“What are you doing here?”
“Just hanging out with friends.”
“You’re not old enough to buy alcohol.”
Daniel chuckled at the exchange between the two siblings, finally getting Meili to acknowledge his presence.
“Hi, Dan.”
“Hey, long time no see. You’re getting prettier every year Mei.”
“I know.” The young woman smiled. “Would you please tell my brother to mind his business and let me be.”
She’d come with her friends, but to her bad luck, ended up in the same bar where her brother was.
“I’m sorry.” He shrugged and looked the other way.
The two kept arguing for a while, and in the end, the girl gave up and went back home, while his friend complained about the administration of the place. It was most likely Meili had a fake ID, but Daniel was too wise to mention this.
“Cut her some slack, she’s already 20.”
“Don’t.”
Long Wei’s glare warned him from even thinking about it, but how could he?
Daniel rolled his eyes.
“I just complimented your sister on her new looks. You need to relax, man.”
He had known Meili since the girl was a crying baby, there was no way for him to look at her as any other than his friend’s sister. Gulping what was left of his glass, his thoughts drifted to the other little sister who was worrying him these days.
“... besides, I told her about this when I applied to the job. I don’t know why she didn’t say anything back then but it’s mad at me now.” Whatever Long Wei was babbling about his girlfriend, Daniel wasn’t really paying attention, and his friend realized it, stopping to frown at him. “What is it with you now?”
“Uh? What?”
“You have only had two shots so far.”
They had not seen each other since Christmas, and that was practically the only time they met since parting ways to go to college. Still, after growing up as playmates who lived next to each other, they remained friends who would meet up for drinks when they were in town. That was why Long Wei found it strange that Daniel wasn’t displaying his usual humor, or that he who was the king of holding his alcohol would not drink more than a couple of shots.
“Just family business” Daniel shook his head. “So, you have three tickets for the game on Sunday. How much for one?”
Even though he avoided talking about that, after walking back to his parents' house that concern was in the forefront of his mind, all he could worry about as the date for his trip approached.
Family business. It wasn’t strictly true, because Valeria was not his family. He did not have siblings, and as the years went by she came to occupy that spot in his heart, meeting the pretty girl with dark curls that always welcomed him with enthusiasm was one of the things he looked forward to every time he visited his grandparents home.
However, contrary to Long Wei who’d always had to take care of his sister, he only reaped the benefits of having one.
From a young age, Daniel understood he was a lucky boy.
Yes, there were a couple of times while living with his halmoni and haraboji that his mother would end up upset or crying, and his grandparents would make it a point that Daniel wasn’t brought up properly, but after moving houses it all seemed to be resolved and the five of them still had lunch together on the weekends.
He was an only child, and he was lucky. There was this time when Long Wei was punished a whole week for not even going to the backyard of his house for a very silly thing. “My sister ate my mom’s chocolates when I wasn’t watching over her.”
His parents had never punished him for something so insignificant. Even that one time he’d been rude and told his mother he didn’t need to speak Spanish better, the response to this was taking him to his grandparents' home to spend the rest of his summer break there. And at first, it really felt like some kind of punishment, but it was something he was really grateful for to this day.
Moreover, his father’s rage after he dropped out of college only lasted until Daniel showed him what he and Will were doing with their web development company. Now he received praises that made him feel a bit guilty because he had just been going along with the flow and not putting as much effort as his father thought...
Daniel did not consider himself a lazy person. He worked hard. He just… didn’t do things based on long-term plans, but rather in his short-term interests.
His responsibility was mainly towards himself, and towards his parents when the time came. This was how it should be, after all, one only lived once, and these were the best years in his life.
It should be like that for Valeria, too, but he worried about her unhappiness now.
He checked his phone. His messages from last month remained without a reply, although she had read them. This had never happened before, and if it wasn’t for Rosa, Daniel wouldn’t even know about what was going on with the girl.
‘But what can I do for her anyway?’
***
In the past, he’d never had a need to comfort others.
“Valeria looks up to you. I’m sure she’ll be very happy that you came to see her.” Mrs. Hernandez smiled, but her eyes gave away her true feelings.
“I’m just going to say hi.”
He’d come to visit Valeria’s home many times before, but he’d never stepped into her bedroom. This, her private space, she did not like sharing with others.
Knocking at the door, it only took a few seconds before hearing her muffled voice coming from the other said.
“What is it?”
“It’s me, Daniel.”
A moment later, the door opened and he encountered the sight of Valeria, her messy hair down and more skinny than he’d ever seen her before. Her eyes met his and she offered a smile that broke his heart.
“Come in.”
He opened his arms for a hug. “Hello, Vale.”
She jumped into his embrace, and Daniel could feel her breathing deeply and shedding tears on his shirt.
‘You’ve had it rough lately.’
Inept as he was in a situation like this, this was all he could do for her. He’d agreed with his grandfather in his desire to find that son-of-a-bitch and kill him, but that was not the way to solve things (and what would it solve, really?)
“I’m sorry.” She composed herself and gave a step back. “I am a fool, right?”
Was she expecting him to chastise her? For what exactly? Her mother, he knew, had been extremely upset when Valeria told her about the pregnancy, and more so because after she refused to help her daughter find a clinic, the girl attempted to abort with some kind of herbal infusion that some rubbish internet site told her to. It did not work, but Valeria had to be hospitalized and that was how Rosa learned of it and told him months ago.
