Five years after loosing my wife my daughter and I went to my best friends wedding. But my world fell apart when he lifted the bride’s veil. While my daughter whispered to me, “”Daddy, why are you crying?”” “”, the bride looked me in the eyes… and in that instant, everything fell apart.
I never planned to go to that party. It was my colleague Marcos who dragged me, swearing that he would help me “”get out of the pothole.””
I had been working double shifts at work for weeks and my body looked like concrete.

“”One hour, nothing more,”” Marcos insisted, pushing me almost through the door of an apartment in the center of Madrid. “”Then you go home and you’re still a hermit.”” “”
Funny how the biggest moments always come when you least expect them.
The party was full of people who seemed to have lifted nothing heavier than a glass of wine. Me, with my worn jeans and my old T-shirt, feeling out of place.
But then I saw her. To Lucía.
She wasn’t supposed to be there either. Then I knew I had just gone to drop something off for a friend.
Our gazes met on the other side of the room and something clicked. Sparks, connection, whatever you wanna call it; I knew I wanted you to be part of my life.
“”Who is she? “”, I asked Mark, pointing my head to her.
He followed my gaze and lowered. “”Lucia. Don’t even try bro. Her family owns half of Madrid. “”
But I already walked towards her.
She smiled as he saw me come closer, and that smile hit me like a hammer.
“”I’m Javier”” I said, reaching out.
“”Lucia,”” she replied, with a soft but sure voice. Her hand was small in mine, but her grip was firm. “”You look as uncomfortable here as I am. “”
We talked for hours that night. It wasn’t what I expected (no daddy’s girl attitude, just warmth and genuine curiosity), and by the time I walked her to her car, I knew she was in trouble.
“”My parents would hate you,”” she said to me, as the moon illuminated her dark hair.
“”Is that a problem?”” “”, I asked.
He looked at me with eyes that seemed to be piercing me. “”Probably. But i think i dont care. “”
Six months later we got married. Her parents didn’t come to the wedding. They completely disinherited her: no inheritance, no family reunions, nothing.
But Lucía just shook my hand and said, “”I don’t care about the money.”” I only want you. “”
And for a while, it was enough.
Moved to a small 2 bedroom flat. I was working in the day and studying architectural design at night. Lucía got work in a gallery. We were happy, or so I thought.
Until Alma was born and something changed. The sparkle in Lucia’s eyes started to fade. She began to compare our life with the one she had left behind.
“”My college roommate just bought herself a house on the coast,”” she said one night while we ate macaroni in our tiny kitchen. Alma slept in her crib next to us.
“”How good,”” I replied, without raising my sight of the plans I was studying.
“”He invited us to go. I had to tell him we couldn’t afford it. “”
Her words struck me. “”We’re fine, Lucia. Things will get better. “”
“”When? “”, he asked, in a cutting voice. “”When does Alma go to college?”” When Do We Retire? I’m tired of waiting for the ‘best’ to come, Javier. “”
Arguments have become more frequent. He hated budgeting, despised our humble life.
“”This is not what I wanted,”” he said.
Like I cheated on her. Like love gotta pay the bills.
“”You knew who I was when you married me,”” I reminded him during an especially tough fight.
“”Maybe that was the mistake,”” he replied coldly. “”I thought by now you’d be more.”” “”
The next day, I came home early from work with flowers to surprise her. The house was quiet.
The suitcase and all its belongings were missing.
At the crib, I found a note:
“”I want a divorce. I’m sorry but our marriage was a mistake. Left Alma with Mrs. Martinez from the fifth. Keep her. “”
I’ve called her phone a hundred times No response. I went to her parents’ mansion, desperate, with blurred eyes.
The security guard wouldn’t let me pass.
“You’re not welcome here, sir,” he told me, almost sympathetic.
“”Please, I just need to talk to Lucia,”” I begged.
“”Lord, you have to go.”” “”
Two days later, the divorce papers came in. Lucía had renounced the homeland power of Alma. Her father’s lawyers handled everything with brutal efficiency.
Then came the final blow.
Six months after she left, I called her parents’ house for the last time.
“”She’s d:ead,”” his mother told me in a flat voice. “”Lucia was in a car ac:cident. Don’t call no more. You meant nothing to her. “”
She hung up.
I collapsed on the kitchen floor, crying until Alma woke up crying too.
They wont even let me see his grave. Deleted her from my life like she never existed.
I gave myself to work and to raise Alma. Finished my studies and started designing homes instead of just building them. People noticed my talent.
In three years, I already had my own company. Alma grew up to be a smart and happy girl, just like her mother.
Five years have passed. Life went on and the pain became a gentle heartbeat.
Until the invitation came.
Esteban, my best friend for years, was getting married. We lost touch after he enlisted in the Army, but now he wanted me at his wedding.
“”What do you think, Almita?”” Are we going to see Uncle Esteban get married?. “”, I asked while coloring.
“”Will there be cake? “”, he asked a serious question.
I laughed. “”Yes, a big and elegant one. “”
“”Let’s go then,”” he decided, returning to his drawing.
The wedding was at a beach resort, filled with white flowers and sea breeze. Esteban gave me a tight hug upon arrival.
“”Man, look at you! Such an achiever,”” he said, giving me a pat on the arm. “”And this preciousness…
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