The Last Round (17 page)

Just as I’m about to respond, Viviana steps up. Julian rushes to stand, but Viv pushes him back to sit. “No, no. You sit here. I’ll take your seat.”

“No, it’s okay. I just wanted to bug Natalia while you were away.”

“Seriously, guys,” Viv urges, “I don’t mind. You guys sit together.” Viv grabs her bag from under the chair before her.

“Thank you,” both Julian and I say. She nods and walks away. Julian jerks his head my way, his eyes wide.

“What?” I ask.

“You think I should warn her she’ll be sitting between the man who smells like mothballs and the elderly lady who can’t stop chatting about her twenty-five cats she lives with?”

I bring both my hands to my mouth, in attempt to hold back the laugh that’s literally going to erupt out of me any second. I shake my head. “Let her figure it out.”

“Okay,” Julian states, his features showing worry for Viv and I can’t help but laugh even harder.

After we land in Philly, we rent a car and drive to my mom’s house. My mother is beyond thrilled to have all three of us there for the holiday. She practically attacks us and jumps up and down with joy. Julian and I place our luggage in my old room, and then we take a nice long
nap
. After we wake up refreshed, we shower together and get dressed for the dinner his uncle and aunt are hosting.

We search for parking once we reach the gym. Parking around here is difficult to come by, but Julian is able to find something a block away. I step out of the car, brushing out the wrinkles as my hand swipes over the fabric of my knee-length dress. Julian meets me; with a grin he gives me his hand.

He looks very handsome in his light grey button-down shirt tucked into his black slacks. He didn’t wear a tie as he said this was more a casual event. I settled for a cashmere dress, with gold accessories and knee-high chocolate boots, with a gold buckle on the side.

“It’s so warm tonight,” I mention as our shoes click against the concrete.

“Yeah, that’s why I skipped the jacket.”

As we get closer to the gym, I can hear the loud sound of Mark Anthony’s
Vivir Mi Vida
blasting down the street. The salsa rhythm jolts within me and I’m instantly transformed to a time with my father and I. We used to dance in the living room, music cranked up high, and he would show me all of his best Salsa moves. I used to love watching my parents Salsa and Merengue around the house.

My grin pulls wider. “You can hear the music all the way out here!” I tighten my hold around his arms, excitement filling me as we get closer.

“You know it’s not a Puerto Rican party unless you have booze, loud Spanish music, and lots of pernil.”

I haven’t been to one of these parties in so long. It brings back so many childhood memories. I laugh at Julian’s comment and we move forward.

We walk into the gym. There are so many people here; some part of the Latino culture and some not, but no matter the race everyone is united and eating, drinking, and dancing. Everyone is speaking and laughing over the loud music.

A deejay is setup by the right side and all the gym equipment is pushed aside, giving room for tables and chairs.

“Ahhhh!” Julian’s uncle, Al, yells out as he sees us; others turn their head. “Come here!” He waves us over. And we are instantly brought into many tight hugs, kisses on the cheek, and tugs on our shoulders.

Julian’s Aunt Miriam sees me and yanks me in to a tight hug. “It’s been forever, love! How are you?” She pulls away and holds me at arm’s length.

“I’m good! How are you?”

She waves a hand. “I’m still alive and happy!” She wiggles her fingers to the table display of all the mouthwatering food. “Go eat! There’s so much food. We’ll catch up later.”

Julian and I make our way to fill our plates. By the food buffet, a long table is set with all the liquor you can think of and there is a man standing behind it acting as the bartender; though he looks as if he has had too many drinks himself. Julian and I chuckle at the so called bartender and begin piling our plates.

A young boy approaches him with a huge smile. “Julian!”

Julian turns around, his eyes fill with joy. “Slick! Dude, what’s going on man?” They both do a special handshake and then pull in for a quick hug.

“Nothing much. Still working on those moves you showed me. Thanks for the tips. Hey, my parents are here. They would love to meet you.”

Julian lets out a chuckle. “No problem, man. I’d love to meet them.” Julian looks over to me. “Slick, meet my wife. Natalia, this is Slick. Mark my words, he is going to be the future of boxing. The next champ in a decade.”

I smile at the boy; he puts out his arm and I take his hand. “So nice to meet you . . .
Slick
?”

The boy blushes. “Everyone calls me Slick.” He gives a light shrug. “But you can call me Luis. Nice to meet yah.”

We both laugh. Julian and I finish piling our plates with food, then we take a seat at a table filled with strangers. But that’s the best part, no one around us makes us feel like strangers; they make us feel welcome, like family.

A heavyset man stumbles over to our table, a shit-eating grin plastered across his rosy cheeks. He raises a bottle of vodka in the air, with a pile of plastic shot glasses in his other hand. “Shots?” He looks at our table. A few people raise their hands; the man hands them each a shot glass and pours them a drink. He then walks over the Julian. “How ‘bout you, Champ?”

