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SUNSET BEACH
Antonio leaned over brushing Gabi’s cheek with his hand. She had fallen sound asleep as soon as they left the cabin. "Sweetie, wake up. We’re home." Gabi smiled sweetly as she opened her eyes. "We’re here, Gabi." Gabi turned to see their new home. The building was just a block away from the beach. It looked nice from the outside with balconies outside each apartment and a nicely kept courtyard with a fountain in the middle. Antonio helped Gabi out of the car. "Welcome home, Mrs. Torres," he smiled as he kissed her on the cheek. He took her hand and led her through the courtyard to their apartment. After unlocking the door, he swooped Gabi up into his arms. "We have to do this right," he said matter-of-factly. Antonio pushed the door open with his foot, kissing his wife as he carried her across the threshold. Gabi looked around to find a comfortably furnished apartment before her. The living room was a nice size with a couch and loveseat facing an entertainment center with TV, stereo and VCR. Sliding glass door off the living room opened to the balcony. To the right of the living room was a small dining room with an oak table and chairs. Off the dining room was a decent size kitchen complete with dishwasher, microwave, stove and refrigerator. A hallway off the living room brought Gabi past one bathroom on the right and to two bedrooms at the end of the hall. The bedroom on the left was empty. The master bedroom was fully furnished with a king size four-post oak bed, remarkably similar to the one at the cabin. The bedroom had a dresser, nightstands, a walk-in closet and master bathroom. Gabi opened the door to the closet finding it full of all her clothes and shoes. She turned to Antonio with a look of astonishment. "Don’t look at me. You have Maria to thank for all this. I just picked out the apartment, Maria furnished it and picked up all your things. I hope you like it," Antonio said eagerly. Gabi threw her arms around his neck. "I love it, and I love you, Antonio." She pulled him down to meet her lips. Their kiss quickly became passionate as Antonio led her backwards to the bed. Gabi lay down as Antonio gave her a seductive grin and began to lower himself on to the bed when the doorbell rang. "Aaggh!" he called out flopping himself down next to her. "Let’s pretend were not here. Maybe they’ll go away." Gabi jumped off the bed. "Antonio! We can’t do that. Remember, your car is right outside." She patted Antonio’s leg and headed out of the room. "I won’t forget this," Antonio called after her as she turned the corner. Gabi straightened herself out before opening the door to find Maria. "Maria! I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you, thank you for all that you’ve done here. I love it," Gabi was rambling on as Antonio walked up behind her. "Hi, Maria." He immediately sensed his sister’s disposition. "Maria, what’s going on?" Maria stepped into the apartment as Gabi closed the door behind her. "Did you two have a nice time, as if I need to ask?" Maria chuckled as Antonio and Gabi stood with their arms around each other. Antonio leaned to kiss Gabi on the nose. "Yes, it was wonderful," Gabi said grinning. "Maria?" Antonio said quizzically. "Is something wrong?" Maria stood quietly, not wanting to bring Antonio and Gabi’s moods down. "It’s Ricardo." Antonio and Gabi felt a pang of uneasiness at Maria’s tone. "He’s gone, Antonio." "What do you mean, gone?" Antonio was confused. "He left, Antonio. The day after your wedding, I went to the loft to see how he was doing." She paused trying to decide whether to tell them. "He found out about the wedding, Antonio, from mama. He was in the back of the chapel watching the whole ceremony." Gabi closed her eyes imagining what it must have been like for him to watch her marry his brother. Antonio hung his head, "No." "I didn’t know, Antonio. I never saw him there. Mama called me the next morning to tell me that he was there. Anyway, I went to see how he was and his apartment was a mess. It looked like he had trashed the place, beer bottles were everywhere. Most of his clothes were gone from the closet and on the table I found an empty bottle of whisky and a smashed photograph and…" she stopped. "And what, Maria?" Antonio demanded. Maria looked to Gabi then back to Antonio. "Some bullets and his empty holster." Gabi head snapped to Antonio. He was staring at his sister, but Gabi could read the fear covering his face. "Antonio, you don’t think he…that he would do anything…" Gabi couldn’t finish her sentence. Antonio walked away from Gabi and Maria out onto the balcony. He leaned against the railing dropping his head. Gabi stood motionless next to Maria, she couldn’t breathe. Antonio was thinking the worst, she could feel it. And worst of all, he was blaming himself. ACAPULCO Ricardo sat at the high table under the cabana, the waiter had just dropped off a fresh beer. Ricardo tilted the icy cold bottle letting the beer slide down his throat. He had been in Acapulco almost a week, working on keeping a non-stop buzz. He recalled the morning at the loft...he had the gun in his hand, the cold metal touching his temple. He was staring at the photo of him and Gabi from the fourth of July party. He was ready to do it, ready to end his life over the loss of Gabi to his brother. His finger caressed the trigger, tears spilling down his cheeks for only the third or fourth time in his life. He closed his eyes, preparing to put himself out of his misery, when the phone rang. It jolted him out of his trance as he dropped the gun on the table shattering the picture frame before him. The answering machine picked up and he heard his mother’s voice calling out to him. "Mi hijo, are you there? Por favor, Ricardo, pick up the