She Had No Choice (30 page)

“
This looks like a nice place,” Eva said, pointing to a flat, shady spot under a mature oak tree.

They spread out the blanket, set the basket down, and each found a comfortable place to sit. Eva set out the paper plates and cups and then dug around in the basket for the napkins.

“
Here,” Alex said, “let me help you get the food out.”

He pulled out the sandwiches and the bag of bananas and grapes, then he noticed there was something else in the bottom of the basket. It was a dish towel folded into a neat little square, tied with twine, which looked oddly familiar to him.

“
What’s this?” he said, raising one eyebrow as he held the little bundle up to Eva.

“
It’s a surprise. Open it.”

Alex looked at her suspiciously, then looked down at the mysterious fabric-covered packet in his hand. He untied the twine and let the cloth fall open. There sat two cold bean burritos. He looked puzzled for a moment, his brows knit together and his head cocked to one side. Then a huge grin spread across his face and his eyes lit up. He realized what those burritos meant.

“
Oh, Eva…this is great!” he said with a chuckle.

“
I wasn’t sure you’d remember.”

“
Me? Not remember? How could I forget the day we met?”

Eva was pleased that Alex understood what the burritos symbolized. They were starting over, getting reacquainted as if they were back at the beginning.

“
I’ll swap you half of my sandwich for one of your burritos,” Alex said, reminding her of that first day.

“
You really want a cold bean burrito?” she asked jokingly.

“
Sure. I like Mexican food!”

“
Do you? Why?” she asked, as if she didn’t know.

“ ’
Cause I’m one-fourth Mexican,” he said proudly. “My dad’s mom was Mexican. She passed away last year, but she used to make fresh tortillas and tamales and all kinds of good stuff.”

“
Oh, Alex, I’m sorry. I didn’t know your grandmother passed away,” Eva told him. She was so touched by him losing his beloved grandmother that her eyes started to glisten with tears.

He reached out and put his strong hand gently on hers. “It’s okay. She lived a good, long life. No regrets. My grandpa loved her for over fifty years, and they had five children together.”

He gave her a little smile to reassure her that it really was all right.

“
Wow, he loved her for over fifty years. I can’t even imagine that kind of life.” Those tears that were so near the surface began to spill over. She was embarrassed by them. She took a napkin and stood up, turning away to hide them.

Alex quickly got to his feet, too, and lightly grabbed hold of her forearm.

“
I don’t understand, Eva. Why does that make you cry?”

“
I don’t know,” she replied, shaking her head slightly. Alex was perplexed. He couldn’t see why his grandmother’s death would cause Eva to react like that.

“
Come on,” Alex said, as he took Eva’s hand. “Let’s go sit on that bench over there,” he offered, noticing a park bench less than ten feet away. He led her over to it and they sat down.

“
Talk to me, I don’t understand,” he said again, holding her hand in his.

“
You must’ve figured out that Mama and Carlos didn’t have a good marriage, with her divorcing him and then you having to arrest him for drunkenness and trying to break into her house.”

“
Yeah, I assumed things weren’t great between them. But, how bad was it?” he asked, not realizing he had opened a flood gate.

Even though Eva hated talking about her harsh and abusive life, she was ready to open up to Alex and let him in all the way. Starting her story from as far back as she could remember as a small child, she spilled out all the horrible and painful details of her life.

He tried to take it all in, but the misery and brutality of it was overwhelming to him. He had never known anyone who had endured the things Eva and Sofía had. Alex was a man with a profound sense of right and wrong, and he couldn’t understand how Carlos was allowed to get away with abusing his family all those years.

Just listening to Eva’s stories about her family – enduring the violence, fighting to go to school, breaking free of her abusive life and rescuing her mother – made Alex’s feelings for Eva grow even stronger. He wanted to protect her so no one would ever hurt her again.

“
I’m so sorry, Eva.” He put his arms around her and pulled her in. Resting her head against his chest, she breathed in his scent, which smelled of strength and love. She dried her tears and rested in his arms for a few moments. Her body relaxed against his. She felt safe.

What Alex felt was a twinge of guilt. He had his arms around Eva, trying to comfort her. But holding her against him made him want her, it made his whole body ache for her. She wanted to take things slowly, she had told him, but he didn’t know how long he could hold back his passion for her.

* * * *

Eva could sense her relationship with Alex growing deeper, their feelings for each other growing stronger. But she wanted to be especially careful not to let her children get too attached to Alex. If things didn’t work out between them, she didn’t want her children hurt. At this point, she only told them that Alex was a good friend.

But keeping them from getting attached was impossible to do, because he was crazy about them. And the feeling was mutual. They loved the attention he gave them, and he was often willing to play with them in the yard before he went to work in the evenings.

One night, after a family dinner at Grandma Sofía’s house, Alex and Eva stole a few minutes for themselves and sat on the front porch talking. It was a mild spring evening, and the sky was clear and studded with stars and a bright, full moon. There was a warm glow from the living room lamps shining through the screen door, illuminating the porch. The air was filled with the scent of jasmine that Sofía had planted in the yard. Alex slipped an arm around Eva and pulled her in close to him.

“
Eva, I love you.”

Eva turned her body to look him in his eyes, and she cupped his face in her hands. She gazed at him and could see he unquestionably meant what he said, which warmed her down to her toes.

“
Alex Messina, it seems like I have been waiting my whole life to hear you say that. What took you so long?”

