Chapter 6
Tatiana didn’t know why Tristan Segovia made her nervous. All she knew was that when the man was in the same room with her, she felt a certain jitteriness, as if she was five-years-old again and about to go to kindergarten for the first time.
“I don’t like it,” Tristan told Tatiana, a coldness to his voice.
“Why?” Tatiana asked, frustrated.
The presentation room seemed empty with only Tristan, Tatiana, and Nydia present. The long table seemed longer than what it was and all the chairs seemed emptier.
“That slogan just doesn’t appeal to me,” he stated.
“‘Segovia family foods— because your family is picky and deserves the best’ doesn’t appeal to you?” asked Tatiana.
“What do you think, Nydia?” he questioned.
“It has heart and is great in its simplicity.”
He was pensive a few seconds and then he nodded. “I guess when you put it that way.”
When Tristan left, Tatiana shook her head at Nydia who was smiling slyly.
“You still think the guy likes me? He treats me like crap.”
Nydia kept smiling and Tatiana shook her head.
When Tatiana mentioned to Randy that one of her favorite dishes was lasagna, they found themselves at Luigi's. It was a restaurant so romantic that Tatiana was able to quiet the negative voices when she saw the candles and fresh flowers at every table. All was fine with her and the world for that one moment.
“What a place,” murmured Tatiana.
“You've never been here?” asked Randy.
“No.”
He grinned. “I like taking you to places you've never been to.” He put his hand over hers. “We're going to do so much together.”
The waiter brought them champagne and mushroom cheese cap appetizers. Randy raised his glass to her, and she did the same.
“To the beginning of something wonderful,” he said. They clicked the glasses and then drank.
Tatiana popped a mushroom cap in her mouth, and Randy gazed at her. “Stop doing that,” she pleaded.
“I can't help myself.”
“Please try.”
He laughed. “Okay, I'll try.”
“Good.”
He caressed a few strands of her hair. “You seem preoccupied. Is there anything wrong?”
“Office stuff.”
“What office stuff?”
“All kinds of stuff but mainly I'm afraid one of my co-workers is heading towards disaster.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I think Judith is about to start an affair with Jack.” Tatiana had been noticing some fishy things between them in the office. Jack seemed to always be sniffing around Judith and instead of being disgusted, Judith seem to be complimented by it.
“What's wrong with that?”
“He's married.” Tatiana said.
“And?”
“You don't see anything wrong with that?”
Randy shrugged his shoulders. “They’re two adults, right?”
“He's playing Judith, and she's letting herself to be brainwashed by Augusta.”
“Judith is a grown woman. You shouldn't worry about her. In fact, maybe seeing this man will do her some good.”
Tatiana frowned. “I don't see how. He's such a jerk.”
“You really don't know the circumstances behind this situation.”
“Circumstances? He's married. That's enough of a circumstance for me.”
“Tatiana, let's stop arguing about this silly stuff and talk about something more important—us. Have I told you how great you look tonight?”
Not this again.
“You’ve already told me,” Tatiana said.
“I'll tell you again and again.”
“Once is enough, Randy.”
“When it comes to beauty, once is never enough. You look wonderful tonight.”
Randy started singing the Eric Clapton song, Wonderful Tonight, but replaced long blond hair with long, black hair. Tatiana had never heard anybody so out of tune. A screeching cat would've been an improvement.
“Thank you,” Tatiana cut in, hoping no one in the restaurant heard him.
To get him off the singing, Tatiana asked him where he was from. She didn't know much about him since he rarely talked about himself, and at this point in their relationship, she felt she ought to know more. He told her he was from Los Angeles and was now staying with his brother, who owned a pizzeria, until he found his own place.
“Why did you move to El Paso?” Tatiana asked.
Randy cleared his throat. “I needed a change. . . But I don't know about this place.”
“You mean El Paso?”
“More like El Pisser. What an ugly place. The desert is so dry and lifeless. I mean, who would want to stare at Yucca plants when they could have lush greenery?”
“Me for one. I don't appreciate you calling El Paso El Pisser,” snapped Tatiana. She hated it when people insulted her home town. “I happen to love it here. There's nothing like a sunrise or a sunset in the desert.”
“Stop being so feisty. I'm entitled to my opinion.”
“Yes, I guess you are. If you don't like the desert, why didn't you stay in L.A.?”