If he were to be upset about something, it would be that his friend did not cherish her life enough. But he was also upset that she was forced to something she didn’t want to.
“You're not a fool, but you make us worry about you sometimes. Your mom says you have not been eating for days.”
“I’m eating enough.” She lowered her eyes.
A child’s crying sounds suddenly filled the house, but they came from some other room.
“Close the door,” Valeria asked, and then went back to bed, signaling him to occupy a free chair near the window.
The curtains were closed, and he took the liberty to drew them and let some sunlight in.
The child was still crying.
“That’s all he ever does.”
“Valeria…”
She stared at him, her puffy eyes once more glimmering with tears.
“What am I going to do with my life, Daniel? What am I going to do?”
Her mother named him Manuel, after Valeria’s grandfather.“Hi.”The child had been sleeping but woke up as soon as she entered the room, his big eyes staring at her with curiosity.Green eyes. If only he didn’t have those green eyes, she might be able to look at him. Or that was what she told herself. The truth was, the color of a baby’s eyes could change as he grew older, but even if the boy’s eyes weren’t green, Valeria would still stay away.She didn’t hate him. She thought she would because she certainly hated him when he was growing inside her. However, that was pointless now. Manuel was not at fault for his biological father being a fucking bastard. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to care as she should, either
“I’ve heard you are traveling during the holidays. So, you won’t be around for my party?” The woman batted her eyelashes coquettishly. At least, it was her attempt to do so.Daniel cleared his throat.“Ah, thanks for the invitation… but I’m visiting my grandparents.”“You must really like it there, you go every year.”They had just bumped into each other in the market, there was no need to make conversation beyond some polite greeting.“I guess so. Then… see you around, Monnie.”He didn’t like Monnie very much. However, her new year’s parties were famous and when they were teenagers it mean
“When Uncle Daniel comes, can we go on a picnic again?” Manu asked, standing right by her side on the boudoir as she tried to choose her lipstick color.“Of course. I will not have work until next month, so I can stay here with you.” She ruffled his hair. “We’re also going to the park and I’ll teach you how to ride a bike, what about that?”She’d managed to buy the bike for the kid some months ago, but it had stayed in a corner of the living room ever since because he did not want to ride with the training wheels…“Really?” Manu’s face lit up, full of excitement.“Yes. Now, your grandma and I have to go out for a moment, can you stay at Ana and Ale’s house to play with them?”
We all want to show our best side to that special person. It was almost an instinct that prevented Valeria to reveal her ugly scars to him. However, a contradictory thing it was, he was also the only person she could ever bring herself to be honest with.“Because I drank too much, I couldn’t defend myself from him. I just wanted to go home. I was so afraid.”Maybe one day, she’d tell him.One day when it hurt less… but that wasn’t the moment yet.She whispered those words in the absolute silence of the hour before dawn, convinced he was sleeping. Then he opened his eyes wide and rolled on the bed to look at her in the face.“What do you mean?”
Was he a fool that did not put enough attention to what happened around him? Daniel always felt that just doing his part of the job in the company was enough. He was a programmer and did not see it necessary to trouble himself with the administration matters. Moreover, he never thought Will would steal from him.“How could you not notice it before?” His father had asked him.Daniel just shrugged in response.“Let’s not talk about it anymore.”Well, he’d been busy doing his job, and he did go to Cartagena twice in a span of six months. He’d been distracted, and there were few reasons to be alarmed as he kept receiving a good part of his money, but the truth was still the same: he never thought that Will or Lisa (Will’s girlf
Valeria did not sleep well that night. Manu woke up coughing and with a fever around midnight had trouble going back to sleep. His temperature only went back to normal after uncountable cold compresses and a promise from his mother that she would stay by his side.Every time she closed her eyes, however, the worries piled up on her mind.Luz’s incoming message did not help either.[So I was speaking with Mario about our trip to Barranquilla. He thinks it’s okay for you and Manuel to join. So what do you say? Are you coming?][Why are you texting me at these hours?]Valeria thought about it a bit more.[Forget it. I don’t want to know.]
She was totally mad at him.This was the first time he wasn’t welcomed with a hug, and if the strength she used to hit him earlier with that ball wasn’t enough proof, then the way she kept smiling through lunch while giving short answers to all his questions about her new job at the school should be a confirmation.That was alright, he probably deserved it. He was a coward.While questioning his feelings for her, Daniel had lost all courage and avoided talking to her, fearing that he’d give himself away. This was not an option when he was unsure about what his next steps should be, because what if he screwed things up? To Valeria, their friendship was just as important as it was for him, but what if she knew what was going on in his mind?&lsq
Valeria didn’t let go of her chance to tease her mother, who’d finally be free of them for a few days. “Tell Diego we say hi. Or maybe he can also take you somewhere on vacations since you are a free woman again.”Maybe this was a chance to spend some quality time with her son and have them get used to the changes they’d have in their lives.Her mother had recently talked about moving in with her boyfriend. Diego Ramirez lived in the same neighborhood, just 15 minutes away, but as it had always been just her and her mother in that house, Valeria still felt weird knowing this was about to change. It didn’t mean she wasn’t happy for the woman she loved the most in the world. Diego made her mother laugh and feel young again, that was enough reason to like him. He also had grandchildren and treated Manu as one.