Chapter 2: I'll Never Fall in Love Again

BOOM!

Thunder roared. It was so loud that Miguel hid underneath one of the tables.

"Dónde está Héctor?" Elena asked.

The guests all nodded and agreed with her, for they had been wondering the same question. They had been waiting for so long that they became restless, especially the children.

Some who needed a break from sitting, had gone into the basement downstairs where tea and cookies awaited for them. Others had decided to stay in the pews and prayed for the couple's safe return.

The Riveras were the ones that had went into the basement. Abuelita was the only one pacing back and forth. Luisa and Enrique were looking out the window to see any sign of the groom.

Everybody else sat down at the tables.

Miguel crawled from underneath the table. He sighed in relief, thinking the storm was over. A deafening boom shook the church.

"Eek!" Miguel leapt and ran to his mother nearby. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into the folds of her dress. "Mamá!"

"It's okay, mijo," Luisa said soothingly. She enveloped her arms around him and stroked his head gently. "It's okay."

"Shouldn't we go and look for him," Carmen inquired.

"He'll be back," Berto assured her. "It's not like he traveled too far from the church."

"Well, he better come back here, before the storm gets worse!" Abuelita sighed.

"Father and there was an extra space between Father and Andres say they will wait for him by the door," Franco said.

While, Andres and the priest were pacing back and forth in the hallway, they perked up at the sound of knocking on the front door.

Padre José went to answer it.

When he opened the door, he was stunned to see the groom drenched.

"Héctor!?"

The priest wasted no time letting him inside.

Andrés went downstairs to notify Elena that Héctor is back. While he does so, Padre José asked the numb groom the whereabouts of his bride.

Héctor's tearstained face was swollen and puffy with grief.

"Call off the wedding!"

The men gasped.

"Qué!?" Padre José exclaimed. He wrapped the young man a big blanket for warmth.

"Por favor, call off the wedding!"

"Dónde está Ernestina?" Andrés added.

"And why should I call the wedding off?" Padre José frowned, crossing his arms. "You better give me one good reason why! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to tell everyone who came here, that the wedding is cancelled?!"

Héctor didn't have the heart to speak.

"Héctor, por favor explain."

Héctor sighed with a heavy heart. He whispered to the priest because he didn't want anyone else to hear.

Padre Jose's eyes widened like pancakes. When the groom finished, the priest let out a big sigh.

"I understand."

Later, when all the assembly had gathered inside the pews, the priest made a big and grave announcement.

"The wedding is off!"

The whole congregation gasped. People whispered among themselves about why this happened.

"We're sorry to tell you that wedding is canceled. Now once the storm lifts up, I suggest everyone go home."

While members of the church were making plans when to leave or praying for the groom and bride, the Riveras privately approached Héctor.

"Mijo, why is the wedding being cancelled?" Abuelita questioned.

"Dónde está Ernestina?" Luisa inquired.

"I can't believe I put my best suit on for nothing!" Berto exclaimed.

"I get to wear makeup for one day, and I put it on for nothing!?" Gloria yelled.

"Knock it off you two!" Abuelita barked, bonking them each on the head with her dress shoe.

"You should give your brother respect!" Carmen chided her husband.

"Sorry mi amor," Berto smiled sheepishly.

"I am sure Héctor has a good explanation," Franco calmed them down.

"Héctor qué pasa?" Enrique asked his brother.

"It's Ernestina," the groom sniffed. "I found her in the cementary and she-she m…,"

"Yes, go on!" Abuelita encouraged him.

"She was kissing another man!" As soon as he said those words, thunder roared throughout the sky. It boomed so loud that Miguel covered his ears and began to wail. Luisa held her son who buried his face in her dress.

"Are you sure, mijo?" Franco asked, making Hector nod miserably.

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Oh, no wonder he looked so upset!" Andrés said to Natalia, who also looked shocked.

"Oh my gosh!" the maid of honor exclaimed. "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Héctor's voice cracked.

"I should have known something was up," Natalia continued. "When Tina didn't show up at the altar, I thought she was still in the powder room! I should have-"

"Oh, that sneaky, conniving, deceptive, puta!" Abuelita yelled. (Luisa gasped and covered Miguel's ears). The matriarch marched toward the door, with a shoe in her hand. "Dónde está ella? I want to give her a beating she'll never forget!"

"Now, now mi amor," her husband said, softly while holding her back. "The storm is still raging on-"

"Never mind about that storm! That hussy should be beaten up!"

While Abuelita, Andrés, and the Rivera men were arguing whether to go and beat up Ernestina, Héctor lingered in the hallway.

Natalia, Carmen, Luisa, and the kids tried thier best to cheer him up.

"That's it!" Héctor cried, wiping his fresh tears away from his face. "I'm done!"

"Done with what?" Natalia asked.

The young shoemaker picked up a guitar that was leaning against the wall besides the other musical instruments.

The groom had been hoping to use it to serenade his former bride. But now he felt like singing something that was melancholy. After tuning the guitar, Héctor strummed a few chords and began to sing a bit softly.

"… I've been in love so many times

Thought I knew the score

But now you've treated me so wrong

I can't take anymore

And it looks like

I'm never gonna fall in love again

… Fall in love, I'm never gonna fall in lo-o-ve!"

"Oh Héctor!" Luisa spoke, sadly. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"I mean it!

Fall in love a-a-a-a-a-a-a-gain!"

When the rain finally let up, he walked out of the church through the back door, still strumming.

"Tío Héctor!" Miguel called.

"Where are you going?" Natalia added.

"Come back hermano!"

"Let him go, Gloria," said Andres. "He needs to be alone."

Although the rain had stopped, the ground was still so wet that there were puddles. Héctor walked through a mud puddle, recalling a few townspeople talking about Ernestina flirting with other men, last month or so. He wished he had listened to them.

"… All those things I heard about you

I thought they were only lies

But when I caught you in his arms

I just broke down and cried

And it looks like

I'm never gonna fall in love again!''

The young shoemaker walked around the church building and found a clear path. It was also full of puddles but he could care less as he walked through them.

"… Fall in love, no, I'm never gonna fall in lo-o-ve

I mean it, I mean it

Fall in love a-a-a-a-a-a-a-gain!"

Héctor ventured out onto the path, not knowing where he was going. He did not come out of the church as a married man like he had hoped. But he came out, no longer feeling romantic.

"… I gave my heart so easily

I cast aside my pride

But when you fell for someone else, baby

I broke up all inside

And it looks like

I'm never gonna fall in love again."

He looked up from the ground and shouted toward the sky in anguish.

"That's why I'm singing

Fall in love, no, I'm never gonna fall in lo-o-ve

Please don't make me

Fall in love again!"

When the former groom was done singing his heart out, he began to shed new tears.