Chapter 70.3 Armando’s Had ENOUGH!
Armando’s POV—Friday Afternoon
Mariela meets me at the airport and I hug her on sight. My wife. She’s stood by me for years, during the best and the worst. Time for me to begin repaying her devotion with my support, my full support.
“I love you. Thank you for standing with me. Thank you for staying by my side,” I whisper. I watch her eyes water and kiss her gently. “Thank you for my babies, my girls. Thank you for having the patience of a saint. Thank you for being my partner in life.”
Mari smiles, but it’s shaky. I pass her my handkerchief and hold her close.
“I love you, Mando.” She sniffs. “My vows are eternal. I mean them.”
“And I mean mine. ‘For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.’ I haven’t done that for you, as I should, and that ends. You have my vow, Mariela. You and the girls will come first.”
Mari looks at me in wonder and amazement. She giggles then laughs loudly. I smile.
“What happened to you in New Jersey?” she asks, amazed. “Did the CO do something to you?”
I nod and start moving to the exits. “Two things. One, we all went to church on Sunday. The sermon was excellent that day and timely. The priest mentioned that the commandment to be faithful, husband to wife, in marriage, occurs in the Bible nine separate times. Nine times is man reminded to leave his family and cleave to his wife and children first. Not that family isn’t important, but my duty to you, as your husband, is to always put you first.”
Mari nods and I open the car door. Once she’s settled, I stash my bags and take off for home.
“I’ve failed you, as your husband, these past years, and I can only remain grateful that you haven’t left me or decided I’m not worth the effort. I’ve allowed the family, especially my mother and Tía Chita, to run our household simply because I didn’t want conflict, but that only created conflict.” I smile sadly at her. “The point was driven home by Danny.”
Mari’s eyebrows come together. “The Atlanta XO?”
I nod. “He gave me a piece of paper”–I fish it out of my pocket and hand it to her–”and I realized that number two applied to both my professional and personal life.” I watch her read the note and nod. “I’ve merely delayed this showdown. It hasn’t gone away. Meanwhile, I left you out there to fight the fight. Well, no more. I’m ready. I’m prepared to stand my ground.”
Mari sniffs and wipes her eyes. “The first applies too.”
I frown. “Read it to me.” She reads it and I think. “Explain.”
Mari frowns and I grin. She hates one word sentences. “Well, love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage. That’s what you and I have with the family. You love them and they love you, but they take advantage of you, to their advantage, never yours. Antonio, your mamí, your tía, your siblings, everyone takes advantage of your giving nature, and they get what they want but when you need something, we can’t get their help. They’re too busy to take the girls or your mamí. I’m a stay-at-home mom, so of course I have time to bake six dozen brownies for a bake sale or help out at someone’s yard sale. A hurricane is coming, so of course we can house the entire family at our house, since we’re the farthest from the shore. See what I mean? They run all over us.”
Mari is absolutely right. “You are right, querida. It ends. Now. I mean this.”
Mari nods. “So how did Ms. Plum help?”
“She told me to stop assuming things about Ranger.” I look at Mari, sober. She’s confused. “The plan for RangeMan is well known. It’s known that Ranger intends to return to the Miami office, but she asked me to consider what happens in that office if he never returns.” Mariela pales. “Exactly. Ranger likes doing those high-casualty missions. What if he died overseas? That was the first thought I had and it’s the one that helped me realize that if I didn’t get a handle on that office, I would always be waiting for someone to come solve the problem.”
It’s silent in the car for a while, before she turns to me. “So, what’s your plan?”
I smile. “Family first and I want you to help me with this. I’m supposed to report to Charlotte on Wednesday”–Mariela nods–”so I’m going to use this as leverage to get the entire family out of our house and out of our lives. I’m going to spend the weekend changing the locks on the house and all the alarm codes. I want to have a dinner Monday night with all my brothers and sisters.” I look at her and she’s smiling and digging into her purse for paper and a pen.
“At that dinner I will announce that I’m moving to Charlotte on Wednesday and you are joining me at the end of the month. Because we don’t know how long the assignment will last, we are shutting the house down. No electricity, no phone, no cable, nothing.”
“So your mamí and Josefina will have to move out?”
“Exactly.”
Mari is beaming. “Mando?” I look over. “What do you think of selling the house?” I raise an eyebrow and wait. “I mean, it was our first home, our starter, and we’ve outgrown it. The girls need their own rooms, I’d like to have a guest room, and I’d like to be in a better school district. Why don’t we put the house on the market and buy another when we return home? Something in a gated community, so your family no longer has the luxury of just dropping in on us.”
