“And we haven’t said much as far as a date, but how about my birthday next year. June’s the perfect month; and I checked, the eleventh falls on a Saturday, so it’s perfect. What do you think?”
“I think that’s perfect because I get to roll your birthday and anniversary gift into one,” I joked.
She laughed and snatched her hand away playfully.
“Kidding. That sounds fine, though,” I said, retracting my statement.
Kira rolled her window down a little and then took my hand again. “And I think there are some kinks that we need to work out with the guest list early on just so we know we’re on the same page.” She hesitated. “I really think you should consider including your father.”
My mood soured just thinking about him. “Kira –“
“It’s just a suggestion,” she interrupted. “Promise not to push, but it’s something to consider.” While I sat silently thinking of all the reasons why I hated the idea, Kira spoke up again. “I’m even thinking about inviting Reina.”
I smashed my foot against the brake when we stopped at the red light. The severe look that I shot Kira gave her pause.
“It’s just something I was thinking about,” she practically whispered.
I couldn’t even wrap my mind around why she would even think of inviting her sister. She knew better than anyone how much I hated Reina. The few family gatherings that Reina made it into town from Miami to attend, I avoided those events like the plague, meaning I hadn’t seen or talked to her since that day I tossed her out of my dorm room. I preferred it this way.
“It’s not like I want her to be in the wedding….I just thought it’d be nice if she were present. Besides with her expecting the twins in January, there’s no way she’ll have all that weight off by then. And you and I both know, she’s not gonna stand up there in front of all those people if she doesn’t feel like she looks her best,” she added, followed by a nervous laugh.
None of those petty details mattered to me. All I know is, I didn’t even want her there – in it or not. I turned to face traffic again with nothing to say when the light turned green.
“I know you dislike her, but…AJ, it’s been years. Besides, it’s not like things didn’t work out eventually.” I wasn’t sure what she meant by that until she squeezed my hand and added, “I mean, depending on how you look at it, she’s kind of the reason you and I got together. So shouldn’t you be past all this?”
Shouldn’t I be past it?
Images flipped through my mind like a silent movie. I recalled that moment that I stepped out of my bathroom and found Reina naked in my room….and that look on Sam’s face as she jumped to the most plausible conclusion about what’d taken place. Next, I remembered the way Sam cried and screamed in the courtyard. Then I thought of each and every other event that transpired as a direct result of what Reina had done. If she hadn’t showed up, Sam wouldn’t have been out on her own and vulnerable, and Antonio….
“She’s not coming,” I asserted, trying to mask the anger that was currently boiling in my veins.
Kira released my hand. “Are you serious? Just like that? No discussion?”
“We just did discuss it and she’s not invited,” I added, feeling the tension in my jaw as Kira stared.
When she sat back in her seat, she sighed and rested on her fist while staring out the window. “I knew it,” she whispered to herself.
Initially, I started not to respond, but I changed my mind when she started shaking her head. “You knew what?”
Kira chuffed a breath through her nose and glanced down at her engagement ring. “That that was why you can’t let this thing with my sister go.”
I frowned. “What’re you talking about?”