A Selfish Moment

24 - Everett - 2:00 PM

"You are a liar, Ramon!"

Ramon finally sits at the counter with Ana Maria. I serve him a cup of steaming, hot coffee. I smile at their bickering.

"Oh, Ana Maria, please stop this nonsense. These young people don't care if we lived together before we got married." Ramon leans towards me and whispers, "Ana Maria likes to change the story for propriety. Her parents used to be very strict. They were in Colombia, hoping Ana Maria would save herself for a perfect, decent gentleman to come and ask them for her hand in marriage. We lived together for two years before we got married, and her parents didn't even know it." He chuckles like a cartoon villain.

"Ramon, stop it."

"What?" he says.

"Well, I was five years old when my parents got married. I remember the wedding," I say.

"See, Ana Maria, he doesn't care."

"I still don't think young people should live together unless they are engaged or at least talking about getting married," she says.

"Yes, but even marriage means little these days. Look at Jubilee. Her son of a bitch husband leaves them when Aryana was six months old. What kind of man does that?"

"Ramon!" Ana Maria shrieks and her face turns beet red.

"I have lived almost seventy years to be able to say whatever I like and no one can tell me no." Ramon says to Ana Maria with his fist pressing on the counter. He turns to face me with his fingers in a pinch in front of his face. "Luke is a tiny ounce of a man. Fine, maybe you can't make it work with the mother, but be there for the little girl. Be a man and take care of your children." Ramon grumbles and takes a sip of his coffee. I nod, knowing myself well enough that if I were in Luke's shoes that I would have definitely stuck around at least for Aryana, regardless of my relationship with her mother, maybe even fight for custody. The more I think about it, the more I regard Luke as a genuine, low class, piece of shit.

What could they still be talking about? It took a ton of willpower to peel myself from the window. It's been almost thirty minutes now.

"How did we start talking about this?" Ramon asks with his entire face shriveled up like a prune. "Oh yes, now I remember. Ana Maria asked if you were staying here tonight. Well?" Ramon asks as his wrinkly face suddenly transforms into a menacing, militant glare.

"Oh, no." I burst out immediately. "I stayed last night in case Jubilee needed to go to the hospital, so she wouldn't have to wake up Aryana."

"That's what I thought," Ramon says. "You see, Ana Maria, he is a gentleman, very respectful. I've known you for five minutes and already I know you are more of a man than that son of a bitch. I don't know what Jubilee ever saw in him. I never liked him."

"Yah Ramon, enough about Luke. So, Everett, tell me, how long have you and Jubilee been dating?"

Beads of sweat immediately form on my forehead, and just as I was about to change the subject, the doorknob turns and Jubilee walks into to the living room. Ana Maria and Ramon turn around to face her and all three of us stare in silence as she takes off her fleece jacket. After a few seconds she lifts her head towards us.

"He left," Jubilee says.

"Good," Ramon shouts and turns back around to take another sip of his coffee.

"Are you alright?" Ana Maria says softly, walking towards her and gently grasping her hands.

She inhales deeply, "I'm fine, really," and gives Ana Maria a long, understanding stare.