“We couldn’t hear a word they said from where we were sitting,” Aida said.
“But we saw everything,” Manny insisted in the background. “And it didn’t look too bad.”
“Didn’t look too bad? What does that mean?” Romero asked, throwing his wallet and tablet on the passenger side, and started the car.
“Now wait a minute,” Aida said again in that tone that said she wasn’t convinced it was at all bad.
Romero thanked God for her because he could easily have a meltdown just thinking about this. But Aida had been there and saw the same thing Manny did. His only hope was that Manny had been known to misinterpret things all the time. But as much as Manny worried about Romero losing his shit because of all people he and Max knew how bad that could get, he wouldn’t be calling him now unless he felt it necessary.
“It all depends on how you interpret it,” she said calmly even as Manny went on in the background, trying to tone it down. “Will you be quiet so I can hear myself think?” she snapped suddenly.
“Well, just tell him already,” Manny barked. “The longer we draw it out, the more riled we’re gettin’ him.”
“I’m trying to!” She barked right back.
“Tell me what?” Romero braced himself, thinking better of driving off just yet. Manny was right. He was too damned worked up already.
“They talked a little,” she said calmly. “He gave her what looked like a Macy’s bag, and they hugged. It was a longish hug,” she said as if to explain why she was even mentioning it. “And he whispered something in her ear.”
“Even the kiss wasn’t so bad!” Manny added loudly.
“He fucking kissed her?” The bomb Romero had felt ticking inside him went off, and he started up the car.
“Her hand!” Aida said quickly. “He kissed her hand one time, and that was it.”
“Yeah, that was it,” Manny added quickly, sounding just as alarmed as Aida that Romero was about to lose it. “It was just a little weird too.”
“What was so weird about it?” Romero demanded, his blood thrumming away at his ear, and he swallowed hard.
He was done pussyfooting around, trying to be the understanding mature adult so Izzy wouldn’t think he hadn’t grown any. This was bullshit. He needed to know everything, and he was going straight home now, cancelling on his client—again—to deal with this. This ended now. One way or another he was getting it straight when he got home.
He heard Aida sigh, and even that spiked every one of his already frantic senses. “There were a couple of long . . . I don’t know . . . stares? And with the crying, it was all just a little too weird to dismiss as nothing. But I’m not saying it was bad. Questionable maybe.”
“Give me that,” he heard Manny say, and in the next second, Manny was on the line. “We’ll be here all night with you tiptoeing around the whole thing. Listen to me, Moe. This could be nothing, but another thing Aida left out because she’s worried you’re gonna freak out is we stuck around and waited to see if maybe this guy would come back. He never did, but a while later she rushed off into the ladies’ room, and she was in there so long we thought maybe she’d walked out and we missed her. But then there she was. She finally comes out, and she looks like she was crying again. Her eyes were all red and puffy. Aida’s theory is—”
“Manny!” Aida protested loudly. “I was just throwing out possibilities. I could be way off.”
“Nevertheless, it’s a good theory, and listen, boy, before you get too worked up. Maybe this is a good thing,” Manny said, but his worried tone only alarmed Romero further.
Romero had officially lost it. He was speeding home, already listening to these two through his speakers. A good thing? “What’s her theory?” Romero asked, squeezing the steering wheel, needing to hear something positive about this whole thing—anything.
“Aida thinks maybe Izzy started having feelings for this guy,” Manny said, and this was not what Romero was hoping to hear. Damn it. He squeezed the wheel even tighter and slammed his foot down on the accelerator. “Maybe they both started having feelings for each other. That wouldn’t be uncommon. Shit like this happens all the time, you know?” Manny’s guarded tone went hard suddenly. “I knew I didn’t like that fucker on Thanksgiving, but . . . but,” he said as if catching himself, “being the good wife and mom Izzy is, she cut it off before anything happened, and Aida thinks—”
“Stop saying I’m the one saying this!” Aida snapped at him.
“Okay, we both think it,” Manny corrected himself, “that maybe Izzy is having a hard time dealing with it. You know—feeling guilty, maybe even a little broken up. Like I said,” he continued, very calmly now, “it’s not unheard of to feel attracted to someone you work with so closely on a day-to-day basis. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing either, as long as neither acts on it, and Izzy wouldn’t. I still think the only thing you’d have to worry about is her working with guy too much longer.”
“I gotta go,” Romero said, suddenly unable to wait until he got home.
His call went to Izzy’s voicemail, and he threw his phone back on the passenger side. His heart literally hurt to think she could possibly have feelings for anyone else. He wasn’t sure who he was angrier at: Manny and Aida for actually suggesting this could be the case—believing that Izzy might actually have feelings for another man that she could be so broken up over she was crying about it openly—or himself for being like so many of his clients he called saps because even with all the facts and blatant clues in front of them they still were holding out hope that it wasn’t true.
Not once this whole time, even with all the annoying misgivings he’d had about Elliot, had Romero considered looking further into the guy. Okay, maybe the thought had crossed his mind once or twice, but each time he’d said the same thing. It didn’t matter what he found out about the guy. Even if this guy was attracted to Isabel—had feelings for her—Romero had been adamant that as long as Izzy didn’t reciprocate said feelings, he had nothing to worry about. And he had believed in his heart that she never would.
As much as Manny and Aida were trying to tone the whole thing down, this changed everything.
There was no fucking way he was going to wait and go snooping to get answers. He was going straight to the source and getting his answers tonight. He nearly hit his neighbors’ trashcans lined up on the street for tomorrow’s pickup as he drove into his driveway.
Trying to calm himself as he jumped out of his car, he stopped and took a deep breath. He hadn’t even driven all the way up to the back of the driveway. He was in such a hurry to get inside. But he had to remember the kids were home. He could not go off on one of his rages. The kids had never seen him in one, and he’d be damned if they ever would. That part of him had been dormant for years until it began to awaken just recently. But he was determined he wouldn’t lose it in front of his kids ever. Hearing Manny say that fucking professor had kissed Izzy was proof that side of him was still alive and well. It was still there, lingering, waiting. Even after Aida had set the record straight, saying he’d only kissed her hand, it was enough to light the fire. He’d known it even at the beach when he’d overheard Izzy and Gina, but he’d reasoned that he’d been able to calm himself fast enough. This time he wasn’t so sure he could. The beast had been awakened, and it felt impossible to snuff the all-out blaze inside him now.
Romero had to take control of it before it controlled him. “Not in front of the kids, damn it,” he said through his teeth as he walked up the porch steps.
“Look, Daddy!” Amanda ran up to him as soon as he walked in, smiling big. Her front tooth was missing. “It fell out today.”
Romero smiled, thankful for the welcome reminder of what a beautiful life he had. He bent over, examining the gap in his daughter’s front teeth, then kissed her forehead. “Guess this means the tooth fairy comes tonight.”
“Yes!” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He hugged her back, lifting her off t
he floor for a moment before setting her back down.
“And look!” Romeo, who was on his knees on one of the dining room chairs, said, pointing at the gift on the dining table. “We get to open another Christmas gift early.”
Izzy stood next to him, smiling, but she looked tired—drained. Even if Manny and Aida hadn’t let him in on what they’d seen, Romero would’ve still noticed she’d obviously had a rough day.
Swallowing back what that did to him, he frowned instead. “Manny and Max again?”
“No,” Amanda said, rushing to the table. “Professor Banderas,” she said, climbing onto the chair next to Romeo. “Mommy’s boss. He got us gifts and said we should open them before Christmas.”
Romero turned to Izzy as this only fanned the flames. “He came here?”
“No,” Izzy said just as he noticed the empty, folded Macy’s bag in her hand. “He gave them to me today and said they might want to open them before Christmas.”