phone. I need to speak to you, Ricardo. Don't let her ruin you, mi hijo. Don’t let that whore take you away from everyone who loves you. Be strong, my son. The cards tell me you are hurting deeply, mi hijo. I know it hurts, Ricardo, but your pain will go away – in time. She will hurt your brother too, Ricardo. Si, he will not love her forever. I love you, mi hijo. Mama loves you." "He will not love her forever, he will not love her forever" echoed through Ricardo’s mind as he sat at the table peeling the label off his beer. His eyes wandered up the beach. An attractive woman with long, dark hair was strolling along the water in his direction. She looked so familiar…she looked like Gabi. He pulled his sunglasses down on his nose to get a better look. The woman turned and headed directly for his table. His heart began beating faster, he sat up taller in his chair. "Ricardo?" the woman called out from a few steps away. "Is that you?" Ricardo instantly recognized her. "Oh my God, Paula?" He stood from his chair as she stepped under his cabana. She was as beautiful as the last time he had seen her. "Paula, how long has it been?" "A long time, Ricardo, a long time." Her voice was soft as she smiled at him. "How are you? What are you doing here?" Ricardo looked down at the table, "I’m just taking a little R&R...what about you? What are you doing here?" Paula held out her left hand, "I’m on my honeymoon," she said proudly displaying a honking diamond wedding band. "Wow, congratulations," he said. Duh, that’s original, he told him himself. "Who’s the lucky guy?" he asked quickly. "He’s a doctor, actually. We met when I returned to El Paso after...when I left Sunset Beach." Paula dropped her eyes remembering the events leading up to her leaving. "I’m sorry, Paula, about everything. It was..." Ricardo couldn’t find the right words. "It was a long time ago, Ricardo. I’m sorry too." Paula was sincere. She had obviously moved on with her life and Ricardo was glad to see her happy. "So, how’s my sister?" The question tore through Ricardo’s heart like the bullet he almost put into his head. "She’s...well, she’s married now," Ricardo began reluctantly. "She’s married to...Antonio." "Wait, isn’t he a...wasn’t Antonio a priest?" Paula was stunned. "Yes, he WAS a priest. It’s a long story, do you want to sit down?" Ricardo offered. It was nice having Paula to talk to about this. She knew Antonio and she knew Gabi, all too well. Ricardo recounted the entire story to Paula who listened with her mouth hanging open most of the time. "I can’t believe she did that to you, Ricardo, and now she’s pregnant!" Paula rolled her eyes. "That poor baby," she paused. "I…I shouldn’t have said that." Ricardo shrugged off the comment. "So, where does that leave you, Ricardo?" Paula touched his hand lightly. She could see the pain this was causing him. Ricardo took a deep breath, "I still love her, Paula, after everything she’s put me through." Ricardo shook his head. "I want to kill Antonio, but I love her." Paula looked at her watch. "Oh, it’s getting so late." They had been talking for almost two hours. "Victor will be done golfing soon, I’ve got to get back to the hotel." Ricardo stood up as Paula gathered her beach bag. "It was great to see you, Paula. Really. And tell Victor I think he’s a lucky, lucky guy," Ricardo said sincerely. "Thank you, Ricardo." Paula leaned and kissed him on the cheek. She started to walk away when she suddenly stopped and turned back to Ricardo. "Ricardo, my sister managed to steal you away from me once. I bet I could have stolen you back, if I tried." Paula raised her eyebrows and smiled at him before she walked away. Ricardo sat back with a smile, taking a long swig of his beer. THE APARTMENT Gabi turned off the lights in the living room. Maria had gone awhile ago promising to call the minute she got any news about Ricardo. Antonio sat quietly on the balcony not having moved since he ventured out there. Gabi walked on to the balcony putting her hands softly on Antonio’s shoulders. "Antonio, why don’t you come to bed? It’s late." Gabi was worried about him. He hadn’t said a word since Maria’s news of Ricardo. "I’m not tired, why don’t you go ahead," he said without turning around. Gabi hesitated not wanting to leave him like this. "Antonio, it’s our first night here, I don’t want to go to bed without you." Antonio didn’t reply. "Maria said no one has heard anything good or bad. I’m sure he’s fine, Antonio." When Antonio still didn’t say anything, Gabi slowly turned and walked back into the apartment. She looked back at Antonio once before heading down the hall to the bedroom. Gabi quietly changed into her nightshirt and crawled into bed. It felt empty without Antonio lying next to her holding her tightly. It hadn’t taken her long to come to need having him beside her. She closed her eyes hoping to fall right to sleep. Gabi woke up a few hours later to find Antonio still had not come to bed. She rubbed her eyes as she climbed out of bed to see where he was. Turning the corner into the living room, she could see that he had moved inside and was sitting on the couch with his back to her. Antonio had turned on one of the lights and as she started toward him, she saw the rosary he received upon taking his vows clutched tightly in his hand. He was staring at it intently, fingering the beads. Gabi’s heart twisted seeing him in so much anguish over Ricardo’s mysterious disappearance. She knew he was torturing himself for whatever horrible thing might have happened to Ricardo. Gabi wanted to go to him, take him in her arms and tell him everything would be alright, but how could she convince him when she was so completely unsure herself. Silently, she turned around and went back to bed alone.
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