Chapter 365 - The details of Inés - mdfour
Arnold
Tonight was our trip to Colombia, the only ones staying behind were Roland and Aníbal. I'm in my son Demetrio's room, my son looks like a lit yellow bulb, the truth is that they got nothing from Lupe, they are truly my children.
"Daddy, no like that!"
He rattled off another string of words that only Mandrake and his mother could understand, but I guessed that putting the toy car in that spot was forbidden in his mind. I watched my little one make frustrated faces, apparently because I had cheated.
That precious face wasn't just Demetrio's but also Dayana's; with her abundant blonde hair, maybe that was from my Renacuaja, not the color, but the thickness of it, my daughter with her long hair and my son with his military cut.
Seeing them filled me with immense satisfaction, especially when those two little bodies approached me in the bathroom after my mother's death, which I still mourn in secret. Sometimes, out of instinct, I take out my phone and dial her number, then I realize and it feels terrible to remember she's no longer here. This month has been very hard.
"Snack time for the kids!"
My cinnamon-skinned Siren entered, carrying the drinks while Dayana brought the cake pieces. The four of us sat on the floor to eat, then the kids started playing, and we stayed on Demetrio's bed watching them.
"Here, take this." She handed me a small box.
"Are you going to ask me to marry you again?"
"I never asked you to marry me."
I kissed her neck. I opened my gift and it was a beige rosary, with two styles of beads. I looked at her.
"Last weekend, Vero called all of us."
"I remember, you left me with my Aliens and Demetrio climbed into the playpen and fell out, which is why he still has that bump on his head."
"Don't remind me! Thank goodness Alfredo was at Las Reinas and you guys almost have a clinic at the station. Anyway, Verónica had decided to sort, throw away, and donate Inés's belongings the day before.
"Among them, she found a wooden box with eleven compartments, each with the name of one of her children. When Verónica looked inside, she saw that they had rosaries of different colors.
"She told us that Inés sometimes prayed with a different rosary, although the colorful one was the one she used most. When we put the eleven rosaries together, we realized that the eleventh was composed of the same colors with some textures from all the others.
"So, we deduced that she had them made since Freddy arrived at his alma mater. The colorful one was the one she prayed with for everyone, but if you needed something specific, she used that one.
"Look closely, it seems to have two different styles. One must be the old one and the other is the new one that is part of her eleventh rosary. Vero gave each of us our husbands' rosaries. We could choose to pray for you or give them to you." I steeled myself not to cry.
"Thank you."
"You know I always pray for you, but I also know you miss Inés's blessing in the morning and at night, so I took the liberty of attaching a locket to the rosary, and if you open it, there are pictures of our children inside." My lip trembled. "Wear it every day, Güerito, when you feel you need your mother's blessing, just squeeze it." A couple of tears escaped, and my wife's arms wrapped around me.
"Inés once told me that she prayed so much for my wife to be just right for me." I hugged her tighter. "You are the miracle she prayed for me, Lupe."
"Güerito, I love you, it hurts to see you so sad."
"Thank you for this gift." She lay down next to me, and we watched our children play and fight. I put on the rosary. "If my rosary is a yellowish beige, is Aníbal's black?" My Siren smiled.
"Yes, there are several shades of beige, browns, one reddish and the other black," I laughed.
"The reddish one is Daniel's?" he confirmed.
My kids were asleep when my friends arrived at the apartment for me. Simón and Miguel went up to say hello to Lupe. I grabbed my bag, which had my suit inside, and when I got to the living room, the guys were eating the Mexican empanadas my little frog had made. When I greeted them, I noticed they both had their rosaries too. I didn't say anything, just bid farewell to my wife, and she gave me her blessing.
"Take care and look after my kids."
"That's your job, so come back safe and sound, you pale pirate with milk-white cheeks." I bit her lip, then kissed her desperately. "I love you."
"I love you too. You know what I'll bring you."
Once we got to the airport, we left the two cars in the parking lot where they'd stay during our absence, handed over our tickets, and in the waiting room, I noticed we all had our mother's blessing.
"What's wrong?"
Cebolla noticed I was holding back tears. I took out my rosary and clutched it in my hand.
"We have our mother's blessing with us." I kissed the locket.
"Let that be a good omen. From now on, things will go well in our operations."
"We're doing the right thing, and it feels damn good. At least I'll be able to look my kids in the eye."
"That's right, Little Nugget. So much so that we have four babies on the way; Diana, Gladis, Arinka, and yesterday with the news about Shirly. We're in a wave of pregnancies again."
"Only Alfredo is left."
"He's reluctant to be a dad. Let's wait and see."
"Let's wait."
……
Roland
I showered my princess with kisses. I have to be at the base before the plane from Bogotá to Cartagena lands with my friends who are going to dismantle that degenerate organization. Verónica's orphanages are ready to receive the children and the girls, and then they'll be handed over to their parents.
"Daddy, you are the best dad in the world!"
That's why she has me wrapped around her finger. She's a sweet-talker, overly affectionate, and her hugs turn me into mush.
"Will you ever find anyone better than me?" I asked.
"No, daddy!" I kissed her on the forehead. "Daddy, can you build me a treehouse?"
There it is, I laughed. Those honey eyes had the same effect as her mom's.
"You want a treehouse?"
"Yes, a big one, so all my cousins can be there. Where we can play and read."
"Let me think about it."
"No, daddy, don't think about it. Look, I've been good, I help mom put the clothes in the washer, then fold them, and put them away in my drawers. I help with the animals, I'm doing well in school, I'm not a troublemaker, and I help Liam with his difficult homework." My seven-year-old daughter negotiating with me.
"You're right. Let me see which trees we can build it in, and that will be your Christmas present."
"For Christmas!"
She crossed her arms with a pout, and I wanted to pinch her cheeks. She grumbled and sighed.
"Okay. Do you want cake with milk? Grandma Claudia brought mom some cakes and shortbread. Do you want some?"
"Have your brothers eaten yet?" she nodded.
She crossed her arms, ready to tell me what happened and why Verónica punished them. Now they're locked in their rooms reading a book, only coming out to eat. They won't be able to do anything else until they finish one of the etiquette books my wife got.
There are several short volumes that talk about values, family, avoiding sins. I have no idea where she found them; Raúl brought them, and after reading them, he decided they were good lessons for the kids. Besides reading them, they have to write a summary to show they understood.