A Coffee to the Past Read online

  “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” He asked impulsively.

  She stepped away from him with a surprised expression on her face and then turned her gaze to her desk. Johanna had left her tickets and passport there so that, once she finished a couple of pending details, she could go directly to the airport.

  The driver would be waiting for her with her luggage at the entrance of the building.

  Could fate be any crueler?

  Luke invites her out when she has a plane to catch.

  “What is it, Isa?”

  She wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “Nothing, honey. What time do you want to come for me?”

  She was not willing to miss this opportunity that he was giving her.

  Don’t.

  She would reschedule the tickets for another time and send everything to hell because tonight, she would take Luke back.

  ***

  “Are you crazy, Isabel?”

  “No, Johanna, I'm not and please, stop arguing with me. I love him and my sister can wait in Spain. After all, my trip was not scheduled for another two weeks.”

  “I do not understand you.”

  Isabel was getting tired of her friend's sermons.

  She looked her straight in the eye.

  “I do not need anyone to understand me. As long as I understand who I am and what I want, it is more than enough. At this point in my life, I am a woman ready to do anything to get back the man I love.”

  Johanna snorted.

  “You're a naïve girl,” she looked annoyed. “I'm glad you know yourself so well. Too bad you don’t know him well enough.”

  She left the office slamming the door hard enough to rattle the walls.

  Isabel didn’t care for her behavior. She was going to prove to everyone that anyone could have a moment of confusion in their life and that you can always rectify your mistakes.

  It was all for her happiness and her happiness was Luke.

  Her cell phone rang while she canceled her flight online.

  International Number.

  Her sister.

  “Hello, Carl.”

  “You got everything?”

  “Mmm, we need to talk,” Isabel said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “I’m not leaving today.”

  Silence.

  “Sorry, Carl, you don’t know what happened to me, and I can’t let this opportunity pass.”

  “An important client?” Carlota asked sarcastically.

  “Don’t.”

  Silence.

  “Carl, really, I'm sorry...”

  Carlota immediately interrupted her.

  “Whatever you want, Isabel, keep begging Luke for love.”

  “But let me tell you, it turns out I was...”

  “I do not want to hear it!” Carlota raised her voice. “As I told you, continue begging for love from a controlling man who is only playing with your feelings.”

  “I swear this time it's different, Carlota. I could see it in his eyes.”

  “If you say so, I'll leave the phone on my bedside table so you can call me when the bastard hurts you again. Bye.”

  Isabel was surprised that her sister had hung up on her.

  She was very upset, but that wasn’t important now. The important thing was getting to the beauty salon so she would look perfect for dinner with Luke.

  She was sure that when she gave her sister the good news of their reconciliation, her anger would disappear. She would realize that you can’t go through life judging people without knowing them.

  Because she did know Luke.

  ***

  Carlota took a deep breath to control the urge to throw her cell phone against the wall after hearing that her sister had canceled her trip to meet with Luke.

  What is she thinking? She asked, taking a second breath.

  Alice was taking a nap in her room and Edward, had left with Alfonso. That afternoon, Ed would receive his second lesson on orange cultivation.

  The weather was nice so Carlota decided it would be a good idea to go out on the terrace for some exercise. It had been a few days since she last ran and she knew that exercising would calm her down a bit.

  Her sister was a hopeless case and there was nothing she could do except calm down and wait for Isa to call her crying and heartbroken. She would support her sister who decided to fall in love with the stupidest man on the planet.

  She appreciated the twenty minutes of cardio she did outdoors. The sun warmed her skin, reddening it slightly. Then she took a quick shower and waited for her daughter to wake up.

  Once all the windows were in their place, Carlota and Ed decided to stop the remodeling until Isabel arrived.

  Carlota sighed again.

  She looked around as she went down to the kitchen with her daughter in her arms to give her a snack.

  It was not that she was getting used to living with the meager comforts. Perhaps she was only adjusting to her conditions and she no longer considered it as chaos, even though it was chaos.

  She smiled when the little girl hugged and kissed her.

  She sat her little one in a dining chair and gave her cookies filled with chocolate cream and hazelnuts.

  She turned on a small television installed there to make some noise because they were the only three living in the house.

  While the little girl was eating, Carlota took her journal and thought that she should sit down soon to write something because her agent had already sent her an email asking her how the new manuscript was going. Carlota, who was not a fool, answered that it was going well. She was writing her ninth bestseller.

  She snorted.

  What a great liar she was.

  She did not -even- have an idea to make a bestseller.

  The stay at that house was not fixing her writer’s block like her husband had assured her it would.

  No.

  It was the same as when they got there two weeks ago.

  Not even the dinners at Alfonso's house did any good, even though he knew a lot about the history of the estate that belonged to her and her sister. There were even some photos of some of Carlota and Isabel’s ancestors who were the founders of the estate.