She took a few steps toward him and kissed him hello. That should’ve calmed Romero. At least the bag he’d given her at the mall was not a personal gift to her. The idiot had the foresight to know that might piss Romero off. But it didn’t calm him. Thoughts of the guy whispering something in her ear, kissing her hand, and her crying were making him crazy now.
Amanda dug in the box full of tissue and held up a crystal figurine of what looked like a baseball mitt and bat with a string. “It’s a Christmas tree ornament.”
The word “champ” was engraved in it. Romeo held his up, making a face. It was a crystal tiara with the word “princess” engraved on it. Isabel glanced at Romeo’s scrunched up face and laughed. “I think you two got it backwards.”
They quickly traded as Romero continued to stare at his wife. There had to be some other explanation for what Manny and Aida had seen at the mall. He could hardly stand not being able to ask her already.
“Look, Mommy. There’s another one in here.” Isabel turned to the box with that same frantic expression as that morning. “Maybe this one is yours.”
“Don’t open it,” she said too quickly. “I can wait until Christmas.”
“Why?” Romero asked, not even trying to hide the glare.
“I just prefer to open my gifts Christmas morning,” she said, reaching for the box.
“But he said to open it before,” Mandy said, staring at the box. “It’s probably another ornament.” His daughter lifted hers in the air again, oblivious to the inferno going on inside of her dad that moment. “We can hang them up together.”
“I’ll hang mine up Christmas morning,” Izzy said, pointing at the tree. “Go hang yours up now.”
The kids hurried off to hang their ornaments, giggling. “Daddy, Mommy fell asleep today and was mumbling while she slept,” Mandy said then giggled some more.
Romeo laughed too. “Yeah, she was dreaming about E.T.”
Romero couldn’t take his eyes off Isabel. He didn’t even comment about her talking in her sleep. That came as no surprise; she’d been doing it a lot lately, a testament to how tired this job was making her. She turned to him for the first time since the kids had run off, likely noticing the way his eyes were burning a hole through her. Her brows pinched together.
“What?” she asked, seemingly unaware of what was about to go down because he was done being Mr. Patient.
“Open the gift,” he said, staring deeply in her eyes. “I wanna see what he got you.”
The flash in her eyes nearly pushed him over the edge. He didn’t know what it meant, but one thing was for sure. She did not want to open it, and he wasn’t buying her bullshit about wanting to wait until Christmas. She glanced down at the gift, looking a bit defeated, as if she too had a feeling it was going to piss him off.
It felt as if she was opening it in slow motion. Romero had to fight the urge to grab the fucking box and open it himself. No surprise it was another ornament. The kids were back at their side, waiting eagerly to see it. “It’s an angel,” she said, smiling at the kids.
“Sweet Darling,” Amanda read the engraving out loud.
Romero looked up at Isabel, who turned away quickly addressing the kids. “Let’s get this on the tree.”
“Let’s not,” Romero said, unable to tone down how infuriated he was feeling at that moment. Sweet Darling? Was this guy fucking kidding? “Kids, your mom and I need to talk. Go upstairs for a few minutes.”
“But, Daddy—” Amanda began.
“Go!” he said firmly, trying not to yell.
Amanda took Romeo’s hand and headed toward the stairs. He waited until they were all the way up. “Sweet Darling?” he tried but failed miserably to keep his voice down. “What the fuck’s that about?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s just an ornament, Romero.”
She set the box down on the dining room table and headed in to the kitchen. They didn’t argue often. In fact, he couldn’t even remember any argument since they’d been married where he’d been this heated. But he was sure she was moving him into the kitchen for the kids’ sake. It was furthest away from the stairwell.
“Where’d you go today?” he demanded, following her.
“Besides work, the mall.” She walked all the way to the other side of the center island and turned around to face him. “I was getting some last-minute things.”
“Anything you wanna tell me?”
