Since you guys were so fantastic with your quick reviews, here's the next chapter. And no, I still don't own the JE characters.

Chapter 3. Tears and Tantrums

While we were waiting for our beer, Bobby was telling us a story about his human physiology final exam. "When we entered the cadaver lab, my classmates and I were separated into groups of 4, and each group had to share a human cadaver. Our exam paper instructed us to thoroughly examine the body in front of us and note anything out of the ordinary that might cause discomfort to the patient if he or she were alive.

"After three hours of searching my cadaver body high and low, I noticed something odd about one minute before the bell rang. I hastily wrote down my findings without indicating to my group that I had found something.

"After the bell went, the professor collected the exam papers and then proceeded to ask each group what they found. The first group noticed several things that the professor thought irrelevant. The second group also failed to find anything on their corpse. When he reached our group, he looked me directly in the eye and asked, "Mr. Brown, can you please tell me if you found anything irregular with your cadaver that might have proven uncomfortable if he were alive?"

"I looked around at my group, all looking back at me with blank expressions. I took a deep breath and said, "I think this man would have had trouble sitting down because he has a glass vase stuck up his ass."

"The class burst out with laughter, but the professor spoke over the laughter and said, "Mr. Brown, I look forward to seeing you in my class next year. The rest of you had better cross your fingers that your term work can pull your grade high enough to pass." With that, the professor walked out of the room and the exam was over.

"My classmates all stared at me. They didn't seem too annoyed at me, but they will be kicking themselves for missing the vase!"

We all laughed, but Molly was looking a little perplexed. "Bobby, what gave you the idea to check the ass?"

"I was thinking to myself, trying to come up with an answer. I usually say things like 'Pull your finger out of your ass and get on with it' as encouragement to myself. Only this time, it worked. When I thought that, I realised I hadn't checked the rectum. I didn't have to turn the body over to feel that there was something hard inserted where it didn't belong. I tried to discretely examine other parts of the abdomen, but at the same time discern the shape of the object embedded in the cadaver's ass. It felt like a vase, so I assumed it was. Since my professor didn't complain about the object, I can only assume I guessed right, or the object itself was of little matter."

We were still chuckling when Vince returned with four pitchers and Christie was holding two stacks of four glasses. She sat quietly in her chair, waited for Vince to fill each glass, and then handed them around. When everybody had a glass in hand, Jimmy piped up for the first time all evening and said, "To the end of another school year and meeting new friends."

Carlos looked at Jimmy and replied, "Well said Jimmy, to the end of another school year and to meeting new friends."

We all repeated Jimmy's words, clinked our glasses and took a drink. I didn't realise how thirsty I was, and before I realised it, my glass was empty. Carlos must have noticed me too because he leaned over and asked, "Wow, you must be thirsty."

I laughed and said, "I didn't realise how thirsty I was. I haven't had a drink since you bought me coffee this morning. Normally I drink a lot more than that, but I was distracted by my exam and then by Ryan."

Carlos nodded and then disappeared. I watched him walk over to the bar and return with a huge glass filled with ice and water. He placed it in front of me, and after he sat down, he leaned in smiling and said, "This will help with your thirst better than the beer did. Good thing it's non-alcoholic beer. None of us is actually old enough to drink, so Vince wouldn't have tried to push it by ordering real beer."

I nodded in agreement and said, "You're right. Water is better for hydration than beer, regardless of the alcohol content. Thanks."

I gulped down half of the water, and looked around the table, observing the group and how they interacted with one another. Vince and Christie seemed to be in their own little world. Tom, Bobby and Lester seemed to be teasing each other and trying to one-up each other by telling another embarrassing story. Molly was trying to follow their conversation, but she kept sneaking peaks at Jimmy. Whenever Molly wasn't looking Jimmy was sneaking peaks at Molly, and when I noticed this, I chuckled to myself.

Carlos was also quietly watching the group. He had also noticed the looks between Molly and Jimmy, and when I chuckled, he said, "You know, if you had three more friends like Molly and Christie, we could probably get these three over here to shut up for five minutes."

We laughed and I asked, "What makes you think I can't shut one of them up?"

The look on Carlos' face was priceless and easy enough to read. At first he was shocked by my statement. Next he was disappointed, then hurt, and finally resigned to something. I wasn't sure what he was forced to accept, but since he was so easy to read, I figured I'd try to find out.

I leaned forward, watching Tom, Bobby and Lester for a few moments. When I sat back, I turned to face Carlos and said, "On second thought, Tom would crush me, Bobby is far too serious, and Lester would leave me in the morning. I'm not really interested in that."

