Page 35 of Fixed Up Ever After
“When Camilia has had a bad day, the only thing that makes her feel better is a long soak in the tub with her tablet. My mom used to do that for me and Ofelia after we cried on her shoulder. I don’t know what it is about baths, but it always did the trick. She would also read usThe Giving Tree, but I know you have a personal vendetta against it, so can I prepare you a bath?” He looked down, meeting her red-rimmed eyes. She didn’t speak, but she also didn’t ignore him. A single curt nod was her reply and that was enough for him.
Untangling himself from her, Javi got up and headed to the bathroom. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it when they walked in, but now he was able to take it in. The room was two times his bathroom back home, accompanied by a large walk-in shower with a waterfall shower head. The tub was detached and could easily fit a whole family. He sat at the edge of the large tub and turned on the warm water, putting the stopper in at the bottom.
While he allowed the water to fill, he searched the small cabinets and drawers in the bathroom. These fancy hotels always had free shit laying around. Besides the sinfully fluffy white towels, he also found a robe he hoped would work for Lola. It was made from the same materials as the towels, so it would envelop her like a warm hug.
After laying out her towel and robe and turning off the water, Javi stuck his head out to make sure she was still okay. Lola had a vacant look in her eyes, staring ahead at nothing while tears streaked down her cheeks. “Bath’s ready.” His soft tone still managed to startle her, and Lola flinched. As if in a trance, she got up and walked past him. He stepped aside to give her privacy and as soon as the doorway was clear, she shut the door with a resounding thud.
There was nothing more to say. At least not right now and he knew better than to pry. If she wanted to tell him, which he hoped she did, it would have to be on her own time. She had reached her limit with other people’s expectations and he refused to be another stressor in the equation.
To keep his mind off the woman in the bathroom, he took a seat on the bed, letting his back rest against the headboard, legs outstretched. There were a few texts from Ofelia, wondering if he made it alright.
He replied back to let her know he was at the hotel and to let Camilia know he loved her. That resulted in a thirty-minute phone call where she spoke animatedly about the pizzas she got to cook alongside her tío and how he burned his pizza, but hers came out perfectly.
Forty-five minutes later he was off the phone, but Lola hadn’t come out yet. He was half tempted to check on her, but then he heard water swishing and someone moving around in the bathroom. He waited and his patience paid off. Lola opened the door, stepping out with her robe on and her hair cascading down around her shoulders.
The tightness of her face from earlier had eased, leaving her more relaxed and although not completely at ease, better than when they started. Her eyes were no longer red rimmed, just puffy from crying. When their eyes locked, her chin dipped down and she grimaced.
“I owe you an apology.”
He couldn’t have been more shocked if she turned around and showed him she sprouted a tail in the bathtub. An apology? For what? She did nothing wrong and it bothered him that Lola would feel the need to apologize for having feelings. “You don’t owe me shit, especially not an apology. I’m worried about you, Lola, not angry.”
She seemed to consider his words before nodding. “Still, I doubt you were prepared for me to snot all over your shirt and break down without any warning.” She crossed the room to stand in front of him. She hesitated for only a fraction of a second before taking a seat next to him. Her white robe rode up dangerously high on her thighs and Javi couldn’t pretend not to notice, not with her smooth brown skin on display for him.
“My eyes are up here, Javier.” He heard the smirk in her voice, before he saw her expression. Her lips were upturned, holding back a laugh.
“Dolores, I’m a gentleman. I would never do something as heinous as look at your deliciously exposed thigh. What kind of man do you think I am?”
“Oh, I have a pretty good idea about the type of man you are.”
Seeing her smile made him want to capture this moment and lock it away. She deserved to laugh and smile and having that taken from her made Javi see red. He couldn’t explain this new streak of violence when it came to Lola, but it made him more curious about what he was obviously missing.
“Listen, you don’t have to tell me anything. Nothing at all. But if you want to talk about what happened earlier, I’m here to listen.”
The soft hum of the AC was the only sound in the room. Lola rubbed her hands up and down her thighs, seemingly contemplating what information she wanted to share.
“I didn’t tell you the real reason I didn’t want to go to this damn wedding alone. I had ample opportunity, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit it to you. I guess I didn’t want you to see me differently. Which is stupid, I know, but my anxiety around this whole ordeal is fucking astronomical.
“So you met my family downstairs. They aren’t the most welcoming of people unless your pockets are lined thicker than Oprah’s.” Javi snorted. He had the inkling that her parents surrounded themselves with people who used twenty-dollar bills to wipe their asses. And Lola had grown up in that environment. He couldn’t begin to imagine what that was like.
“I don’t talk about it often because everyone kinda rolls their eyes at the rich girl’s problems,” Lola continued, “and I get it. I was extremely privileged growing up and I never lacked for anything…well material needs anyway. My emotional needs were hardly ever met and I’ve been in therapy for it for years.
“Anyway, that’s not what triggered the panic attack from earlier. It was seeing Archie.”
“Archie?” The name didn’t ring a bell to him.
“He was the man seated at the table next to my sister. He’s the one she’s marrying and…” Her voice caught and a tear rolled down her cheek. A self-deprecating laugh left her lips. “Fuck, I’m not even sad over him! My emotions are just all over the place right now.”
He reached over to the tissues on the bedside table, offering it to her. She quietly thanked him and used a tissue to dab at her eyes. “What I’m trying to say is I used to date Archie—don’t look at me like that, I was young and stupid. We dated for a few years and I swore he was the one…until he broke up with me and almost immediately started to date my sister. I guess she fit his image better.”
It was as if a volcano erupted inside of him, scorching every surface of his body. He had known anger before, most notably after the death of Estella, but that felt different than this. He wanted to wring Archie’s neck. Not fit his image? As if the goddess in front of him needed to fit any damn image but her own. A man like Archie couldn’t possibly love a woman like Lola properly. He knew men like Archie. Ones who wanted a pretty little wife by their side to advance their own career. Lola deserved better.
“Javi, say something. It looks like you want to break a lamp.” Oh, he definitely wanted to break something, but not a lamp. Simultaneously, he wanted to thank Archie for being a pendejo for letting Lola slip through his grip. She fell into Javi’s arms. It didn’t matter that he only had this week with her and their relationship was fake; this week was very much real and he would see to it that she was treated as she deserved.
“If you want me to punch him in the veneers, I will.” That got a bark of laughter out of her and a smack to his arm.
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that violence isn’t the answer?”
“Actually no, someone told me that violence is sometimes the answer.” Another smack, this time to his chest. “Ah, preciosa, you don’t live by your own teachings.”
