Unsuitable Obsession - Part One (13 page)

Amber was already upset about the evening and the
momentous Leticia introduction. “They remind me of cat’s eyes.”

Amber helped Victor put Adrian to bed and covered up
her son with a comforter while Adrian closed his eyes immediately
to dream about cats.

Amber and Victor closed their son’s door and tipped
toed down the hallway to their own bedroom. Victor began taking off
his watch, his belt, and his shoes.

Amber just stood there, drained. “Eduardo’s gonna
marry her, huh?” She let out, surprised of the words that came out
of her mouth. She didn’t intend on it sounding so suspicious, but
Victor was oblivious, as far as he was concerned, Amber was his
faithful wife, in body and mind.

“Eduardo is a lifetime bachelor. I’m surprised he
did bring her home.”

Amber was amazed.
I’ve known Victor for how long
now? Over ten years? And how many girlfriends has Eduardo brought
home to meet his parents? None, if I can recall correctly. So why
on earth did he bring her home? He must have asked her to marry
him, he must have…Darn that Le-tee-see-uh! Where on earth did she
come from? Stealing all my
thunder! How come she just
couldn’t stay glued to a pew in her church and become a
nun?

Victor turned on the TV as he lie down in bed. Amber
turned her back to him, disrobed and pulled her shirt over her
head, messing up her hair. She unhooked her bra, pulled one of her
husband’s old T-shirts over her head and turned around to face
Victor and his weird grin. “What?”

“Why do you always change your clothes with your
back towards me?” Victor asked incredulous. He was still mesmerized
by Amber’s beauty. Her waist petite, her chest perfect and her hips
so sensuous, he always liked staring at her.

Amber had to think fast. Why did she disrobe with
her back always towards him? Why did she always feel shy around
him? He’s seen her naked obviously, procreated, had intercourse, it
was a strange thought; she never really gave much credence to. “I
don’t want you to see my big belly,” she let out convincingly
enough.

Victor opened up his arms for her. “Amber my love,
come lay down with me. You must be tired.”

Like a little girl being called by her father, Amber
crawled into bed next to Victor and into his unrestricted arms. He
squeezed her tightly with all the love he had to give.

“My poor baby,” he cajoled, kissing her forehead,
“You are tired aren’t you?”

Amber closed her eyes, “Yes, I am,” she confessed.
“Was all day, in fact. It was a long day.”

“I know. And my brother coming with his fiancée
didn’t help things much.”

Amber straightened up. “What…Fiancée? When did this
happen? Didn’t we just meet her today?”

Victor laughed and enclosed Amber’s body. Arms still
wrapped around her shoulders, he let out, “Yah—I know, but later
on, after everyone stopped drooling all over her, Eduardo told
Papa, and Papa told me. Eduardo asked me to be his Best Man, I said
yes.”

Amber tried to free herself away from Victor’s
clutch. “Unreal. Here it took me five months in order for your
family to warm up to me and all she had to do was bat her cat eyes
and she’s a Sanchez.”

Victor continued to beam. “Amber, are you jealous of
Leticia? Mama loves you, you know that.”

“Yah, she loves me, she has too; I’ve been married
to her little boy for ten years now, she’s obligated to love me.”
Amber didn’t quite know where her little tantrum came from, but
there it was, out in the open.

Victor nodded his head, “Amber, my family loves you.
Don’t you ever think differently?”

Amber wasn’t quite sure anymore, after that horrible
display of worship, she now believed that Leticia had been chosen
for sainthood. “Uggh...I’m tired—I’m going to sleep!” She
exasperated, rolling her body over to her side of the bed.

Victor followed her lead, curled up next to her and
playfully laid his face down between Amber’s face and neck. “Wanna
make love?”

You Can Count On Me

Two weeks later, things began to get quite hectic.
Rosalba and all the Aunts were busy planning the wedding of the
century. Leticia’s parents would pay for the wedding, but Eduardo
insisted to pay for the reception. Eduardo was doing well at the
law firm and wanted to shower his family in sophistication. Eduardo
and Leticia decided to rush the event for the following month.
I
guess she can’t wait till the wedding night
, Amber thought
jokingly.

