Chapter 19: On Her Terms

Octavio stopped in front of Lorena with his coat over his arm.

"You're in my way, señora," he said, and the warmth had gone out of his voice.

"I know."

"Then step aside."

She stayed where she was.

He leaned toward her, so that only she could hear.

"Your family has been very generous with their copy," he said. "Ask your mother what else she gave me."

He went around her and out through the glass doors.

She let him go.

She stood there with her heart going hard and knew she would think about it tomorrow.

Tonight she had something else to do.

At eight o'clock she drove herself through the gates in Zapopan.

The house was lit from the ground floor up, and every window was open to the evening.

Ignacio was in the dining room.

The long table was set for two, at the near end, with their chairs side by side.

White roses stood in a glass bowl between the plates.

They were still wet from the florist's bucket.

"I bought them myself," he said from the doorway. "I came home at six. It's the first time."

"I know," she said. "I noticed."

She put her bag down on the chair.

"I'm changing the terms," she said.

His face went still.

"Tell me."

"There are no terms tonight. No rules, and no days."

She turned to face him.

"I haven't signed anything. I'm not here as anybody's replacement. I'm here because I chose to be."

"You were never a replacement," he said.

"Say it again."

"You were never a replacement, Lorena. You were the one I asked for."

She crossed the room.

She had not planned the next part, and she did it anyway.

She took his tie in her fist and walked him backward out of the dining room and up the stairs.

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