Easter's Lilly (43 page)

“
Oh my God,” I said under my breath. He looked around again and touched my face.

“
Admit it, you still want me?” I looked at him and could feel that my face was hot.

“
Diego, I never wanted you,” I reminded him. “Let’s not forget that.” He was really pushing me.

“
Come and hear me preach,” he suggested again. “I promise,” he crossed his heart, “best behavior.”

“
Like you’re doing now?” I asked. “Is this best behavior?”

“
I’m sorry, I can’t help myself.” He looked away.

“
I’ll have to bring Max and Hector, you know.” I looked at him for a reaction.

“
I would love that,” he said. “Really, come.”

“
Okay, I will ask Max about it later.” I looked again for company.

“
What are you so nervous about?” he asked.

“
Max is insanely jealous of you, you know that,” I said, still looking.

“
He should be,” he answered. “I will not honor this divorce. Not ever.”

“
Diego, once you become a preacher man,” I looked around and then said in a whisper, “you will have to let me go.”

“
There was a man named Paul.” He seemed to be moving away from the subject. “He was just like me. God saw favor in him.”

“
There is so much I don’t know,” I told him.

“
I can teach you, Lilly. God can use me to teach you.” He handed me a glass.

“
This is weird,” I told him. “You and God. You and me… Who
are
you?”

“
The devil took everything away from me.” He made another check for Max. “I am grateful for those bullets. God has given me the chance to redeem myself.”

He reached over and handed me another plate. He didn’t let go of my hand. “Diego…” I warned.

“
Are you saying you don’t like it when I touch you?”

“
I’m saying that I love my husband, so cut it out!”

“
Shhh!” he said. “Remember what I said about that.” Max came in at that time. He was watching us innocently wash the dishes.

“
Lilly? Is there coffee?”

“
There’s coffee and Diego’s famous flan,” I answered. “I will bring them both out to you.”

Max got a little closer and put his arms around my waist. “Is he bothering you?” he asked.

“
Not at all,” I answered. “He was telling me about his work in the church. I think we should go see him Wednesday night. What do you think?”

“
I don’t know,” he looked suspiciously at Diego. “What do you do?”

“
It’s no big deal,” he answered. “I give a mini sermon to the youth.”

“
I would
love
to see that,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. I hit him gently with the towel. “All right, all right, we’ll go.” He walked out.

“
He’s a lucky man,” Diego said.

“
Reality check.” I put up the last plate. “I have a son by John and a son by Max. How would that make you feel? Do you just want me because Max took me from you?”

He looked into the living room and put his hands on my shoulders. He moved us farther from their view. “I know what I lost,” he said, almost in a whisper. “I will love and cherish you. I will never raise my hand to you or force you to do something you are not comfortable with again.” He looked behind him. We were still alone. “Like I told you before. I will not take you, this time.
You
will come to
me
.”

I could feel my face getting hot again. He looked behind him and quickly kissed my lips. It was gentle and soft. “Remember,” he said. “I’m not Johnny.” I pulled away and began to wipe my face furiously. I grabbed the coffee cups and tried to pour the coffee but my hands were shaking. He took my hands and said, “Relax Lilly.” He started pouring the coffee for me. “Everything will work out the way God wants it to.” I brought the coffee out and Diego was behind me with the flan. We served it and observed a little of the conversation. We cleared the table of the rest of the used dishes and continued to clean.

“
You have to stop that,” I whispered. “Really, I mean it!” I was still whispering but fiercely.

“
As soon as I know you don’t like it,” he stopped and winked at me, “I’ll stop.”

“
I don’t like it, Diego. Really, no more!” I could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t believe me. The truth was… I was kind of aroused. We continued to clean up together. I tried to think of something to say but I was way too embarrassed. I could only imagine what Hector would have thought of me if he walked in on us. Max would’ve shot Diego for sure. I had to make him understand that there would be no romance.

“
So tell me,” he said, trying to change the subject. “When you and Max were alone at the creek, what did you do together before the affair?”

“
You really want to know?” I asked. I was pretty sure he didn’t.

“
I want to know as much about you as I can,” he answered. “What kind of things did you do together?”

“
Do you like poetry?” I asked him. “He used to read me poetry.”

“
I am not as educated as my brothers. I was pushed into the cartel at 16 and that was all I knew,” he answered. “What else?”

“
We shopped together,” I answered.

“
With
my
money,” he added. I laughed. “I was always happy to see you smile when you bought something new.”

“
We did everything together, Diego. Everything except for what I was doing with you.”

He paused for a minute. He stopped washing and turned to me. “I will forever regret the way I treated you.”

“
I know,” I told him. “If I have forgiven you…” I paused, “and God has forgiven you… don’t you think it’s time for you to forgive yourself?”

“
I suppose you’re right,” he continued. “If Paul can forgive himself, certainly I can forgive myself.”

“
Whose Paul?” I asked again.

“
A story for another day,” he told me. “Let’s just say a murderer and a non-believer. Very much like me.”

“
Like you
used to
be.” I felt that correcting him was the thing to do. I could see he had become very hard on himself. Max finally came in and pulled me away. He brought me into the dining room and placed me on his lap. “I love you, daddy.” I kissed his cheek. He smiled and Elizabeth made a face.

“
I know,” Hector said. “Just imagine living with them.”

