She nods. “Okay. That makes sense.”
“Anymore questions?” I ask her warily. She really put me through the ringer there.
“Yes. When am I allowed to start dating?”
Ay, Dios mío!
***
The rest of the flight to Madeira went smoothly. Chloe Ann stopped with the hard questions, Vera woke up from her nap, and when we got off the plane we were greeted by Thalia and Alejo in the airport. They caught a flight that took off an hour earlier than ours and so they waited around for us.
“Hola,” I say to little David Roberto, the seven-month old baby that they recently adopted from Mali. He looks at me for a moment and then goes back to sleep.
Thalia grins, adjusting him in her arms. She looks tired but happy. “He was a little angel on the plane,” she says.
“Takes after me,” says Alejo, beaming down at the baby.
“Yeah, they were both asleep in a second,” Thalia says.
“So was I,” Vera says, lifting her hand up. “High-five for being able to sleep anywhere.”
Alejo grins, high-fiving her back. Then he turns to me. “Okay, so tonight is the party.”
“Yes, the rooster for you and me and the chicken for the girls.”
Alejo laughs. “Oh, Mateo.”
“What?” I know I’m right.
“Fine,” he says. “And so where is it? Luciano told me nothing except to get our ass on a plane. We would have found a babysitter if we had the time.”
“Says you,” Thalia says. “David Roberto is more than ready for his first adventure.”
Alejo grins at her and then leans into me, whispering. “I am all fine with the baby coming, but I was hoping we could have a nice romantic getaway.”
I pat him on the shoulder. Of course all he can think about at his age is sex. “Alejo, I am sure you’ll make it work.”
Not that I didn’t have similar thoughts about coming here with Vera. I’m glad Chloe Ann is along, I think it will be a memorable trip for her. But I’ve been meaning to take Vera on a trip soon, just to get away for a bit before the season starts again and I’ll be so busy all the time.
We end up getting a cab that seats all of us, and then we’re being driven through the dry valleys, past tiny pastoral towns, all the way to the North side of the island. The drive takes less than an hour, and even though Vera and I see Alejo and Thalia several times a week (and more, of course, when Real Madrid starts up again), we’re talking non-stop.
Naturally we’re all excited for Luciano. The man has been handed a few bad cards in his life, from his father abandoning him, to his stepfather being an abusive jackass of the highest degree, to his mother dying of cancer, not to mention all his shoulder injuries throughout the years.
But Ruby was the one that got away for him, and she was a woman he couldn’t quite let go of. Honestly, even though the last three years had them apart as he devoted himself to his dying mother (and Ruby was banned from the EU for…reasons), I’d never seen him happier. When he found Ruby again, it was like she shone a light on a very dark part of him.
He’s happy now, and that’s all we want for him as his friends. He’s a good man with a big heart who finally found the love he missed out on while growing up. Sure, their relationship was complicated from the start, but the strife is worth it when you end up where you needed to be.
I know Vera has been a little wary about the whole thing since she doesn’t know Ruby and she’s very protective of Luciano, but she of all people should understand that the most unconventional relationships often have the biggest pay-off. They’re at least the most interesting.
I glance at Vera beside me in the cab and grab her hand, feeling a rush of love flow through me again. Maybe it was all the talking with Chloe Ann, maybe it’s that Luciano will get married tomorrow, but I’m suddenly filled with the most acute sense of adoration for my wife. My god, I was so lucky to have taken a chance on her, even when it seemed hard, even when other people judged us and told us it was wrong. I am so glad we never fucking listened to what everyone said. To think what I would have missed had Vera and I played it safe.
As if hearing what I’m thinking, Vera takes my hand and brings it to her lips, kissing it sweetly, her eyes soft as they gaze into mine.
“Te amo,” I mouth to her.
“Te amo,” she whispers back.
On the other side of Vera, Chloe Ann lets out a groan of disgust.
Naturally we all start laughing.
It’s not long before the cab pulls down a dirt road skirting alongside craggy mountains, past golden fields dotted with sheep, that I know we’ve finally come to Luciano’s home. I’ve been here twice to visit him over the years (without Vera), and it always amazes me how a Lisbon-raised city boy like Luciano can trade it all in for the country life. But, then again, that man is full of surprises.
Vera
“We’re here,” Mateo says to me as the cab pulls to a stop, dust rising in the air.
I peer out the window, waiting patiently for Thalia, Alejo, and baby to get out of the van. I know Mateo has been here a few times, but to hear it described is never really the same as seeing something.
Luciano has a beautiful place. The farm house looks all cozy and quaint, painted white with a red-tiled roof, but it’s the way the dry tawny grass surrounds it, stretching on and on
