Chapter 390 - Divine Intervention? - four meters
Roland
"Let's start from the beginning," I said. "No one agreed with your hasty decision, and we knew it was only a matter of time before Alfredo snapped out of his idiocy. The Saturday after your madness."
He lowered his head. I'm not going to sugarcoat things. Both of them are guilty, and both will hear my truths, one more than the other.
"Forgive me, but you were crazy, and he was an idiot. In any case, your mother had a premonition which she shared only with Veronica, and then she talked to me. That Saturday, the day after your big idea to get married, Mrs. Josefina said that the only thing to do was talk to those involved to bring them to their senses."
Simon approached the living room TV and connected the link to show Patricia the videos.
"During those days, we talked a lot, you know. Going back to that Saturday, I had a conversation with my wife on the phone, then we saw Alfredo's reaction during the mission in Turkey that he participated in with Freddy. By some act of God, Arinka spilled everything to her husband about your wedding and your pregnancy." She turned red. "Alfredo heard, and that day... You need to see this."
I looked at everyone, and Gustavo nodded, then I looked at Rata, giving my approval. He turned on the screen; the image showed the confrontation with the four men. That day, he wasn't himself; he fought with rage. I saw how Patricia covered her mouth; it was hard to watch him unleash his impotence and frustration on that man, who only received blows, then Freddy's intervention, their fight until he finally drugged him. Simon turned off the first of many images we would show her.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Because it's necessary to give you context," I assured her. "That same day, Veronica told me that her soul was screaming that she needed to intervene. Gustavo was uneasy about your madness; it was evident, you were getting married out of spite, and then I saw my brother in that barbaric act. For the next four days, you were the only topic of conversation between my wife and me. You had already gotten married civilly, Rino was back in Blanco." I remembered what I talked about with Veronica that dawn when we changed everything:
"Do something."
"They are in a toxic relationship, don't think we didn't see it. Alfredo loves her, but he doesn't know how to show it. And she doesn't know her worth. The day I miss your birthday without a justifiable reason, either clinical or jail, you, Veronica Vázquez, rip my balls off."
"True. But work your magic, you always step in when you feel there's a chance. Believe me, you have a direct line with God, please stop this madness of a church wedding."
"Sweetheart..."
"I know you can! Alfredo will thank you, look, Rino has a problem and Patricia another, let's help them in the best way, without them knowing, and you'll know how to do it."
"You make me feel..."
"You are too smart, Roland! You have this gift of knowing people, you anticipate their actions, I can say it seems like you read their minds, you know them psychologically."
"You're forgetting the third ingredient in this equation."
"Let me talk to Maximo. In fact, I'll call him today and talk to him, I'll try to make him see the mistake he's making. And then you, with the help of your brothers, come up with a new plan to help them both."
"How?"
"You're a mastermind, you just need to think. So much so, that I'm going to step aside and not interfere after talking to Maximo so you can't say I influenced you." She pointed at herself, and I almost kissed her all over. "According to you, I always come out of left field. I'm not going to interfere. But... do it, Roland. He's your younger brother, siblings help each other. He's blind because of his life reasons, figure it out, and Patricia just needs to believe she's worth it. Help them!"
I saw Patricia's lip tremble. For a moment, we stayed silent, I looked at Maximo to continue with his version. For my part, thanks to that intervention, Veronica and I have added certain sexual games to our intimacy that have been delightful. My thoughts wandered for a moment to the end of that conversation I had with her.
"I can't say no to you," she jumped on me and climbed quickly. "I'm going to make you pay for this."
"I'll be your sex slave if you want. I'll pay you in kind. Thanks, Heaven."
"I'll think about how I want you to pay me later."
"As long as you don't make me do the absurd poses from the Kama Sutra," we laughed out loud.
"Not a bad idea."
"I'm not a contortionist!"
"But if it occurs to me, Mrs. Sandoval, to use some black lingerie, and we practice just a little with certain games."
