It took them about forty-five minutes to make it to Tanya's apartment. Natalia usually made it in thirty, but tonight she was meandering the city with a handsome stranger and she was honest enough to admit she wanted to drag out every minute.
She was shaking her head as she dug out her keys to open the door. "How can you not believe there are aliens?"
"I just don't believe in little green men."
"You seriously think we're alone in the entire universe?"
He did the lip twitching thing. "No, wouldn't go that far. I just don't think they've come here."
Ben was smart, a little sarcastic at times. Later, when Tanya asked her why she'd trusted him, she told her because he didn't look like he was interested in her. He didn't look he was interested in anyone at all.
None of the girls wearing the short-shorts that showed off their bums. The girls wearing straps dresses that ended mid thigh. Girls with long hair they flipped over their shoulders when they wanted to give him a look that said, 'What the hell are you doing with her when you can come away with me?'
Natalia wondered if the circumstances were different if she'd tell any of them he was only with her because he was desperate. Maybe desperate wasn't the right word, but out of his element for a few hours. No, she wouldn't tell any of these girls they could have him, even though wasn't anybody to him. He'd leave her in another hour or so. She would hold onto this moment of walking with a guy who looked like a dream but looked as if he'd survived a nightmare.
This moment was the only thing that belonged to her and she wasn't letting anyone else have it.
He didn't say anything about himself. The only concrete thing she knew was his name. A name she liked, by the way.
They turned onto her block. It was mostly empty now, save for a few guys laughing outside a bar.
She lifted her hair off her neck for a non-existent breeze. "It's possible we might have had aliens travel here. We might have been farther along in space travel if our evolutionary history had started much earlier."
"How so?" he asks giving me a curious look.
She shrugs. "Think about it. We got a chance to evolve because dinosaurs were wiped out. What if dinosaurs never existed and we'd evolved sooner? How much farther along would we be in space travel? Medicine? Cancer would've been cured thousands of years ago."
She noticed he wasn't walking next to her anymore so she turned around. He had stopped to stare at her.
"What?" She asked.
"I thought you were just a waitress."
"Nobody's just anything, Ben.
She took in his Italian leather shoes, his navy blue pants and dark, grey wool coat. He had money. Lots of it. Money was something Abuela taught her to respect. It can come and go, she said. Don't just be happy when you have it. Then, life is only worth living when you have it.
"How will I know when I've had enough," she'd asked Abuela.
Abuela stroked her cheek. "It might never be enough."
"But how will I know when I'm happy?"
"Do you think it should be when you have a roof over your head, food on the table and clothes on your back?"
"Maybe," I said, not knowing if it was the right answer.
Abuela shrugged. "Well then, I'd want you to steal."
"But you said I should never take something if it doesn't belong to me!"
"Si, that's true," she smiled widely. "But I don't want you to wait until you are comfortable. Even when life is hard, I'd want you to steal a moment of happiness. Promise me? Every day? You'll steal a moment."
"I promise, Abuela."
Now, a tear ran down Natalia's cheek. Abuela must've known back then the cancer was eating her stomach away. Natalia was grateful her Abuela tried to cram so much of her knowledge into Natalia in the two years while she was battling cancer. But still, as much as Natalia remembered how to live Abuela's way, she was still mad at the universe for taking her only living relative from her.
Ben touched her forearm lightly. "Are you okay?
Natalia swallowed and took a short breath before answering. "Yes, everything's good. My building's at the end of this block."
The brick building was one of those old New York buildings that shouldn't still be standing as it did when it was built decades ago. On either side of it, there were was a new building with new people who could afford to rent four or five times what she and Tanya paid. Soon, the their landlord was going to start pushing tenants out. At least that's what she thought, but Tanya swore to the heavens she wasn't going anywhere.
Who wanted to think about that reality? Where would they go?
She came up to the entrance and took out her phone to dial a number. "I just need a minute."
"I can wait out here--"
She put a finger to ask him to wait because the other person had picked up. "Antonio, are you home?"
"Natalia, baby. Yup, I'm home. You wanna come over? I brought home a bottle of wine that has your name on it."
Natalia rolled her eyes. "No, thanks! I just wanted to know if you were home because I'm bringing someone upstairs."
"You droppin' me?"