I watch Julian and he doesn’t even flinch. He casually shakes his head, and says, “No thank you.” Then goes back to eating his food. My heart warms and I deny a shot as well. Julian leans over and whispers into my ear. “You don’t have to give up drinking because I don’t drink. Trust me, this doesn’t faze me.”

I turn my head, our noses brush along each other. I leave a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’m not a vodka girl.” I wink.

He chuckles. “Touché.”

But what I
am
is a Coquito girl. So I couldn’t resist when Julian’s aunt offered me her homemade specialty. After three glasses, I’m feeling nice, and when an old song by Jerry Rivera comes on, I hop out of my seat. “Come on, dance with me.” I tug at Julian’s arm.

He widens his eyes. “Uh, I haven’t danced this stuff in a
long
time. You know I’m horrible at it.”

“Come on,
please
,” I beg, my bottom lip out in a pout. “It’s Jerry Rivera!”

“You’re really gonna have me make a fool of myself?”

“Completely!” I tug at his arm again, this time he stands.

“Fine.” He rolls his shoulders. “But, if I make you look bad out there by my outstanding moves, I warned you.”

Excited, I place his hands in mine and make our way to the dance floor. Others surround us, looking like they belong on
Dancing with Stars
. But with the three special Eggnog drinks within me, I feel confident I can look like a pro too. I find the perfect spot and twirl around to face Julian.

“Here?” he asks, looking around nervous.

I can’t help but laugh at how nervous he looks. It is adorable. I place my left hand on his shoulder and grab his left hand with my right. “Remember, you bring your left foot forward, I’ll bring my right foot back, and so on. Like this.” He looks down as he watches my feet switch back and forth. “Then just move your hips. We’ll keep the twirls and turns for another time.” I wink. I nod, counting down from three to one and we begin moving. I laugh at how stiff he looks, but he’s trying and it’s so freaking cute.

“Relax! You’re doing fine,” I yell over the music.

His shoulders drop and before you know it, he’s moving better along with the beat of the music. We pick up the pace; I sway my hips, traveling along the dance floor. We continue to dance and at one point he feels confident enough to twirl me away and pull me back in his arms. I laugh at how well executed it was.

He winks. “I still got a little something, something.”

We continue to laugh and dance the rest of the night. We feel free, we feel young, and most of all we feel
alive
.

It is probably the best time I have had with Julian in a really long time. And it is a memory that will burn in my mind for a lifetime.

Julian

I CAN’T ASK
for a better Thanksgiving. Today, I feel blessed and thankful to have my family back in my life. I don’t know if it’s the split between Natalia and I, or the fact as I grow older I’m beginning to think differently, but now I can see what the true meaning of family is. Family is everything, and I have spent years allowing the wrong people to influence my life.

I look over at Natalia with her mother and sister. They just added the last ornament on the tree. Decorating a Christmas tree is a tradition they always did every Thanksgiving. The only person missing is Natalia’s father. He and I would sit back and enjoy a couple beers as we talked about boxing.

Luz, Natalia’s mother looks at me and smiles. “Julian, would you like another slice of pie?”

I tap my belly. “I’m okay. If I eat anything else, I’m sure I’ll explode. But thank you.”

“Very well.” She steps back and admires the tree. Natalia plugs in the lights and all the assorted colors brighten the room. It feels cozy and warm. Christmas was always my mother’s favorite time a year, and even though we didn’t have much and couldn’t afford much, she always went out of her way to make our home decorated for the holidays.

“Now it feels like the holidays,” Luz, says; she then turns her back from the tree. “I’m going to clean the kitchen.”

“I’ll help,” I offer.

“No, no. Relax.”

I go against her will and stand to help anyway. She has practically slaved all day in the kitchen to cook an awesome meal.

“Viv and I will clean up in here!” Natalia exclaims, as she looks around at all the Christmas decoration bins on the living room floor. I run my hand down the side of her face and pull her in for a kiss before I go off and do my part in the kitchen.

I finish up the last of the dishes and join Luz by the counter to pack the leftovers in containers. She hands me an empty container and I take it. I can feel her stare burning at me, which forces me to look at her.

She sighs. “I know I already gave you a piece of mind.” She begins. And she has, the day after the night at the football field, when Natalia left me standing there. I received a call from Luz; she expressed how hurt Natalia was. Natalia had confided in her mother that night. I broke her heart, and Luz did not let me hear the end of it.

I put down the plate and give her my full attention. She continues. “I’m not getting any younger, Julian, and the one thing I wish for before I leave this earth, is to feel certain that my daughters are going to be okay.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Natalia looks happy,” she expresses. “This is the first time I’ve seen her this happy in a very long time.”

“I want to keep her happy.”

“Good. But promise me, you will not break her heart again. Promise me that I can trust you to protect her, Julian. You have to be there for her and give her the love she deserves.” Her stare hardens as she takes me in. “I truly need you to promise this.”

I swallow, and walk around until we are face to face. “Luz, you have
nothing
to worry about. I love Natalia. I always have. I just got a little lost along the way, and it took me losing her to realize I never want that to go down that path again. I promise you, it will never happen again. I promise,” I reassure.