“Don’t get up on my account,” Alfredo says.
“I need to go check on the boys and the pig. I heard Domenic is taking regular samples,” she says of her grandson, who’s home from New York City, “and with his appetite, there won’t be anything left for the rest of us if he’s not stopped.”
“Get right on that, then,” I tell her, well aware of Domenic’s ferocious appetite. Although not even he could put a dent in the gigantic pig roasting in the backyard.
“Sofia was putting the finishing touches on the moro,” Alfredo says of the black beans and rice that are a Nochebuena staple. “She wanted you to try it.”
The smell has my mouth watering as I take the steaming bowl from him. As I take the first bite, flavor explodes on my tongue. “Oh yes, that’s muy bueno.”
“Your protégé is coming right along.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Lovely Sofia has blossomed under your tutelage and Livia’s this year.”
“She’s a wonderful young woman, and we’re thrilled to have her as part of our family.”
“I think you’re a wonderful woman with the way you made her and her son part of your lives. You have no idea what you’ve done for her.”
“She’s a very special person and so is her little Mateo. We’re the lucky ones.”
“And you wonder why I love you.”
“Actually, I don’t. I’m very lovable.”
His laughter rocks his entire body. “Yes, you are.”
“I want you to know… I appreciate having you in my life, and I’m very happy I finally said yes to you after all those years of you asking me to join you for dinner.”
“But?”
“No buts. Just that. I will think about what you asked me.”
He leans in and kisses me. “You make me very happy, mi amor.”
I use another of my new vocabulary words to sum things up. “Likewise.”
Sofia
I’m keeping careful watch over the moro after Marlene taught me how quickly the rice and beans can become mushy. After I turn down the heat on the gas stove, I stir the huge pot to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Marlene taught me it’s a delicate balancing act. I had to look up the meaning of that expression and learned it means to carefully manage two or more things. Today, I’m managing the rice and beans and the attention of a man who makes my heart race when he looks at me the way he does.
Nico Giordino.
His sisters and cousin have warned me away from him.
Maria says he’s toxic with women. I had to look up the meaning of the word toxic, too. I found out that means his behavior would add negativity and upset to my life, which is the last thing I need after what I’ve gone through with Mateo’s father.
Speak of the devil… That’s another phrase I learned from Livia. Anytime I hear something I don’t understand, I ask for the meaning. Since the medical emergency that brought me to Dr. Jason Northrup and the Giordino family, I’m determined to learn as much English as I can. While I was blessed with wonderful translators who helped me navigate the medical maze, I decided that I need a basic understanding of English, too.
Marlene, who committed to learning English after her first trip “home” to Cuba since the revolution made her realize that Miami is now her home, has been my partner in learning English. While we will always be proud native Spanish speakers, we’re pleased with what we’ve learned so far at our ESL classes.
Back to the devil… He’s due any minute to deliver our son to me for Nochebuena and Christmas morning.
Joaquín Diaz was my childhood sweetheart, who somewhere along the way fell into the wrong crowd, got himself into trouble with drugs and petty crime and made my life a living hell for years with intense emotional abuse that later became physical. I’ve finally broken free of him, thanks in no small part to Marlene and Livia, who heard about our plight when Mateo was sick, offered me a job with benefits and quite simply saved my life—and my son’s. Thanks to them and a friend who’s a lawyer, I’ve filed for divorce and received a protective order that requires Joaquín to stay five hundred feet from me. The only exception to the order is when we hand off our son between visits.
Sometimes I still can’t believe it’s come to a need for official protection from the man I loved for most of my life.
“Sofia,” Nico’s cousin Domenic says. “Someone’s asking for you outside.”