Postcards from Havana, page 9
“That will only happen if I’m with you,” I snap.
What comes next shocks the shit out of me. I move to one side slightly to avoid the flying pot, but I’m not quick enough. The contact sends me reeling to the floor, covered in hot rice and peas.
Stunned, I lie on the floor trying to collect my senses. I hear the echo of the door slamming in the distance. I touch the side of my head and feel blood as it trickles down the side of my face. I would never hit a woman, but Benita is damn close to being the first one to take me there.
I stay on the floor several minutes, waiting for the searing pain to ease before I get up to take a look at my wound in the bathroom mirror. I put a wet cloth on it, but I know it will leave a scar. This just solidifies my decision to leave Cuba for good.
Chapter Twelve
(Arlene)
I‘m up and excited to go home, but I can’t get out of my head how Vince wants more than a vacation fling. He wants all of me, even though he doesn’t know anything about me. I could claim that I don’t want the same, but I won’t. Last night has me confused about what I want. My heart is saying one thing but my head is telling me another.
Being with him has shown me how different he is from any man I’ve been with in a long time. Vince is sweet, gorgeous, sexy, and I think I’m falling in love with him.
I let my head fall back against the pillow, the truth crashing over me, leaving me breathless.
I would be crazy to tell anyone about this. Deep down, I know we can’t be together; I’m on a plane and out of here in a few hours.
My phone buzzes on the table, and I reach for it.
It is a text from the airline. Our flight is canceled due to bad weather in Florida. I don’t know whether to be upset or elated that I get to spend another day in Cuba with Vince. But he doesn’t know I’m still here.
I get out of bed and notice April’s bed is empty again. I hope she isn’t sitting at the airport waiting for us to arrive. Just in case, I send her a quick text. Before I take my shower, I go in the living room to see if Josie and Mia are up. Mia should be, since she is organized and hates to be late for anything. She’ll want to make sure we’re all packed, and nothing is left behind.
I enter the room and see her with a garbage bag in hand, cleaning. Unless they made a mess between the time, I went to bed and this morning, there shouldn’t be anything to clean.
“Mia, what are you cleaning?”
“I’m just straightening the room and dusting. We don’t want housekeeping to think we’re pigs.”
“You can stop. Our flight’s canceled due to bad weather in Florida—we’re here another day or so,” I say. I glance at the couch, glad it’s a light-colored leather. “Is Josie in the bedroom?”
“Um, no. I haven’t seen her or April this morning.” Mia stops cleaning and looks at me. “Should we be worried?”
I shake my head. “April texted me a little while ago. I’ll send Josie one in a minute. Did you make coffee?”
“No. I’ve been busy. I’ll make some now,” she says, walking over to the wet bar where the coffee machine is. “Arlene, can I ask you a question?”
Oh boy; this can’t be good. “Sure, what’s up?” I sit on the couch, folding one leg under me. Just sitting on the furniture sends a shiver through me as memories of last night come rushing back. Doesn’t help my breasts are still sore from Vince’s hands and lips. I feel a smile curl my mouth but force it back to listen to Mia.
Mia flops down in the chair, dropping the garbage bag at her feet. “I did something last night and wonder if I should be ashamed of myself or just shake it off.”
She has me intrigued—and relieved it is not about me. “What did you do, Mia?”
“Rico and I were at the beach and we started making out a little. I got caught in the moment and I accidently called him Manny. I was so embarrassed,” she says, covering her face.
I didn’t see that coming for sure! “Wow, how did Rico react?” I’m actually responding to the fact she was making out with Rico. Mia does not do such things.
“He wasn’t happy with me. I was scared for my life for a minute.”
I frown at her exaggeration. “Seriously, why, Mia?”
“What if he flipped out and attacked me? I didn’t know how to get back to the hotel. Thankfully, he just dropped me off and didn’t mention anything about it.”
I start to roll my eyes but stop. “Mia, what time did you get back to the hotel?”
