I signed the papers one gray evening. There were no tears, but there was an emptiness that haunted me for months.
One Thursday afternoon I received a message from her:
“Are you free this Sunday? I want to give you an invitation.”
I didn’t have to open the envelope to know what it was.
I barely slept three hours that night.
On Sunday, I drove to an elegant hacienda in Puebla. I sat at a table in the back, not wanting to see or be seen.
Until she appeared.
Mariana, in a shimmering white dress, smiling in a way I hadn’t seen in years.
My chest burned.
Then her boyfriend came out.
And I almost collapsed.
Continue on the next page:
