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The sun was just coming up as Antonio sat alone on the deserted beach. His head ached almost as much as his heart. He had replayed his fight with Gabi over and over all night. He wanted to run after her, but was afraid of where he might find her. The waves rolled up just touching his feet. He needed someone to talk to…
Antonio rang the bell and waited anxiously for the door to open. He knew it was early, but Maria was always up with the sun. "Antonio?" Maria said with surprise as she opened the door. Antonio rushed in without hesitation. "Maria, I’m sorry to come so early, I just didn’t know where to go…" "Antonio..." Maria tried to interrupt him. "It’s Gabi, Maria. We had this terrible fight. I accused her of...I said a lot of really bad things that I didn’t mean," he was rambling as Maria tried once again to get his attention. "Antonio!" "She was with Ricardo, Maria and I just completely lost it. After the way things have been lately, she wouldn’t talk to me, but she confided in him. It killed me, Maria. She packed a bag and walked out. I asked her if she was going to him and she didn’t answer me. I think I pushed her to him…I think…" Maria grabbed her brother by his strong shoulders. "She’s here, Antonio," she blurted out before he had a chance to get going again. "She’s here? Oh my God, when she went with him to dinner, and then the way she was acting and she wouldn’t answer me…" Antonio shook his head as he rubbed his temples. "Where is she, Maria? I have to see her." Antonio started for the stairs. "No, Antonio," Maria said boldly. Antonio had never heard his sister speak to him that way before. He turned to face her. "No. Gabi was very upset last night. She finally fell asleep just a couple of hours ago and she needs to rest. Come into the kitchen with me, I’ll make you some coffee." "Maria, I have to see her...I have to apologize," his voice was filled with regret. "No, Antonio," Maria grabbed his arm. "You’re not going to see her until you calm down. Come on." She dragged him into the kitchen. Antonio sat down heavily in the chair. He was exhausted after last night and was now feeling an enormous amount of guilt for thinking Gabi would actually go to Ricardo. Maria placed the hot coffee in front of him. "Now, Antonio. Tell me what happened. Gabi was too upset to talk when she got here last night. All I managed to get out of her was that the two of you exchanged some nasty words and that she slapped you and left." Maria studied her brother’s face. "Gabi and I have been having some problems. She has been so distant since Michael’s death. She wouldn’t let me help her, Maria. I know she was dealing with all kinds of different emotions, so was I. We kept getting into it over the stupidest things." Antonio looked sadly at his sister. "It really went out of control when we had this big fight where she told me I blamed her for losing Michael and that she blamed herself for not being enough of a woman to carry him to term." "Antonio, that’s not true." Maria touched Antonio’s arm. "Gabi knows you don’t blame her." "No, she doesn’t Maria. I told her I didn’t, but she wouldn’t believe me. She told me to stop being a priest, that I wasn’t a priest anymore and I couldn’t help her by explaining God’s will." "Oh, Antonio..." "Then we really stopped talking. We both avoided each other as much as we could," Antonio said remorsefully. "She went back to work, I spent more and more time at The Deep." "I had no idea things had gotten so bad," Maria said softly. "And then, when Ricardo didn’t show up last night, I called the station and Spence told me that Gabi and Ricardo had left together a while before. I flipped Maria. Every ounce of me became enraged with jealousy," Antonio admitted. "After I left, I went home to wait for her. She didn’t get home until after midnight and when I saw her, all I could see was her with Ricardo doing…God knows what." "Antonio!" Maria scolded him. "How could you think anything would happen between them? You know how much Gabi loves you." "I don’t know, Maria." Antonio shook his head miserably. "I don’t know. I just kept remembering how Gabi and I fell in love behind Ricardo’s back and I just…I…I accused her of…" his voice trailed off. "Of what, Antonio?" Maria raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, Maria, I asked her if she was taking a shower to hide something...to wash away her guilt." Antonio hung his head. Maria didn’t respond. She had never known Antonio to be cruel to anyone, ever. And for him to act that way towards Gabi, she just couldn’t understand. They both