She flips her hand. “I wasn’t gone long after you and Manny saw us. When I came back, you were passed out and then Vince was knocking on the door looking for you. I just stayed in my bedroom.”
My cheeks burn. “You were in the other room? I’m talking about all night, Mia.”
She nods. “Yes… all night.” She gets out of the chair. Her grin is devilish. “You are loud. Next time you have sex with a man and I’m around, can you take it somewhere private? I had to hold my pee for hours waiting for y’all to get through.”
My heart is pounding so hard that I feel faint. How did I not hear Mia return? Just shows how stressful it was at Vince’s grandmother’s house. I was so out of it that I fell into a really deep sleep.
“Were we loud?”
“Girl,” she says.
There is a knock on the door and Mia goes to answer it. The bellhop has probably come to help us with our luggage. I should call the front desk to see if we can rent the room for another night. It would be awful to be thrown out on the streets and not know where to go.
When Mia opens the door, I frown when I recognize Benita. She shoves Mia aside; coming directly over to me. Her hands are on her hips, as if she’s prepared for a showdown. Her two friends that accompanied her stand by the door, as if guarding it.
“Qué deseas?” I ask Benita sternly.
“Necesitamos hablar,” she replies, clearly upset.
After the cold greeting, Benita is off and running. She is speaking so fast, I can only make out bits and pieces of her rant. What I do catch is Vince’s name. This has to do with him. Surprise!
Mia yells over to me, “Arlene, who are these women?”
I try to pay attention to Benita, the females standing at the door, and Mia. I find myself in a quandary, with Mia as my only backup. “Mia, just keep an eye on those two,” I tell her. “I’ll handle Benita.” I crack my neck and push my chest out to show my dominance—I’m not scared of her.
Benita is tossing her mane of chestnut hair and rambling on, her tongue hurling Spanish like I wish I could. If it weren’t for the fire in her eyes, I would find this funny. She is most likely calling me every name but a child of God.
Then I see her fist come at me. Oh no, this chick did not swing at me. I duck just in time. I hear Mia screaming in the background. Everything is moving in fast motion. I get shoved and fall on the floor with Benita on top of me, grabbing at my hair.
I’m not a damn fighter, and this woman is stronger than an ox. But I can’t let her get the best of me. I reach up and grab her long locks, yanking as hard as I can. She yells and then rolls off me.
I quickly get to my feet and move around the couch. My plan… I don’t have one. But if I can wear her out by running in circles around the couch, then that’ll work for me. We are like bulls fighting for the attention of a female. My feet are constantly moving, back and forth, in anticipation of what her next move might be.
I ditch my robe because I’m burning up. Sweat is pouring off my face and running down my neck. What the hell! Am I really doing this? We are so loud. Benita is screaming at me in Spanish and I’m just as loud in English. Someone is bound to call the front desk. I can only pray someone will call. My ass is tired. I can barely catch my breath. The adrenaline is flowing too fast for my body to keep up.
Suddenly, I hear a male voice. It sounds like Vince but could be any man. The Spanish is just too much for me. Mia is jumping up and down on the couch, swinging a candlestick around.
I put the brakes on my fast moves to assess what’s going on. There are a lot of people in the room with the addition of two bellhops, Vince, Josie, and Pedro. The two women are restrained by the hotel employees. Pedro has Benita wrapped up like a taco. Josie is in a karate stance, just waiting for her chance to show off her skills as a black belt.
Vince is standing next to me, trying to hold me. I shove him away from me. My breathing is rapid, and I take a few deep breaths to calm my heartbeat before I pass out. What am I, fifteen? My ass is too old for this shit, but I’ll be damned if this broad thought she was going to beat my ass without a fight. She would have won, but at least I can say I tried.
I say that now that Benita is restrained and I know I won’t actually have to fight her manly ass. I look at Vince. He appears as pissed as me. I’m finally able to talk, but he won’t see any tears—I’m too damn mad to let any fall. “What the hell is going on, Vince? Why did Benita attack me?” The pitch of my voice is very high.