As I said this, the look of hope was followed by what I can only express as smugness was displayed across his face for me to see. I sat there, locked into eye contact with Carlos for a long time. Neither of us noticed a sudden hush fall over the table or the direction of the group's eyes shift.

The first indication of something wrong was when a voice interrupted our staring contest and a look of disgust crossed Carlos' face. We both looked up when a very gorgeous young woman with long and shiny dark brown hair whined, "Carlos, I thought we were supposed to meet for dinner tonight? I am so embarrassed and humiliated. You stood me up and didn't even have the decency to tell me. Now I find you out with these immature idiots and some sluts. How could you do this to me? What are our families going to think?"

Carlos looked around at the group and spoke quietly "Lucida, I tried to call you three times today. I finally left a message calling tonight off. Why would I want to take you out after finding you wrapped around another man?"

She tried to say something at this point, but he didn't let her interrupt, "You can't talk your way out of this Lucida, I saw you with my own eyes. I know our parents are good friends, but my parents will understand that I cannot be with an unfaithful woman. As for the people at this table, they are my friends. You have no right to speak of them in any manner, especially by calling them names. Please leave before you make a bigger scene."

Carlos turned his back on Lucida and picked up his beer. He started asking Lester about his disaster of a date from last weekend when I felt something tug at my hair. I turned my head and Lucida was attempting to pull my out of my chair by my hair.

I leaned sideways and stood up to face her. I am 5'7" tall, but Lucida was probably closer to 5'10". She towered over me. She sneered at me and once again tried to grab me by the back of the hair. I looked at her and said, "What is your problem?"

"You are my problem slut. You swooped in and stole my boyfriend before he even dumped me. My friend said he even went to breakfast with you this morning. I assume it was after you spent the night together, you slut."

"Actually Lucida, I only met Carlos this morning. As luck would have it, you turned your back on Carlos with my boyfriend. In the end, I think you guys did both Carlos and I a favour. We're both free and clear of a relationship that was more of a family obligation than a real partnership."

Carlos stood up beside me and backed up my story. "Lucida, please leave. You're making a scene and causing yourself more embarrassment. The end of our relationship is because you couldn't stay faithful. You have only yourself to blame. Stephanie has nothing to do with us. I only met her this morning, but we are now friends because of you and Ryan. You are just going to have to accept the fact that we are over, and you no longer have a say in what I do or whom I choose to do it with."

Lucida was furious with Carlos' statement. She attempted to step forward to slap me. Carlos tried to step between us as he noticed her raise her hand, but I was too quick for him. I put my arm up to block her weak slap and kicked her lightly in the shin. Lucida wailed in pain, trying to attract some attention. Bobby stood up and took a look at her shin and said, "Lucida, I think you should go home and put your leg up. Stephanie didn't really kick you that hard, but if you try something like that again, I'm sure she'll punch you hard enough to knock you into next week. It's safer if you just leave."

Lucida squared her shoulders, wiped her false tears from her face, turned and walked out of the bar. We were all surprised when the cheers from our table were augmented by those from neighbouring tables. They had all witnessed the altercation and seemed to have come down in support of us rather than the weeping woman routine.

Over the next half hour or so, people from neighbouring tables came over to express their support. One guy admitted that he knew Ryan and had witnessed him with other women on several occasions. He didn't know who his girlfriend was, but always felt sorry for her because it was obvious that Ryan was cheating on her.

Carlos heard similar stories about Lucida, so when the bell over the bar finally rang indicating last call, Carlos and I felt even more secure in the idea of our lives without Ryan and Lucida. It was for the best, and we both knew it.

We all decided that one last round wasn't really needed, so we gathered our things and headed out of the bar. Vince wanted to walk Christie home, and since Christie's apartment was on the way to my place and Molly's, we joined them.

I think that Jimmy wanted to spend more time talking to Molly. They each finally worked up the courage to talk to one another only after Lucida left. This left them little only a little time to get to know each other, so Tommy joined us for the walk home. Because Tommy joined us, the rest of the guys followed suit.

Vince and Christie walked side-by-side at the front. Bobby, Tom and Lester were next, followed by Molly and Jimmy. Carlos and I took our positions at the rear of the processional. We walked in silence for a few minutes and then Carlos finally said, "I find it funny that both of us were dating people our family liked, and they ended up cheating on us together. Now, we're both worried that our families will be angry with us. My Father is best friends with Lucida's Father. Our mothers are like sisters. They are going to be so disappointed with me."