He shifted his eyes. “I told you, I needed a change.”
Something is up with that. I wonder if he escaped an old relationship.
“Besides,” he continued, “moving here brought me to you.” He took her hand and kissed it.
“I guess it did.”
“Tatiana,” he said, holding up her hand. “Have you ever thought about letting your nails grow?”
“No.”
“You've got such long fingers, such beautiful hands. They would look so great with long fingernails. If they don't grow right, you could get them done at a salon.”
“My nails grow fine. It's that I don't like long fingernails. They get in the way.”
“Just think about it.”
“I don't think so,” stated Tatiana.
“Don't be so difficult. Just think about it.”
Later that night, at Tatiana's apartment, Randy kissed her deeply. This time she didn't shove him away since she was getting used to his engorging mouth. He asked her if he could go inside with her, and she turned him down again. He smiled and said he understood. She wondered if he really did.
Nydia ran into Tatiana's office with a serious look, a 'we've got to talk' look. She closed the door not thinking twice about Bill being at Judith's desk, giving her instructions for business letters. Ever since that blow-up concerning the Grubb's account and Jack Brewster, he'd been at the agency more often.
“What's wrong?” Tatiana asked.
“It's time for an intervention.”
“Did you say an intervention?”
“Yes,” said Nydia.
“For Bill?”
“Be serious. The man chose alcohol over his wife and kids. Why would he listen to us?”
Bill's ex-wife had given him an ultimatum, but the bottle had won. She was now re-married, and he hardly saw his children. Tatiana often wondered about people's priorities.
“Then who is the intervention for?” Tatiana questioned with curiosity.
“For Judith,” Nydia stated.
“Judith? Is she an alcoholic?” Tatiana asked, concern permeating her voice.
“No, of course not. She's having an affair with Jack.”
“I know we've suspected it, but are you sure?”
“I got here early this morning and caught them kissing in the break room,” grumbled Nydia.
“You're kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
“This is really serious,” Tatiana blurted.
“I'm telling you it's time for an intervention.”
Tatiana and Nydia hijacked Judith to lunch, making her promise she wouldn’t invite a certain someone. Augusta stared at them as they left and tried to corner Judith, but the
y whisked her off before August could get her claws in her. As they entered the elevator, Randy was already on, probably going to lunch also. He was with another man who reminded Tatiana of someone. But who? Tatiana introduced Nydia and Judith to them.
“This is my brother Carl,” Randy said.
That's why he looks familiar.
“Hi,” Tatiana tried to sound warm. “Pleased to meet you.”
Carl didn't seem at all pleased to meet her. He looked at her as if she was a smelly piece of fish.
“Are you here to take your brother to lunch?” Tatiana asked Carl.
“We work together,” explained Randy.
“I got him his job,” announced Carl with a bit of a growl in his voice.
They dispersed in the parking lot. When Nydia, Judith, and Tatiana climbed into Tatiana's car, she shook her head wondering what the elevator conversation with Randy and his brother was all about.
“What a strange encounter,” Tatiana remarked.
“Randy's brother seems wound a little too tight,” declared Nydia.
“Maybe he's having a bad day,” Judith offered.
They arrived at El Rancho restaurant and luckily their favorite table was free, the one that was in front of a huge window overlooking downtown El Paso.
“Hi, Petra,” she said to the waitress. “¿Como has estado?”
“I'm fine. ¿Y ustedes?” asked Petra.
“We're doing well,” said Nydia.
“You didn't bring the. . . the. . .”
Nydia smiled. “The snobby bitch from hell?”
“I wasn't going to put it that way, but yes, that one,” Petra said.
“Augusta isn't so bad,” Judith commented.
“Compared to Hitler she isn't so bad. But other than that, she's pretty horrendous,” Nydia asserted.
Petra took their orders, and Nydia and Tatiana got to be important task on hand. They had less than an hour to knock some sense into Judith.
“I saw you kissing Jack this morning,” Nydia stated, getting straight to the point.
Judith lost all the color in her face. “You did?”
“You're having an affair with him, aren't you?” Tatiana asked gently.
“It's not an affair,” Judith answered defensively.
Nydia frowned loudly. “Then what is it? That kiss I saw wasn't a brother/sister kiss.”
“We're in love,” Judith declared, tears forming in her eyes.