Before he can answer, Benita starts spewing what I assume are more vile words. Vince counters with words of his own. I have given up trying to translate any of it. I need to sit down. My legs are so weak I can’t stand anymore.
I sit in a chair away from the arguing. Mia hands me a glass of water and rubs my back. The thin strap of my nightie falls off my shoulder. My brand new silk nightie is ripped, and I look down at myself—my breasts are exposed for the world to see.
Josie stands on the other side of me, covering me with my robe. “Arlene, are you okay?”
“I’m freaking confused at what’s happening.” Why am I talking so loud?
“Vince called Pedro in a panic to get you out of the hotel. We rushed over here and find this melee. Pedro only told me a little about her. She is dangerous, Arlene.”
“Oh my God,” Mia says. “The police are here. Are we being arrested too?”
“Don’t panic, Mia. We didn’t do anything wrong,” I say, hoping to bring Mia and myself some reassurance. I don’t know how foreign laws work. I’ve only heard jails are not friendly to Americans.
I watch Vince talk to the police. He’s pointing at me and then shows the officer something on his head. They come over to me. I close my robe to make sure I’m decent.
“Señora, necesitas un doctor?” the officer asks. Vince translates.
I shake my head. “No, I don’t need a doctor. I just want her to leave me alone.”
Vince grabs my hand and looks at me. “You want to press charges, Arlene.”
“I’ll be gone tomorrow. I’m not coming back to go to court,” I say.
“She will remain in jail until you leave, so you want her arrested; trust me.”
“Just do what he says,” Mia adds.
“All right, take her to jail. I don’t care what they do with her.” As hot as I am, I’m shivering.
Vince gives my answer to the officer. As he finishes his report, another one handcuffs Benita, dragging her away kicking and screaming. The two friends are escorted away by police also.
The hotel manager has arrived and wants to talk to me. “Madam, I want to express my sincerest apologies.”
I brush my messy hair away from my face. “It’s not your fault. Um, I need the room for one more night, if possible. Our flight was canceled.” I might as well kill two birds with one stone and save myself a trip downstairs.
“Si. The night is on me—please, accept as my apologies for the disturbance.”
I don’t understand why he’s taking blame; if anyone should take responsibility, it’s Vince. Benita is his crazy ex-girlfriend. I nod, agreeing just to get these people to leave me alone. “Gracias.”
“Well, that’s all settled,” Josie says, sounding upbeat. “We should go to breakfast.”
I give her a side-eye. “Really, Josie. Food is the last thing on my mind. But you all go ahead.”
They are so predictable. I see the glances taking place between the four of them. They all leave except Vince. Like I didn’t know that was coming. I don’t want to talk to him. Once I recover, then I’ll talk to him.
Vince follows me into the bedroom. I take the outfit I was going to wear on the plane from the closet and lay it on the bed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You can’t avoid it, Arlene. I feel you are blaming me, and you have a right to do so.”
I swing around to face him. “You think? God, this has turned into the trip from hell. I can’t wait to get home.”
He takes a deep breath shoving his hands in his pockets. I notice the bandage on his head.
“What happened to your head?”
“A flying pot of arroz con gandules,” he says, laughing. “Thanks to Benita.”
“Really? She is off her rocker.” I reach up and touch the bandage, and he flinches.
“Agree. I’m sorry this happened. I had a feeling she would try to get to you after our fight last night.”
My brow lifts. “Last night? You were with her last night too?”
“She showed up at my apartment. We had a big fight about you and why I don’t want to be with her. She didn’t take it well.”
“What did you say about me?” I shouldn’t ask, but curiosity gets the best of me.
“That I really like you. That you are the type of woman I want to be with. So feminine, sweet, sexy, funny—should I go on?”
I can’t look him in the eye; he’ll just draw me in when I want to stay out. “Okay, I can see her not liking that.” I fumble with the belt on my robe. “I need to take a bath. You can wait if you want.”
“Why don’t I join you?”
