One of the staff came into the dining room carrying an envelope in her hand. She walked to Summer, smiling at her new mistress, and handed her the missive. Summer smiled back at her genuinely, trying to remember her name, and looked down at the envelope. At first, observing her with open curiosity, Gabe watched the woman he loved as she turned the envelope over to see who it was from. When the color drained from her face, he immediately left his seat to go to her side.
“What is it, Summer?” She looked up at him with wide, scared eyes.
“It’s from Argentina, my father’s address, overnight delivery.”
“Mamá, please take Marisol upstairs to get dressed.” When his daughter left the room, he took her vacated seat next to Summer and pulled it closer to her, placing his hand on her knee. “Do you want me to open it for you, baby?”
“Oh, Gabe, it can’t possibly be good news. What if he’s …" With tears running down her cheeks, Summer tore open the envelope and opened the sheet with hands that shook.
Feeling tense and protective of the woman he loved, he watched as she read the contents. Thinking the worst when Summer began crying heart wrenching sobs, tears streaming down her face as she reached for him and he pulled her onto his lap.
“Baby, what is it? Tell me.”
“After all this time,” Summer cried. She was so upset, she couldn’t say any more. Gabe took the letter from her and read.
Querida hija,
I learned of your engagement to Gabriel Rodrigo last night on the news. Please accept my heartfelt best wishes for your continued happiness. I hope to one day meet your future husband. He is a very lucky man.
There are few things I am proud of in my life. You should know that of them all, I am most proud of you. You are everything that your mother and I had hoped you would be and more. If she were here today, she would tell you above all, Summer, to be happy. She loved you more than life itself, as do I, however much reason I have given you to doubt it.
I should have told you long ago that the Spanish villa where we spent so many happy times together as a family is now yours. I hope you will visit there often and remember your parents and our family as we were then. It took me a long time to realize that life was still worth living after I lost your mother. I wasted many years I could have spent with you, the most beautiful testimony to the wonderful woman your mamá was and the precious love we shared, and I will regret my choices of long ago for the rest of my life. Although I was a failure as a father to you, I had to tell you that you have been a great success as a daughter. Although I can take no credit for how you turned out, I wanted you to know that I think you turned out great.
Should your travels ever bring you to Argentina some time, I hope you will allow me to come see you and meet your husband, but I will understand if you prefer your privacy. It is my greatest hope and prayer that the two of you will share the kind of love that your parents did.
All my love,
Papá
Gabe held Summer for twenty minutes, and she still hadn’t stopped crying. He finally picked her up and carried her to their room, laying her down gently on the bed and joining her there, wrapping his body around hers. She eventually fell into an exhausted sleep. Gabe carefully got off the bed, covered her with a light blanket, and left the room.
Gabe had never felt so helpless or miserable in his life as when he’d held Summer for over an hour having to listen to her cry. She’d been inconsolable and heartbroken, and that was just unacceptable to him. He wasn’t sure what he should do, but he knew he had to do something. He could not stand for her to hurt like this.
The question was, what exactly was hurting her, and what could he do to correct the problem. Was she hurting because the attempt to reach out to her from her father had come too late? Was it because she couldn’t find it in her heart to forgive him? Had hearing from him brought all the pain and feelings of loss from that time after her mother’s death to the surface again? He had no clue. Perhaps after she rested, she would be able to tell him. Then, he would do whatever was necessary for her to be happy again.
Whatever
was necessary.
Summer slept for over two hours and woke up groggy, her face swollen and her eyes red. She was emotionally drained. Completely. She didn’t even have the strength to sit up. She just lay in bed, looking at nothing, curled into herself, her hand tucked underneath her chin. That’s how Gabe found her when he went up to check on her.
“Hey, you’re awake. I’ve been checking every fifteen -more like five- minutes or so. How are you feeling, baby?” He crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her, stroking her face, tucking her hair back behind her ear.
Another tear slid down across her nose, then another and another.
“
Querida
, you’re going to make yourself sick if you cry anymore. Tell me what you’re thinking,
mi amor
. Tell me what I can do to make it better.”
“Nothing, Gabe. I can’t tell you what I’m thinking, because I don’t know. There is too much … too much for me to sort out right now. I feel too many things, and it’s all mixed up. Memories, good and bad, from my childhood, before and after my mother’s death, while I was away at boarding school, when I closed myself off from love until I met you. It’s too much, Gabe. I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t have the strength to deal with anymore right now. I’m just going to rest awhile longer, okay? Don’t worry, I’ll be alright after a bit. Thank you for checking on me and taking care of me. I love you.”
“Do you want me to hold you some more? Do you want me to stay with you?”
