Truths and Choices
I sit on the living room couch, looking at my children playing with their toys scattered across the carpet. Such a typical scene from my house that makes me believe Carlos's last image in the elevator wasn't real. No, my husband didn't enter that elevator. Carlos is in Portugal working, and I'm enjoying the evening with my children after a day of work. Everything that happened before couldn't be real... I wipe away the tears that stubbornly continue to slide down my face.
Suddenly, I hear the door to my house open, causing me to jump from the couch and walk to the hallway. Carlos had come back... He had just taken some time to cool off...
"Dalia?"
"Mom?" I question, surprised to find my mother and Valeria at my apartment door. My sister is closing the door, while my mother is already approaching me. I cross my arms, serious, and continue, "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"
"Carlos came to our house," my mother answers, touching my arm.
"He told us everything, sis," Valeria says, passing my mother and hugging me. "He said you needed us."
***
A steaming mug of tea appears in front of my face, delivered by my sister. I don't remember when Valeria went to my kitchen and made that tea. In fact, I don't remember the moment we left the hallway and came to the living room, where I sat with my mother beside me, staring at my oblivious children. Valeria hands a cup to my mother and then sits beside me. Her breath betrays her anger, which won't take long to surface in her words:
"How could he do this to you?" Valeria questions.
"Valeria, please..." my mother pleads before taking a sip from her cup. "We shouldn't judge..."
"How can we not? Mom, Carlos cheated on Dalia," my sister says, pointing towards me, although I think they forgot I was there.
"We don't know the facts," my mother retorts.
"He had an affair with that Duny, Yuni... What's worse is that she suspected it. Like, Dalia was right. Now he not only cheated on her but also left the house, leaving her alone," Valeria argues. "What kind of man does that? What kind of man does this to his family, Mom?"
"Val, why don't you take your nephews to the patio?" my mother asks, looking at my children, especially Juan, who had stopped playing and was paying attention to our conversation. "This kind of conversation isn't appropriate in front of the children. Besides, I need to talk to your sister alone."
Valeria huffs but eventually agrees with my mother. She stands up, picks Marisol up, and calls Juan, taking them to the patio, being watched by my mother until Valeria closes the glass door. Dona Dulce turns to me, and her expression isn't the most pleasant.
"I can't imagine the pain you're feeling right now," my mother begins cautiously. "However, you need to be rational... You have a beautiful family that doesn't deserve to be thrown away because of a mistake."
"Mom, he's the one who asked for a divorce, you know? Did he tell you that?" I ask, leaning forward and burying my swollen face in my hands. "He's the one who left, not me."
"I know, Carlos said so," my mother responds, holding onto my arm. "But you can still change that..."
"Mom, he's the one who walked out on me!" I say, muffling my scream with my hands.
"Yes, he left because he made a mistake," my mother reminds me. "Carlos made a mistake, but you also made a mistake."
"What?" I question, lifting my face and looking at my mother. "What mistake did I make? Should I have locked the door to prevent him from leaving? Is that my mistake?"
"I saw you both," my mother releases, staring at me.
"What are you talking about, Mom?"
"I saw you with that man on the day you went to talk to your father," my mother reveals, serious. "I followed you, and I saw the two of you together on the patio."
"What did you see?" I ask casually, as I have no idea what she's talking about.
"I saw you with your father's friend near the car," my mother begins, looking at me with disgust. "Please don't ask me to go into details, as it was embarrassing and shocking enough to see that scene. I refuse to reproduce it in words."
"Mom..."
"And this was before Carlos traveled and after our wedding anniversary dinner," my mother continues, outraged. "I noticed that there was something strange between you two. The way you reacted to him, the way he looked at you..."
"Please, let me explain," I ask, turning towards her and trying to hold her hand, but she pulls away.
"Dalia, no. I know you like to act like the victim in this situation, but you're not," my mother asserts, standing up. "He messed up, and so did you. So, if you really want your family back, it's better to start chasing your husband before it's too late. Put aside that pride of yours, the only thing you inherited from me, and go after your husband before he convinces himself that the other woman deserves him. I may not be the best mother in the world, but I know when my daughter is heading down a path that will only bring her suffering. I'll take my grandchildren to spend the night at my house. In the meantime..." She raises my cellphone in my direction. "Call your husband and ask him to come back to talk like two adults."
***
I close the door of my apartment, where my mother and sister left with my children, and return to the living room with my cell phone in my hands. I tuck my hair behind my ear as I sit on the couch. I stare at my phone for a few moments. I know that as soon as I make this call, I'll have to tell the whole truth, and from my perspective, that will only push us further apart. I'm going to lose my husband. Either way, I convince myself that it doesn't matter anymore and that I need to put an end to this. I dial Carlos's number and listen to the slow ringing. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the call is answered:
"Hello?" Duny's voice comes from the other end of the line.
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