I was watching where I was walking, so I didn't look up at Carlos when I replied, "I know what you mean. My mother loves Ryan. They have already discussed what type of wedding we should have, and he never even proposed. My mother even suggested that I drop out of college so I could make a better home for Ryan after this year. When I refused, my mother gave me the silent treatment for 3 months. After that didn't work, she started calling me and lecturing me so often that I turned off the answering service on my phone."

We shuffled on in silence for a few more minutes. When we reached Christie's apartment building, we all waited outside while Vince walked her up. While we were waiting, Carlos asked, "Steph, are you afraid that Ryan might try to hurt you again, once he finds out about your charges?"

I looked up at him and admitted "I have thought about it, but I'm sure he won't hurt my physically. He'll try to intimidate me first, and if that doesn't work, he'll go to my mother. She will use guilt to get me to drop the charges and I'm sure she'll try to get me to reconcile with him.

"I'm supposed to go back home for the summer, but after the events with Ryan, my Mother will make life unbearable for me."

Carlos was silent for a moment and then asked, "If you went home, what would you do with your apartment here, and what would you do for work?"

"I have already paid rent in advance for the next 3 months. I didn't want the hassle of packing up an apartment and trying to find one again next year. As for work, I'll probably get a part-time job at the bakery near where my parents live. I've worked there ever since I was 15."

"Well, if you're interested, my father owns a small accounting firm in Newark. I'm sure he could find something for you to do that would make use of your skills. I will ask him when I talk to him tomorrow."

"I can't ask you to do that Carlos. Your father will hate me on principle. I am part of the reason you and Lucida broke up."

"How do you see yourself at fault here? You had nothing to do with it."

"I couldn't keep Ryan happy, so he had to go elsewhere, and that's how he and Lucida came to be involved."

Carlos stopped walking and put his hands on my shoulders in much the same way that Ryan did earlier that day. Carlos however, wasn't hurting me. He was simply trying to get my full attention. He looked me straight in the eye and said "Ryan is a fool, and you are in no way responsible for his infidelity. I was very attentive to Lucida and her needs, but I don't consider it my fault that she cheated on me. We are the victims in this, not the cause. No matter what your mother says, you deserve better than him.

"I know my parents will be disappointed that Lucida and I broke up, but they will understand why. Trust and loyalty are important to my family and our culture. They won't be mad at me, just disappointed that they have lost their guaranteed 100% Cuban grandchildren. They would never expect me to stay with Lucida after knowing how she betrayed me. The circumstances of our relationship will have more impact on my parents and their friendships that it will have on my relationship with my parents."

I listened to Carlos as he talked, and when he was finished, I asked, "Is the possibility of a pure Cuban grandchild that important to your parents?"

Carlos laughed and said, "No, not at all. My parents love their culture, and have passed it on to us kids, but they have never once said or implied that any of us had to marry somebody who was Cuban. I think the reason they'll be disappointed about Lucida is simply because she is the only child of my father's best friend. He was the only man who escaped Cuba with my Father. Several others left with them, but my Father and Manuel were the only two to survive the journey. They have had a strong bond since, and when Lucida was born less than 6 months after me, our parents hoped that we'd end up together.

"My eldest sister married a black man, my brother married a white girl from Mexico and my second eldest sister is currently engaged to a professional surfer from California. His hair is so blonde that when his head gets wet, it looks like he's bald. I've only met him twice, and he had a fabulous tan from being out in the sun all day, every day."

I nodded when he finished and explained my parents a little more. "My Mother is Hungarian and my Father is Italian. Ryan is a good Italian Catholic, exactly what my mother wants for me. They want me to quit school and marry the first guy that comes along. It doesn't matter if I love him, or if he loves me. It only matters that he's from a good Italian Catholic family.

"I'm sure that when my mother hears I've broken things off with Ryan, she'll try to change my mind. It won't work, but I know she'll try."

"That's why you should let me talk to my father about you. He always hires one or two students over the summer, and I'm sure with your skills, you'd be perfect. "

He handed me his phone and said, "Type your number in my contacts list. I will talk to my Father tomorrow and then call you with the news, good or bad."

I took his phone, typed in my name and number and then handed it back. Carlos dialled my number, and as soon as my phone rang, he hung up. "There, now you have my phone number in case you need to contact me for any reason."

I smiled at him and we continued to walk side by side, following the rest of the group.

Once again, send me your review to let me know that you're interested in me continuing this story. As a bit of a sneak peek, the next chapter is called 'Revenge is not always so sweet.'

I look forward to reading what you thought about this chapter.