“Is that what you want?” She nods. “OK, then that’s what we’ll do.” I’m glad my salary is good and my savings are healthy. We can afford to do just that. “At that dinner, I’ll make it clear to my siblings that it’s time for someone else to take my mamí. She’s not coming to Charlotte with us and I don’t care who takes her. If they can’t make a decision by the time we leave, they can expect to find her and her things at Tía Chita’s house on the 30th.
Regardless of what happens, Mamí living in our home was supposed to be short term. We’ve had her for three years. It’s someone else’s turn. Josefina is done with school and she has a job. Time to become an adult. Sink or swim. She doesn’t pay rent so she has no rights. Out she goes.”
Mari grins and I squeeze her hand. We pull into the driveway at home and I see the family all there to greet me. I turn off the car and turn to her.
“I’m not done with this discussion, so let’s grab the girls, I’ll take a quick shower, and we’ll go out for dinner.”
Mari kisses my cheek and hops out the car. The entire family crowds around.
“Well, Mando, you took a vacation without taking anyone else in the family?” Mamí says, frowning. “That was rude. You should have taken your daughters and your wife.”
I grab my bags and walk into the house. I say absolutely nothing and Mari’s eyes are wide.
“Armando! I’m speaking to you.”
I turn. “No, you are attempting to lecture me,” I reply coldly. “It was rude of you not to greet me with a ‘Hello’ or ‘Welcome Home, son’, so I chose to meet your incivility with my own. As for my trip, it was business.” I turn and head to the bedroom, Mari close behind, leaving my stunned family in the living room.
I take a quick shower and dress. By the time I’m ready, Mari has the girls ready. Unfortunately, my mother and Tía Chita have also grabbed their purses and are ready to go.
“Mother?” She turns. “This is a family dinner, just me, my wife, and daughters. I’m sorry, but you are not invited.” Everyone is looking at me as if they’ve never seen me before. “Everyone, time to go. Everyone needs to leave my home now.”
“Armando,” my mother says slowly, “I don’t appreciate this rude behavior. This is my home. My family is here and we need to talk.”
I turn to Mari and hand her the keys. She smiles, kisses my cheeks and escorts the girls to the car.
“You are incorrect, Mamí. This is my home and Mariela is queen here. I’ve been away for a week on business and I have things to discuss with my wife that are important.” I turn and look at the rest of the family. “My mother’s invitation is rescinded. Everyone needs to leave.” I turn back to my mother. “If you intend to have dinner tonight, mother, you will need to fend for yourself or join Tía Chita. I need to join my family.”
I open the front door and glare at everyone in the room. They’re speechless.
“I meant my words. Leave.”
Slowly, everyone rises and leaves, staring at me. My mother is left and I merely stare at her. I love my mother but it’s time to redefine our relationship. She will never again dictate to me in my home. As a matter of fact . . .
I close the door and stand in front of her. “Mamí, I love you, but the time has come for our relationship to change. Never again will you rule my home. I will no longer allow you to disrespect my wife. She is queen here, not you. You will never again dictate to me what happens in my home, my life, or my marriage. That’s over and done.”
She stands, looking at me frostily. “You have become your father.”
I shrug. My father was a good man. He just didn’t love my mother and she didn’t love him, at least not by the end. I’m not insulted.
My lack of response infuriates her. “Well, since that’s the way you feel, I won’t return until you apologize to me.”
“Where are you going?”
“Conchita’s,” she says, coldly, stepping outside. Good. One problem down. I’m not apologizing for telling the truth.
“I’ll have your things delivered there.”
Her eyes widen but I close the door. I call Thomas.
“Yo!”
“Yo! Need you to do me a favor.”
“OK.”
“I want to change the alarm codes to my home and I don’t want anyone, especially Antonio, to know what they are.”
“I’ll keep it quiet. Shoot.”
I think quickly and decide on Mariela’s parents’ wedding anniversary. Something Mother doesn’t know. I call the numbers to Thomas and he resets the alarm. I test it on my end and the new code works. Perfect.
“Thanks, man.” Click.
I set the alarm and leave the house. Most of the family is now standing on the lawn, looking at me in shock. I don’t stop moving to my car, where Mariela and my girls are waiting.
