kids. She was always selfless like that. I would never forget the way she used to place her hand on my cheek, look deep in my eyes and ask if I was happy. And with her, I always was.
But that night with Roni had been beautiful too. I had smiled and laughed at the dance until my face hurt. When we talked, I felt like I could tell her anything. It helped that she already knew the real me, and liked me despite it all. For the first time in months I felt like myself again. it was like magic. When we slow danced, gliding across the dance floor, her tiny body wrapped in my arms, I wanted to pull her close and kiss her once more, to ask her to be my girlfriend, to tell her how I really felt about her. But something held me back, just as it had on her porch, and I knew it was the guilt. I could never replace Sophia, never. And the thought that I might be doing that with Roni didn't seem fair to either of us.
I must have dozed off at some point because the next thing I knew, light was pouring in through my open curtains. I was still tired, but I sure didn't need my dad to come upstairs and lecture me about oversleeping.
I dragged myself downstairs to see my parents already up in the kitchen with Ali. My dad sat at the table as usual, sipping a cup of green tea from a delicate cup. No doubt he had already been up for hours, starting with his morning workout and followed by paperwork from the office. My mother wore casual shorts and a t-shirt. Maybe she had joined my father on his workout. Ali, like me, looked tired and I noticed her glance at me with a dirty look. I silently prayed that Roni had not told her about our awkward goodbye last night.
"Good morning Miguelito!" My mother greeted me cheerfully. "You and Roni have fun last night? I cant wait for Trudy to send me pictures."
"Oh, um, yeah. It was great!" I replied uncomfortably as I pulled a box of Lucky Charms from the cabinet and sat down
My father eyed me critically. I hoped he wouldn't make any comments about my breakfast choices. I was sure he would not find it "magically delicious." .
Dad set down his newspaper and smiled across the table at me and Ali "I'm glad you're both home this morning, your mother and I have some news. Starting tonight, we are going to have a houseguest."
I groaned audibly which earned me a hard stare from Dad. Houseguests usually meant Mom's cousin Donna. Donna always came equipped with her husband Tom (who enjoyed slapping me on the back and calling me "sport") and her two obnoxious kids who somehow managed to make everything they touched sticky and gross. Or it meant a visit from Aunt Rose who was really very sweet but had a habit of leaving her false teeth all over the place.
"Is it Aunt Rose again?" Ali asked timidly. I'm sure she was envisioning those nightmarish false teeth.
"No. Her name is May Ying. She's moving here from San Francisco for her job and needs a place to stay until her apartment is ready." Mom gave Dad an odd glance, as if she was wondering how much to say about this person.
He nodded at her knowingly. "I knew May Ying when I was working in Southeast Asia," Dad supplied. I leaned in, not wanting to miss a word. Dad never spoke about the time he spent in Thailand, not ever. I only knew about his team being ambushed and killed because of my history with Sophia and Dale Menton. He closed his eyes and I could tell he was about to reveal something interesting. "She was my wife."
Ali dropped her spoon on her plate with a clang and my mouth hung open in a manner what would have prompted Aunt Rose to ask if I was trying to catch flies.
Mom sat down beside Dad and put an arm around him.
"Wait, hold up… Dad was married? To another woman? And she's going to be staying in our house? Why the hell are we just now hearing about this?" Ali's tone was explosive and accusatory and I braced myself. Truthfully, my head was swimming with the same questions, and I was relieved Ali didn't hold back. My father always seemed to tolerate her outbursts with a sympathetic ear. Mine normally were met with hard stares. "Are you divorced or is this some weird sister wife situation?" Ali demanded.
My mom stifled a laugh while my father calmly reached across the table and took my sister's hand. "I know this might be surprising, Alison, but this was many, many years ago." His eyes shifted between Ali and I. "Yes, we are divorced but not for the reasons you might suspect. May Ying and I were very young, and tragedy forced us apart. When I was recovering in the hospital in Bangkok after my team was ambushed, I was told she had been killed. She in turn, was told I was dead. We didn't find out the truth until five years later, By that time, she was remarried with a child and I had moved back to Miami. I truly regret not being more open with both of you. But I'm sure you'll help us make her feel at home here."
I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms in anger. It was all coming together. "Let me guess who is behind all those lies about your death… Dale Menton."
Dad didn't answer but the look in his eyes said it all. When Sophia died, Dad had hinted that he knew what it was like to lose true love. Now I understood what he meant.
"Why didn't you tell us about this before?" Ali demanded, her anger clearly bubbling at the surface.
"Sweetheart, these things are complicated, you know that," Mom gently replied, but I could tell by Ali's expression that she was not satisfied with that answer.
"Your mother ad I both have enemies in our pasts, both personally and professionally. We wanted you both to have normal childhoods, we never wanted you two to get tangled up in any of it," Dad added.
So much for that, I thought to myself. I didn't dare say it out loud, and I felt guilty fr even thinking it when I looked up to see my father's eyes filled with regret.
"Miguelito, you've been awfully quiet," Mom used my childhood nickname and spoke softly, like she had so often to me in any uncomfortable situation since Sophia's death. It was as if she was afraid I might break. "You ok with all this?"
I snapped out of my internal thoughts which had almost turned into a trance. All this time I had been stirring my cereal mindlessly and it had almost dissolved into a soggy mess. "Yeah, sure, totally fine. I'm looking forward to meeting her. Anyways, I'd better finish up my physics homework and practice for orchestra." I hurriedly threw my bowl in the sink and rushed upstairs to schoolwork and music, the only constants in my life that could distract me from the pain.