Amber, Leticia, Rosalba, Tiá’s Gemma, Sonya and
Lorena all gathered around the bulky dining room table, forming an
assembly line, putting little almonds into lace sacks that were
tied up at the top with a white ribbon.
The perfect little party
favor for the perfect little wedding.

“Qué significa usted?” Asked Tiá Gemma to
Leticia.

“What do I mean?” Leticia answered in English so
that Amber could be involved in the conversation. “Father Rodriguez
is taking a vacation the week of the wedding; he won’t be able to
do the ceremony.”

“Las vacaciones? Un santo varón lejos de Dios? What
kind of priest takes a vacation from God?”

Amber just caught the end of that conversation,
having been totally immersed in her production and began to laugh
along with the other ladies at the table.

“What will be served at the reception Leticia, have
you made your selections yet?” Tiá Lorena asked, plopping in
almonds without even looking.

Leticia smiled, hesitated for a long moment, then
looked at Tiá Lorena and said, “Veal.”

“Qué veal?” Tiá Lorena asked Tiá Sonya.

“Vaca de bebé.”

“Aaah, pobrecito,” Tiá Lorena said suddenly feeling
sorry for the baby calves.

Amber knew some words in Spanish by now (being
around the relatives for ten years) and felt badly herself about
the baby calves too and decided she wasn’t going to eat the veal at
the reception and would opt towards the fish.

“Have you seen Leticia?”

Rosalba let go her attention from the almonds and
looked up at Eduardo. Looking around the table first, she said,
“She was just here mehiò, maybe she went outside to get more ribbon
from the car?”

“Maybe,” Eduardo questioned, looking around the
room. “Amber, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Amber looked up at him scared, all of a sudden she
was pinpointed from the others—delivered—her head on a silver
platter and sacrificed for idle gossip within the female group.
“Um,” she let go, looking around at the aunt’s, they all look her
way and stop, halted abruptly from their production line. Amber
placed down her ribbons and got up from the table and gazed back at
everyone one last time. They don’t pay any attention to the two of
them now and she walked away.

Eduardo guided Amber outside and into a corner, but
not completely away from viewing distance of his father, brother
and uncles playing horseshoes. “Amber, I want to tell you something
you can’t tell my mother or my aunts, OK?”

Amber was taken-back; he was going to ask her to
keep a secret?
Oh God, what was she doing! Here he is, probably
completely utterly in love with Leticia, and here I am some fool of
a girl with a stupid little high school crush on his ass! Shake out
of it Amber! Erase him from your head!
“OK,” she let go.

“Leticia’s pregnant and I want you to see how she
is. I think she’s locked herself in the bathroom. She’s been
throwing up since last week. Can you go see if she’s OK?” Eduardo
was clearly upset, open honest eyes staring straight into
Amber’s.

Amber was astonished. How high was that pedestal
again? “And you want me to keep this a secret?” She quipped, “From
Victor even?” She bit down on her lower lip for no apparent
reason.

Eduardo looked down at her lips—lost for a moment in
thought. “Yes. I know it sounds silly, but she doesn’t want my
parents to know just yet.”

Amber grabbed his arm. “Don’t worry Eduardo I’ll
keep your little secret,” she exchanged, walking away.

Eduardo grabbed her back—an impromptu hand holding
sent chills up his spine and he tried hastily to shake off the
goose bumps. “Thanks Amber, I knew I could count on you.”

Amber let out a deep breath as she walked away from
him.
Good Lord!
Why did he grab her back? Amber walked past
the women still making the party favors and straight toward the
bathroom down the hall.

Amber knocked on the door softly. Quietly, she
asked, “Leticia? Leticia it’s Amber—you OK?” A few moments pass and
there was no sound coming from behind the door. Amber goes to see
if the door was unlocked, it wasn’t. “Leticia?” Suddenly, an awful
gagging sound was heard from behind the door. Amber knew that
sound; either Leticia had a bad eating disorder or she was
definitely pregnant. Amber voted for the eating disorder, but no
such luck. “Leticia, can you let me in?”

The door slowly unlocked. Amber gazed behind her and
didn’t see anyone paying any attention to her way in and went into
the bathroom.

Inside, Leticia was crotched down over the toilet
bowl sacrificing a gift to the porcelain Gods.
Oh my,
Amber
thought,
oh how the mighty have fallen…if Rosalba could see you
now.