  While Alice was still distracted by the crumbs and melted chocolate on her hands, Carlota took out her cell phone and called Catalina, Alfonso's wife, with whom she was becoming great friends.

  “Honey,” the woman replied cheerfully, “How are you? I was just going to call you because I'm going to the city and I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me.”

  Carlota thought it was a very tempting idea. They had not had the opportunity to visit the city because she and her husband were taking care of the bricklayers in their home. Also, Ed was more interested in learning how to plant than going to tour the city.

  “Hi, Catalina, well the truth is that it would not be a bad idea to go with you. We could take my car because I already have Alice’s car seat in it.”

  “None of that, I have two grandchildren about the age of your little one. So my car is equipped with car seats as well. Is it okay if I come get you in thirty minutes?”

  “We'll be waiting.”

  “Did you need anything in particular?” The woman asked, laughing.

  “Yes, but we can talk about it on the way to Valencia. Do not worry.”

  They hung up and Carlota began to prepare everything for their outing.

  She had called Catalina to see if she could go by her house that afternoon so that Alfonso would tell her the stories again about the estate in which she now lived.

  Apparently, the estate was involved in one of the strangest legends. The little that Carlota understood did not interest her very much

  In the beginning. Now she wanted to hear her again to see if there could be an argument that would make her sit down and write, even if it was a damn story.

  She had to start somewhere.

  She slipped the portable recorder into her purse. She cleaned and dressed
the little girl just in time for Catalina to come and get them.

  ***

  When Ed arrived at the estate around 8 p.m. he found all the lights turned off.

  He opened the door cautiously, and after inspecting the first floor, hurried up the stairs leading to the second floor.

  The door to their daughter’s room was open, indicating that the little girl was sleeping.

  He looked for Carlota in the rest of the house and did not find her. Just as he began to worry, he saw a glow coming from under the laundry room door. He opened it and saw that the light was on, the washing machine was running and the door to the basement was open.

  “Darling are you down there?”

  There was no answer.

  He hurried down the stairs, fearing that Carlota had been badly injured and lay unconscious. When he entered the old basement, he was surprised to see his wife surrounded by papers and photographs, concentrating like only a writer who was investigating something important could.

  He smiled. She still did not break out of her concentration.

  He chose not to bother her. As he turned to climb the stairs, the dry deteriorated wood creaked a warning that it was about to break and the noise brought Carlota back to reality.

  “Did you think about leaving without kissing me?” she said, coming up and placing her arms around her husband's neck.

  He kissed her sweetly.

  “What are you laughing at?”

  “It makes me happy to see you so focused,” he said with a wink. “Did you find anything potentially good for a story?”

  She bit her lower lip with doubt in her eyes.

  “I do not know. I would like to think so.”

  “Let’s have dinner? You can continue your research when we finish.”

  She felt her stomach gurgle and she agreed.

  “Yeah come on. I'll tell you how I got down here.”

  IV

  It was almost 7 p.m. when Isabel got home. She spent all afternoon in the beauty salon getting ready for dinner with Luke.

  She looked like new. She made a radical change and it felt great.

  While she was in the beauty salon, she called her favorite dressmaker and begged her to send her a great dress for tonight. As expected, she sent her a beautiful red dress that was very sexy.

  She took out the black lace lingerie that drove Luke crazy and laid it on the bed.

  She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, careful not to damage her new hairstyle. Then she began to get dressed.

  Her hands trembled but she kept smiling. It felt like her first date with Luke or the first time he held her in his arms.

  She could not be happier. She was full of hope that this would be a beginning. They could start from scratch.

  She smiled again.

  She took the dress from the protective plastic sheath and put it on. Next she put on her designer black stilettos and appraised her outfit in her closet mirror.

  It was perfect.

  She could hardly wait. For her finishing touch she added the perfume that Luke liked so much.

  There was still a little time left before he came to get her.

  She went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of red wine to help soothe her nerves.

  She could already imagine how it was going to go tonight. She felt like a teenager. She could swear she was floating on a cloud.

  They would dine at their favorite restaurant. They would ask for an aphrodisiac dessert that would awaken their desire and the evening would end with the ecstasy of them wrapped in the silky sheets that she had recently bought herself to have more pleasant dreams.

  She sighed deeply and felt the desire overtake her.

  She took another sip of her wine.

  She checked the time and it seemed strange that Luke had not arrived yet. He was extremely punctual and it was already 9:05 p.m.

  She went to put perfume in all the strategic places. Imagining the evening that she was going to have with her beloved, she had completely forgotten and that was a very important detail for Luke.

  She sprayed all the places where a pulse could be felt.

  9:10 p.m. She decided to touch up her lips.

  9:15 p.m. She began to worry.

  9:30 p.m. She decided to call Luke's cell phone.

