Chapter 13
For the next few days the atmosphere in the office was better, and it rekindled Tatiana's fondness for the place. Several people went up to Judith to apologize for their previous behavior of treating her differently. Most of them said that it was because they didn't know how to treat her after finding out about her tragic past. Augusta was all but shunned. Her only friend was Lorna.
What was bothering both Nydia and Tatiana was how Suzanne seemed to be treating Judith. She was somewhat brusque with Judith and glared at her with loathing. Nydia drilled her eyes into Suzanne with a look that said, I know the B.S. you believe. If Suzanne wanted to listen to Augusta then she had to deal with the rest of the office.
Augusta, instead of asking herself why she was being shunned, strutted around the office with more arrogance than before the show down. When Tristan stepped in the door to have a business meeting with Bill, she fawned all over him telling him Bill was running late, but she was sure she could help. She asked him, “What is it you need? I can take care of it.” Ridiculous, thought Tatiana. As if she knows anything about finance. Tristan decided to wait for Bill in the lobby.
Nydia and Tatiana saw him take paperwork out of his briefcase, so they knew he didn't want company while he overlooked it. Augusta, however, wouldn’t leave him alone and fluttered all around him, bringing him coffee and donuts.
“I think she's in full worship of with him. You know with him being an arrogant powerful type of man,” Tatiana declared to Nydia.
“Watch the fireworks,” stated Nydia, smirking.
Augusta wouldn't stay away from him. She was practically volunteering to rub his feet. She kept trying to make conversation with him. When he ignored her, trying to get back to his paperwork, she snapped at him.
“I hear your salsa doesn't even come close to being as popular as Pace,” she snickered.
Oh no, she didn’t, Tatiana said to herself.
Tristan slammed down his paperwork. “Excuse me?”
“Pace makes such great salsa, don't they?”
“I'm not going to defend my salsa to you, who I don't even like,” he retorted. “I know who you are. You've got no class at all, and you bully and manipulate people to get what you want. I can't stand bottom feeders like you. When I'm here, stay out of my way.”
Augusta rushed out of the lobby with her tail between her legs. Tatiana and Nydia smiled at one another.
Tatiana and Nydia were disappointed that Judith couldn’t join them for lunch because she had already agreed to join other coworkers for the meal. Yet, Tatiana and Nydia where happy that Judith was making other close friends in the office despite Augusta‘s attempts at ruining her.
At El Rancho restaurant, Tatiana cut a piece from her steak ranchera. It was smothered in her favorite spicy salsa.
“I'm so glad Tristan told Augusta off,” Nydia blurted.
“Yes, that was spectacular.”
Nydia smiled widely. “Yes, I’d say it was.”
“I wonder how he’s doing with his girlfriend.” Tatiana mentioned lightly.
Nydia grinned. “Curious?—aren’t you?”
“Would you stop smiling like that?”
“What do you mean?” asked Nydia, still grinning.
“Stop smiling please.”
Nydia tried to form her lips into a frown. She couldn't help feeling that Tatiana and Tristan were being fools when it came to their mutual attraction for each other. It was obvious to her that both were people with cast iron fences around them but suited for one other. What her friend didn't realize was that under his rough exterior was a romantic. Tristan Segovia was a remarkable man, no question about it.
“Will this work for you?” asked Nydia, scrunching her face.
“Thank you, but I can still see the smile in your eyes,” Tatiana retorted. “I’m only asking about him to make small talk.”
“Okay.”
“So you can stop grinning like a Cheshire cat.”
“I can't help it if it's a beautiful day.”
During the evening, Tatiana relaxed at home. Randy seemed so far away now. It was as if he was from another life. Tatiana hardly thought of him anymore. The wounds might not have been completely healed, but at least they weren’t as visible so when he did call her, she was shocked to say the least.
“Hi, Baby,” he purred.
“Don't ever call me,” Tatiana snapped.