“About what?”
Unbelievably, she looked genuinely confused. But it gave him the hope he needed to calm his frantic heart. Maybe Manny and Aida had misinterpreted what they’d seen.
He shrugged. “About the mall.”
The confusion was still there. That he was certain of. He knew every single one of her expressions.
“What about it?” she asked, peering at him curiously “It was packed. I almost didn’t even stop after all because the parking was so bad.”
“That’s it?” he asked as the feelings of agitation mounted. “That’s all you wanna tell me about your little trip to the mall?”
“What are you asking me—?”
“What about that you were there with Elliot,” he finally snapped. “Why wouldn’t you mention that?”
Her reaction to that was not what he’d expected. He’d been expecting surprise, dread, maybe a little remorse even. Instead, she looked angry. “Were you following me?”
“Manny and Aida saw you,” he spat back.
That didn’t lessen the anger in her eyes still. “Okay, so I ran into Elliot. I also ran into Brandon. Am I supposed to list everyone I run into for you? Amanda’s teacher was there too. We stopped and chatted for a little bit. I was gonna tell you about that later or would that be wrong too?”
“They saw you crying,” he said, and the fact that she apparently considered her run-in with Elliot innocent didn’t lessen the ache in his heart. “They saw you two hug, and he kissed your hand.”
She shook her head. “He was just saying goodbye—”
“He whispered something in your ear,” Romero said a little louder. “And you were crying, Isabel. You wanna explain that? What the fuck is going on between you and this guy?”
“I was crying because Brandon showed me his gift to Gina,” she said, coming around the center island, and stood in front of him, looking him right in the eyes. “It was very sweet, and it made me emotional. And there is nothing going on between Elliot and me. How could you even think that?”
“How can I think that?” he asked, his head reminding him to keep his voice down, but his heart was ready to burst. He jabbed his finger in the direction of the dining room. “What about that fucking ornament. Sweet Darling? You gonna tell me that doesn’t mean anything? That there’s not more you’re not telling me?” Finally, he’d hit a nerve. He was onto something. “What did he whisper in your ear?” Romero asked, searching her eyes for clues.
He needed more. There was more to this and he knew it. Felt it. His gut couldn’t be this off. Something was up with this asshole, and he want
ed answers now.
She didn’t even have to think about it. “That he hoped it wasn’t goodbye forever,” she said, but the conviction in the way she’d spoken to him earlier waned. “I’m not going into class tomorrow, and I let him know already that I won’t be coming back after the Christmas break.”
She explained about leaving early today and how she’d mentioned she was going to the mall. She said she hadn’t thought to ask if he’d be okay with her not going in tomorrow until after she’d left work, so he’d caught up to her at the mall with the gift and said goodbye.
Romero stared at her now that he knew the truth, that she, in fact, had been saying goodbye to this guy. Something else came to him.
Maybe she’s having a hard time dealing with it.
“Manny and Aida said they saw you go into the restroom and you were in there for a long time. When you finally came out, you looked like you’d been crying. Your eyes were all red and puffy.”
That was it. There was definitely more to this because he saw it in her eyes, saw it in the suddenly troubled eyes that could barely look at him now.
“I wasn’t feeling well. I think it’s a bug. I was sick to my stomach at the mall, and it’s why I knocked out when I got home. But you’re right,” she said, breaking the eye contact and looking down. “There is more about Elliot.”
Staring into her beautiful but anxious eyes, Romero felt that last sentence suck the life out of him. The only good thing was the kids had since turned up the Christmas music upstairs, and thankfully, it was loud because he had a feeling things were about to blow up.
Twelve
It’s Over
T
here were two choices here. Either Isabel blew her Christmas surprise now and just told him she was pregnant or she came clean about the unease she’d begun to feel around Elliot. But she figured even if she did tell him she was pregnant it still wouldn’t ease his mind about Elliot. She knew Romero too well. He knew her too well.