Home Coming Read Free Page B

best to brighten her voice. “Rachel
took me to get a massage today. It was lovely.”
    “ Roger said. He also said you
left in a cab without them. Sent him a text message?”
    “ The massage was wonderful,
but after it was done she lit some incense of something. The smell
gave me a headache.” It was a story that she had been
practicing for a while in her head, but even well-practiced it came
out shaky.
    “ You have always been a
terrible liar.”
    “ I... I um...”
    “ Tell me what is going on.”
    His voice was so sure. So forceful. Without thinking about it, she
spilled. Every gory detail. Every sticky moment. She'd never had a
secret so juicy before and it spilled forth in a torrent.
    Silence.
    And more silence.
    “ Esteban? Are you there?”
    “ I am.” His voice was
tight. “I am very glad I don't have to look at you right now,
Bianca. I doubt I could.”
    “ Esteban, I ..”
    “ I'll call you tomorrow. I
have to go.”
    “ I love you.”
    “ Tomorrow.”
    The phone disconnected.
    Bianca huddled under the covers of her bed, tears filling her eyes. A
long hard night full of tears lay ahead of her.
    ***
    RING!
    Startled, she woke. Eyes wide, she grabbed the phone.
    He didn't wait for a greeting. “A package will be delivered in
the next hour. Sign for it, then call me before you open it.”
    “ Okay.” she squeaked.
    Esteban hung up without another word, leaving Bianca alone with her
panic.
    He's divorcing me. He's having papers delivered and he wants me to
call him so he can be sure I get them.
    So he can hear me cry.
    Rachel's ring tone trilled from out of Bianca's purse. She listened
to it till it stopped and waited to hear the voice mail beep.
    The intercom from the front door beeped. She jumped up, wrapped a
robe around herself and went to the door.
    Peeking through the window, she saw Roger standing there. Her heart
leapt to her throat.
    “ Can I help you?”
    “ It's Roger. Are you okay Mrs.
Alvarado? Rachel is worried. You aren't answering your phone.”
    “ I'm fine. Migraine. I just
need quiet. I'll call her later.”
    Call and tell Rachel what, exactly? Oh, my husband is divorcing me. Why? I watched you fuck my
chauffeur and it really turned me on and now he thinks I'm a freak.
    A cup of tea and a few good cries later, the intercom buzzed again.
    On the other side of the glass, the delivery man looked crisp,
professional and thoroughly optimistic. Bianca hated him.
    She yanked the door open, snatched the clip board and pen, and
scrawled her name on the line. Shoving the paperwork back at him she
took the box and retreated back into the house.
    From the coffee table, the box stared at her. She had expected the
apocalypse to come in an official looking manila envelope, not a
diminutive white box.
    Her cell phone rang. Esteban's ring.
    “ You should have gotten it by
now.”
    Great. He's anxious to get it over with.
    “ Hi.”
    “ Did it arrive?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ But you didn't call?”
    “ No, I....”
    “ You have been so naughty
lately.” His words were reproachful, but held a warmth and
playful edge she hadn't heard in a long time.
    “ Go shower. Do your hair. Put
on make up. Then call me. Before you get dressed. I want to pick out
what you wear. This is important. Don't open the box.”
    “ O...okay.”
    “ Good. I love you, Bianca.”
    “ Yeah, I...”
    The phone went dead. She hung it up, bewildered.
    ***
    “ You're ready? Hair? Make up?”
    “ I'm all ready. What is this
all about? I don't...”
    “ Send me a picture.”
    “ I'm naked.”
    “ I know.”
    Bianca dithered for a minute. Could she, really? What if he was
setting her up?
    “ Bianca?”
    Finally, she resigned herself to the set up, if there was one. If she
was going to lose every thing, she might as well go out in a way that
would make Rachel proud of her. Bianca snapped a photo with her phone
and sent it to him.
    “ Good girl. Now open the box.”
    Well, great. After he divorces me for being a deviant