“Armando!” Tía Chita calls. I don’t stop. I climb into the car and turn to my wife.
“Where to?” I grin.
“I feel like Italian tonight. Carrabba’s?”
I nod and we set off.
The call for breach of alarm comes halfway through dinner. I step outside.
“Yo, Mando?” Pedro.
“Yes.”
“The alarm at your house is going off.”
“Call the police,” I reply calmly.
There’s silence. “We sent an incident team. It was your family, your mother and aunt. The police are just arriving.”
“My mother said she was taking up residence with my aunt. If she needs to enter my home, she needs to call me.”
There’s confused silence on the line. “OK,” he says slowly. “Well, what do you want us to do?”
I think quickly. “Escort my mother and aunt out. Make it clear that they can return when I return. Tell the cops I’ve been informed and I’ll return home and shut off the alarm. Reset the alarm on your side.”
“Want us to reset it on your side?”
“Where’s Thomas?”
“Here.”
“Ask him to. Anything else?”
Silence. “Nah. I think that’s it.”
Click.
I return to the table. Mariela looks worried. I grin. “They attempted to reenter the house.”
Mariela laughs. Yes, this is a new Mando. My wife is the number one woman in my life and everyone will respect her domain.
Mariela and I discuss which areas of town we would like to move to during dinner. At the end, I bring up the CO’s intentions regarding vacation time. Mariela is thrilled.
“You mean, she’s forcing everyone to take vacation?”
I nod. “I’m the only XO who has taken vacation since becoming an XO. Remember? That was when Alyssa was a baby and we took her to Puerto Rico to see your family. They’ve never met Elena, and we all realized she was right. The XOs never take vacation and we need it more than most. She told me that it was obvious that I needed time away. The longer we were there, the more the stress just seemed to melt away from me.”
Mari sits back. Finally, she smiles. “I like this woman and I can’t wait to meet her.”
I grin. “I’m ready to prove to her that I deserve my job. She’s proven that she’ll fight for you and back you if you’re worth backing.”
“Good. Sounds like a good boss to have. So, what you are going to do with your 50 days of vacation?”
I grin. “Where do you want to go?”
When we return home, it’s quiet. My mother and aunt left before we returned and Mari and I are able to put the girls to bed with ease. Josefina tiptoes in much later, setting off the alarm. I tell her that the alarm codes have been changed and she needs to join the family for dinner Monday night. She tries to complain, saying she has a dinner date with her boyfriend. I tell her attendance at this dinner is mandatory. No excuses.
I enjoy a wonderful reunion with my wife and wake up the next morning prepared to begin making up for my inattention. I prepare breakfast for Mari and, while she’s enjoying breakfast in bed, I get the girls dressed and fed. Josefina leaves in a huff after glaring at me all morning. Mari is ready to call her and tell her off, but I merely smile and ask her to hold off. We decide to spend the weekend together, as family, but I call a locksmith to change all the locks in the house.
Two hours later, he’s done and I have the only key. I smile; I had him install bump-proof locks. I pack my family into the car and we leave. Josefina calls in the middle of the day; she’s locked out. I inform her that if she had been pleasant earlier she might have known I intended to have all the locks changed. Now she’ll need to wait for me to come home. I hang up on her stunned silence.
At the end of the evening, I have a few copies of the key made and give two to Mari. Another will go to Thomas, one to Diego and one more for the realtor. I check the locks; someone attempted to pick them. I point this out to Mari and she laughs. Josefina arrives right after the girls go to bed and complains about not being able to come and go as she pleases. Mari and I merely stare at her.
We attend church as a family on Sunday. My entire family is there, looking at me oddly. I nod and escort my family to their seats. At the end of service, everyone converges on me.
“Armando,” Mateo says slowly, “I completely understand your determination to set some ground rules in your house—”
“No, you don’t,” I reply coldly. “You can’t understand because Mamí hasn’t been living in your house for three years. Josefina doesn’t live with you. So don’t go there with me.”
My brothers and sisters are silent. I look at all of them. “You are invited to dinner at my house tomorrow. Tía Chita too. I have things to say that I will discuss at that point, but not now. Adults only.”
I walk over to Mari, who smiles. I stand there with my wife, watching my girls play with their cousins. Once they’re tired, we pack them into the car and go home. Josefina shows shortly after and packs a week’s worth of clothes to stay with her boyfriend, glaring at us the entire time. Mari told her to fix her face.