"I don't like that, nor that you hit me." Just imagining her like that made my dick hard.
"I said a few games, besides you have to pay me for what I'm going to do."
"Let me think about it for a couple of days." I bit my lower lip.
"I don't know what it is about you, that I never get tired of you."
"It's just love, Roland, that's all you need to live together for so many years. You've never stopped making me fall in love."
I returned to the present. Máximo was approaching Patricia.
"Do you remember the Wednesday I left the apartment because supposedly my father called me?" she nodded.
"I went to meet with Veronica. We had breakfast together and she made me see the mistake we were about to make. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, but that wasn't right. We had already gotten married in a civil ceremony, but that could be quickly undone. The oath before the church was important to you. I know your devotion. Besides that, there was the matter of my parents, I told them the truth and their words were:
'I adore Patricia, but we won't be accomplices in her own sentence to bitterness. And you're our only son, and we won't participate in the destruction of your life. If we do, we don't love you.'
"That's why they didn't attend the civil wedding. Veronica told me everything, she said how Alfredo was taking it, described your problem, and challenged me to be the professional I am to help you. She told me verbatim:
'You've never had her and you'll never have her the way you want. Patricia is a one-man woman, I'm telling you because I'm the same. For us, our body is sacred, if she opens her legs it will be out of mere obligation, not love. Now, look me in the eyes and answer! Do you deserve that? A man like you, with a heart and personality overflowing with chivalry and demeanor. Do you deserve to receive scraps? Have you thought that, over the months, she will come to despise you? You will create a pathology of frustration, you will force her, because it's her right and you are her husband. Which would mean you would rape her every time you felt like it. Now, another important topic, would you like to be denied a child?'
"I remember her words so clearly, they clicked in my head. Everything she said could happen. That's why she asked for help. It was about becoming your psychologist, helping you to see how valuable you are. That's why I distanced myself, I didn't want you in my bed, and I'm good, but not a saint, and with your body, it was enough to make me fail in my attempt not to consummate the marriage."
"That's why..." She didn't let him finish.
"Let me finish, Patricia. I left the restaurant after talking to Veronica, and when I got to the office, Alfredo approached me." Patricia's eyes widened. "I understood that he loved you because he didn't insult me, he just said that if I hurt you or cheated on you, he would kill me. Later that afternoon, I went to talk to my parents and told them everything. Also what we were planning to do. And they agreed, but they asked me to intervene in the treatment your husband needed to take."
"What?" Máximo smiled.
"The psychologists Alfredo has had report his progress to me, they do what I suggest after consulting with these minds." He pointed to us. "My intervention has been almost in vain, Roland has been driving everything, he asks me and we act under the most correct scheme."
"What does Alfredo have? It's true that he's very reserved and in some way presents a phobia towards marriage and starting a family. From his history and the little he told me, I deduced that he needed to see that with me it would be different, that's why I acted as I did. But I fell into submission, into fear, the more time passed, the more scared I felt, I lost courage and didn't know how to handle the situation."
"The priest was an actor, we paid a fortune for the real priest to let us have the celebration, the only condition was a penance that we all had to pay; we did several acts of community service, the money was for the parish's soup kitchens run by the priest, now we are good acquaintances. It's important that you see for yourself Alfredo's attitude." I said again, Simón turned on the screen. Gustavo and Miguel remained silent.
The video Patricia was now watching was the footage taken by Rata from the security camera on the street in front of the church, we saw Alfredo's attitude. "I would have gone crazy," we saw him sitting on the floor crying, then we showed her the cameras from the station when he destroyed his knuckles and asked Gustavo for forgiveness for losing his sister. Patricia just cried and cried, we heard Amín's cry. Máximo went to get him, the baby arrived with his red face hugging his stuffed animal, the mother took him in her arms and it was her only solace. After she calmed down, she spoke.
"Why are you only telling me this now?"