“You OK?” Amber knelt down to her and rubbed her
back. Amber knew it wouldn’t help her stomach feel any better, but
it would help Leticia’s inner strength.

“Oh Amber, please don’t tell anyone, please don’t
tell anyone,” Leticia uttered, terrified. She stood up and hugged
Amber tightly. “I’m going to have a baby, and I have to get married
before I show. Oh God,” she cried, letting go of Amber now. “What
have I done?”

Amber noticed the mascara running down her cheeks,
she resembled a morbid clown. She goes for a tissue and freely
wiped Leticia’s face as if it were her own. “Don’t cry Leticia, I’m
not going to say anything, we’re friends, right? Friends don’t rat
on other friends.”

Leticia smiled, grabbed Amber again, “Oh Amber, you
truly are an angel. Eddie always praises you.”

HE DOES?
“Oh Leticia, you don’t have to go
that far, I know Eduardo only tolerates me,” Amber expressed,
fishing for some more compliments; she wanted to pry into their
little shrouded world.

Leticia shook her head in contrast. “Oh no, Eddie
say’s you’re the best, the best thing that ever happened to Victor
and the family.”

HUH?
Amber couldn’t believe it, the best
thing? She thought Leticia had been the best thing. “I wouldn’t go
that far,” she laughed.

Leticia looked at herself in the mirror. “All my
life I was brought up with certain morals, certain standards that I
had to live by. I was supposed to be a virgin, remain a virgin
until I got married. But it’s so hard, so difficult to be involved
with someone like Eddie and remain true to the church.”

Amber was enthralled; she wouldn’t have believed it
if she could have written it herself. The confession Leticia was
about to unfold, a nasty little confidence.

“I’m twenty-three Amber. Twenty-three and expected
to be a virgin,” Leticia continued with a short laugh. She pulled
out a paper cup from the dispenser on the wall and filled it with
water. Opened up one of the drawers, spotted the tube of
toothpaste, grabbed it, opened up the cap, squished some paste onto
her finger and applied the gel to her teeth.

“I was sixteen,” Amber offered freely, trying to
make Leticia feel better, but making herself feel worse.

“Yes, so were all my friends. They all lost their
virginities to their boyfriends in high school, and me, well; I was
hanging on for the prince on the white horse,” Leticia laughed
again, still rubbing her teeth with toothpaste.

And she thought Eduardo was a prince?
Amber
laughed at the thought of it. “Yah, well, we all have needs. And,
well, sometimes we can’t wait.” Amber didn’t know what the heck she
was saying, but it sounded good.

“Eddie loves me,” Leticia lied. “Loves me so much,
he said he couldn’t wait till our wedding night.”

Amber’s eyes bugged out, unbelievable.
Couldn’t
wait, my ass…He was just horny as hell. What’s wrong with that guy,
spoiling her virginity? Taking away something so precious to her,
something she probably denied to boyfriends, probably fighting them
off with her bare hands, one by one. Oh God, there’s a weird
thought…
“Victor said he does, very much,” she ended up
saying.

“I know he does,” Leticia tried to persuade herself,
letting go a weak smile; “I just wished we would have waited.”

Amber stroked her hair, “Some men are very
passionate,” she voiced thinking of Eduardo as she said it. Her
brother-in-law with his sensuous eyes—electrifying contact—she
could only imagine how he was in bed.

“He’s...really dynamic,” Leticia expressed. “Not
like demanding or anything like that, but very passionate.”

Amber’s jaw almost dropped.
Yep, she knew it!
This was just too much...just too much to absorb. Here was Leticia,
offering free tidbits on their private moments together,
clandestine lovemaking, sex with each other. “Really?” She asked
frankly intrigued.

They both sat down on the edge of the tub and
Leticia suddenly brought her hand up to her mouth, intensified for
an instant trying to hold back barf and Amber rubbed her back
again. “He’s quite,
large
, so to say. I mean, I have nothing
to compare it to, but he made me bleed so much our first night
together.”

Amber bit her lower lip, large? Did she just say
LARGE
? Unreal, the thoughts she had towards him lately,
dreaming of him, thinking of him, and now knowing that he was
large
. “Everyone bleeds their first time.”

“No, I don’t think so, not this much. I had to go to
the hospital afterwards,” Leticia expressed, covering her mouth up
again. “They had to sew me up.”