Enrique Viramontes is a Mexican immigrant who has come to Los Angeles in search of a better life.
Marshall Cromwell is a returning war veteran who has come home but leaves his small town to become an actor.
At first, the two get off on the wrong foo...
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Marshall
“3… 2… 1!” I said. I clicked the button and a flash of light brightened the room.
“Another one.” Enrique said. I clicked the button again and we posed.
Enrique and I returned home after the Oscars and the after party. Upon returning home, we kissed for a few minutes. We decided to take a few pictures and eventually print them out. We held our awards in our hands. A bright smile plastered on our faces.
“3… 2… 1!” Another flash.
“Perfect.” Enrique said.
“You’re perfect.” I said into his ear. We shared a kiss.
We walked towards a shelf that we had emptied earlier, in case we won. We did, and now this place would no longer be empty. Two Oscars are to be placed on the shelf.
“There we go. Just perfect.” I said. I side-hugged En as we gawked at the shelf. The two awards glistened in gold. One had my name, the other had En’s.
“We should celebrate tonight.” En said and began to kiss my neck.
“I think I have an idea in mind.” I said. I picked up En and he wrapped his legs around my waist. He kissed me first and ran his hand through my hair. I blindly led us through our home and reached the bedroom.
That night, we made love like never before. I woke up to a hard pain in my ass. We swapped this time. I now felt the pain and pleasure that En felt himself. But the pain was worth it.
The phone rang that afternoon. I picked it up while En cooked for us.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Victor here!” I rolled my eyes at his happy mood.
“Greetings, Victor. What’s the purpose of this call?” I asked. En fed me a spoon of soup to taste. I nodded in approval and kissed his forehead.
“I want you and Enrique to come in next week.”
“What for?” En leaned into the phone to listen.
“I talked to some other directors. They want you guys to come in and explain what roles they want to offer. It’s a huge deal! Can I confirm your reservation?” Victor said.
En grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I kissed him.
“Of course. En and I will be there!” I said.
“Perfect. Well, don’t let me interrupt you and Enrique’s ‘celebration’.” He said.
“What?”
“You know what I mean. Goodbye, Marshall.” He hung up. En had a blush on his face.
“Do you think he knows?” I asked.
“Think about it, Marsh. He knows we live with each other. We’ve been living with each other for over a year. We go to every party together and sit next to each other. Victor is a smart guy, I bet he knows.” En said. I thought about it also. I guess we do make our love visible to everyone.
But it takes a genius to understand how much we love each other. Only two people know how much we love each other. And those two are me and En.
“Thank you, En.”
“Thank you, Marsh.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never believed in love again. I was so hurt over a year ago. I thought I was incapable of love and would be lonely forever. It wasn’t until I met you when my eyes opened. You are my true love. If I had never met you, I would be here but empty. So thank you, Enrique Viramontes. You are my true love.” I finished and hugged En.
“Marshall, I lived my entire life only being loved by my mother and father. And when they died, I was alone. I had no one. I felt like such a failure for so long. Moving here and auditioning and getting to know you are the best choices I made. I can now proudly say that I am glad to be alive. I am glad to be in love, because I love you, Marshall Cromwell. I love you.” He said.
Tears fell from both our eyes. I wiped his away with my thumb. He wiped mine.
“If I could, I would marry you. But they’ll never let us. Our careers would end. No one would approve of us. But even a ring won’t prove how much I love you.” I said. I cried a bit at the idea that I can never marry the person I truly love.
“Marry me in secret. We’ll get matching bracelets or tattoos. The world doesn’t have to know how much we love each other. The only people who matter are you and me.” He said.
“Wait here.” I said. I ran to my room and shuffled through the drawers. I pulled out a ring. It belonged to my mom. When I left Cassie, I took the ring back. I ran back to the living room and was in front of Enrique.
I was in front of him and got down on one knee.
“Enrique Viramontes. You make me the happiest man on earth. I thank God for bringing you to me. Words can never express how much I love you. But I hope I can show you for the rest of our lives. So, Enrique, will you marry me?” I held the ring out.
Enrique was shocked. He stood still, not moving. For a moment, I thought he would reject my proposal.
“YES! YES I WILL!” He jumped. I kissed him and put the ring on him.
“We’ll have a private ceremony. It’ll be just you, me, and our Oscars.” He said.
“Perfect. We’ll be a perfect couple.” I said.
We kissed and sealed our futures. No matter how uncertain everything will be, one thing remains certain.