“Not right now, babe. I think I’ll go back to sleep for awhile.”
Worry filling every part of him, he bent and kissed her cheek, stroked her tangled hair, and gave her the quiet and privacy she’d asked for, more concerned than ever. The woman he’d just left alone was a shadow of the one who’d been downstairs before receiving that letter. She was pale and wan and, worst of all, her eyes were lifeless, as was her voice. The only good thing was that she wasn’t allowing the heartbreak of the past to interfere with their love for each other. She’d said she loved him, and he knew without a doubt that she did and that she was here to stay.
It was a solemn scene at the dinner table that evening. Gabe’s parents were trying to soothe Marisol, who was upset that she hadn’t seen her new mamá all day, and Gabe was quiet as he looked at the food on the table with no appetite. He was on the verge of scolding his daughter for being bratty, when he saw her face light up and look behind him.
“Mamá, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you all day. I missed you.”
Mamá? Oh, that’s me, now. She called me Mamá. Wow, how great is that?
“I’m sorry,
mijita
, I wasn’t feeling well earlier, but I’m feeling a little better now.” Summer crossed over and kissed the little girl on the cheek, then did the same to Gabe’s parents wishing them good evening. Finally she headed over to Gabe and kissed him and took her seat at his side.
“So, Marisol, tell me about your day,
Chiquita
.” Gabe watched her closely, reaching under the table to put his hand on her leg. She put her hand on top of his and squeezed, looking over and smiling at him. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, but he could see she was trying hard to pull herself together.
“I had to stay inside most of the day. We couldn’t go anywhere, because those camera guys were still outside. I was so bored.” The little girl put her elbow on the table and held her chin in her hand, the picture of exasperated boredom.
Summer laughed, a real laugh that caught everyone at the table by surprise, including herself.
“Well,
mijita
, tomorrow, we’ll have to go do something fun, even if we have to sneak out of the house. Where should we go?”
Marisol perked up immediately. “I don’t know, Mamá, where do you think we should go?”
“Well, I suppose we could go shopping together and out to lunch. Maybe we can start looking for our wedding dresses. What do you think?”
“I like that idea. Have you decided when we’re getting married yet?”
“Let’s get out a calendar and start looking at some dates tonight, if your papá and grandparents aren’t busy. I think we should make this decision as a family, don’t you? We should probably call Pablo, too, so he can look at Papá’s concert dates. Don’t you think, Papá?”
“
Claro que si, mi amor
. Why don’t you take Marisol upstairs and give her a bath, get her dressed for bed, and I’ll call Pablo.”
“Okay. Ready
mija
? We’ll meet you back here in half an hour.” Everyone at the table nodded and watched as Summer got up and carried the baby out of the room. “I love you, Marisol, very much.” She hugged the child tightly, and only Gabe saw the sheen of tears in her eyes.
Gabe had briefed his parents about the letter Summer’s father had sent, and they were all very concerned about her. They discussed several possible ways to make her feel better, and by the time she returned with Marisol who smelled like baby lotion and powder, wearing yellow Sleeping Beauty pajamas, they had a plan.
“
Mija
, Papá and I want to throw you and Gabe an engagement party.” Araceli smiled at Summer as she made the announcement.
“Can I go, too, Mamá?”
“Of course you can go, too, but you can’t stay for the whole thing, okay? It will be too late for you.”
“Can I stay long enough to dance? Will you teach me how to dance, Mamá?”
“Yes, you can stay long enough to dance a few dances, but not all of them, and yes I will teach you how to dance.” At Gabe’s raised eyebrows, Summer added, “Don’t worry, my dancing is much better than my singing.” She smiled at his over exaggerated relief, and he kissed her.
“So, when is this party going to take place, and where?”
“We thought we could have it here, and we were thinking in three weeks. What do you think?”
“I think that will be fine. Mamá.” She smiled at Gabe’s mother’s pleased look. “Tell me what to do. I’ve never planned a party for more than a handful of people, and I have a feeling you have a larger number in mind.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,
mija
, we’ll take care of everything. Just give me a guest list. Don’t worry about whether or not they live here. We’ll fly any out of town guests in. We thought you might like to invite your
abuelita
and your ladies from the villa.”
“And Carlos and Marcos, right, Mamá? Don’t forget them. Do you think Carlos will give me a ride on his motorcycle like he did for you?”
Covering Gabe’s hand with her own when she felt him tense, Summer answered. “First of all, he will be flying in, if he’s even able to come, and second, unless you want to give your poor papá a heart attack or grey hair, I think you better not ride any motorcycles until you’re grown up.”
“Ahh, no fair.”
“You’re not going to be a brat, are you? I thought I heard some scolding going on when I came in for dinner earlier.”