City of Ronda.
Dulcina Calvo went to work at the community hospital after a long sleepless night.
Instead, at the entrance to the medical station, they met Esteban Zaragosa.
He stood by the car, smoking a cigarette, as if waiting for her on purpose.
She automatically tried to ignore him, Esteban Zaragosa had put out his cigarette and came striding over to block her way.
“What are you doing, you’re in my way.”
Esteban Zaragosa’s voice was muffled as he looked at her: “Why did you run yesterday, didn’t I tell you to wait for me?
Dulcina Calvo bit her lip and lowered her face, afraid to look him in the eye for fear of not being able to hold her ground.
“Why should I listen to you and wait for you, when I have nothing more to do with you?”
Esteban Zaragosa frowned a little, with a hint of annoyance under his eyes, as he looked over to where she worked and said, “It’s all right to be angry with me, but why did you quit your job at the hospital? What you’ve learned, even what I’ve taught you, won’t be of any use to you in a small medical practice like this.”
To put it bluntly, Dulcina Calvo is overqualified to stay and work here.
Dulcina Calvo clasped her hands, “I don’t want to be too far away from my parents and I am very happy working here.”
With that, she was about to round him up and head for the medical station when Esteban Zaragosa grabbed her by the wrist, “Really?”
“Let go of me, I don’t want to pull strings with you here.”
It’s not good to be seen in this town, with all the people you know coming and going.
“Dulcina, will you come back to me?”
“I don’t…”
As soon as the words were uttered, a sharp, piercing middle-aged female voice suddenly rang out.
“Dulcina, you’re good, I mean, you don’t look at my nephew and now you’re hugging another man in front of the hospital!”
Dulcina Calvo was stunned and hurried to look at the source of the sound, “Aunt Eugenio…”
She tried to push Esteban Zaragosa away, but the man held her tighter, with strong, thin arms, chaining her in his embrace.
The man’s dark eyes turned sharply toward Eugenio Olivar.
Eugenio Olivar flinched at the force of Esteban Zaragosa’s presence, but that did not stop him from standing up for his nephew Guido Escobar.
“Are you Dulcina Calvo’s jianfu?”
Dulcina Calvo’s brow furrowed at the word jianfu: “Aunt Eugenio, what are you talking about?”.
“I’m wrong, Dulcina, you’re a good girl, but I didn’t expect you to have such a promiscuous life outside the house. You are a great disappointment to your aunt.”
Esteban Zaragosa had a cold glint in his eye, “Your nephew is not good enough for Dulcina. ”
Dulcina unconsciously looked at Esteban Zaragosa, who said this with a serious and earnest expression.
Eugenio Olivar flew into a rage, pointing at Esteban Zaragosa and Dulcina Calvo and cursing, “How can you be justified as a couple of jiangas? I was blind to think you were so kind as to introduce my nephew to a girl like you.”
Dulcina Calvo, who had been scolded, and scolded unjustly, naturally couldn’t stand it and said with reddened eyes, “I’m surprised your nephew could find a girlfriend for a strange guy like that!”
“Little girl, what did you say!”
Eugenio Olivar was about to grab Dulcina Calvo by the hair as if she were a harpy, but Esteban Zaragosa had already taken the girl in his arms and was gripping Eugenio Olivar’s arm tightly. “I don’t want to hit women, so you’d better behave yourself. ”
“You!”
Eugenio Olivar was angry, but he feared that Esteban Zaragosa would really hit him, for this man, after all, did not look like a man to be trifled with.
Eugenio Olivar, who seemed to be addressing the people, merely sat on his backside and shouted, accusingly, “Come and judge me, all of you! These two men are bullying me! How dare they threaten me! They even said they would beat me up! Do you think there is any justice left in this world? This woman betrayed my nephew and the next day she was with this man! I’m so sorry for my nephew!”
Dulcina Calvo’s heart burst with rage: “Aunt Eugenio, that’s an indiscriminate way of putting it! When have I ever been with your nephew? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Eugenio Olivar’s ability to play with the audience was superb and soon attracted many onlookers, pointing out Esteban Zaragosa and Dulcina Calvo.
Esteban Zaragosa put his arm around Dulcina Calvo and got into the car.
…
The car came to an isolated boulevard, where the road was deserted and the car was parked on the shoulder.
Sunlight streams through the leafy, mottled foliage and wraps around Dulcina Calvo’s small, white face.
Dulcina Calvo sat in the passenger seat, tilted her head slightly, fiddled with her small hands and said, “I’m sorry.”
He was such a proud man that he would surround himself with people and be singled out.
Esteban Zaragosa reached over and rubbed his little head, “What nonsense, if he hadn’t suddenly appeared yesterday, we wouldn’t have come to this.”
Dulcina Calvo remains silent and does not speak.
Esteban Zaragosa continued, “Even if you hold a grudge against me in your heart, don’t go on a blind date with a man who is not trustworthy like him, promise me, okay?”
If she hadn’t been there yesterday, that Guido Escobar would have harassed her.
If something were to happen, how could I pay for it.
“I didn’t mean to piss you off by going on a blind date with him, my mother made me do it.”
It is also true that if she had stayed here, her family and neighbors would have continued to introduce her to people. Esteban Zaragosa really wanted to hide her in his heart, so that no one could see her or find her.
With a large hand, he picked it up from the passenger side.
Dulcina Calvo groaned, already sitting on Esteban Zaragosa’s lap, her back against the steering wheel, an uncomfortable position, but one that trapped her so tightly that she could neither move nor struggle.
Small hands, resting against his chest, watery eyes looking at him defensively….
Esteban Zaragosa’s large hand cupped the back of her neck and rested his head against her forehead, saying in a deep voice, “I’m not comfortable with you staying here, do you want to come back to La Ciudad Santa with me?”
What if her parents also think she is wrong, and if that Eugenio Olivar and Guido Escobar start messing with her again, and she has no one to help her?
But Esteban Zaragosa, who could not see the girl he cherished so much, suffer even a little.
I was sorry and sorry enough for having made her jump through hoops the other day because of that marriage certificate she had with Claudio Belles.
“I definitely want to live here in the future, The Holy City is not for me.”
“What do you mean it’s not suitable?” Esteban Zaragosa’s thin lips came closer and he couldn’t resist kissing her on the lips.
Dulcina Calvo unconsciously took a step back, but the back of her neck was in his firm grip and there was no way to avoid it.
His ears reddened slightly, why was he kissing her as he spoke?
Dulcina Calvo’s brain short-circuited for a few seconds and she said with special justification, “It’s so expensive in town, the rent is high and my parents are away, it’s uncomfortable everywhere…”
She was just trying to find some excuses to postpone Esteban Zaragosa’s offer for the moment, but who knew what the man would say next?
“If you want to, move in with me, and if you feel overwhelmed, you can pay me rent, and as for what you say about mom and dad being gone, I can send you to see them every week if you want.”
“…”