Sold To Mr. Milano - Daniella Wright Page 0,54

to be wrapped in the warmth of my bed without all of their chattering. As I crashed down to the pillow, the room spun a little. And I could swear I could see Alicia standing in the corner. I didn’t try to fight it. I pictured it so vividly...Her crawling into bed beside me, pressing her warm body against mine. I knew she wasn’t really there, but it was as if my longing for her was so strong that it conjured up a ghost to take her place. I swore I could smell her hair and hear her soft voice whispering to me in the darkness. My heart ached with desire for it to be real.

18

Alicia

The sights of my hometown were still enough to get me out of bed every morning. I stood in our kitchen, staring out the windows at the chickens and goats grazing around the women who were putting out their laundry to dry. I was busy preparing my famous medialunas from scratch for breakfast. While I watched the other women tend to their domestic tasks at the break of day, just as I was doing, I felt a pang of longing for something else.

My father came in, singing cheerfully. It was a welcomed distraction from my own discontented thoughts. He stopped to take in a big whiff of the sweet scent of my pastries and the strong coffee that was brewing.

“Mmm, good morning mi hermosa hija!” he beamed, leaning in for me to kiss his cheek. “That looks and smells wonderful.” He chuckled and patted his hands over his belly. “I believe I’ve gained ten pounds since you’ve come home.”

I had always tended to the cooking and housework for my father, ever since I was a young girl. But I had to admit I was doing more than ever since I returned. I needed to keep busy so I wouldn’t have as much time to think.

“You are going to make some man very happy one day,” he added. “Anyone would be lucky to have you as their wife.”

He seemed so pleased with my role as caregiver and homemaker, even though he had raised me to be so much more than that. I think my most recent scandal scared him into thinking I was better off in the kitchen. At least then I was safe from the men he made a living putting behind bars. Men like the Milanos.

I thought back on my three-day-long journey with Alberto. I remembered the cave he told me about on our last night together. The rebel lovers and their bank robberies. I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of us bickering over what we’d do with the money if we ever fell into a life of crime together.

I served my father his plate of medialunas and jam alongside his cup of black coffee and then started cleaning up the kitchen while he ate. I hadn’t been eating breakfast lately. I felt too queasy in the mornings, likely a side effect of my long sleepless nights.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked, eyeing me with suspicion. “I love anything that makes you happy.”

That only made me snicker to myself more. That particular moment, it was memories of Alberto that were making me happy and sad all at once, and I doubted my father would love that in the least.

“Nothing,” I sighed, trying to contain myself. “The neighbor’s goats were doing something funny is all. So, tell me Papa...what investigations are you currently working on? We haven’t discussed the injustices of this world since I came home. I’m dying to know what you’re doing and how I can help.”

He grew stiff and silent as he swirled the roll around in some jam. “Nothing, Alicia. Nothing worth mentioning.”

“What’s gotten into you? Since when do you not tell me all about your work? Surely there’s something useful I can be doing besides cooking and watching kids around the neighborhood.”

He seemed stressed and worried, refusing to look me in the eye. I wouldn’t let it go until he told me what was on his mind.

“I’m worried I have failed you,” he admitted finally with a heavy heart. “I didn’t know what to do with you...raising you on my own. I thought teaching you to be a fighter and working for the greater good was the right thing to do. But...there were so many other things I neglected. Like how to be a good wife and mother. And now here you are...twenty-six years old and no