It’s a quiet night. I pack the car with the U-Haul boxes we bought yesterday and join Mari in packing our house up. We want to make an impression when the family comes over for dinner tomorrow. By the time we hit the bed, the living room has been packed up. It’s clear what the discussion will concern and I’m determined to control the battlefield.
I hit the office at 0600 the next day. Everyone is quiet watching me carry the boxes into the building, and I realize that I enjoy the fact that they don’t have a clue what’s going on. Everyone assumes I’ve been fired and Tony can’t keep the smirk off his face. I talked to Steph Sunday night and she told me she intends to send the email out at 1600. Perfect. My office will be packed by then.
By noon, the shockwaves are just ending. We are now fifth in the company and the men are speechless. Tony is stunned and bewildered. I’ve had nothing to say to him and, when he stopped by my office to offer some insincere regrets, I slammed him to the floor and advised him to get the fuck out of my office. He limped away in shock; I’d never done that before. When Tía Chita called to complain, I told her to never call my office again to involve herself in company matters and hung up in her face.
Everyone is giving me a lot of space today. The longest serving members in this office have been wide-eyed, with half smiles on their faces.
Thomas stops by my office and shuts the door. I stop him before he says anything. “Do you trust our management?” His eyes are wide. Finally, he nods. “Then continue to do so. Believe in the management.” I grin and point to the door. He leaves and I finish packing. At 1600 the email hits. I know because the entire floor goes silent.
I smile and raise my eyes to the ceiling. Diego will fire every fucker he can. I wait ten minutes and set off for Thomas’s office. I meet Diego on the way; he’s grinning. I get the full contact handshake/hug.
“Congrats,” I tell him.
“You too,” he replies. Diego is thrilled and he can’t wait. Someone approaches behind me and Diego glares at him.
“Do I want to know?”
“Nope.” We head to Thomas’s office.
I step into the house and call for Mari. She appears, grinning.
“The family’s been tipped off by Antonio. Phone’s been ringing all day. I made arrangements for the girls to stay with Thomas tonight.” She looks thrilled. “Did you really body slam Tony to the ground?” I merely grin and Mari laughs.
I kiss her then dip a spoon into the beans. I get popped. “I’m going to clean up.” I head for our bedroom.
“They’ll be here soon,” she calls from behind me.
Thirty minutes later, the family starts arriving. Anything they wanted to say dies at the sight of our packed up living room. Once everyone arrives, we sit at the table and say grace. We have a mostly silent dinner, with a few discussions about the children and a compliment to Mari’s cooking. No one has had the balls to say anything to me yet. Good. I will control the conversation.
Once the coffee and flan is served, Mari smiles at me. She’s ready so I begin. “Because this family concerns itself with my business all the time, it’s clear you’ve all heard that I’m being transferred to Charlotte.” Silence around the table. “It’s true. The assignment is open ended and it’s non-negotiable. If I intend to keep my position with RangeMan, I have to go.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Mando,” Antonio says angrily, but I raise a hand.
“You had better be extremely careful over the next few weeks and months,” I reply coldly. “Diego has full authority in that office and he will fire you. You aren’t family. You mean less than nothing to him and I cannot and will not reverse his decision. This is also his opportunity to prove to the CO he deserves an XO position. I expect a lot of things in that office will change.”
Antonio sits back, furious. I look at the rest of the family. Complete shock, dismay, confusion, and anger across everyone’s faces.
“I am primarily responsible for the position I’m in. Because of my failure to fire Tony, the CO now wonders if I’m any good as an XO.” They look astonished now. “The CO is not Hispanic. She would fire family in a heartbeat if she had to, and she reminded me that Ranger would also fire family if he had to. He has, in fact, given me permission to fire Tony and I didn’t. There is a standing order I failed to execute trying to keep his ungrateful ass employed. I made business personal and now I’m in the fire.”
Everyone is now looking at the two of us, astonished. Antonio is pale and embarrassed. It’s the first time I’ve ever told the family that. I turn to him and lean forward.
“Fuck up once and Diego will fire you. He may even call for an exit interview, considering how many times you’ve pissed him off. You saw today how he intends to move forward in that office. You want your job? Do it and keep your mouth closed. I will not protect you any longer. You get fired, by either the interim XO or the CO when she visits, and that’s it. If I’m ordered to fire you, I will execute the order. I will never again put my job at risk for you.”