  After two beeps the answering machine clicked on.

  She called again.

  Again the same.

  After several more times she began to panic.

  This was when it occurred to her to call him at home. The result was the same.

  She was convinced that something had happened to Luke.

  She took her purse and left the house.

  “Taxi!” She called, waving her hand at a passing taxi.

  The taxi stopped in front of her and she climbed in.

  “To 87th Street.”

  She would go to his office first. Maybe he got detained with something important in the conference room. There was no telephone in there. Surely that was it. That’s why he didn’t answer the ten times she had called his office.

  And the mobile... well, there were many reasons why a person doesn’t answer their cell phone.

  It's that simple.

  She paid the taxi driver and ran into the building.

  The office was locked so it was impossible to enter. She thought about going to the basement to see if Luke's car was still there.

  She couldn’t access the basement because she needed a special key.

  She pulled out her cell phone and called again.

  When no one answered, she decided that this was becoming an emergency so she immediately called Frank, Luke's partner.

  “Bella, it's good to hear from you,” Frank said cheerfully. He was the only one who called her Bella because he said her name was much prettier in Italian: Isabella.

  “Frank, hi, I hope you are doing well.”

  “Are you ok? You sound upset.”

  “No, I'm not fine.” Isabel was striding toward the street in search of another taxi to take her to Luke's.

  “What is it, Bella?” Frank sounded alarmed.

  “Do you know where Luke is?” she asked with desperation in her voice.

  “Yes, I just talked to him. He's at home.”

  Isabel stopped dead in her tracks. Her legs felt like gelatin. She began to tremble.

  “Did you talk to him on the phone?”

  “Yes” Frank answered doubtfully at her altered tone.

  “Thank you, Frank. Bye.”

  She disconnected the call without giving Frank time to say goodbye.

  She continuously called Luke’s cell until the taxi arrived in front of his building.

  She stormed into the building and decided she did not have time to wait for the elevator. When she reached Luke’s door, she called his cellphone again and heard it ring from inside.

  That's when she felt her world crumble.

  With a trembling hand she rang the doorbell.

  Luke opened the door and was surprised to see her there.

  He took in her image.

  And then he couldn’t hide the shame on his face.

  “I'm sorry, Isa.”

  “Why?”

  “I'm not sure this will work again, and I don’t want you to think things are what that’re not.”

  Luke could see Isabel's eyes light with fire.

  “Isa!” he shouted as she headed for the stairs. “I really don’t want to hurt you. I don’t know what I feel about you.”

  That was what broke Isabel’s patience or rather, what began the deterioration of her wonderful love for Luke.

  “Don’t worry, Luke,” she said, barely looking back, “you can decide to not feel anything for me because as of right now, I have decided to cut you out of my life. I never want to see you again.”

  Even though he followed her, she was quicker. She got into a taxi leaving behind the man she loved and broke her heart simultaneously.

  “Where to, Miss?” the taxi
driver asked.

  “To the airport-she would get on a plane that same day and pay a million dollars for a damn ticket.”

  ***

  “I'm sorry Miss Alcalá," the stewardess apologized once more. I did my best to get you on the 2 o'clock flight, but it did not work.”

  Isabel looked at the woman with a sad face. She knew she had lost a lot of time when she arrived at the airport door and had to tell the friendly taxi driver to take her home because she forgot her passport.

  “Did I tell you I'm willing to pay anything?” she asked the woman.

  “About thirty times, Miss, and the answer will remain the same.”

  Isabel snorted and decided to stop insisting. She realized the ticket office was about to lose patience with her.

  “Then when is the next flight?”

  “7 am. Replied the woman with a smile, and I have several seats available.”

  Isabel handed her a credit card.

  She checked her cell phone. It was about 1 a.m. Her plans were changing with the change of flight. She had planned to get there, to board the flight at 2 am, put on a mask and sink into her seat to cry for nine hours. She would not have to explain anything to anyone, because yes, they would be looking at her like she was crazy, but no one would bother her with stupid questions and ridiculous sermons.

  No matter how well deserved they were!

  She thought about Johanna.

  She had to call her and apologize.

  The stewardess handed her the ticket and the rest of the information as Isabel dialed her friend's number.

  “I should not answer you and you know it.”

  A very awake Johanna answered.

  Isabel was silent. She was struggling desperately to swallow the damn lump she had lodged in her throat since she left Luke’s house.

  “Are you all right, Isa?”

  “I am dressed to kill,” she answered in a trembling voice, “and my heart is dead.”

  “Oh, my friend! I told you so,” Johanna said angrily, “Where are you? Do you need to get it off your chest?”

  “No, Jo. Thank you. Actually, I do but I made a decision and I don’t want you to come here at this hour. I'll be getting on a plane at 7 am and I promise to call you when I get to the ranch.”