sat quietly for a few minutes. "I have to go talk to her Maria. I can’t lose her over this." Antonio started to stand from the table. "I know I was wrong." "Antonio, I know this is hard, but I think you should let Gabi be for now." Maria could see Antonio disagreed. "She’s upset, Antonio. She was very hurt by what happened last night." Antonio’s eyes stung with tears. "Don’t worry, Antonio, she came here, she didn’t go to Ricardo. She needs time, you both need time, to calm down and think things through." Antonio wanted to see Gabi, to take her in his arms and tell her he loved her and he was so sorry, but he knew Maria was right. He had overreacted and if he pushed her now, he might really push her away forever. "Will you tell her I came, Maria? I don’t want her to think that I just let her go." Maria’s heart broke hearing the despair in Antonio’s voice. "I need her to know that I love her and I’m sorry." "I will, Antonio. I promise I will." Maria grabbed his hand tightly. "You two are meant to be together, Antonio. You will be again." Maria smiled at him. "You need to go home and get some sleep. No offense, but you look terrible." Antonio nodded. "I’ll call you later to see how she’s doing." He stood up to leave. "Take care of her, Maria, for me." Maria hugged her brother tightly before he reluctantly left. Maria headed upstairs to wake Gabi. She had called the station to tell them Gabi was sick and wouldn’t be in. She carried a tray with some toast and coffee even though it was well past lunch. Maria knocked softly on Gabi’s door. "Gabi, are you up?" Maria entered slowly to find Gabi sitting on the cushioned window seat staring out to the ocean. "Did you sleep much?" Gabi sighed heavily. "A little." She turned as Maria offered her the steaming mug. "Thank you, Maria, thank you for letting me stay here last night." Gabi’s voice was quiet. "Gabi, you know you can stay here as long as you like." Maria touched her shoulder gently. "Antonio came by this morning." Gabi was noticibly shaken. "What did you tell him?" "I told him you were here and that you were sleeping. He wanted to come up to see you, but I told him you needed to rest." "Thank you, Maria," Gabi said sadly taking a sip of her coffee. She was trying to hide the tears, but Maria could see them dotting the corners of her eyes. "He loves you very much, Gabi," Maria offered diplomatically. "He’s really upset about last night." "He should be," Gabi said flatly. "He was way out of line." "I know, Gabi. He told me what happened." Maria took Gabi’s hand as she began to cry. "I told him that you both need time to think about things. You need to decide…if you can work it out." Maria paused. "Can you…work it out, Gabi?" "I don’t know, Maria. I don’t know." Gabi was trembling as tears spilled from her eyes. Maria sat with Gabi for a long time trying to comfort her as best she could. She stood to leave Gabi alone. "What you really need to decide, Gabi, is if you want to work it out." Maria turned and left the room closing the door behind her. Gabi glanced back to the ocean, the waves pushing the surfers towards the shore. She remembered one of the first times she saw Antonio surfing. He climbed out of the water in his blue trunks, water beading on his muscular chest. She made some remark about a priest surfing and he gave her an adorable smile. Her heart warmed even now recalling the moment. Gabi loved Antonio more than she had ever loved anyone, and more than she would ever love anyone again, except for Michael. Gabi hugged her knees tightly to her chest. THE STATION Ricardo was looking everywhere for Gabi. He wanted to tell her again what a good time he had last night. "Hey, Spence," Ricardo called from his office. "Have you seen Gabi?" Spence poked his head in the door. "No, Maria called this morning and said Gabi was sick." "Maria?" Ricardo said with surprise. "Yeah, Maria. You know, your sister?" Spence replied with a smile. "Yes, I know," Ricardo said smugly. "Thanks!" Ricardo sat back in his chair. Maria called in sick for Gabi, hmmm. His mind started churning with explanations. He quickly picked up the phone. "Hello?" Maria’s cheery voice answered. "Maria, it’s Ricardo. Spence told me that you called in for Gabi this morning," he tried not to sound too obvious. "Is everything okay?" "Yes, Ricardo." Maria didn’t want to get into this with him. "Gabi is staying with Ben and I for awhile." "Really?" Ricardo tempered his enthusiasm. "What happened, I mean, where’s Antonio?" "I really can’t get into it, Ricardo," Maria employed her usual diplomacy. "This is between Antonio and Gabi, it’s none of our