She Had No Choice (31 page)

In the commotion, Eva and Sofía had forgotten the children were asleep in the bedrooms. The noise had awakened little Angie and she sleepily wandered into the kitchen.

“
Mommy, what’s going on?” the six-year-old asked, rubbing her eyes. Unaware of the danger, Angie innocently stepped between Eva and Carlos, and he tried to take full advantage of it.

“
Go back to bed, Angie,” Eva instructed her, masking the terror she felt, trying to sound calm.

“
So, is this
your
little girl, Eva? That’s perfect,” Carlos snarled, his eyes narrowing. “You took my family from me, I’m gonna take yours from you.”

Momentarily pulling the knife away from Sofía’s neck, he pointed it straight at Angie in a threatening motion. The tip of the blade was not more than a few inches from her angelic face.

“
As soon as I’m done with this worthless woman, I’m gonna slice this little one up, from ear to ear.” Angie’s eyes widened with fear. Eva was panicked and quickly moved forward to pull her daughter away.

“
You know, niña,” he said to Angie, “I should have done that to your mama when she was a baby. I never did like her.”

As Carlos’ attention was temporarily diverted to Angie, Sofía felt his grip relax a little from around her neck. A fierce anger rose up in her against this vicious man, she was not going to let him have his way. She saw she only had a small window of opportunity if she was going to do anything to fight back.
God help me
, she prayed.

Swiftly, with her left hand, she grabbed the pot of hot coffee off the stove. She swung it around at his face. The lid flew off from the centrifugal force. Scalding liquid covered him from his grizzled face to his muscular chest. He released his grip on the back of her neck and drew his hand up to his face as he screamed in pain. In a flash, Eva pulled Angie behind her.

Sofía spun around quickly. She saw he was still grasping the hunting knife in his other hand. In a split second, she grabbed hold of Carlos’ right hand with both of her hands and plunged the knife deeply into his abdomen.

She released her grip and jumped back, stunned by what she had just done. He stared at Sofía in disbelief, she had never really fought back before. Whenever she had tried to, it cost her dearly. But this time, she had no choice. This time, he would be the one to pay.

Carlos staggered around and slumped against the cabinets, then slowly slid down to the floor. He groaned a few times, then he fell silent.

Sofía stood motionless. She was in shock, the color draining from her face.

Eva quickly turned her daughter’s head away so she couldn’t see Carlos, and walked her out of the kitchen.

“
Go and get back in bed, Angie. Hurry, now. I’ll be in to check on you in a few minutes.” Eva struggled to keep an even tone in her voice, trying not to scare her daughter any further. The little girl whimpered and clung to her mother.

“
Everything will be okay, honey, I promise. But I need you to be a big girl right now and go back to bed. I’ll be in to see you in a little while.” The frightened girl reluctantly did as her mother asked.

Then Eva pulled out a chair and motioned to her mother to sit down, as she went to grab a towel from the kitchen drawer to stop Sofía’s bleeding.

Suddenly, Alex kicked the front door open and stormed in, his adrenalin pumping and his gun drawn. Startled, Eva carefully peered around the doorway of the kitchen, into the living room. Fear gave way to relief when she saw it was Alex. He cautiously rushed to her, not knowing what to expect.

“
Are you all right, Eva?” he asked. Before she could answer, he saw the whole bloody scene in the kitchen – Carlos slouched on the floor with a knife in his gut, blood soaking his white shirt, and Sofía sitting in a daze with blood running down her neck, her glassy eyes staring blankly into the distance.

“
My God, what happened here?” Alex questioned, as he holstered his gun.

“
It was Carlos, he busted in and said he was going to kill Mama!” Eva hastily tried to explain, battling back her tears. “He said he was going to kill Angie, too.” She was shaking all over, doing her best to stay calm.

“
Oh, man! Who stabbed him?”

“
Mama did,” Eva replied. She took the towel, quickly ran it under the faucet to dampen it and held it to her mother’s neck.

“
Sofía,” Alex said softly, as he knelt down on one knee by her chair, but she didn’t respond. “Sofía,” he repeated with a little more force. “Can you hear me?”

Slowly, she moved her eyes and looked at him.

“
Are you okay?” he asked. “You’re bleeding.”

“
I’m okay,” Sofía replied flatly. Alex stood up and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder for a moment, then he looked over at Carlos.

“
Is he dead?” Eva asked nervously.

