Chapter Two

Whenever they were asked, Rafael would say it was love at first sight. It was for him, but his wife didn’t quite agree that it was so on her part. For Amaliah, it was an intense attraction at first sight, but it wasn’t love, she was sure about it. 

They met on a Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the summer, after Amaliah’s shift at the coffee shop downtown. He had first caught sight of her a few days before then, but she had no idea. She had been standing in front of the coffee shop, consoling a lady whose shoulders were heaving with sobs. From their body language, he guessed they were friends, and he watched in admiration as Amaliah finally succeeded in making the crying friend smile and wipe her tears. It was a beautiful view, and he felt good watching them. Not many people could make someone smile after they just cried their eyes out. 

He came to the coffee shop for a few days after that, watching her until he was able to take note of when she usually got off work. On that Thursday afternoon, she got off work and was hurrying out when he pretended to bump into her. Her cup of cappuccino spilt on her rumpled, white peasant blouse and left a wet, dark stain. She looked at him exasperatedly and rolled her gray eyes in disgust, and at that moment he knew that he had fallen in love with her.

He had offered to help her clean her blouse in the restroom and she had shown even more repulse and disgust. 

“Well, aren’t you a pervert,” she muttered and eyed him. He had laughed, apologized and offered to buy her another cup of coffee. 

“I work here, FYI and now I’m running late, thanks to you being a bat in broad daylight.” she brushed past him and started to walk away. He ran after her and started to back walk in front of her. She stopped in her tracks, making him slip and fall. She laughed then, at how silly he looked sprawled on the floor.

“Now that you’ve had a chance to pay me back in my coin, can you at least tell me your name? I already know you are a barista,” he asked with pleading eyes that drew her into their depths. She felt a strong pull towards him and she didn’t understand why. He was a silly, clumsy stranger who had bumped into her and ruined one of her favorite blouses. 

“Why should I?” she asked lamely even though she knew she was going to tell him. He had a calm, charming aura and she felt safe with him. These feelings were foreign to her and she frowned.

“Because my name is Rafael. You can call me Rafa for short. All my friends do.”

“We’re not friends, stranger. I don’t have to tell you my name just because you told me yours.”

He wasn’t fazed by her sharp tone, he merely smiled.

“Ugh. You must think your charming boyish smile will make me swoon. Is that what you use on other pretty ladies?” her forehead creased deeper into a frown.

“Well, you just complimented me. According to you, my smile is charming and it can make pretty ladies swoon. So, thank you for the compliment.” 

She was forced to smile. She liked his guts. “We’re still not friends.”

“I’m hoping we can be, and maybe it will.” He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her hand. She withdrew her hand in faux disgust and eyed him again.

“My name is Amaliah. Amaliah Dominguez. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go.” 

“Beautiful name for a Mexican goddess. Well, I’ll be seeing you, Amaliah.” he winked. 

She gave him a brief smile and hurried away and as much as he wanted to follow her to the ends of the earth, he decided that it would look like harassment and he didn’t want that. He would wait for her when she got off the next day, preferably inside the coffee shop this time. 

She found herself thinking about him on the bus ride home, and she was aghast. She was 22 years old, fresh out of college and working as a barista while she waited for her initial job application to a software company to go through. She had no time for a silly romance with her head in the clouds and butterflies in her tummy. She had bills to pay, a career to build and a life to make the most out of.

She couldn’t lose focus now, and she knew how she got when she liked someone. It consumed her wholly, and it had almost ruined her in her past relationships. She knew she couldn't afford to be lax now that things had begun to look up for her.

The next day, he showed up at her workplace with a bouquet of flowers as soon as she got off, hoping to catch her off guard. Deep down, Amaliah had been hoping he’d come back so she could see him again, and was secretly glad when he did even if she feigned surprise. Something about him drew her, intrigued her and fascinated her. She realized she would like to see more of him, and the thought scared her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, infusing a dash of irritation in her tone. She wanted to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“I wanted to see you, Amaliah Dominguez. I want to see you every day from now on,” he said frankly, maintaining eye contact while handing her the bouquet of tulips. She swallowed and looked away before accepting the gift. The flowers smelled heavenly. 

