"Right," I said, pulling her close. We hugged, and I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Get some rest. I’ll email you later."
Luisa stepped back, both of us having tears trickling down our cheeks as she turned and headed toward the checkpoint. She got in line, right behind an old lady, and was quickly three deep in the line. Only her height and her beautiful blonde hair let me watch as she made her way toward the metal detector.
Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. "Luisa! LUISA!"
I crutch-walked as fast as I could toward the checkpoint, continuing to call her name. I saw a TSA agent look up and step toward me, but suddenly, there was a commotion up front, and Luisa bulled her way out of line, her eyes alight as she ran the short distance to me. I pulled her in close, kissing her hard, our lips joining as she threw her arms around my neck. "Tomasso . . .”
"Luisa," I whispered, our foreheads touching. "Before you leave, I have to say it. I can't let you go without saying it."
"I love you," she said before I could get it out, laughing and crying at the same time. "I love you, Tomasso Bertoli."
"I love you, Luisa," I whispered back, laughing too. "Why'd you get to say it first?"
"It's good manners," she laughed, smiling again. "Ladies first. Besides, you don't want me bitching at you about it, do you?"
"No," I said, kissing her again. "I promise, somehow, we'll be together again. I'm not letting you go that easily."
An announcement came over the intercom that pre-boarding was starting for Luisa's flight, and she looked up. "Okay. I'll hold you to that. Or else, I’ll come back to Seattle and kick your ass."
"Okay. Get going, I'll email you," I said, letting her go. I went as far forward as I could, watching as she went through security and toward the gates. I watched for another minute before making my way to the window. I didn't know for sure. Things weren't like before 9/11 when you knew for sure which plane your loved one was on, but I kept watch until after the departure time, waving at each Delta airliner that lifted off the runway. When I was sure she was in the air, I reached into my pocket and texted Daniel, who met me in the drop-off zone.
"You look about a thousand percent better than you did an hour ago," he said as I sat down. "You okay?"
“We said what needed to be said," I replied simply. "Sometimes, that's all you need."
Chapter 18
Luisa
Porto Alegre was my home. I never wanted to go to Seattle, but I followed my father’s wishes. Now, I felt sick to my stomach as I returned to my homeland. As my Avianca flight descended on final approach toward Salgado Filho Airport, I had to chuckle under my breath at the irony. Then, I'd have given anything to be back in Porto Alegre. Now, I felt the same way about Seattle.
I was met at the gate by my brother, Vincente, who was the middle of my three brothers. There was Mateus, the youngest of the whole family, who was the military nut, and then there was Eduardo, the oldest of us all, although only four months older than me. That was the way my father had relationships with women, and something that I never liked.
"Luisa. Back safely, I see," Vincente said nonchalantly. "Your ass didn't get too fat, at least."
"Fuck off, Vincente. I'm not in the mood for your shit," I retorted. There was a reason I was such a bitch to men when I met them at first. My brothers were all brought up to think that they were superior to any woman and that they could order us around at will. It had been twenty-two long, hard years of fighting that perception that had, in addition to my heartbreak, caused me to be that way. It was either be a bitch and hold my own, or get trampled on. Vincente was the worst, but Eduardo wasn’t much better. "Where's your truck?"
"I got it, I got it. Shit, I thought spending some time with the Americans would have mellowed you out. Come on."
I rode in Vincente's truck back to our family home in Tres Figuerias, one of the neighborhoods of Porto Alegre. It's the family city-based home, with our larger home out in the countryside nearby. It was convenient for use when we were inside the city and had been in the family since the late nineteen sixties. Vincente pulled up to the house and parked, getting out and walking off, probably to go play video games or something. "Father's inside."
I watched him go and sighed. Vincente always had been the laziest of all of us. All he wanted to be was a gangster, and not in the good way, having watched far too many movies for his own good.
I got out of the truck and walked inside. “Father, I'm home," I greeted after knocking.
"My darling, so good to have you back!" he said, getting out of his seat and coming over, kissing me on both cheeks. "I missed having you around."