Worth the Drive (37 page)

Katie took a deep breath, let it out. “Ron, I’ve decided to sell the house. I just thought you’d
want to know.”

The sigh of relief from Ron was audible. As were the gasps from Lizzie and Alison. “No, I meant – ” This time Alison shut up at Katie’s warning look.

Ron looked at Alison, hoping she’d slip, but she kept still. He turned to Katie. “But you love that house. We worked so hard to get it just right.”

Katie only nodded, she didn’t say a word.

Darío
thought of the mansions he could buy her. Would she love them as much as the little house she’d shared with Ron?

If the nursery of her new home were full, the answer would be yes. Again,
Darío
thought
about the
one thing Katie could ge
t from him
and not Ron. Her child. Their child.

Mansion. Shack. Florida. Spain. The Copper Country. It didn’t matter to
Darío
where they made their home. Just as long as their child was safe, protected, loved. He knew Katie felt the same.

Ron searched Katie’s face, but it was still, serene, beautiful. “Well, thanks for letting me know. I guess we should let you guys get back to your dinner.”

They all made overly polite goodbyes and the new family went to a table out of hearing distance, but not out of sight, from the group’s table.

Katie gave Lizzie and Alison warning glances. Alison stewed while Lizzie, God bless her, drew everyone in to listen to a story about one of her newest clients.

They finished their dinners, each telling their news or stories. None of them mentioning the family across the restaurant.

Darío
, Katie and Lizzie were at the side of the table that faced Ron and Amber. As soon as they’d sat down, Amber had gotten on a cell phone while Ron got the baby settled in a high chair wooden thing the waitress brought. He pulled toys out of a diaper bag, entertaining the baby while they had their dinner.

As the fivesome got up to leave,
Darío
heard Lizzie say quietly to Katie, “You’ve got to admit, he is great with that baby. ”

Katie nodded, glancing at Ron and his child, then down at her purse as she gathered her things. “That’s not surprising. I always knew Ron would make a great father.”

Darío
felt a stab of jealousy, then quickly pushed it away. Katie would see. He’d be a great father,
too
.

“It’s a good thing, too. Because it looks like Amber doesn’t have a lot of maternal instincts,” Lizzie said.

Katie shrugged. “She’s young. It’ll come.”

They made their way from the restaurant, Katie not looking back.

But
Darío
did. He couldn’t help himself. He met Ron’s eyes. Blue, just like Katie’s. There were so many emotions going through them that
Darío
took a step back, startled. He turned and walked out of the restaurant feeling a strange sense of guilt.

Chapter
Twenty

It was a friendly divorce. She left me the piano and the lawnmower.

I couldn’t play either one.

- Lee Trevino,
professional
golfer

Katie replayed the scene in the Commodore over in her head as she packed her final bag later that night. She heard the moan from the pipes as
Darío
took a shower down the hall.

She tried playing it over with herself in Amber’s part. She and Ron and their baby walking into the Commodore, seeing Lizzie,
Finn
and Alison
.
Sitting down. Ron playing with the baby as she gossiped with Lizard and Al.

It was fuzzy, the image unclear, as if she couldn’t bring the lens of her daydream into focus.

Instantly she knew why.
Darío
wasn’t in the picture. And he should be. She wanted him to be.

She saw him so clearly, his brown eyes, warm, shimmering at her. His smile, crooked, lopsided, as if he knew a secret. The scent of him. The way his skin tasted after being on the golf course.

He was crystal clear, and thus the daydream, with him in it, became whole.

She put the packed bag next to her laptop case, reminding herself she needed to get the divorce papers out. She herself had felt legally free from Ron the minute she received them. And she’d felt bound to
Darío
ever since Akron. The papers were just a formality to her, but they were important for everyone to get on with their lives.

She started to reach for the bag, the papers, when she heard
Darío
yell from the shower, “
Gata
, come here, I have a very special place that needs personal washing.”

There was music in his teasing voice. Katie left the bedroom, shedding her clothes as she walked down the hall.

Katie listened to a couple seated down the row of airport chairs from her. They spoke both a smattering of English and Spanish. She closed her eyes and listened to the lilting voices, sounding so sensuous, even though they were probably only speaking of unpaid bills or who remembered to turn off the coffee pot that morning.

She realized she now equated spoken Spanish with words of arousal, words spoken in passion.
Darío
only spoke Spanish with her when they were alone, in bed. Words he whispered low in her ear as he entered her. Words he panted against her neck as he thrust deeply inside her. Words he could barely mutter as he climaxed within her.

Words she didn’t understand.

Oh, she understood their meaning. At least, she thought she did. But, he could be reciting the rules of golf while whispering what she assumed were sweet nothings.

She looked across the gate area of the airport to see
Darío
in the newsstand, still trying to decide what book to buy. She liked that he was giving so much thought to his literary choice, even if his selection was limited to five or six bestsellers. She did the same thing. Whenever she got out of the Copper Country, the first thing she did was find a Barnes and Noble or
some other bookstore
and spend hours in the giant bookstore, surrounded by the written word.

