I park and hurry inside the mall, taking the escalator up to the food court. As I near Taco, Taco, Taco, my heart speeds up. He's there. Holy fuck, Manny is working today!
My feet skid to a stop just outside the restaurant as I stare at him behind the counter. He's counting some change for Hector, who's running the register. Manny's head is bent so he doesn't see me at first. But then he looks up and our eyes lock.
For a long moment we just stare at one another and then I attempt a tiny smile. As I do, Manny's face hardens and he slams the register shut and retreats back into the office, closing the door behind him.
I swallow hard and go slowly forward, the letter in my hand.
"Hey, Hector, how's it going?"
Hector looks up at me and shrugs. "They stuck me on register. I hate it. The public sucks."
I give him a little smile. Hector has always been nice to me. He's two years older than Manny but kind of slow, skinny, with a pencil thin mustache and a tiny goatee.
"How has Manny been? Does he talk about me?"
Hector shrugs again. "Ah, Manny's an ass, as usual. He won't talk about you. Gets mad if anyone says your name."
My shoulders fall and I look down at the letter in my hand. "Um, Hector, can you do me a big favor?"
Hector nods, looking at me.
"Can you give Manny this letter?" I hand the envelope to him. "And make sure he opens it and actually reads it okay? Please? It's important."
Hector looks at the envelope and smirks. "Kittens. Funny."
I laugh a little. "Yeah. Thanks, Hector. See you around, maybe."
He stores the envelope in his back pocket. "Yep."
I frown and reach across the counter, grabbing his arm. "No, Hector, like now. Go give it to him now, please. It has to be now, don't you understand?" I can't keep the tears from seeping from my eyes. "It has to be now!"
Hector stares at me and then slowly retrieves the envelope. "Yeah, okay. I'll go give it to him."
I release his arm and stand back. "Thank you, Hector." I give him a little wave and watch him go into the office and then I rush away before I have to see Manny's reaction.
◆◆◆
There's a very gentle breeze off the water, it's warm and refreshing and I can't get enough of it. I'm sitting on the deck of the Caribbean Princess cruise ship and right now it's nice and quiet. We've reached our first port of call and the ship is anchored off the Cayman Islands and a lot of people are getting off to explore and shop and whatever. But not me. I'm happy to sit in the peace of the nearly deserted ship while I sip a fruity drink and read my cheesy paperback romance.
A shadow passes over and I look up to see Dad and Steve. They're both wearing long white shorts with Hawaiian shirts and sandals. I smirk up at them, laying my paper back open across my chest.
"You two look like the cover of a vacation brochure!" I tell them, laughing.
"Hey!" Dad holds his arms out and gets all fake macho on me. "We happen to look dashing for your information. Just a minute ago in the elevator some guy checked out my legs!"
Steve rolled his eyes and snorted. "He did not! He was worried you had rickets or something, with your big gut and skinny sticks for limbs!"
I crack up and Dad makes a face at both Steve and me. Then he smiles and gets serious for a minute.
"Tar, will you please reconsider coming off the ship with us? There are some amazing things to see and do. I hate that you're pining away here by yourself."
I take Dad's hand in mine. "Daddy, I'm not pining away. I'm relaxing. I'm spending time with myself and I like it. Please, it's okay. I don't need you and Steve to babysit me, honest."
Dad nods and then snaps his fingers. "Shit, we forgot the sunscreen!"
"Well you better and get it then soldier!" Steve pushes Dad away and when he runs off back to their cabin, Steve sits on the lounge beside me and takes my hand.
"How are you doing for real, sweetheart?"
"Oh my God, I'm fine!" I know everyone means well but I am so tired of being asked that question constantly. It was hard, when Manny didn't respond to my letter and I had to leave for the trip still not knowing if he would forgive me. But now, with the fresh air and the quiet and my alone time in my cabin and on deck, I feel like I'm finally starting to heal.
But. I miss him, and my heart still hurts.
"I'm sorry your cute Mexican boyfriend didn't call you." Steve says. "It sucks. I know. Been there done that."
"I really thought he would call me. Text me. Something," I tell him sadly. "It's just hard to believe that he's not going to be a part of my life. We'd just gotten started; you know?"
"Aw, sweetie." Steve pats my hand. "Maybe he just needs some more time. You know, in my experience, the Latin boys are more temperamental. All that heat. Takes them a bit longer to simmer down."
I flush and smother a giggle. "You've had some Latin heat, have you?"
He waves a hand at me. "Oh honey, you have no idea." He stands up as Dad comes trotting back. "Just don't tell your dad about it!"
"Okay!" Dad's panting from running. "Sunscreen, cameras, we are ready!"
"You guys have fun," I tell them both. "I'll probably still be here on deck reading when you get back."
Steve glances behind Dad and raises an eyebrow, a funny smile on his lips.
"Well, uh, keep an out for good looking
