Noemi

by

Katia N. Ruiz

CHAPTER SIX

Victoria pulled back and smiled down at her. "Jesus, can't you calm down with the bossiness? I'm not one of those people," She said jokingly. "I don't take orders." They both knew that Michaela's assertive nature aroused Victoria to the point of submission; something she'd never felt before.

Michaela slapped her arm gently. "Shut up." She said softly. "Now tell me about Noemí. Why is she so important to you?" Victoria studied her for a long time, trying to discern if Michaela was jealous or obsessive or any of those excuses she'd used before to get rid of one woman or another. All that she could come up with as she looked at her was that Michaela was wonderful. Oh my god, those lips! Victoria thought to herself as her gaze turned hot. "Tell me." Michaela said, smiling teasingly at the look in Victoria's eyes; she seemed genuinely curious about Noemí in the 'I want to know your life' kind of way.

"Well," Victoria whispered, reaching out and stroking Michaela's hair gently. "Noemí and I grew up practically together. My father is her father's best friend, and surprisingly, my mother is her mother's best friend." She sighed, and looked up at the reflections of the lights outside on the walls. "Dad is the NYPD commissioner, mom his secretary. Dad and Thomas have known each other for more than thirty years.

"I'm older than Noemí by about a year, but as soon as she was born, according to our parents, I was endeared by those eyes." She laughed softly. "We grew up right next to each other, next door neighbors. My parents still live in the next house, but they're on vacation right now. So we grew up together, went to Catholic girls' school together. We did so many things together to the other kids," She said with a small laugh. "We were the pranksters, everybody was scared of us. And we've never had a single fight with each other."

"Sounds wonderful," Michaela said with a tender kiss to the almost invisible cleft of Victoria's chin. She looked up at her and saw her smile fade. "What is it?"

Victoria's lips twisted as she thought about the events of years ago. "Well, everything was fine. It's just that Noemí has changed a lot, she's not the person she was five years ago." She paused and took a deep breath. Michaela waited silently, allowing her tell their tale at her own pace. "Almost eight years ago, I introduced her to Amelia, she was a fellow accountant. Beautiful, like a princess, and sweet and tender like a baby's butt." Michaela smiled at the comparison. "Noemí fell in love with her right away, and Amelia fell hard for Noemí too. They were so happy." Her voice broke and tears filled her eyes.

Michaela sat up and touched her cheek gently with a hand. She kissed away her tears and crooned gently in her ear. She felt Victoria's arms wind tightly around her. Victoria got a hold of herself and she cleared her throat to continue. "Well, they used to go away on the weekends, a lot, and I used to go with them sometimes. That last time I went with them, a group of us friends went together. It was Providence Town; we had the greatest time there. And when we were coming home, they were rammed by some asshole in a truck and they went down a ditch-"

Her voice broke again, and she cried the tears she never cried. Even when Noemí had been in the hospital, in a coma and very close to dying, Victoria's eyes had remained stoically dry. "Shit," She whispered after a few minutes, stiffening and pulling away from Michaela. She felt uneasy, never being one to cry in front of women that way, except maybe her mother and Noemí. She didn't like showing her vulnerability, but Michaela did that to her. She made Victoria feel vulnerable with her gentle care.

"Oh, baby, its okay." Michaela said, sensing the truth of her discomfort. "You don't have to hide anything from me." She lay down in her arms again, and felt Victoria reluctantly yield to her again. "Tell me the rest."

"Amelia was pregnant," Victoria sobbed, and couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes. She continued with the tears flowing freely, her voice breaking over and over: "Oh, God, they wanted that child practically from the beginning of their relationship, and I wanted it right with them. I wanted it just as badly, if not more. Because Noemí and I always promised each other that we would be each other's children's godmothers, and that would have been my godchild. It was our project, that baby."

"Oh, honey," Michaela whispered, tears of her own staining her cheeks.

"We were all so devastated," Victoria whispered back, trembling against her and crying. "Amelia and the baby died right away, and Noemí was stuck in that goddamn car for hours, pressed right against Amelia's body, almost dying herself. It was such an experience, God." She trembled even harder. "Three friends of ours were in my car. Noemí's car was a two-seater, and mine was bigger. All of us saw the accident happen, and I thought I'd lost my best friend! I almost went crazy."

She cried again, reliving the fear of that accident. "I lost her, kind of. She was almost dead when they could finally get her out of that car; she almost lost her right arm. She has this big scar on her arm from the dash crushing her to Amelia, and a big one on her left thigh from the car crumpling and pressing her from the left. Every time I see them, I remember. She's blind on her left eye because of the goddamn bastard!"

"Oh, baby." Michaela whispered, and held her tighter. "How is Noemí dealing with it?" She asked gently.

"She drinks," Victoria said shortly, shaking her head and pressing her face into Michaela's soft throat. "Exercises… and works herself to near exhaustion. She doesn't sleep, has nightmares every single time she closes her eyes."

"She talks to you about it?" Michaela asked, and sat up, brushing her fingers through Victoria's hair.

Victoria nodded and closed her eyes to the comforting feeling of Michaela's fingers in her hair. "Yes, not often, but she does." She whispered. "I have nightmares myself, from time to time. Of course, not as bad as hers, but I can swear I still see the car falling off into that ditch." She stayed quiet for a long moment, gazing into space. Then she suddenly pulled Michaela down and they forgot everything, as they once again lost their senses in one another.