Page 65 of Yours, Forever

She winked at me and replaced me at the counter. I got a few extra calzones rotos to replenish the ones already half-gone and, gripping my mug hard in my hand, I joined my husband and his friends.

These peacocks shook his feathers and hypnotized everyone with their bright colors. They were a reminder of Max's natural environment, one that I shouldn't delude myself into forgetting.

Max would remember one day where he truly belonged, and that wasn't in my small town. The day he remembered, he would leave, like so many had before him.

Max

Having my friends with me in Laguna Island lifted my spirits. My face was tired from smiling so much, and my lungs kept on infusing a bit too much oxygen into my blood. I was a bit high with it.

We had gone for dinner at Isla Negra the night before, where I ended up paying for a few rounds for everyone to toast my friends. The visitors had rented big luxe RVs to sleep in, which were currently parked at Enrique's property on a nearby farm. They hadn't made it back there until very late.

This morning, Lina's cousin had joined us for breakfast at rEvalution. Now all of us walked around the stands lining Avenida del Mar, part of what made Semana Lagunina unique.

The stroll took place sans my wife. It was the only thing weighing me down.

"Oh, this ring is gorgeous." Vi stopped by one of the stalls, full of jewelry of different kinds. "Did you make this?"

The rest of the group walked ahead, while I waited with Vi. The sun shone on us, making the metals, crystals, and stones glitter.

"Yes, it's all my own." The artist, a femme in her twenties, gave Vi her card. "I don't live in the town, but I come every year for the week."

"This is beautiful." I picked a pair of earrings in a blue stone. "Is this lapis lazuli?"

"Yes it is. Good eye!"

Lapis lázuli was a classic stone for jewelry in Chile; the blue with hints of white and gold was nostalgic to me. The design was simple, with a couple of stones in a silver setting, one larger than the other, like a planet and its satellite.

If I got them for Eva, would she like them? Wear them? She didn't wear her rings…

Heaviness set in my stomach. I glanced at my wedding band, black and copper on my finger.

"I'll take these," I told the seller.

Vi and I made our purchases as Jake and Javier showed up by our side. With our new pieces of jewelry in small, white paper bags, we continued our stroll.

Jake and Vi took the lead several steps ahead of Javier and I. A few clouds interrupted the blue skies, but it was a warm enough day. I sighed.

"You seem happy," Javier said.

"I mostly am."

"Mostly?"

"Eva doesn't think I fit in Laguna Island."

"Oh. Ouch."

"Ouch, indeed."

"Do you want to fit in?"

"No, I don't want tofit in. I would like to be welcome with open arms."

Someone I knew passed us by and waved at me. I waved back.

"I would say you're welcome." Javier smirked. "People know you. The way they acted around us last night, they love you here."

"I think they enjoy me enough. Some of it is because I'm bringing an influx of cash. Some of it is because of Eva."