"I'm pretty sure you and I never got to the stage where I told you we had a chance."
He sighed. "Fine, bring him up. I'll be your watchdog."
He hung up and she smiled at Ben.
"Come on, let's go up. I can make you coffee or tea until your ride gets here."
"I'm not going upstairs with you." He scowled.
Her smile faltered. "Oh, are you worried about Antonio? I just wanted to see if he was home so he'd know I was bringing a stranger up. It's something my roommate, Tanya, does. The walls are paper thin, and if he's home, she feels safe going upstairs with a guy. We don't live with him or anything."
He blinked and started to rub his neck. "I wasn't thinking that, but thank you for reassuring me that you didn't just make me walk almost an hour when my feet were killing me to have your friend mug me."
"It wouldn't have worked anyway."
"Why?"
She quirked a smile. "You don't have any valuables on you. I did have to cover your bill."
He started to smile but then it died. "I didn't think I should go upstairs with you because you don't know me from Adam, and you seem to be too trustworthy. If you changed your mind and became uncomfortable, you might not tell me you wanted me in your space. You'd just let me stay until I was out of your hair and I didn't want to make you feel that way."
"Oh." She broke eye contact, her heart started to beat faster. How long had it been since someone cared about my well being? Tanya cared a little, but she was too flighty and didn't always pay attention to Natalia's needs. Antonio cared as long as we returned the favor and watched his parakeet when he was out of town. No, the last person to be selfless with Natalia was her Abuela. So, to hear Ben think about her comfort before his did something to her heart.
She wasn't sure what that something was, though.
"Well," she said. "I promise to tell you if you're making me uncomfortable. Antonio can protect the two of us!"
He snorted and started to follow her into the building.
She lived on the sixth floor, the last landing. Antonio's head popped out as soon as they made it to her door.
"Todo bien, Natalia," he said staring at Ben.
She nodded. "Todo bien. Ben is leaving in about an hour. His friend is going to pick him up."
"Cool," he said. "Oh, hold on!" He disappeared for a few seconds, and when he came back, he handed her a paper bag. "Give that to Tanya, please"
She handled it gingerly. "Esto que es? This better not be a fucking stinkbomb. I'm tired of you two always playing practical jokes."
He laughed. "Stop! I don't recycle my stuff."
"Antonio!"
"Esta bien! Listen, it's not a stink bomb. I promise. She needs these. Okay? I swear I wouldn't do that to you guys again."
She gave him a hard stare, but he kept looking innocently at her.
"What's in the bag?"
"You wouldn't know about these things, princesa."
"Then you can give it to her yourself."
"Fine," he muttered and he leaned out to whisper into her ear. "Condoms."
Natalia rolled her eyes. "Seriously!"
"Just looking out for my little ho."
"Just give me the bag."
He handed her the paper bag. "Buenas noches, princesa," he said and disappeared back into his apartment.
She huffed as she opened the door.
Ben cleared his throat. "That's it? I passed muster?"
"Yup, that's it. Antonio trusts me. He gives Tanya's guys a harder time."
"Why does he trust you?"
"Tanya is--crazy. I'm not." The key turned on the last deadbolt. "Viola! Welcome to my palace."
She turned on the light and was met with a long hallway. The kitchen was at the end of the hallway and all of the rooms had entrances from the hallway to the left.
She waved him inside and asked him to close the door behind him. The first entryway led to the livingroom. The couches were thick and comfortable, but she'd covered them with off-white blankets because the fabric was frayed everywhere. She'd seen a magazine article detailing how you could put cushions in t-shirts and then tie them at the corners, so she'd made a half-dozen of those to try to make the look of the blankets over the couches look deliberate. Movie posters covered the walls because Tanya had once dated a manager from a movie theatre. They didn't have a TV, but they did have a radio in one corner of the room surrounded by CDs.
Natalia had always liked this room. It looked funky to her. But as Ben gazed around the space, she started to shift on her feet. What was he thinking? Clearly, he came from a home that was probably designed by a professional. Did he think the room looked cheap?
Did the room make her cheap?
She pushed her nails hard into her palms. Get a grip, she thought. He's leaving soon. You'll never see him again and it won't matter what he thinks about you or your livingroom.
