Page 56 of The Night We Became Strangers

Valeria

Four hours earlier

W ith the emotional roller coaster of my father’s revelations and my impending wedding in the morning, I had tossed and turned all night, getting little to no rest. I didn’t even have to wait for Graciela’s alarm to go off.

From the early hours of the day, excitement buzzed around me.

There was ironing of shirts and trousers, and long gowns, shoe shining, nail polishing, and rollers on everyone’s heads—except for mine, as my future mother-in-law had made a special appointment for me at her favorite hair salon at nine o’clock.

Graciela was especially enthusiastic because she said she hadn’t attended a wedding in years.

I was in no mood for parties. How could I be after what I learned about my mother last night and my dad being so sick?

After my dad’s confession and the doctor’s visit, Graciela had come into the room to greet my father and we’d gone home shortly after.

I’d briefly mentioned my upcoming wedding to my dad, but he hadn’t had much to say other than the Recalde family were “good people” and he was glad I’d finally have a home of my own.

I’d been hoping he would offer a solution to my dilemma, but with my uncle in the room and in my dad’s current state, he had no mind for anybody else’s problems. It was understandable, I supposed.

In spite of Graciela’s curiosity during the drive back home, neither my uncle nor I had said another word about the night my mother died—both of us emotionally drained from the hospital visit.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

“Valeria?” Tía Marga poked her head into Graciela’s bedroom.

I was sitting on the bed, staring at the gorgeous wedding gown lying by my side, still in my cotton robe.

“You’re not dressed yet? You have to be in the hair salon in twenty minutes!”

I couldn’t disappoint my family. They’d done so much for me.

“ Sí, tía. ”

I went through the motions, without letting myself stop to think, as if one of those androids in the sci-fi novels Germán read had taken over my body.

I washed up and put on the first shirt-dress I could find.

Grabbing my gloves and my purse, I headed for the stairs.

I just had to worry about taking one step after another until I made it to the hair salon, then the church, then the party, and finally Félix’s house, where we were going to live until they finished building the apartment the Recaldes had bought for us as a wedding present.

Perhaps this was what I needed, a new life away from my family and all the sad memories they brought.

A taxi was already waiting for me outside the house, and Tío Bolívar rushed me into the back seat. “See you soon,” he said, offering a kind smile and shutting the door for me. He probably couldn’t wait to get rid of me.

The radio in the taxi was blasting at full volume as we drove to the hair salon.

It was a lovely, sunny day. Flowers in full bloom, thick trees with leaves gently swaying in the wind, quaint colonial balconies, not to mention the sublime churches on almost every block.

But I couldn’t appreciate the beauty around me.

There was an unbearable weight on my shoulders.

Life as I knew it—unfulfilled dreams and all—would be over in a matter of hours.

One of the most popular songs of the year, “Nuestro Juramento,” started playing. I squeezed the gloves in my lap and spoke to the taxi driver for the first time.

“ Senor, I need to make a stop before we go to the salon.”

The closer the villa came into view, the more I shrank into my seat. Perhaps this was not the grand idea I thought it would be a few minutes ago. When the taxi stopped by the gate, I had the urge to tell him to go back to the salon, where it was safe.

The driver turned toward me. “ ?Aquí? ”

I swallowed. “Yes, here is fine, but can you wait for me for fifteen minutes? It shouldn’t take longer than that.”

“Sure, but I have to charge you for my time.”

I nodded. I wanted the certainty that if things got ugly, I could flee immediately.

“Senorita Valeria?” the hefty maid, Rosario, said behind the door.

I had met Rosario the day of my engagement party when I hid in the kitchen for a few minutes as things got too overwhelming. She’d been kind to me and had made me try one of her succulent fried coconut shrimps.

“It’s normal,” she’d said, referring to my nerves. I didn’t feel like explaining myself today. This wasn’t just “nerves.”

“ Buenos días ,” I said. “Is Félix here?”

“Yes, nina , but it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.”

Given my current circumstances, I believed it.

“It’s important,” I said, “please tell him I need to speak to him.”

Shaking her head, Rosario made a tsk sound with her tongue and opened the door for me. She pointed at one of the sofas in the foyer.

“Sit there.” She was old enough that she didn’t care what people thought about her or how she came across. I still liked her, though, and stared after her as she wobbled up the stairs. She was short, but her wide hips made up for it.

I only hoped Félix’s parents—his mother —wouldn’t show up before he did. I might lose my courage then. To think that I could live in this gorgeous home.

At least Félix hadn’t changed yet. He was wearing his everyday clothes: a buttoned-up shirt and gray trousers. His frown revealed his concern to see me.

I stood to greet him, and he held both of my hands in his. I sneezed.

“Valeria, is there a problem?”

I didn’t know whether to sit or stand. At this point, it didn’t matter so I just sat down and sunk in my seat. What had I been thinking when I decided to talk to him? I should’ve thought this through. I couldn’t break Félix’s heart. And besides, what would become of me?

“No,” I said, in a last preservation attempt. But then a memory came to mind. Last night, after my uncle and cousin had stepped out of the hospital room, my dad had held my hand and quickly said, “Sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest. Learn from my mistakes, hija .”

I hadn’t thought much about his words then.

“Valeria?” Félix said, eagerly.

“Yes, Félix, there is a problem.”

He sat in front of me, eyebrows arched.

“I hate myself for doing this to you,” I said, “today of all days. But after giving it some thought, it’s probably for the best.”

“What? You’re scaring me.”

“I can’t marry you.”

He looked confused, a greenish vein in his temple stood out.

“I’m sorry, Félix, I should’ve ended this a while back, but I didn’t have the courage. The truth is I shouldn’t have agreed, but my family pressured me.”

“Is there someone else?”

I couldn’t answer.

“That doesn’t matter,” I said. “Things have changed. My dad showed up last night after eight years. He’s at the hospital and he’s very sick and I … I just don’t know what’s going to happen with him now. I can’t be making life-changing decisions right now. Besides …”

Would it be too cruel to tell him I didn’t love him?

“Besides what ?”

I glanced down. “I barely know you. I mean, I like you, but I don’t think it’s enough to get married.”

He stood up, hands trembling. “And you couldn’t mention this a little earlier?—like yesterday, or better yet, last week— not the day of the wedding.”

I’d never seen Félix upset before, but he had every right to be. “I’m sorry.”

“Valeria?”

My almost mother-in-law came from one of the downstairs rooms.

“What are you doing here?”

“She just canceled the wedding,” Félix said, redder than ever.

“ What? ”

I stood up. If they were going to attack me, I’d be better off closer to the door.

“Dona Caridad, I’m so sorry. I was just telling Félix that my father showed up last night. He’s in the hospital. He has emphysema. I just don’t think this is the right time for me to—”

“The right time? When everything has been purchased and all the guests are getting ready? Are you insane ?”

The excuse that my father was back didn’t seem to be working. Nobody seemed remotely interested in him or his fate.

“Well, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll pay you back.”

She chuckled. “You’d better!”

“I should leave,” I said.

“Just like that?”

“Would you rather me stand up Félix at the church? That would’ve been a lot easier than coming here. You still have time to notify the guests.”

“Does your uncle know about this?”

The hairs in my neck prickled. “No. But I’m an adult and can make my own decisions.”

She laughed again. “ Ninita tonta , you don’t know anything about life. I’d like to see you support yourself or that foolish man you call your father.”

That was it. I grabbed my purse and headed for the door, no longer feeling an inkling of guilt for what I had just done.