“So, how did you guess when I get off from work?” 

“I have my ways.” He winked. 

“Sounds creepy, but thank you for the flowers. I'm not a fan of tulips but these are lovely.”

He laughed. "I know what you’re doing amaliah, and I don't blame you. It's quite a natural reaction, but I think you’re simply torturing yourself. You can feel free with me, I promise I won't bite. I just want to get to know you."

His bluntness fazed her. It wasn't the type that bordered on rude, he simply said things without mincing words. She remembered her mother telling her that people like this couldn't hold grudges because they were usually unable to keep their feelings bottled in. 

She cleared her throat. “I'm doing no such thing, but whatever you say. I have to run now, really.”

“Wait, can I at least have your number? And, would you like to hang out sometime?"

"I don't have a phone for now, and I don't think I'll have the time to hang out anytime soon." 

"Dude, you just got curved hard." Her co-worker, Chris, laughed as he passed by them on his way into the cafè for his shift.

"Shut up, Chris." Amaliah rolled her eyes. 

"It's okay, I understand. I'll just be here every day until you agree to go out with me, which will be soon, I promise you." He winked at her and turned to leave.

She shook her head, a smile playing on her face. She didn't know what to think about him, although she knew she liked him. She had never felt such an intense pull with any man, and she didn't know what to do about it. She could only hope it didn’t end up crashing and burning.

He was at the cafe with bouquets for three days after that, just like he had promised he would. Anytime he entered the cafe, her colleagues would coo sweetly, which made her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

“Okay, I'll go out with you. Just one date.” She addressed him with her arms folded across her chest, unsmiling. It was near the end of her shift and she was outside with him.

“I’d like to say I told you so, but I think you got the memo already,” he smiled. “Thank you, princess. You won’t regret this.”

For some odd, unfathomable reason, she knew she would have no regrets whatsoever and she liked being called princess.

********

A shrill scream pierced the still night air, jerking Amaliah awake. She flung the comforter off her body and raced out of the room, flipping on the hallway light switches as she ran. She threw open the door to her daughters’ room and rushed to their bed.

They were huddled up in the middle of Micaela’s bed, panting profusely. They perked up when they caught sight of her and started to sob when she got into the bed with them.

“Shh… it’s alright. There are no monsters. Mommy is here now.” She hugged them close to her chest and they clung to her feebly, drained and exhausted. Micaela’s hair was disheveled and her eyes were glazed and unfocused. Amaliah was scared, but she masked her emotions expertly.

“What happened, Madisyn? Another bad dream?” she asked as she stroked their hair.

But it was Micaela that spoke up in a shaky voice full of trepidation. “I saw daddy. He was calling me, telling me to come with him. I don’t wanna go to heaven yet, mommy. Please tell daddy to leave me alone. I love him, but I want to stay with you and Madisyn.”

A wave of anger, exhaustion and a strong feeling to break down in tears washed over Amaliah. 

“Daddy is in heaven now, darling. He won’t take you with him, I promise.” 

Micaela looked up at her with sleepy eyes and held out her pinky finger. Amaliah intertwined it with hers and made the pinky promise. It seemed to put Micaela at ease.

“Can we sleep with you, mommy?” Madisyn asked in a pleading voice. They were traumatized at the thought of sleeping alone. Amaliah nodded and they raced to her room. She walked behind them slowly, thinking about what Micaela had said.

The twins had been having recurring dreams about their father since he died, and she couldn’t say she blamed them. His death had taken a heavy toll on them, and they had refused to eat for nearly three weeks after that. 

She wished there was a way she could comfort them and take on their pain instead, but it wasn’t possible. One time, Micaela had asked what they could do to bring their daddy back, and Amaliah had sobbed so hard because she wished she could have him back as well. 

She was tired, physically and mentally exhausted and still couldn’t believe she had to go to bed without him every night, and would not see him watching her sleep when she woke up every morning. Life had suddenly become too distasteful. Her world had been uprooted, shaken and stepped on from the moment she had gotten the call that her husband had been involved in a motorcycle accident that left his body mangled and unrecognizable.