She gave him her phone. "Why don't you call your friend and tell him where you are? I'll be back. Take a seat."
She left him in the living room and she went into her room to take off her uniform. She put on baggy shorts and a huge t-shirt. Unlike Tanya's forays with men, Natalia knew nothing was going to happen tonight, even if she was finally starting to admit she thought Ben was the most handsome she'd ever met. He hadn't shown any interest in her and was even ready to stay outside. Her phone was the only reason he'd followed her here.
She went back to the living room to find him sitting with his head in his hands. "What's wrong?"
"This night keeps going from bad to worst. Cass is stuck in five mile traffic jam that isn't moving because of some accident with two trucks. I don't think he'll be here until morning."
"That's awful," she whispered. "Well, you could sleep on the couch. It's no trouble."
"Are you sure? I can't believe I have to keep imposing on you."
"It's okay. It's not your fault." She bit her lip. "Listen, are you hungry? I could use a snack."
"If I were a decent man I'd say no and just stand outside the building," he said and shook his head. "But I'm hungry."
She chuckled and motioned for him to follow her.
In her little kitchenette, she pointed at a stool for him to sit at the breakfast bar while she pulled out carrots, hummus, tomatoes, cheese, crackers and olive oil. She laid it all on the counter while he sat on one side and she stood on the other. As she started to pour them water, she told him to eat.
He was hungry. He ate most of the snack items, which was fine. She hadn't meant to eat very much, but she figured he had to be hungry and too polite to say so.
She bit down on a carrot as she tried to watch him and not make it too obvious he fascinated her. "Are you from New York?"
"I am, born and raised."
"You don't seem like it."
"Why do you say that?"
"Your diction. It's perfect."
"And yours isn't? Who's being a snob here?"
Her cheeks felt warm. "You're right. That did sound snobby, didn't it?"
"Just a tad."
"Just a tad," she imitated him.
This time, the smile he gave her was the biggest one yet. "Am I paying for my supper with humiliation?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't call this much of a supper. But I guess I'm curious why a guy from the other side of the tracks lost his wallet and phone."
His smile fell and Natalia cursed herself. She was going too fast. There wasn't any reason he'd unroll his pain to satisfy his curiosity. He just met her, and even if his driver--maybe he was also a friend--was showing up later than first thought, he was going to leave her life.
She had to stop poking the bear. There was no point in finding out about that hurt when he wasn't going to share it with her. The time they had together was too precious to spend making him uncomfortable.
"Know what? Wait here."
He grunted. "Did you forget I have nowhere else to go?"
Within minutes, she'd brought out an old set of Uno cards. "Let's play."
"How do you play this?" He was staring at the cards she was laying out in front of him as if they were some weird food she'd asked him to try.
She gasped. "You've never played Uno?"
"Clearly, my family has been remiss in an essential part of my education," he said dryly.
"Clearly!" She smirked.
She went over the rules, showing him the cards that could turn the game against your opponent. He narrowed his eyes as she spoke and when she finished, he muttered, "Doesn't sound complicated. Let's play.
—————————————————-
"How the hell did you end up winning both hands," he said scowling.
She smiled coyly. "You said it yourself. It's a game of chance. I'm sure you'd win the next two if we played."
"Just one more."
She glanced at the clock. It was almost two hours since they'd started playing. "Why don't you check in with your friend first?"
He blinked. "Right."
Had she made him forget he was still here because his driver was stuck in traffic? A little thrill ran through her at the prospect Ben might want to see her again. That, like her, he wouldn't want to end this night. She tried not to listen in as she washed the plates she'd put in the sink from their earlier meal.
"Here you go," he said and she turned around.
Grabbing her phone, she asked, "What did he say?"
"He's only moved about a mile since I last talked to him. He's ready to ditch the car."
"Ugh," she said. "Sounds awful."
"Yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Are you sure you're not tired? You can go to sleep, you know?"
She didn't want to go to sleep. She'd never felt so alive than in this moment. She wanted to take in everything he said, the way he ran his fingers through his hair when he was frustrated, the way he said his words with his elite school accent. And yes, he was mighty fine to look at.
If there was a way to say I want to see you again, Natalia wanted to say it to this man. Whatever the language. She wished she knew how and not have him run away.