He looked a bit surprised at her response, after all it was her that wanted to take things slowly. Then he gave her a little smile, pleased at her reply. He enveloped her with both arms and held her tenderly. Her arms slipped around his neck. His face was close to hers and their lips almost touched. Alex studied her face for a moment, then passionately pressed his lips to hers. She had never been kissed like that before – purely, deeply, totally.

When she was good and kissed, he slid off the step and onto one knee. Her heart started to beat wildly as she sensed what was about to happen.

“
Eva, I love you with my whole heart. I love you, and I love your kids. Will you marry me?”

“
Yes, we will! We will!” Rory and Angie squealed in unison. They were standing just inside the screen door and had watched the proposal.

Alex and Eva were so surprised by them that they burst out laughing. Rory and Angie opened the screen door and ran out to join them. They were all hugging and laughing on the front steps. Sofía heard the laughter from inside and came to the door.

“
What’s all the noise out there?” she asked.

“
We’re getting married!” Angie announced.

Chapter 23:
Mama Saved Them All

Eva and Alex were over the moon for each other, happily planning their wedding. Eva was thrilled to have Alex back in her life. He made her feel loved, cared for, and protected. She never had that before. Neither had Sofía.

One evening, Alex was at Sofía’s house for dinner, and he and Eva were going over some of the details of their wedding. It was going to be a small family affair, but Eva wanted it to be memorable. Trying to blend her Mexican family and his Italian family shouldn’t be too hard, she thought.

She had spoken to Alex’s mother, Lucia, and she and some of the women in her family were happy to make their traditional Italian dishes for the reception. Sofía and Lydia, and some of their friends, were already planning to make the Mexican food. But other details still needed to be discussed and decided on.

It was getting late, so all the children had already been put to bed at Grandma Sofía’s house, except for Hector, a teenager, who was staying overnight with friends. Eva and her mother planned to sit around the kitchen table and talk more about the wedding plans as soon as Alex left to work his ten o’clock shift. Eva walked Alex to the door, and they paused for a moment.

“
I wish I didn’t have to go,” Alex told her as he took her hand and kissed it gently.

“
I wish you didn’t either, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” She pushed herself up on her tip-toes, smoothed out the collar of his uniform, and threw her arms around his neck. He lovingly responded by putting his arms around her. She gave him a long, deep kiss good-bye.

“
Please be careful out there,” she reminded him as they released their hold on each other.

“
I will, I will. Don’t worry so much. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised as he walked out the door.

Eva went back to the kitchen table and continued talking with her mother about the guest list and decorating ideas. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the front door.

“
Oh, it’s probably Alex,” Eva assumed. “He must’ve forgotten something.”

She got up from her chair and started for the door. “Why don’t you pour us some coffee, Mama? It should be ready by now. I’ll be right back.”

Eva swung the door open, expecting to see her fiancé. But it wasn’t Alex. Fear gripped her for just a moment, but soon that fear mixed with anger.

Standing in the doorway was her stepfather, Carlos, wearing a cheap white dress shirt and faded blue jeans. His face was gnarled in an angry scowl and his eyes were dark with hate. He reeked of sweat and alcohol. Having been released from jail that afternoon, followed by a few hours in a local bar, he had come to Sofía’s house to get even with her.

“
What are you doing here?” Eva demanded. Even though her initial reaction to seeing him was fear, she resolved to stand her ground against him.

“
Get outta my way, puta!” he shouted, as he shoved Eva aside, sending her flying to the floor.

“
Sofía!” he hollered in a gruff, raspy voice as he stomped his way back to the kitchen. He spotted her at the stove, with her back to him, about to pick up the coffee pot to fill the two mugs sitting on the counter. She froze in terror at the sound of his voice, unable to even turn around.

Eva scrambled to her feet and ran after him. She was small but fierce. She would not let him hurt her mother again.

“
No! You leave her alone, old man!” Eva screamed.

His strong left hand clamped onto the back of Sofía’s neck, and he spun her around. He clutched a hunting knife in his right hand that he drew up to her throat. Sofía was terrified. She was certain he was going to kill her this time.

“
Get away, muchacha! I’m gonna show your mama she can’t run from me,” Carlos growled.

“
Please, Carlos, no. Let me go,” Sofía pleaded.

Carlos had been thinking about this moment since he was sent to jail. The last time he was at this house, he had been arrested. Because Sofía and Eva had testified against him at his trial, he was sentenced to one year’s confinement.

“
You got me locked up, now I’m gonna make you pay!” Carlos threatened.

“
Let her go!” Eva warned, “or I’m going to call the cops and you’ll be going back to jail!”

“
Go ahead, call ‘em, you whore! She’ll be dead before they get here.” In his drunkenness, he didn’t seem to care if the police came or not. He was set on doing what he came there to do.

“
No, please. You don’t have to do this.” Eva tried to reason with him to save her mother’s life. “You can walk away right now, and no one will ever have to know you were here.”

“
You think I’m stupid?” He paused, like he expected an answer. “No, you think I’m a coward. You don’t believe I’ll do it, do you? You don’t think I have the guts. Well, I do. See, it’s real easy…like this.” He ran the sharp blade lightly across Sofía’s neck as she winced in pain, just to torment her. He left a two-inch slice that started to bleed.

“
Mama!” Eva shrieked as she stepped forward.

“
That’s far enough, girl!” Carlos shouted. “Say good-bye to your mama.”

“
Let her go!” Eva demanded again.