Carmen thought that might be the end of the conflict. Yet before the day was over, it was obvious that wasn’t the case. That evening Alex and Dulce were standing in the entrance room. Dulce had hands on her hips, leaning slightly forward as she spoke to him in Spanish. What she was saying was a mystery, but the volume and tone of her voice made it obvious that the conversation wasn’t pleasant.
Alex was looking down at her, his expression unreadable. When Dulce stopped talking, he said something and turned, walking away from her.
Later that evening in their room Carmen asked him about the exchange.
“What was Dulce upset about tonight when she was talking to you?”
He shrugged into one arm of his pajamas.
“Nothing.”
“Well, she must have thought it was something.”
He pulled the pajama top shut and started buttoning it without looking up.
“I suppose so.”
Carmen sighed. “In other words, it’s none of my business.”
He glanced up quickly, his gaze roving over her face for a moment before leaving it.
“It’s not like that at all.”
It wasn’t that it was none of her business. It was simply that he didn’t want to tell her – which amounted to the same thing. On the other hand, maybe they had settled their differences and he didn’t want to dredge it back up again.
She let the conversation drop that night, but early the next morning Dulce caught him in the hallway and it was clear that she didn’t think anything was settled. Felipa and Alondra both stopped and stared as Dulce snapped at him. Felipa took Carmen by the arm.
“Come, breakfast is ready.”
Carmen hesitated, catching Alex’s eye. He nodded and then shifted his attention back to Dulce.
Destiny stared at Alex over Carmen’s shoulder and Jonathan was so focused on Alex that he nearly ran into Alondra.
“What was that all about?” Carmen asked Felipa.
Felipa shrugged one shoulder. “She thinks Alex is abandoning us.”
“Because he doesn’t want to inherit?” Carmen asked.
“Mostly,” Felipa said as she turned toward the kitchen.
A few minutes later Dulce and Alex joined them at the table. Alex had his professional expression on, but Dulce was pouting. Señor Medena’s attention shifted back and forth between Dulce and Alex, but neither offered any explanation.
It was Christmas morning and all was not well. If Santa had left presents at the Medena hacienda, none of them were peace and good will.
After breakfast, they all retired to the entry room and gathered around the tree to open presents. The atmosphere felt stiff and formal, as if this was not part of their routine. Dulce remained in a sour mood, and left the group as soon as possible.
Carmen glanced at Alex, but he either didn’t notice her attention, or he was avoiding her eyes. Either might be the case. Surely there was more to their conversation. Surely it didn’t take that long to tell him she felt abandoned. Of course, it went a lot deeper than that. Alex was being stubborn – and uncharacteristically rebellious. Maybe they were having conflict over control issues. At this point she’d like to say it was none of her business, but the growing tension was bound to affect them both eventually.
Alex excused himself early and Carmen stayed downstairs with the children. It didn’t seem like Christmas.
“You are homesick,” Felipa said.
Carmen glanced up at her. It was rude to act this way to hosts who had invited them into their home on such a special occasion.
“I suppose no place is better than home on Christmas. You all have been so nice to us, and we’ve enjoyed our stay.
Alondra leaned forward on the couch so she could see Carmen. “What do you do at home on this holiday?
“Well, on Christmas Eve, we sit in front of the fire and take turns reading Christmas stories. We pop some popcorn and drink some eggnog – just enjoy each other. Then, on Christmas morning when everyone is awake, we lounge around in our night clothes while we open presents. There will be one from each of us to the other, and then a couple for the children from Santa. Sometimes we make our presents for each other – those are the best ones.”
Felipa frowned. “This is how Alex teaches you?”
Carmen felt warmth flood her face. “Actually, it was how my family always celebrated Christmas.” That was one way Alex had followed her lead. He had never mentioned what Christmas had been like at his home.
“It sounds dull to me,” Dulce said, and stood. “I’m going to bed.”
Señor Medena watched her leave, his expression reflective. He said nothing.
Felipa rolled her eyes. “I must apologize for Dulce. So tell us, how is your life in Arkansas?”
Carmen shrugged. “I guess my life isn’t very interesting to other people, but Alex and I like the way we live.” Alondra and Felipa were watching her intently, and even Señor Medena seemed to be interested in what their life was like at home. She shrugged again.
“On week days, I get up about 6:00 in the morning and fix breakfast. After Alex goes to work and Jonathan goes to school, Destiny and I do the chores. I have chickens and horses.”
“The horses belong to you?” Alondra asked.
“Actually, everything belongs to both of us, but I was the one who had the lifelong dream of a horse ranch. Alex wanted the safari. So I say the horses and chickens are mine and Alex says the other animals are his.”
Señor Medena was watching her as if she were talking about something truly interesting.
“You wanted the horse ranch?” Felipa asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Carmen confirmed. “I went to college and studied animal husbandry. I had grand plans of a horse ranch, but . . . “ She hesitated. Señor Medena was watching her in a strange way. He probably thought that she married Alex to realize her dream. Well, let him think what he wanted. She continued. “But Mom got sick and died . . . and then Dad. After that, I guess I was focused on just getting by. I started the dairy and everything I had went into getting it into the black. I lost track of time until Alex came along and revived my interest in the ranch. He and Jonathan are my cheerleaders now.”
