Chapter 5
1193 Words
Ines
About a week passed by and I didn’t see Vicente.
I had heard from my mother, who had talked to his mother, that he had gone back into the city to meet with some friends.
“The Viscount?” I asked her, as we bought fresh cheese from Señor Fernando in the market.
“Is that the young man Enrique Cortez?”
I nodded.
“Gracias Benita! Have a lovely day!” Señor Fernando said, tipping his hat when Ma paid him and then turned to another customer.
He was an older man with a large gray mustache and a thick set of gray hair.
I liked him.
He had always given me and other kids free cheese and crackers when we were young and he saw us playing outside.
“Then yes, him. According to Anna, Vicente was very excited to see Enrique and his wife.”
I gritted my teeth in jealousy.
I had heard about the Viscountess Rachel before.
He had spoken to people in town about her a few years ago. When he said he was courting her and had grown fond of the young English lady, I had felt my heart break.
But not far after, he told people that the young lady had decided to marry his best friend the Viscount.
I knew the man was powerful and rich but I would have chosen Vicente over wealth and titles. In a heartbeat.
No second thought.
“Did Señora Hernández say how long he’d be away?” I asked.
Ma shook her head. “No, she never really knows. Sometimes it’s days, sometimes it’s weeks or a month. It worries her but he’s always ok.”
I nodded but my stomach clenched.
Vicente had a tendency to run off either to city with his rich friends or out to sea for business. Knowing he wasn’t around always worried me and I counted the days until he returned.
I was a fool in love with a man who didn’t see me as more than an acquaintance; a town friend.
If that.
As we approached the Verde Olive Bar, the most popular bar in town, I saw Dolores Salazar. She was making her way in with a box of glass cups when we made eye contact and she glared at me.
She always looked at me and treated me with so much hatred and I didn’t know why.
I had thought she was pretty at first but every time she narrowed her green eyes I got a chill up my spine.
I had never interacted with her or spoken more than a “good morning.”
Señora Martha, the seamstress in town, once told me that Dolores had said something offensive about Ma and I.
Her father, a good man who had been married to a hateful woman, had reprimanded her in public. It had been harsh but he made it clear that he would not tolerate those sort of comments and she was a hypocrite for believing herself better than me.
“Don’t mind her,” Ma said as she gently pulled me away.
“I just don’t understand why she hates me so much,” I said. “I’ve done nothing to anyone.”
Ma nodded. “I know Ines. But there are just people who believe themselves better for no reason. It can be because of titles, wealth, education, appearance and more. There will always be people like her.”
I frowned, knowing she was right.
But Ma pinched my cheek and smiled. “Come, let’s hurry home. Your father said he was making dinner.”
“Is it fish again?” I groaned.
Ma laughed. “He is a sailor after all, so I’m assuming yes.”
***
That night, I dreamed of Vicente.
I dreamt that we were in a kitchen, sitting at a table laughing and talking over dinner.
And we weren’t alone.
We had three beautiful girls at our side laughing with us and playing with one another.
And from the back door of the house ran in a tall handsome young boy that had Vicente’s eyes. He was wet up to his knees but in one hand he proudly held up a big fish.
The room was full of light and decorated with paintings I assumed could only have been made by the children.
When I looked closely and pushed their hair back from their face, I saw that the three girls had my dark, short curls and Vicente’s eyes.
They had large smiles and big cheeks that Vicente grabbed and kissed until they giggled.
The boy came up to me and hugged me and I tried fixing his hair which caused him to complain.
And after all four kids ran outside screaming and laughing, Vicente wrapped his arms around me.
His honey eyes were full of light and love, and his wide smile lit up his face.
“Thank you,” he said.
I blinked at him in confusion. “Whatever for?”
“For everything you’ve given me. A home, a family, a future.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled. “No, thank you. For building this with me.”
He gestured around the room. “Oh you mean this room?”
“Oh absolutely, and every other room in this house.”
Vicente raised an eyebrow and his grin turned mischievous. “Oh Ines, we did more than just build every room in this house.”
I face burned as he lowered his face and kissed my neck.
“I do believe we christened every room as well.”
My body began to burn at his touch and his voice sparked something in me.
“Well, almost every room.”
“What? What did we miss?”
“Well…the wine cellar of course.”
Vicente picked me up in his arms and I squealed. “Do you think the kids will be alright for a moment?”
I looked out the window and saw the boy cloud gazing with his sisters.
“I think they’ll be just fine,” I responded. “5 minutes alone won’t hurt them.”
Vicente gasped dramatically. “5 minutes???”
I giggled. “Do you need more time?”
He began to carry me towards the cellar door and winked.
“Trust me, what I want to do to you is going to make much longer than 5 minutes.”
I woke up gasping.
I clutched my chest, trying to catch my breath.
I got up and opened the window, letting in the breeze of the ocean cool my skin.
This was one of the many dreams I had of Vicente.
There were times I dreamt of us chasing eachother on the beach, times when I dreamt about us dancing under the stars or simply holding hands as we walked through town.
But then there were nights like these where I dreamt of a future with him.
With kids, a home and so much love.
And especially, my favorite ones were the dreams where he desired me as a woman and took every opportunity to make me his.
- Writer