Taking advantage of
Darío
being engrossed at the book rack, Katie rose and walked over to
the couple
who
had been speaking both Spanish and English.

They were in their mid-forties, Katie guessed, both wearing wedding rings. Nothing made them stand out in any way. They were neither attractive nor unattractive. Just your basic, nondescript couple sitting in plastic chairs in an airport, waiting for their flight.

Katie sensed an ease about them. This was a couple that had been together for a while. A couple used to traveling together. The man held the tickets, the woman both their books. It was a system that had been practiced many times, and Katie found herself envious of them. She and
Darío
did not have any sort of flow about them when they traveled. Yet.

“Excuse me,” she said. When she had their attention, she gave them her friendliest smile, which they returned. “I couldn’t help but overhear and realize that you’re bilingual.” The couple both nodded. “I was wondering if you would be so kind as to translate something for me?”

“Yes, of course,” the man said, as the woman nodded her mutual assent.

Katie hesitated. What if what she wanted translated was too graphic for these nice people to translate? She didn’t want to embarrass them. Or herself. She chose the one phrase that
Darío
seemed to use the most often. Several times he had whispered it to her while he thought she was napping. When he’d brush her hair back from her face with such tenderness that she’d think maybe she’d imagined it. Surely that wouldn’t be something along the lines of, “my, what big hooters you have”. She was hoping for something like, “your skin is so soft”.

Committed to asking, Katie said, “I would like to know what
te quiero
means.” Her accent was not bad, considering she’d never spoken Spanish before. She had certainly heard
Darío
say those words often enough to give a passable rendition.

The man gave her a bright smile. “Ah, that is an easy one.
Te quiero
means
‘
I love you
’
,” he said.

He loved her!
Darío
loved her!

If he loved her, he must trust and believe her, right?

No, not necessarily, she told herself. If she was completely honest with herself, she had to admit that she still loved Ron, although she certainly no longer trusted him. Didn’t even like him, really. But still loved him. Sometimes those old feelings never entirely go away, they’re just pushed to the back by new ones.

There would be love in her marriage. To know he loved her filled her with joy.

Wanting to digest this information – that
Darío
had
told her he loved her, albeit in a language
she didn’
t understand – she told the couple thank you and made to return to her seat.

Something about the expression of the woman made her stop.

“Is there more?” she asked.

The woman looked at her husband, and then gave Katie a soft smile. “Well, it is true that
te quiero
means
‘
I love you
’
, but it is meant in more of a…” she struggled for the words. She finally seemed to try to make her point using body language. Her hands curled into fists and her arms pulled into her chest, in almost a fit of angst. “It is more ‘I want you’ than ‘I love you’. Does that make sense?”

“Perfect sense,” Katie said, surprised at how deflated she felt at the clarification.

“
Te amo
is
‘
I love you
’
in the sense that I believe you are looking for,” the woman added.

“Yes,” Katie said, in almost a whisper, “I guess that is the sense I’m looking for.” Still not willing to accept the lesser endearment, she said, “Which would mean more to you to hear?”

Knowingly, the woman gave Katie a sad smile. “It is always nice to hear
te quiero
. And it is not an emotion to be taken lightly. But, a woman longs to hear
te amo
from her mate.”

Katie thanked them both again and walked back to her seat. From behind her, she heard the man whisper “
Te amo
,” to the woman, and the woman chuckle and reply the same.

She had only been back in her seat a short time before
Darío
joined her, but it was long enough for her to ruminate on the fact that never once had the words
te amo
come from
Darío
’s mouth.

She seemed to have finally won his trust. Could she win his love? Did she even want to?

She had to protect herself. She never wanted to feel hurt like she’d experienced when Ron walked out. If she let herself fall in love with
Darío
  - and let’s face it, she was nearly there – and he never returned her feelings, she was setting herself up for another devastation. But this time it would be worse, because there’d be a child involved.

So, she would continue to care for him, sleep with him, raise their child together, but she would protect her heart, not fall in love.

Darío
leaned over, brushed a strand from her face, tucked behind her ear, giving her earlobe a playful tug. His warm hand rested on her bare neck and she felt the heat seep into her skin.

Oh, yeah, piece of cake.

When she met them at the airport,
Sofia
Luna
was wearing black stockings just like Katie and her friends had predicted. But they weren’t wool, and they weren’t rolled down to her ankles. No, it was more like black silk stockings that glided up her shapely legs and disappeared under the hem of her tasteful skirt, perhaps to be fastened by lacy garters.

The woman was beautiful. Breathtaking. And young.

Much too young to have a thirty-six year old son.

The woman had to be in her
early
-to-
mid
fifties, at the youngest, but she looked not a day older than forty-five. Her dark, olive skin was flawless, with only the hint of wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Laugh lines, Katie thought. That boded well.

Her black hair was pulled back into a low chignon, her brown eyes made up to their best advantage. She wore a long skirt of black linen and a white blouse tucked in with a beautiful, wide leather belt with a huge brass buckle. The silk stockings disappeared into tasteful leather pumps.