Antonio swallows hard. He’s pale, eyes wide. I’ve issued the warning. Now I can tell Diego he was warned and to fire him at will. I turn and face my family, all of whom look astonished. No one expected that. I’m drawing a line in the sand but I want to make it crystal clear.
“I won’t help Tony any longer. He’s had all the help from me he’ll ever get.” I turn to Tía Chita. “Do not ever call RangeMan and think to concern yourself in the running of that office again.” I look at the rest of the family. “That goes for all of you. I don’t call your jobs and tell you what to do. RangeMan is my employer and I’m Tony’s boss. Stay out of RangeMan business.”
I take a quick sip of water and survey the table. No one dares breathe at the moment. Good. I still control the battlefield.
“Because of my failures, the CO is moving me to Charlotte to bring up the branch,” I tell them. “This is my last chance to prove that I’m a good XO and someone worthy of her support. She’s shown herself to be an excellent boss, someone who cares, so I intend to prove to her that I want to keep my position. Also, I told her about Mari’s pregnancy and she encouraged me to take my family with me. That’s exactly what I intend to do. I have to report Wednesday, so I’m leaving tomorrow evening, but Mari and the girls will join me at the end of the month.”
I turn to my mother, a little stronger, louder now. I want to make sure she hears me clearly.
“Your decision to go live with Tía Chita relieved me of having to determine where you should go live. I intended to have this dinner tonight and allow my siblings the fun of fighting over who would get the pleasure of having you in their home. You’ve taken that out of our hands, so I simply need you to come pack up your things.”
My mother is ashen. I’m enjoying this more than I thought I would.
“Regardless of how long we stay in Charlotte, Mari and I have made the decision to sell this house. We’ve outgrown it. If I’m made the XO of Charlotte permanently, I want to be able to just move our things. If we return to Miami, then we’ll look for a new home. In either case, Mari and I are meeting with the realtor tomorrow morning to put this house on the market.”
My family is stunned.
I turn to Josefina. “You have graduated college. You have a degree and a good job. Time for you to be an adult. You will also leave our home and you need to move out before the 30th. We’ve never charged you rent, so you should have a nice nest egg to get an apartment.”
“Mando, I can’t afford to get an apartment! I’m brand new at work. I don’t make that much money—”
“Then get a roommate! Move in with your boyfriend.” Gasps around the table. I roll my eyes. “You spend five out of seven nights with him anyway.” Josefina turns red. “In any case, it was OK for you to stay here while you were still in school. You’re a grown woman now with a degree, a job, and a car. Time for you to start making your way in the world. And if you want to stay at Lucas’s as often as you do, doing the activities of married women, make him marry you.”
Josefina sits back in her chair, red, embarrassed and angry.
“Any questions?” I take a sip of coffee and enjoy the results of that battle. Everyone is completely caught off guard and confused, just as I hoped.
“You mean we’re being allowed to speak?” Tía Chita asks snidely.
“If you must,” I reply coldly. “Consider your words to me, in my home, very carefully.”
She stares at me, as ashen as her son. Finally, she turns to my mother. “Consuela, I don’t have room. I have a two bedroom. There’s not enough room for your stuff and mine.”
My mother looks at me. “You mean this woman has the right to tell you where you have to go?”
I stare at her. “That’s RangeMan business, mother.”
“I thought she was temporary.” She looks at Tony. “You said she didn’t have any authority, any power, but she has the authority to tell him what to do?”
I smile coldly. “Never assume anything at RangeMan.” Tony looks furious.
Now the true fun begins. While Mari and I sip coffee and smile at each other, my aunt and siblings fight about where my mother will live. Tony is watching me carefully and every so often I give him a look that says, ‘Don’t even think about it.”
My relatives will never again dictate to me what I will do. Mariela is right. Stephanie is right. Danny is right. I have to make decisions based on what’s best for me and my family. My relatives have wrung me dry and gotten everything they’ve wanted from me. Love and Fear. Well, my relatives have gotten the love. Time for them to learn to fear me.
Finally, Isabella slumps back in tears. She lost the fight. Mamí will move in with her and her husband by the 30th. Josefina has been on the phone with Lucas. He doesn’t have room for her in his two-bedroom with no roommates (I roll my eyes). She and my sister Bianca will start apartment hunting tomorrow.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s move on to procedures from Wednesday until the end of this month,” Mari says. She looks directly at my mother and sister. “Mando has made it clear to both of you and to me, so let me say this now in front of everyone. This is my home. I will not be disrespected in it. We’ve had the alarm codes and all the locks changed. When you want to enter, you need to call me in advance—”
“I will not call you in order to enter my home!” my mother says in a fury.