“Oh, Judith,” were all the words Tatiana could form.
“In love?!” Nydia snapped. “With him?!”
“One of the Ten Commandments is 'thou shall not commit adultery', isn't it?” questioned Tatiana.
“May God forgive me but I sure love this man and besides, his wife is such a horrible person.”
“According to who? Him?” Tatiana asked..
“Augusta also said so.”
“Augusta?!” Nydia retorted.
“How can you believe anything that human crab said? Both Nydia and I have met his wife, and Myra is a perfectly lovely person inside out,” Tatiana asserted.
“And she doesn't dress sluttish like Augusta says she does,” Nydia snarled. She just dresses nice with clothes that become her. As for the affair she's supposed to be having, I don't believe it!”
“But—”
“It's an ugly rumor meant to justify him cheating on her,” Tatiana asserted.
“You don't know that,” Judith blurted, upset.
“Please, Judith, wake up!” Nydia implored. “It doesn't take a genius to see the handwriting on the wall.”
“Augusta—”
“Stop right there is!” Nydia snapped. “There's nothing that comes out of that office Medusa's mouth that makes sense.”
“Does she know about the affair?” Tatiana asked.
“No, we've tried to keep it secret. It's nobody's business but our own.”
Tatiana let out a breath of relief. “Good, I'm glad you haven't told Augusta, or it would be all around the office by now. I know how she works, and you need to come to terms with her manipulations.”
“What do you mean?” Judith questioned. “Augusta would never betray me. She's my friend.”
“She's nobody's friend,” Nydia retorted.
Tatiana looked straight into Judith’s eyes so she knew she meant business. “She's been trying to get you and Jack together all along. That's why she told you those lies about his wife.”
“What do you mean?”
“In her judgmental mind, if you fall a few pegs, it makes her superior to you,” explained Tatiana. “Even if she's had an affair with a married man herself, she tells herself that it's not the same because she was meant to be with Kenneth. Meanwhile, she's brought you down a peg or two.”
Tears ran down Judith’s face. “I don't know what to think.”
“Earlier you said that it was no one's business about you and Jack. I just want to tell you that you're right. It isn't Nydia's or my business what you do in your private life, but we care about you. You’re a sincere and kind person, and we don't want to see you hurt. Life is full of mistakes and luckily there's still time to fix this one,” Tatiana said, trying to get through to her.
“But he loves me. I know he does,” Judith asserted, blowing her nose.
Tatiana shook her head. “Does he really? Are you sure he loves you?”
“Yes,” Judith responded, not sounding certain.
“That man doesn't know the meaning of love,” affirmed Nydia. “Jack is a complete ass. He's power hungry, arrogant, and a skirt chaser.”
Judith raised her voice, “Don't say those horrible things about him! You don't know him like I do.”
Tatiana tried another strategy. “He's a married man, Judith.”
“I know, I know,” Judith cried. “It's like an ax that slices my heart.”
“Then get rid of the ax. Your heart will survive,” Tatiana stated. “This relationship has nowhere to go. It’s a dead end.”
“Jack said he's going to leave his wife and marry me.”
Nydia snorted loudly. “Really?! Why hasn't he done it already?” she challenged.
“He said his wife would take him to the cleaners in a divorce settlement, and he just got this job. He needs to get better settled with it before making any major changes.”
“Next time, it'll be some other stupid excuse!” Nydia snapped. “Next thing you know, years will pass and he's still with his wife, and you're nowhere. Wake up and smell the coffee!”
“I don't know what to do,” Judith murmured.
“Yes you do. You know what the right thing to do is,” Tatiana gently asserted.
“My heart is breaking,” Judith stated.
“Have you thought of Myra's heart?” questioned Nydia. “Have you thought about what you're doing to another woman? She's never done anything to you, but you're sleeping with her chicken shit husband.”
“I'm sorry, but I can't help myself,” Judith said. “I do feel bad about what we're doing to her. I do!—but I just can’t help myself! Just can’t!”
“I know that his wife is much better off without him,” Nydia asserted. “She should divorce his cheating ass, but that doesn't leave you off the hook. Don't do this to another woman, Judith.”
“Don't do this to yourself, Judith,” Tatiana implored. “You deserve better. You deserve a man that doesn't have to hide you from anybody, a man that brings you flowers instead of problems, a man who will bring you more happiness than misery.”