Amorous Goods: Scar Tissue

In and around all this activity they talked. This was normal, but naturally heightened since both Angelina and Marisol were there. But there was something off about it, thought Lina. It was usually happy and often teasing, but always loving. But tonight, there was a tension in the air. Especially from Mari. It was as if she was angry at Lina. This was not the atmosphere she wanted for Greg's first meeting with her family.

Lina looked nervously up at the large clock that hung above the kitchen side of the pass through. Dinner service had been running for half an hour. "Okay, Mamá, he'll be here soon, promise me you won't give him the third degree about his salary or how many children he wants to have."

"Children?" sobbed Marisol. "A man isn't enough, now you're bragging about children too? What about me, Lina? What about me?" Then the girl broke into tears and ran out the rear door.

Angelina stood there open-mouthed and stared as the door swung closed behind her sister. Finally, she turned back to find her aunt standing alongside her mother's stool. Ramona appeared sad, while Francesca was almost glaring at her.

"What the hell is going on?" demanded Lina. "I thought she, all of you, were glad that I have a new boyfriend. I thought you'd be happy for me. And now, what? She's jealous?"

"Of course she's upset with you," said her aunt. "You've managed to find happiness, to finally find yourself a really good man, but you won't share that with her? She, we, thought you loved your sister, Angelina. This is how you show it? Through selfishness?"

Lina felt like she'd stepped into an alternate universe, where up was down.

"Selfishness? Share it with her? What are you saying? I'm supposed to share my boyfriend with her? Or, I can't get a boyfriend for myself without also finding one for her." She narrowed her gaze to her mother. "Mamá," she said plaintively. "Qué pasa?"

Her mother's voice was sad, without the anger in her aunt's.

"Why are you keeping this secret, baby? Why won't you tell us how you did this? You know how hard it is for your sister. Why won't you share how you reached this happiness with her? Why won't you stop her suffering?"

"Her suffering? What suffering? Oh my God, did she breakup with a boy and thinks I'm rubbing Greg in her face? Nobody told me—"

"Oh, stop it!" barked Francesca. "Are you that mean? Because I know you're not that stupid. You have had this miracle done on your face that has allowed you to finally start walking around with confidence and led you into the most promising relationship of your life. And instead of sharing that miracle with Marisol, you're willing to let her continue walking around with the pain and shame of her acne. Don't you remember how bad it was when you were still a teenager?"

Lina froze. Of course. Of course they'd all noticed her skin clearing up. They'd been dropping hints about it for days, but the family rarely spoke plainly about the skin affliction that had so impacted both girls' lives since puberty. And if she'd finally found some miracle cure, why in the world wouldn't she share it with her sister, who was still suffering the active flare ups that Lina had finally begun to outgrow.

But they'd reversed the cause and effect. They thought she'd been able to catch Greg because she'd somehow gotten her skin problems resolved. Oh, God, how could she ever explain the reality? She still didn't rationally believe it herself, although her eyes and her heart told her the truth. Sure, Mamá, I can help Mari clear up her skin too. She just needs to let my boyfriend spray his bewitched sperm all over her face.

The silence that had hung in the air for almost 30 seconds was finally broken by a voice calling through the pass-through. It was a waitress.

"Lina, the special guest you've been waiting for is here. Since you seemed all tied up back here, I waved him over. Oh, here he is."

Next to her, a fit male form bent down and put his elbows on the pass-through shelf. "Thank you," he smiled to the waitress. The girl giggled and nodded and went back to the dining room.

Greg felt a little awkward when Lina didn't immediately acknowledge his presence, but he'd always been a confident guy, especially since puberty. He turned his bright, engaging smile on the three women staring at him and said, "Hi, I'm Gregorisch Bartak, and I was hoping to meet the ladies who bring the magic to Las Hermanas."

Author's Afterword

I hope you enjoyed this addition to the Amorous Goods catalogue; I always enjoy writing them. And yes, I admit to leaving both situations, at Las Hermanas and Amorous Goods, hanging even more than I usually do in my stories, but it just seemed to suit. Face it, fixing Dylan's scar with hallucinogenic cream would probably finally lead to the cousins hooking up, while resolving Marisol's problem with Greg's sperm introduces a whole 'nother set of circumstances. Both scenarios would have extended and sidetracked this story, so it's probably better they be left to the imagination or get their own stories. Any volunteers? 😉