La Mujer de Lalo (Lalo's Woman)

El bebe

Lalo strode to their table and took his seat opposite Ana.

"You're going to introduce your friends eh, Ignacio?"

Nacho didn't expect this dirtbag to join them. Hell, he had hoped that the two girls would have gone out by now and unnoticed by Lalo. Alas. They were all still there.

"This is my cousin, Ana Theresa Ruíz and that's her roommate Andrea Álvarez."

Lalo arched his eyebrows as he heard Nacho introduce the beautiful lady as his cousin. He didn't bother to listen to what he said after her name.

"Ah... Señorita, yo soy Eduardo. Mucho gusto." (Ah... miss, I'm Eduardo). Nice to meet you.) He held out his hands for her.

Ana was dumbstruck. This man would have probably been the last person she had expected to bump into in this place. And they way he flashed his pearly whites and held out her hand, she just couldn't refuse it. She swallowed and held out her hand.

"Mucho gusto, Señor." (Nice to meet you sir)

"Please, you can call me Lalo. We're all friends now eh?" he blurted out while laughing.

"So, what is Nacho unable to help you with? For such a beautiful woman, I'd do anything I can." He looked at Andrea and spoke. But the entire table knew whom he had meant. Ana blushed at his remark. She turned away from his eyes.

"It's nothing. Just a small setback in Andrea's relationship."

"Huh. Ok." He said.

"What? That's it? Ok?" Andrea thought. His attitude pissed her off.

"My scumbag boyfriend got me pregnant. And now he won't be with me saying I was cheating on him."

"Dios mío, so you girls want our Nacho here to teach the guy a lesson eh?" he casually talked as though he had known them for years.

"Um.. no, no, no. Nothing like that." Ana said. "It's just that, Nacho is kinda like acquainted with this guy, so we thought he would listen to Nacho."

"Mmm... is that so? Well, I'm an acquaintance of Nacho and therfore know everyone he knows. Tell me Ana, what's his name? I might be able to do something."

Ana looked at Nacho. He looked like he had seen a ghost. She could see him sweat profusely. He's scared. She had known him for a long time. And Nacho wasn't the kind of guy who gets scared easily. But right now, something bugged him. Was it Lalo? Or the boyfriend? Ana couldn't get the words out.

"Tuco Salamanca." Andrea finished it for her as she began to wail. Ana comforted her friend but looked up at Lalo to find that his face that was once radiant, funny and lively had become stern and deep. It gave her the creeps. His eyes were drilling into hers. As though scanning her mind to read what she was thinking.

Lalo rubbed his soul patch without lifting his eyes off Ana.

"Nacho, why don't you call my brother here and we can talk. Face to face. "

"Lalo, look man, we don't want any trouble. I really don't think he'd take any of this lightly." Nacho sounded desperate to prevent Tuco from coming to the restaurant.

"Brother?" Ana slowly said, almost like a whisper. "Tuco is your brother?"

"Are you seriously questioning me?" A part of Lalo's mind told.

"Cousin actually. Like you and Ignacio. He has a bit of a temper, but don't worry, he knows to whom to show it." As Lalo said these words, Ana realized that fear had started to build up inside. It was all her fault. If only she hadn't introduced Andrea to Nacho, they wouldn't have dated and broken up. Which means she wouldn't have had met Tuco and there would be no baby.

So many such thoughts ran inside her head. She felt dizzy. She held up her hand to her forehead and let out a big sigh. Lalo understood that she was crumbling under the pressure of getting caught in between. He poured out 2 glasses of water and passed them to the girls.