“
I’d better get going, anyway,” Elizabeth started. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“
We’re going to church Wednesday night to see… wait for it…” Max was having way too much fun with this, “Diego preach to the youth.” Hector laughed out loud.

“
Stop it, you two.” I had to say something. Someone had to defend him.

“
We are so there!” Hector blurted.

“
Please join us Elizabeth,” Max offered. “You’re not in a hurry to get back, are you?”

“
You couldn’t
keep
me away,” she admitted. She grabbed Hector’s hand. “Please, walk me out.” She reached over and put her hand on his cheek. She kissed him and we all just watched for some reason. We couldn’t look away.

“
Thank you for the meal, Maxwell. Lilly,” she began. I could tell it was hard for her to say something nice to me. “Thank you for the hospitality.”

“
Anytime,” I said. “I hope you will come back soon.”

“
We’ll pick you up before church,” Max added. “Be sure to give Hector your information.”

“
I’m staying with my mother,” she said. Then she opened her purse and took out a card. She grabbed a pen and scribbled something on the back. “This is her address.” She held the card up for him to take. “On the other side is my personal information.” Hector smiled at us and then took her hand and walked her out. When the front door closed Diego, Max and I, like little children, went running to the window.

“
Can you see anything?” Max asked.

“
I think they’re kissing,” Diego answered.

“
He’s pressing her up against the car,” I said. “Okay, we’ve had our fun. Let’s leave him alone.” They both stood back. I was pretty sure whatever was happening next out there was something Hector wouldn’t want watched. “He’s put up with the three of us for years. Let’s give him some space.” They both laughed a little and we went back into the living room. Hector walked back into the house and glided over to us like he was already in love.

“
I don’t like it,” Diego said. “It’s too convenient. What’s she doing here anyway?”

“
I like her,” Hector said.

“
We can see that,” I added. “Why’d you invite her to the church on Wednesday, Max?”

“
Keep your friends close,” Diego said.

“
Keep your enemies closer,” Max finished. “I don’t like it either.”

“
Max, I expected you to at least be on my side.” Hector had real disappointment in his tone.

“
Just be careful,” he said. “Don’t give away too much too soon.”

“
Too late for that,” I said laughing.

“
You’re loving this, aren’t you?” he asked me.

“
Yup.” I laughed again. “Finally, someone else to talk about.” Diego shot me a glance. My stomach sank a little. I think Hector caught it.

“
Finally a nice Easter, right Lilly?” Hector asked. “No real drama.”

“
So far, so good.” I told him. “Let’s finish cleaning up and get ready for bed. We have to start packing tomorrow if we’re planning on leaving by Thursday.” We all went our separate ways, except of course for Max and me. We put the boys down together. Diego walked passed the nursery and Max poked his head out to watch him walk to his old bedroom. He came back inside and looked at me. “Do you believe him?” he asked me. “Really?”

“
I do,” I said. “You should hear the excitement in his voice when he talks about doing work for God. It’s spooky.”

He laughed and reached for my face. “Do you still melt when I touch you?” He pulled my body into his and my knees almost buckled. He pulled me up. “Glad to see that sometimes.” He put his mouth on mine and caressed my lips. I was helplessly under his spell. I was glad to see it too. “Let’s go to bed,” he suggested. “I think we need each other tonight.” We walked hand in hand down the hallway. It felt so right… so very right.

Chapter 32

Repent!

We picked up Elizabeth and headed to church. Hector and Max were poking fun at Diego the whole ride over calling him, “preacher man.” I tried to hush them but it wasn’t easy. We walked into the church and youth started swarming around Diego like mosquitoes to a lake. The ethnicity was diverse among the young people although I would guess that the majority was Latino. They were very excited to see him, especially the little girls. Diego assured me that he never mentioned my name or that the man who is married to his “wife” was his brother when he discussed his testimony. He said he protected our privacy.

The children rushed us and Diego introduced us to them. I felt like I was with Antonio Banderas by the way they were treating him. “Are you his wife, are you his wife?” was bouncing idly through the crowd at me. Max pulled me through the swarms of people, much like the old days. I felt like I had a bodyguard again. Hector and Elizabeth trailed behind. We found some seats up front. We noticed that the front pew was almost always empty. Diego was finally able to get to the pulpit. He was full of self-confidence and pride. Before he got started he said a prayer and asked God to use him to help bring people to Christ. Then he made an embarrassing announcement.

“
I would like you all to welcome my family.” All heads turned and looked at us as he pointed to our pew. He was so proud that we were there. “They wanted to come visit with us to see what youth night is all about. Please make them feel welcome.” They all started to clap and we heard some female voices screaming, “We love you, Diego!” Max looked at me and laughed. Hector poked Max. They were so entertained. “What is he, Ricky Martin?” Hector asked.

“
Shhh!” I said. They tried to stop laughing. Diego went on to talk about someone named Paul. I guess he wanted to tell me the story after all. He talked about how God blinded Paul because it was through new eyes that he needed to see. He compared himself to the murderer and it was quite shocking, I thought. I was wondering how he could be so honest without putting himself at legal risk. He talked about the love of his life. He nicknamed her Blanca to “protect her privacy.” He said he lost her to his best friend. It was a very sad story. But he went on to say that the best friend was not at fault, and he only wants love and happiness for her. My eyes teared up and I almost started to weep. Max pulled me closer, hoping I wouldn’t give myself away with the tears.