We Found Love

THREE

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She could be doing something else but she's here staring, at the white wall, probably about to get high with the sterile smell of the hallway.

She could have finished doing the laundry by now.

But no. She's here waiting outside while her wife cried out in the next room. She's here counting how many times the fluorescent light blinked at the end of the hallway while her wife yelled profanities like a thug.

She could have finished a chapter in her current fantasy thriller by now.

But no. She's here sitting next to a restless old woman, yapping about her retirement home and healthcare provider. She's here sitting watching as both patients and medical practitioners alike pass by.

She could have been in Australia by now feeding kangaroos had she not married her ex.

But no. This is her life now. An expectant mother about to meet her newborn son. A wife to a woman she is not in love with but cares for and respects nonetheless.

She should have accepted that by now.

"Motherfucker son of a useless toad, this shit hurts!! Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

Lisa bellows, and it echoes beyond walls. Probably beyond the building itself. The passers by stopped to look at the closed door but carried on with their life after a second.

Camila remained stoic in her seat. She kept counting the blinks of the flourescent light at the end of the hall. Lisa has quite the potty mouth, but then again, Camila seems to be attracted to potty mouths since all of her exes were a bunch foul-mouthed, sex crazed individuals.

Maybe she should get inside, offer some comfort and support. It's the right thing to do. It's what any decent person would do. But time ticked by and Camila couldn't bring her ass off that seat. Perhaps she isn't exactly a decent person afterall.

Throughout her marriage to Lisa, she's been apathetic. She went through the motions of her daily life not feeling anything but trapped. She wrote drafts after drafts of story plots and it all felt bland, it was a shame to submit it to any willing editors. She took a job teaching high school kids about creative writing but doesn't much feel so creative herself. But then she needs the pay to provide for her wife's never ending demands, so she's gonna wing it.

She could have touched her trust fund but opted to spend her savings instead. She just couldn't let go of her stupid dream of going on a trip to Australia only to feed kangaroos and she would definitely need cash for that. Her dad insisted on paying all the expenses for the wedding in Miami and the festivities that ensued in Cojimar, saying it's a gift, so she can keep both her personal savings and trust fund for future use. She appreciated it very much but she would have appreciated it even more had she enjoyed all the fuss wholeheartedly.

Now, all of her savings, all the way from the first job she got in her uncle's autorepair shop when she was fifteen to her job today at Jacksonville High School as a teacher now that she's twenty four, are soon to be drained to the last penny.

Lisa is so used to a lavish lifestyle, being born and raised in a wealthy family. Her father is a successful businessman whose story of rags to riches is known all over Cuba. He was just once a boy who sells cigarettes on the streets of Cojimar, now he sells authentic Cuban cigars and authentic Cuban rum all over the world, with a price of gold. And with all of his profits, he indulged his only child with every luxury imaginable. Thus Lisa grew up not settling for frugality at all. She perpetually complained at the smallest infraction, always demanding for something costly.