business." "Sure, Maria. I was just concerned, you know. For T’s sake." Maria wasn’t buying his story, she knew Ricardo still had feelings for Gabi. "I have to go, Ricardo. Benjy is using the fish tank for a fishing tournament." "Okay, Maria," Ricardo laughed at his nephew’s creativity. "Tell Gabi I hope she’s feeling better." He hung up quickly. It couldn’t be this easy, he told himself. His mother’s prediction flashed through his mind, "He won’t love her forever." "Forever is sure getting a lot shorter these days," Ricardo muttered to himself with a smile. BEN & MARIA’S Gabi made her way slowly down the stairs. Maria was sitting with Benjy on the couch. "Hi, Aunt Gabi," Benjy chirped. "Want to see my new fire truck?" He rushed over to her with his bright red toy. "That’s very nice, Benjy," Gabi said patting his head. "Would you mind if I talked to your mommy alone for a minute?" Benjy shook his head quickly and ran up the stairs. Gabi sat gently on the couch next to Maria. Maria looked at Gabi’s puffy, bloodshot eyes. "Maria, I can’t stay here." "Sure you can, Gabi, for as long as you like," Maria touched Gabi’s hand. The two women had become close friends since Gabi came back to Sunset Beach to take care of Antonio. Maria loved her like a sister. "No, Maria," Gabi said softly. "It’s too close here. Antonio is too close here." Gabi dropped her eyes. "Where will you go, Gabi?" Maria didn’t want to push her, but she knew Antonio would be devastated if Gabi left town. "I was wondering if you and Ben would mind if I went to Palm Springs for a few days...to the casita." Gabi was embarrassed to ask, she hated to take advantage. "I just need to be alone, Maria. Completely alone." Maria smiled. "That would be fine with us, Gabi. Of course you can." She was glad Gabi wasn’t running too far. "Thank you, Maria. I just can’t be here now...not so close to Antonio and not at work with Ricardo." Maria understood what Gabi was going through, she had felt the same kind of pain living in the same house with Ben and Meg. "I’ve got my things together and I’d like to leave right away." "Gabi, what about Antonio?" Maria asked carefully. "When he finds out you left, he’s going to be very worried." "Please don’t tell him where I went," Gabi pleaded. "Would you do that for me?" Maria shook her head without answering. She knew her little brother would not let Gabi go without a fight, and she desperately wanted Gabi and Antonio back together. She wouldn’t tell Antonio where Gabi went, but she could certainly help him figure it out on his own. "Thank you, Maria." Gabi hugged her tightly. Maria fetched the keys to the casita and wrote down directions for her. Gabi headed upstairs and gathered her things. She was on the road within the hour. "Mommy, Uncle Antonio is here!" Benjy yelled at the top of his lungs. "Come on in Uncle T." Antonio smiled at his nephew as he walked into the living room. Maria came bounding down the stairs. "Antonio, I thought you said you would call to check on Gabi," Maria wasn’t surprised to see him, however. She was amazed he had stayed away the entire day. "I couldn’t stay away, Maria. I can’t stand being away from her," Antonio was holding a large bouquet of flowers. "I have to get her back, Maria. I need to be with her." Maria walked to her brother’s side and smelled the beautiful flowers. "They’re wonderful, Antonio." She smiled at him. "But Gabi’s not here." The smile slipped quickly from Antonio’s mouth. "Where is she? Did she go to work?" He was secretly praying she wasn’t with Ricardo. "Where did she go, Maria?" Maria took a deep breath. "I promised her I wouldn’t tell you, Antonio. She wants to be alone." Oh, well…I tried, she thought. "Where is she, Maria?" His voice was growing more serious. "She went out of town, Antonio," Maria said simply. She could see her brother’s obvious frustration with her lack of information. "Out of town..." he tossed the flowers onto the table. "Why did you let her go, Maria? How could you just let her leave?" "She asked Ben and I for a favor, Antonio. I wasn’t about to chain her down and make her stay." Maria rolled her eyes at her brother. "If you really give it some thought, I think you would know the answer like you know the back of your PALM." Maria stared anxiously at Antonio. His eyes flashed with the realization. "Thank you, Maria," he hugged his sister tightly. "Thank you." He ran for the door absently leaving the flowers behind. Maria picked up the bouquet bringing it to her nose. "Your welcome," she smiled as she went to the kitchen for a vase. "Both of you."
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