Mariela stands. My beloved wife is short, but at that moment all 5’6″ of her looked 6′ in the late summer sun.
“This is not your home,” Mariela hisses, leaning toward my mother. “This is MY home. Mine and Armando’s and I will never again allow anyone else to rule our home. I am queen here and you will respect that or you can leave for Bella’s tonight.”
Mari sits and Bella looks stricken. My mother is furious but I will back my wife.
“Perhaps I was not clear yesterday, Mother. Mariela is queen in my home and I agree with my wife. You will respect her domain or you can pack a suitcase and leave with Bella and Jesús tonight.”
My eyes have not left my mother but there is complete silence around the table. It’s sinking in to everyone that I’m not the same man who left for New Jersey. No, this Armando is different. He will never be run around or bullied again. He will no longer allow them to have free rein in his life. His daughters come first. His wife comes first. I’ve given and helped and taken care of everyone else until my emotional reserves are dry and empty. Never again.
I’m prepared to toss my own mother out of my home tonight. I’m prepared to toss my sister out of my house tonight. I will never leave my wife alone to fight my battles. No, I will fight my battles and trust her to support me, the way it should be.
Everyone’s hands are shaky and I hear a lot of hard swallowing and throats being cleared, but I hold my mother’s gaze until she drops hers to the table.
I finally raise my eyes and nod at Mari, who has calmed. She smiles and takes a sip of her coffee before speaking. “I will be busy over these next two weeks, preparing this house to go on the market and to move with my girls to Charlotte. I will not be home all the time and I will not leave anyone in my home when I’m not here.”
She turns to Tony. “If I find that you overstep your place and allow people into my home, I will have you arrested. I mean that. I do not expect you to use your skills and position as a RangeMan to override our alarm codes and pick our locks. Don’t think we didn’t notice you attempted to pick the locks.”
She glares at Tony until he nods. She faces my mother again. Mother is stunned and furious.
“If we return to Miami, I’ve made it clear to Mando that if you rejoin our household, I will leave him.” Gasps around the table. “When you first came to live with us, I was OK with it because you were a wonderful and supportive mother-in-law in your short-lived grief. However, since then you’ve become a critical, mean, vindictive person who cares more about supporting the rest of her family than supporting her son. You actively support their actions and join them in beating down your son. Look at your greetings to him Friday night! That was not a loving mother welcoming her son home. He wasn’t even out of the car when you started in on him.
Mando is in the position he’s in now because of his own actions, yes, but he wouldn’t fire Tony, the cause of 50% of his problems, because you and Tía Chita would be on his ass for months. He was right in that assumption and now he’s paying for it. Well, as his wife, I will protect him just as he protects me. Never again will you dictate to him in his house. I will reassert myself as his wife.”
She turns to me and smiles. “‘For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.’ We are recommitting ourselves to each other and our marriage, knowing that Mando faces hard times ahead in Charlotte. He needs support and encouragement around him to ensure he keeps his position.”
Mari glares fiercely at everyone around the table and no one can meet her eyes. “I am the number one woman in his life. I reclaim my position. I reclaim my place at his side and protect his back from those who would sling arrows and stones at it, including his family.”
My family is silent. Everyone is shocked and stunned and I’m surprised to see that my mother looks a bit scared.
“If anyone would like to join me in packing this house up and getting it ready to be sold, I would appreciate that. It would be nice to see the family support Armando and me right now. Mando leaves tomorrow night, and knowing that I have help would be one less worry on his mind.”
“That’s true,” I agree, smiling at Mari. “I would like to know that all of you are helping my wife, just as I’ve always pitched in to help move each of you. I’ve pitched in whenever the call for help went out. Well, we’re putting one out now. You’ve seen that we’ve packed the living room. Right now, it would be nice to get Mother packed so that she can go ahead and get settled at Bella’s before the end of this week.”
Slowly, my brothers nod. Isabella looks ready to cry and her husband is glaring at me, but wisely saying nothing. After all, what can he say? It’s clear I’m leaving. Congrats, Jesús. She’s yours now. She’s going to make you pay for being Colombian instead of Cuban every fucking day. I hope you enjoy ‘drug dealer’ jokes. I hope you love Tía Chita. She’ll be at your house every fucking day, chiding Bella’s crap cooking skills and attempting to take over your kitchen. Bella doesn’t have a tenth of Mari’s strength.