Señor Medena leaned back in his chair, his attention lost in thought. At the moment he looked so much like Alex.
“Anyway,” Carmen continued, dragging her mind back to the original question. “Sometimes Alex comes home for lunch and we eat together. Then I have supper ready when he comes home. Sometimes we go out to eat. But weekends are best. That’s when we all do things together. Sometimes Alex and Jonathan play soccer, and sometimes we all go for a ride in the buggy.” She sighed. “I guess it does sound dull when I talk about it, but it’s never dull to me, and Alex seems to be happy with things.”
“It sounds delightful to me,” Alondra said, leaning back on the couch. “Some day maybe I will find someone like Alex.”
Señor Medena’s gaze came to the present and shifted to Alondra. He said nothing, but the expression on his face made Carmen wonder if he had never considered the idea of Alondra getting married. Maybe he loved his children more than she gave him credit for. On the other hand, maybe he was simply surprised that Alondra would want such a tame life. Like Alex, it was impossible to guess what was going on in his mind by the expression on his face.
The children played and they all talked for a while longer. Finally Carmen picked up Destiny and stood.
“I think I’ll join Alex right now.
Jonathan separated himself from the other children. “I’ll be up in a few hours. I have to clean the barn.”
Carmen glanced at him. “That’s right. I forgot. Don’t play afterwards.”
Señor Medena glanced at Jonathan and then smiled. “You may do that tomorrow if you wish.”
Jonathan shook his head. “No, Dad said today.”
Señor Medena turned his attention to Alfonso. “Might you go too, Alfonso?”
Alfonso put down his toy and looked uncertain. Then he shrugged and followed Jonathan out the door.
Carmen headed for their room. Alex should have been there to see that. He would have been so proud. Part of it, of course, was Jonathan’s nature. But much of it was the influence Alex had on him. She was so fortunate to have such a wonderful family.
When she got to the room, Alex was sitting on the love seat reading a newspaper. He glanced up and smiled when she came in, his gaze drifting from her to the door. She immediately told him about the incident with Jonathan and Alfonso and he simply nodded. He might never say anything to Jonathan about it, but Jonathan would know in other ways how he felt.
Carmen set Destiny on the floor and then sat down beside Alex.
“I love you,” she said.
Alex put the paper down and turned toward her, sliding an arm behind her on the back of the couch.
“So tell me, are you enjoying this vacation?”
“Certainly,” she said. “Are you? I mean, when Dulce isn’t chewing you out. What’s up with that, anyway? Tonight she told me our life sounded dull - and then left the room.”
Alex rolled his eyes and made a face. “Dulce,” he said as if the one word were a full explanation.
Carmen watched him silently, waiting for an explanation.
Finally he sighted heavily. “Carmen, I don’t think you really want in the middle of this.”
She stared at him for a moment. “What? I am in the middle of it right now - only I don’t know what I’m in the middle of.” When he still didn’t respond, she continued. “How would you feel if I was fighting with my brother and wouldn’t tell you what we were fighting about? Oh, and we were whispering so you knew we were talking, but you didn’t know what we were saying.”
“This is different,” he said, frowning at her.
“How so?”
“I’m supposed to be taking care of you . . .” he said.
“Yes, Alex,” she said, keeping her voice even. “You’re supposed to be taking care of me, but that isn’t realistic 100% of the time, is it?”
Color stained his neck and spewed up into his face. His jaw tightened and his eyes flashed a warning.
“I don’t know how many times or how many ways I can say I’m sorry. You keep telling me it’s in the past – until you can dig it back up and throw it in my face again.”
Her stomach contracted at his tone and the look on his face. He was right, to a degree
“It isn’t the past that I’m pitching you, Alex. It’s the lessons we learned from the past. If you don’t remember where you buried the bone, it isn’t going to be much help when you get hungry later.”
His bittersweet chocolate gaze wandered over her face in search of something, or maybe he was digesting the information. Finally he looked down at his lap and let out a long weary sigh.
“Communication - that’s where you think I failed,” he finally said.
“We failed,” she corrected gently. “We didn’t fight, we didn’t talk. We let all those precious moments pass us by – until they were lost forever.”
He picked at a thread on the couch, his mind obviously lost in deep thought. Finally he looked up at her.
“There isn’t anything precious about this situation with Dulce.”
“Maybe not in the situation with Dulce, but there is something precious about you and I sharing a problem and working it out together.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing you can do about this and there’s no point in burdening you with it.”
He was so stubborn – like his father. Even so, she was the one who had made the rule. He had final say. There were bound to be times when she disagreed, but she had to have enough faith in him to let him make the decision.
She gazed up at him. “All right, but I don’t like being kept in the dark about all this.”
He reached out and stroked her cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but at least for now, I think it’s better that you’re not involved.”