“I just had to hear your voice, Tatiana.”
“Leave me alone, Randy. I'm warning you,” Tatiana demanded, slamming down the receiver. The phone started ringing again, so she disconnected it and decided to change her number.
Tatiana started to look in her refrigerator for a bite when she realized that Randy had ruined her evening and that she should get out of her apartment for a while. She decided to visit her mother since she had called her a few days ago complaining that Candida didn't see her enough.
When Tatiana arrived at her mother's house, she had a strange feeling as if something was off balance. Tatiana entered with her house key and was immediately relieved to find her mother fine and looking ravishing in her favorite burgundy dress.
“What are you doing here?” Candida asked nervously.
“You told me I didn't visit you enough so here I am, but are you going out? Why are you all dressed up?”
The doorbell rang and her mother chuckled nervously. When she opened it, a distinguished looking man stood on the other side. He stepped in with red roses.
“Tatiana, this is Claudio, my next door neighbor. Claudio, this is my daughter.”
They shook hands. “I'm sorry I interrupted. I'll call you tomorrow, Mama," Tatiana murmured as she tried to make a graceful exit, astonishment on her face.
“Please join us for dinner,” Claudio declared. “Your mother has told me so much about you that I would love for you to come with us.” He took one of the flowers from the bunch he gave Candida and handed it to Tatiana.
Tatiana agreed to join them for dinner at the Sizzling Steaks restaurant. While there, Claudio told her and Candida about having lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a city close to El Paso. His two adult kids were in successful careers. He had retired from civil service, but he did volunteer work at schools. In fact, he was thinking of going back to college to get certified to become an elementary school teacher.
When he dropped them off at Candida's house, Tatiana immediately questioned her.
“How long have you been seeing him?” Tatiana asked.
“Not long.”
“Why hadn't you told me?”
“I wanted to make sure I knew where it was going before I told you,” informed Candida.
“What made you decide to date him?”
“Remember what you told me the other night? About how I stayed with your dad too long, and how my feelings towards men affected you?”
“Mama, I'm sorry—”
“No, listen, even though that conversation make me feel terrible, it also made me take stock of my life, about how closed off I've been. Having relationships is part of living, so I thought I'd give Claudio a chance.”
“And?”
“So far, so good.”
Tatiana hugged her. “I'm so happy for you, Mama. And you know what? I like him. I really do.”
“Tati, I hope this also teaches you a lesson. Don't close yourself off because of that mierda Randy. There's gotta be some men out there who aren't shit.”
Tatiana chuckled. “There has to be, right?”
“I certainly hope so.”
Tatiana smiled. “There has to be.”
“Tati, you've forgiven me haven't you?” Candida murmured.
“For what?”
“For all the mistakes I made with you,” blurted Candida.
“Mistakes? No, Mama, you didn’t make that many mistakes.”
“I did,” Candida murmured. “I’m so sorry I didn’t do better.”
“Mama, please stop
apologizing.”
“But you’re right about what you told me the other day.”
“Oh, Mama, I'm really sorry I was so harsh that day.”
“Don’t be.”
“What I didn't tell you that day was that you did much more good than bad. It's because of you that I’m so independent. I depend on myself instead of expecting the world to open its doors just like that. I don't subconsciously feel entitled. When other people want to turn me into window set dressing, I don't let them. You made me develop my brain instead of relying on superficial looks. Even though I'm a size twelve instead of a zero like dad wants me to be, I'm not insecure about it. I don't obsess about the size of my thighs or my stomach. You got me away from my appearance. It’s because of you that I appreciate true beauty for everything it is. Thank you.”
Candida was crying up a storm. “Thank you for being the kind of daughter you are.”
Tatiana’s eyes also overflowed. With all the ups and downs of her life, she had always known one thing—that she was deeply loved by her mama. “Thank you for being the kind of mother you are. Thank you for always being loving, attentive, and awesome.”