Alex crouched down and felt Carlos’s neck for a pulse.

“
No, I’m sorry to say, he’s still alive. I better call this in and get an ambulance here.” Alex used his radio and called for the ambulance and for the assistance of another police officer.

“
Help will be here in a few minutes,” he reported. “Now, how about you? How are you doing, Eva?”

“
I’m all right. I just want to take care of Mama, then go check on Angie.”

Eva was able to stop the bleeding from the gash on Sofía’s neck, which wasn’t very deep. Fortunately, Carlos was only toying with her when he cut her, apparently trying to terrorize her first, before he slit her throat.

“
How did you know to come back, Alex?” Eva asked.

“
Well, as I was driving down the hill to Main Street, I saw a pickup turn and start up the hill. The truck seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Just before I got to the station, though, it dawned on me. I hadn’t seen that truck for a year or so, but I remembered it was Carlos’s truck. So I flipped a u-turn and flew back here. I knew something was wrong when I saw his truck out front and your door ajar. That’s when I stormed in.”

He wrapped his strong arms around Eva, and she melted into his embrace.

“
I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you, Eva, or to any of you.”

“
Don’t worry, we’re fine now,” she reassured him, resting her head against his firm chest.

“
But it could have ended very differently.”

“
Yes, it could have,” Eva said, “but it didn’t. Mama’s courage saved us all.”

Chapter 24:
A Glorious Day

Alex and Eva decided to have their wedding in Piedmont Park, in the heart of Hollister. This was where they had gone to lunch together in junior high and where their love for each other was kindled. The setting for the ceremony was a lovely expanse of lawn decorated with a brass archway covered in billowy white toile and lavender and white flowers. The lush green grass was freshly mowed and white folding chairs were set up for the guests. It was a perfect summer day.

When everyone was seated, the small group of musicians began to play. Alex and the minister took their places under the archway and stood facing the guests. Alex’s brother escorted their parents to the groom’s side of the front row, then Mateo escorted Sofía to her seat in the opposite front row.

Little Angie, dressed in a pretty white party dress with a deep purple sash, meandered down the center aisle, scattering white rose petals from her basket that was covered in purple ribbon. Then, she stood impatiently at the front to wait for her mother.

After that, Rory, in a handsome gray suit and lavender tie, which matched the groom’s, dutifully carried the rings down the aisle on a white satin pillow and proudly took his position next to Alex.

The musicians began a new song, signaling the bride to enter and the guests to rise. Eduardo, Eva’s first brother, wearing a black suit, escorted her down the aisle in a pale lavender cocktail dress, carrying a simple spray of white roses.

Alex watched Eva coming toward him with an expression of pure joy on his face. He was finally marrying the love of his life, and he couldn’t wait for them to be man and wife. Eva was giddy with excitement and ready to be loved, cherished, and protected.

The minister led them in reciting their vows and pronounced them man and wife. Alex kissed his bride, gently but thoroughly, and Angie and Rory squealed with pleasure. The minister asked Alex, Eva, Angie and Rory to turn and face the guests.

“
I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Alex Messina and family!”

The musicians started up a lively song and the family walked down the aisle to a burst of applause. Alex’s mother and Sofía were both crying tears of joy and were escorted down the aisle next.

The minister invited everyone to head over to the reception area, which various family members had set up with tables and chairs. Some of the men had strung lights across the area, as the reception was expected to go well into the evening. As the musicians continued to play, the parents encouraged the guests to dance.

With sweet music filling the air, Alex’s uncle Mario, a widower with wavy black hair and a neatly-trimmed mustache, invited Sofía to dance. At first she tried to decline, but he was very charming and persuasive. He took her by the hand and led her in a slow dance.

As Eva and Alex were wandering among the guests, they noticed Sofía dancing with Uncle Mario. Sofía looked over at them, raised her eyebrows, and gave her daughter a questioning look, not sure she was doing the right thing. Eva winked back at her mother and gave her a big smile of approval before continuing on to greet more guests.

Some guests were already lining up at the two long buffet tables that were located at one end of the reception area. The tables were laden with enchiladas, chicken mole and carnitas, as well as lasagna, antipasto, rigatoni and meatballs. Papa Messina made sure wine and beer flowed freely to toast and celebrate the new couple.

The beautiful three-tiered white wedding cake sat in its own place of honor, on a lace-covered round table with a view of the festivities, just waiting for its turn to put a sweet ending to this glorious day.

–
The End –

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