To Thine Own Self

"I'm sorry for your loss." Carmen said.

Senor Medena watched Alondra with troubled eyes. Like Alex, he tried to mask his emotions, but he wasn't near as good at it. Underneath that distant façade was a beating heart. It disturbed him deeply that one of his children was so distressed. Maybe there was a chance the situation could be resolved.

Carmen and Alex were given a room upstairs. It was nice to be near Alex with the air cleared of secrets. It would be nice to be at his side when he talked to Alondra, but at this point he probably felt she wasn't part of the family. Fair enough. What did a country hick know about proprieties anyway? Alondra would probably be more comfortable with someone sophisticated like Alex.

Carmen showered and donned a simple sheath dress and didn't ask Alex what they should wear. It didn't matter at this point anyway. Pulling the hair off her neck into a French roll, she used a few bejeweled clips and let it go at that. Makeup had always been more of a bother to her than anything else, so she didn't wear any.

Alex looked up from his paper when she came out of the bathroom. His scrutiny came back to her face and he smiled.

"You look very nice."

He stood and reached for her arm. "Shall we go down to dinner?"

He opened the door for her and they walked down the hall side by side, as if nothing had come between them. Of course, there was no reason to act hostile toward each other. No doubt he would rather his family didn't know about the rift in their relationship at this point. They had enough to worry about between Morino and Alondra.

At the table, when he pushed her chair in, Alex leaned over her and spoke softly.

"You smell heavenly."

It had to be the shampoo or soap, because she wasn't wearing perfume. Maybe it wasn't anything at all. He'd never tried to impress his family before, but that might be his purpose at this point. Whatever his reason, the attention was welcome.

She smiled at him over her shoulder. "Thank you."

After dinner, Alex told Alondra he wanted to talk to her privately. Felipa shot a nervous look at Senor Medena and then Carmen. As Alondra and Alex passed her, Alex dropped a hand to Carmen's shoulder.

"Would you like to come with us?"

Carmen glanced up at him to see if he was actually talking to her. His expression was barely short of pleading. She touched his hand and nodded.