Chapter 36
It was a few short minutes away from 12 o'clock noon, the time everyone in Arica normally closed for lunch and their afternoon siesta, when the bell on the Vargas Jewelers front door unexpectedly rang.
“Who would be stopping by this time of day?” Maria asked no one in particular since there wasn’t another living soul inside her mother’s store.
Unlike most working days, first thing this morning Victoria had business which needed attending at Fernando’s store on Fifth Street - so joint lunch plans had not been made.
“Maria?” A familiar voice asked, causing her to instantly turn around.
“Eric?” Large question marks filled her eyes. “What in the world are you doing here? I caught word that Chad had come to town, so I was expecting he'd be the one to drop in.”
Eric smiled a kid-like ear-to-ear grin, not unlike one would expect from a four-year-old seeing Santa for the first time.
“Really? Hmm. That's interesting. Who blabbed?”
“Carlita,” Maria said, stepping out from behind the display counter. “The girl's a friend of Michelle’s, and she told me she had seen Chad with José at El Gato Feliz this week.”
Eric’s grin abruptly turned into a frown. “This José wouldn’t happen to be your boyfriend - is he?”
Maria shook her head. “No. Not anymore. I dumped him a few days ago. Why? Is it true that he and Chad has been hanging out together? Carlita mentioned recently that despite the years José and I were a couple, the boy was actually a closet queen.”
Eric blushed.
“I know. You don’t have to say it,” Maria said, noticing the crimson reflecting within his cheeks “I’ve been a fool, haven’t I?”
Eric indicated no. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that, Maria,” he said, moving close enough to take hold of her hand and gently place it over his heart. “Would it be wrong to fall in love with somebody who’s madly in love with you?”
Maria took a deep breath. “No. But how could have José truly loved me if ...”
“He was gay?” Eric completed for her.
Maria bowed her head, as if ashamed by the thought that she had been romantically involved with someone whose sexual orientation was different.
Eric paused before speaking.
“I don’t think José’s one hundred percent gay.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Eric said with a slight nod. “Most likely he’s Bi.”
“José. ... Bi?” Maria said, repeating her friend. “I don't understand. How can that be?”
Eric now wished that Mike had come to Vargas Jewelers with him this morning, if for nothing else, emotional support.
“Well,” he said. “During the time you were with José, didn’t you feel like he loved you?”
“Yes,” Maria answered without the slightest hesitation. “I was sure of it.”
“And I'm positive that he did,” Eric said, confirming her feelings.
Maria glanced at the glass counter top where both of their hands were resting.
“But I still don’t understand,” she said, using a tone of one in their adolescence. “How could that be? How could have José really been in love with me, if he was …. ah … you know … doing it with other men?”
Eric displayed a small grin.
“Was he actually doing anything with other men? Or, is this something you automatically presumed?”
Maria turned toward the store's front door, upon hearing its bell ring again.
“Hi Eric. Hi Maria. I make a bet you’re surprised to see us,” Mike said in his usual Illinois country twang as he pointed to Eric and himself. “Aren't you?”
Maria looked at the country bumpkin in his multi-colored plaid shirt and bright-red western-style cowboy hat, and almost chuckled. “Yes, I am. ... What is this get-together all about, Mike? No one told me we'd soon be having a reunion here.”
“Well. That's exactly what I was trying to lead to,” Eric replied.