Chapter 343 - Fragmented - mdfour
Clarisa
"Right now they're very upset, which is normal given what they're doing," I decided to take a breath. "Take today to think it over. You can call me to inform me of any decision."
"Thank you, doctor."
Inés was silent. We returned to the waiting room in silence, waiting to be called for the next round of brain sample collection.
"Clari, respect my decision. I don't want to burden my boys any more; they need to focus, and I don't want to be an additional weight."
"I'm not going to support you in this. I'll give you this week. Next Monday, if you haven't told everyone, I will. But I'll tell the girls this afternoon."
"Just ask them not to tell their husbands. You're right that I should tell them, but not now."
Her voice broke, and since I'm such a crybaby, I started crying too. Of all her daughters-in-law, she called the one who wouldn't give her strength; I just cry along with her.
They called her in for her checkup, and my phone rang. It was Roland.
"Hi, Clari."
"Hi, Roland."
"Is Inés being seen?" I closed my eyes.
"Yes, I'm waiting for her to come out."
"When will they give her the results?"
"I don't know. I'll ask the doctor now."
"Please do. You know she tends to hide the truth from us. I'll tell the boys she's being seen."
"Perfect."
"Are you going to the girls' meeting this afternoon?"
"Yes."
"I can't imagine what you'll talk about." This was suspicious; they think we'll talk about Aníbal. Change the subject, Clari.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, just sharing the measurements of your penises."
I can't imagine the look on his face, and thank goodness he's not in front of me. I'd laugh at him. We've never talked about that, but something tells me they're lying to us.
"Do you talk about that?"
"Among other things." Inés came out of the consultation. "I have to go, Inés is out."
……
Verónica
It was two in the afternoon. Gladis invited us for a snack; we gathered, except for Shirly. The topic was Aníbal; she told us she didn't believe in Churrusco's death.
When I arrived, Diana, Clari, and Luisa were already there. I turned off the car and saw Arinka arriving too. The rest were in San Antonio studying, and Shirly couldn't come for obvious reasons.
We greeted each other and stayed on the terrace. After asking about each of our families, Gladis spoke.
"The reason for this meeting is to tell you that Aníbal is still alive."
We fell silent while she continued with her assessment and especially the conversation she had with Mrs. Josefina. She presented valid arguments.
"But they lied blatantly to Verónica," said Luisa. "He's my brother and my husband, but they both played dirty."
"We did something similar, remember Arnold's wedding?" We looked at her. "We stood in solidarity with one of us. Our husbands do the same, and that's not lying to us; it's respecting their friend's decision." No one said anything. I was analyzing every word. Absolutely every one.
"Girls," Clari spoke. "Now... if Aníbal is alive... if he were under different circumstances, I'd give each of them a couple of slaps when I see them again. But the news..."
"Clari, what's wrong?" I asked. She burst into tears.
"You're scaring us," commented Arinka.
"Inés has bone cancer," she said in a whisper. No one said a word; we were in absolute silence. "She doesn't want to tell the boys, not right now. She asked us to respect her decision. If I see it that way, I understand why our husbands hid Churrusco's situation." I didn't know what to think. We heard a car, and it was Shirly's.
"Damn!" said Gladis. Our friend joined us.
"A meeting and you didn't invite me?" Think, Verónica, think.
"You're so untimely!" I commented. Everyone looked at me. "When's your birthday?"
Shirly's expression changed from feeling excluded to shrugging; her birthday is this Friday.
"Girls, I don't want a party."
"And who said it's a party?" The girls looked at me.
"It's a surprise," Diana intervened.
"But now she knows!" Shirly laughed. "We were going to kidnap you for a weekend at a hotel in the Caribbean, no kids. Just us." Roland is going to kill me.
"Who will I leave Grego with?"
"His aunt. The ten of us are going, plus Inés, Mrs. Josefina, Carmela, and my mother-in-law."
"We're going to leave the men to take care of the kids? Without the supervision of the super-grandmas... Miguel is going to be a mess. Besides, Carlina has a baby."