I hope you enjoy having Tony’s lazy ass taking over your living room, complaining about everything, turning the family against you, eating you out of house and home, insinuating that he would be a better comic than you. You thought it was hilarious when it was me. Shit, you used it as part of your comedy routine! This should give you plenty of material.
My hell isn’t so funny now, is it?
My family was completely broadsided. Tony was the first to leave, along with his mother. Tía Chita glared but said nothing and I appreciated it. Mother immediately went to her bedroom and looked around. I joined her and waited to see what she would say.
Nothing.
She glared at me and slowly began packing. I took the clothes from her closet and packed them in the wardrobe box. My brothers and brothers-in-law made room in the garage for her things and Jesús quietly coordinated with Mari to bring a U-Haul to pick up Mamí‘s things. Mother went around the house, with Mari, pointing out her belongings and packing them away.
Josefina got on her computer and started looking for apartments. When she realized that all the areas she wanted to stay in would cost at least $1000 a month, she started pleading with Mari to change her mind and stay in Miami. Mari looked at her in cold anger.
“So, let me be sure I have this correct,” Mari said slowly. “You want me to put you ahead of my husband? Ahead of my girls and the baby I currently carry? You want me to put your selfish interest ahead of my husband’s best interest? Ahead of my marriage? Ahead of my children?”
Everyone had gotten quiet. Mari looked more furious with each sentence. Josefina wised up and shut up. Bianca moved her away from Mari and advised her to start calling her girlfriends and lining up roommates.
Meanwhile, Bella had a temper tantrum. I watched as my older sister lost her mind in my backyard.
“Mando, I can’t take her! Jesús and I don’t want her poking her nose into our lives, demanding I get pregnant, telling me I can’t cook! That’s why we didn’t take her when Papá died. We can’t take her. You take her to Charlotte with you. There’s no reason she can’t go.” Bella sobbed on my shoulder. “We have busy lives. Mari is a stay-at-home mom. That’s why she needs to stay with you. Mari can take care of her.”
This continued for another 15 minutes. Before, I might have caved to stop her crying but now I listened to her words and realized how selfish they were. Mamí would cramp her life. Mamí would irritate her. Mamí would demand to tell her how to live her life. Mamí would drive her insane. She and Jesús didn’t want to deal with it.
It was pissing me off.
“Are you done?” I asked coldly. Bella looked at me in surprise. “Your little temper tantrum has done nothing except illustrate why she’s not coming with us. We dealt with it for three years. Someone else’s turn.”
Bella’s eyes were wide. Jesús had joined us and his jaw was clenched. I looked at both of them.
“I listened to your words, Bella. Tell me, why should my wife be the one to put up with the constant disrespect? Because she’s a stay-at-home mom? That’s it? I’m insulted and I’m insulted on Mari’s behalf. Your turn. You deal with it.” I turn to Jesús. “Can’t wait to hear your new comedy routine.”
“That was low,” Jesús said tightly.
“But it was hilarious when it was my hell,” I replied.
I left them both standing in my backyard as my big sister burst into tears again. She actually stamped her feet like a little girl. Now that was funny. My mother was standing at the door looking out at them.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s overjoyed you’re joining their household,” I replied, headed to her bedroom to finish packing her.
Mari and I flop back on the bed, grinning. We look at each other and start laughing and we laugh until the tears are running down our faces. I look at my wife and grin.
“What did you enjoy most?” I ask.
“The look on your mamí‘s face when you said Bella was overjoyed she was joining their household.” Mari’s turning red holding back the laughter. We look at each other and start laughing again. Finally, we calm and wipe our eyes. “You?”
“The look on Tony’s face when he realized that his ass in on the line with Diego, when I suggested he might call for an exit interview.”
Mari giggles. “Oh yeah, that was great.”
“It was tied with the looks on everyone’s faces when I stepped back into the house and saw that chef’s knife in your hand.”
We laugh. I roll onto my side and kiss my wife. So precious and so fierce tonight. I roll onto my back and pull her into my arms. We calm down and stare at the ceiling, holding hands.
“I love you, Mariela Josefina Cortes.”
“I love you, Armando Rafael Cortes.”
I smile. My personal life is squared away. Now, to show who I could be as an XO. I’m ready.
Armando is back.
