The Truth Behind It All

Chapter 16

July 29-30, 2012

            Ana Marie steps inside her house, with heels in hand, ready to call it a day. When she notices that the door was unlocked.

            "Mom?" she calls out as she notices the luggage on the kitchen.

            "Ana Marie?" her mother appears from the hall in jeans and a pink blouse. "Where were you? I was surprised when I saw that you were out. What happened to you?"

            "What do you mean?" Ana Marie sits on the couch lifting her feet on the coffee table. "I went to a party, at Jose's house."

            Her mother seems baffled. "Why are you wet then?"

            She had forgotten about that. "Oh, the fire alarm went off, it was just a false alarm. How was your trip?"

            Her mother sits beside her. "Good, good."

            Ana Marie sees her distant gaze. "Mom, did something happen?"

            "No, nothing. Why do you ask?"

            "Mom, you can't lie to me."

            She takes a deep breath. "You are right. I broke it off."

            Ana Marie fakes shock; her mother was always the one to break up with her boyfriends.

            "He just wasn't the one you know?" her mother continued.

            "Sure, maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

            Her mother turns to look at her tenderly, and Ana Marie knew what was coming.

            "Have you ever considered settling? Get married, maybe?"

            Ana Marie rises and walks towards the kitchen, trying to fight a smile. "Sure I have."

            "Yeah? You've met anyone?"

            "Not exactly," she says as she goes through the unopened mail on the counter.

            "What does that mean?" her mother asks with amusement.

            It means Adam isn't dead and we are engaged, she thought, but she replies, "Nothing." She sets some bills on the table, a few magazines but a specific envelope catches her attention. "Mom? Who's Karla?"

            Her mother stands and approaches her. "Who?"

            "Karla Perez." Ana Marie turns the envelope in her hand. "From Bogota, Colombia, it seems," she adds as she sees the familiar stamp.

            Her mother grabs the envelope rapidly. "Oh, she is a friend, well, your father's friend."

            "How did you two meet?"

            "Oh, just one of the many flights I was on as a stewardess, that's all. We write to each other every once in a while." She stretches her arms. "I am tired, I'll just take the letter to my study, okay? Good night." She kisses her forehead and walks away.

            Her reaction was impossible to miss. Ana Marie knew she was lying and she didn't like it.

            In the middle of the night, Ana Marie decides to sneak into her mother's study, the uncertainty was enabling her to sleep. She walked slowly down the hall and entered the study rapidly but quietly. She opens the curtains allowing the moonlight to brighten the room. She starts with the desk, because that's where her mother kept the important documents, and Ana Marie knew the letter was important enough to make her react the way she did.