"Nothing will happen in three days, and if the mom can't leave him, he's the only baby. It's true everyone will go crazy taking care of the kids. The girls from San Antonio need to finish their tasks by Thursday because we leave Thursday night." I looked at Shirly. "Friend, you need a distraction."
"Thank you." We all hugged her. "I know you do it so I don't feel bad about not having my man. I confess I envy you. There's no turning back."
"Well, we told you the saint, but not the miracle. So now you have to go because we need to plan the rest. The place will be a surprise."
"Wait, Shirly, why did you come?"
"I wanted to talk to Mrs. Josefina."
"Why?" She got nervous.
"It's just... maybe you'll think I'm crazy. But ever since I visited Aníbal's grave and then prayed in my room on Saturday, I've been experiencing strange things."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, in my prayer, I asked him to come back, to become my ghost, to fulfill what he told me in the letter."
"And?" Shirly was nervous.
"On Sunday night while I was preparing dinner. The stereo in my room turned on by itself and one of the songs my man used to sing to me started playing." Her lips trembled.
"And since Mrs. Josefina knows a bit about that, I wanted her to come to my house to see if she feels anything or sees... I know I'm crazy! But I feel Aníbal." The heart doesn't lie, especially if the two are connected.
"Definitely, the best gift we can give you is to clear your mind for a while."
Luisa spoke, looking at me. I have to analyze everything, though I have no idea how to feel. What Gladis told us was true. We can't label her lie as an offense to us when they only respect their friend's decision, just as we must respect Inés's. On this trip, I need to clarify many things.
"I think this weekend we all need it. Girls, let's organize everything," I said.
……
Roland
I arrived exhausted; we're already setting up the framework for another hit. This time we'll do it alone. That way, we won't have to move so many people, especially since it's in our country. From Colombia, they're sending a shipment of women and children.
We've intercepted calls; they still don't have the number they need, but they've been kidnapping and keeping them locked up. It reassures me that they won't do anything to them because, according to what we've heard, they want them to be virgins, those sick bastards. They also need about two dozen girls between thirteen and fifteen years old. Just imagining Melisa, Cereza's daughter, one of my nieces, in that... Troy would burn.
The more I delve into this swamp of human scum, the more I thank God for putting Verónica in my path. And speaking of her, I can't look my wife in the eye since I lied to her so vilely.
Seeing that look of belief in my words that Aníbal isn't alive is eating me up inside. Yesterday it was delightful to lock ourselves in the room, away from intruders, just my cock and three places where I enjoyed putting it, savoring it, kissing it, and merging with the softest skin my dirty hands have ever touched.
I, who used to change women almost daily, still surprise myself with this aberrant desire for my wife's body. And that's where love lies, it wasn't her body that makes my penis hard, it was her soul, her smile, that look that tells me every day she's proud of me, that warmth of her embrace, that conversation in the afternoons. Everything about her excites me, and that, without a doubt, is my greatest treasure.
I entered the office; it was five in the afternoon. I haven't looked at the designs I need to approve for Verónica so she can give them to Manolo. When I arrived in the living room, Enrique was sitting in a chair with his little feet dangling and his hand on the armrest supporting his cheek, completely bored. In the background, I could hear Liam at the piano. Given the time, he must be with the teacher.
"What's up, champ?"
"Dad! Finally, you're here. Are we going to work now?" I nodded. The exhaustion went down the drain. He must have been waiting for me since three.
"Will you come with me to ask Grandma Inés to make us something tasty?"
Verónica shouldn't be long; they had a wives' meeting, and what happened yesterday must be their topic of conversation.
"Grandma Inés has a headache." I got scared. "Victoria is the nurse."
"And your brother Dante?"
"In the stables with Jacinto."
As Verónica says, my children inherited my tastes in fragments. Dante has a love for the countryside, for livestock and horse breeding. Enrique loves design and construction; I'm already teaching him how to use special programs for that. Liam with music, he plays the piano, the guitar, and on Saturdays, I started teaching him the accordion. The one who didn't take anything from me but has me wrapped around her finger is Victoria, my daughter, identical to her mom.
"Come with me to visit your grandma, and then we'll get to work."
"Okay, Dad."