What is wrong with men? I almost got my ass killed by a crazy woman and now I’m supposed to switch that off and be in a loving mood? Don’t think so. “Not quite feeling the love vibe right now, Vince.”
He laughs. “Nothing has to happen—I promise.”
I laugh too. “Right, and a two-dollar bill is a valuable item. Just wait for me,” I say. “Oh, Mia heard us last night. I didn’t know she was here.”
His face flushes a slight pink, then his lips curl into a grin. “Is that right? We’ll have to be careful next time.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re impossible. I’ll be fast,” I say as I disappear into the bathroom.
Chapter Thirteen
(Arlene and Vincenté)
Vince and I stayed together in my hotel room. I’m not up to partying with my friends. Benita had ruined any fun for me. Just to be sure, I call the airline, checking on flights leaving later in the day, but nothing is available until the weather clears in Florida. They could not confirm when flights would resume.
Vince opens a bottle of wine, pours a glass, and hands it to me. He is trying to make amends. I shouldn’t blame him for Benita’s actions, and have apologized for blaming him. Hell, he is a victim of her abuse also. I won’t have any scars like he will.
“Thank you,” I say. I take a sip of the sweet red wine; it feels good going down. Besides the wine, he also ordered Cuban mojo shrimp for us to snack on. The best shrimp I’ve had in my life.
Vince scoots me over to sit next to me. I don’t mind the closeness, but there will be no sex. “So, how are you doing?”
“I should be asking you that question. Dealing with Benita on top of losing your grandmother can’t be easy. Have you made any arrangements yet?”
“I have. The next three days will be interesting,” he answers.
I watch him take a sip of wine. He goes so much deeper than the sex appeal he exudes. Vince is a take-charge type of person. Although I didn’t understand the argument he had with Benita, he was, apparently, letting her know in no uncertain terms what she did today would not be tolerated, and she was going to jail.
I’m no longer in my feelings about the arrangement he presented to me, and see a man who will deal with major grief in the coming days. My heart aches knowing his family is divided when they should be together. Though, I could be reading too much into what is before me. Maybe family unity during death is different for Cubans than Americans.
I reach for a shrimp and feed it to him. He slowly chews the spicy seafood. “I wish I could be here for you, but I have to get back to work.”
“I understand,” he says. “After the funeral, I’ll leave too. Nothing is holding me here anymore.”
“I wish you weren’t in Florida. By the way, what do you do in Florida?”
“I’m a mechanical engineer and work for NASA.”
Holy crap! The wine almost chokes me as it goes down. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he’d work for NASA. I know how expressive my face can get, especially if shock is involved. I bet he sees what I’m thinking. I hurry and put a shrimp in my mouth, washing it down with wine.
“Nice job,” I say, playing it off.
He laughs at me. “You didn’t expect me to be smart; admit it. You expected me to be all muscle, pretty face, and no brains,” he says, rubbing his hands across his chest.
I feel my cheeks warm. “Never did I think you were not smart. Yes, I’m shocked you’re an engineer. NASA is a fabulous place to work. Have you watched any launches?”
“I have. The facilities are each unique in their own way. However, I like the facility in Texas the best.”
He is looking at me with those dreamy-ass eyes again. Does the fact that he is smart change anything for me? Not really. I now understand where his determination and drive come from. Vince is a thinker. He doesn’t do anything without gathering facts first.
“Will you move to Texas if the opportunity presents itself?”
Vince refills our glasses. “Maybe. I can’t say I’ll refuse an opportunity to advance.” He takes my glass from me. “It’s a beautiful day. I want to take you sightseeing before you leave Cuba. There is so much to see that a postcard can’t capture.”
“Okay. Do I look okay, or should I change?” I’m wearing denim shorts, an off-the shoulder powder-blue blouse, and flat sandals. My hair is in a neat ponytail. I didn’t dress up to sit inside with Vince.
He stands up, reaching for my hand. “You’re beautiful. Hope you don’t mind walking. The best way to explore the city is by walking, or we can take the bus tour.”
