“It must have been painful to come face to face with Carlos's mistress,” Val replied.
“It did hurt. I hope no one ever has to go through having their personal lives aired throughout the media like we did,” Pilar remarked.
Val noticed the corner of a magazine in the newsstand. She couldn't see the entire cover clearly, but the letters “ian” and “ington” caught her attention. Val held up one finger to Pilar and walked over to the magazine stand. She pulled out a celebrity gossip magazine. On the cover was a full color photo of Julian in a loving embrace with a woman. The headline read “Seattle Sonics star rookie and his snow bunny.” A short blurb beneath the photo said, “An unidentified witness told the magazine that Pennington and his new girlfriend were vacationing in Aspen and they looked very much in love.”
Pilar glanced at the photo from over Val's shoulder. “Val, don't let this upset you. These types of magazines tell nothing but lies. Do you know how many times Carlos has been in this magazine?”
Val heard Pilar talking, but the words were suppressed in her mind. She couldn't believe Julian would do this to her. Her heart dropped, and so did the glass bottle of olive oil she held in her hand. It shattered on the floor.
She ran out of the store and into the rain. Pilar called out after her. Val got into Pilar's truck and watched the rain fall against the windshield. She was hypnotized. Those photos were the proof she needed to confront Julian, and she needed to confront him. Now.
Pilar climbed into the driver's side.
“Can you take me to the team's practice?” Val asked.
Pilar wanted to comfort her friend, but she thought that maybe the best thing she could do for her right now was to say nothing at all. She knew how devastating it was to find out the man you loved had been unfaithful.
The drive over to the team's practice gave Val time to think about what she was going to say. Her mind spun around in full circles. It was hard for her to accept the fact that Julian had lied to her. The foundation of trust that they had built over the years had crumbled.
They pulled into the parking lot, but before Pilar put her truck in park, Val jumped out and stormed into the auditorium. The team was running drills up and down the court. Val walked straight onto the middle of the court. Julian didn't notice her until she walked over and hit him in his chest.
Tears ran down her face as she screamed, “Who is she, Julian?”
“Valencia, what is wrong with you? You can't come down here causing a scene! I'm in the middle of practice!” He tried to shield himself from her punches.
Coach McGee saw the commotion that was going on at the opposite end of the gym. “Pennington, what the hell is going on down there?” Coach thundered.
“I don't give a damn, you've been cheating on me, and I want to know who she is,” Val screamed.
“Pennington, this is practice, not
Dr. Phil!
” Coach screamed across the gymnasium. The rest of the team laughed at Julian's domestic dispute.
“Sorry, Coach, just give us a few minutes.” Julian grabbed Val by the arm and pulled her into a small corridor off the gymnasium.
“What is wrong with you?” Julian demanded.
“Did you sleep with her?” Val asked.
“Sleep with who?”
“The girl you took to Aspen.”
“Valencia, I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Julian, you were caught on camera. The paparazzi took pictures of the two of you together. You and your mistress are on the cover of every tabloid magazine from here to Philadelphia.”
Julian's face sank with guilt.
“Valencia, go home,” he said. “We can discuss this later.” He pointed in the direction of the door.
Val refused to budge. “Did you sleep with her?” she asked again.
Julian turned his back to her. She knew the answer was yes, but she wanted to hear him say it. She wanted him to acknowledge the wrong he had done.
“I slept with her once.”
Rage flashed in her eyes.
“You're lying,” she said, her teeth clenched. “Why would you take a one night stand to Aspen? You've been seeing her for a while, haven't you? That's why you're hardly home and when I call you don't answer your phone. How long has this been going on behind my back?”
He laid his head against the wall but didn't answer her question.
Val was so angry. She wanted to dig her nails into his skin and hurt him the same way she was hurting. The dark cloud that had been following her around finally poured rain down on her head, clearing her mind so she could see what was going on.
There was nothing more to be said between the two of them. What she thought they had was nothing but a lie. She marched back out into the gymnasium and all eyes settled on her. She could feel their stares. Everyone waited to see if she would lose control again.
Val slowly walked back out to the truck, and Pilar followed. Once they were back on the road, Val broke down in tears. She couldn't hold back her overwhelming sorrow any longer.
“Julian slept with her. He shared his body with a woman he barely even knew. We vowed to wait for each other. I saved myself for him. I feel so stupid.” She poured out her heart.
Pilar pulled off to the side of the road. “Val, everything is going to be okay.”
“How can everything be okay? I'm three thousand miles away from my friends and family. Julian and I are through. I have nowhere to go.”
Tears continued to fall from her eyes. Her breathing became uncontrollable. She couldn't catch her breath. Val opened the door and ran over to a nearby bush just in time for it to catch her vomit. The rain beat down on her back. She grabbed her stomach to stop the pain.
Pilar ran to her side. “Let it all go. Once you let go of all the hurt, you will feel so much better.” Pilar wrapped her arms around Val as the rain soaked their clothes. She was not going to leave Val until she was feeling better.
Five minutes had passed before Val could calm herself down. She walked over and leaned against the side of Pilar's truck.
“Val, I'm going to bring you back to my house. You can stay with us tonight,” Pilar yelled. The rain had gotten heavier and it was hard for Pilar to see what was in front of her.
Val was too tired to put up any argument. She graciously accepted Pilar's invitation.
It wasn't long before Pilar pulled up into her three-car garage. She parked between a 745 Beamer and a Maybach.
They entered the house through a door from the garage that led straight into Pilar's family room. Val admired the view from the family room. Looking through three large bay windows, Val could see acres of land that had an in-ground swimming pool, a tennis court, and basketball court.
Out of nowhere a cute little toddler ran up to hug Pilar. “Mommy's home,” he squealed.
Pilar put her hands out and stopped him. “No Alejandro. Mommy can't hug you right now. I'm wet.”
The inquisitive three-year-old stared at his mother. She spoke to her children in Spanish and waved her two oldest daughters over.
“Children, this is Ms. Benson. She will be staying with us for a while, so I expect everyone to be on their best behavior,” Pilar said to them. “Valencia, these are my two oldest daughters, Nina and Tia.”
Each girl politely shook Val's hand.
“And this is the little man of the house.” She pointed to her son. “This is Alejandro, but we call him Alec. Say hello, Alec.”
He walked up to her. “¿
Hola, usted querrÃa jugar conmigo
?”
Valencia looked up at Pilar for help. She couldn't speak Spanish.
“Alec, Ms. Benson doesn't speak Spanish. Speak English,” she instructed him.
“Hi, would you like to play with me?” he asked Val.
Those innocent words melted her heart, and for the first time since her altercation with Julian, she smiled.
“Alec, Ms. Benson is tired. We can ask her to play a little later, after she's had a chance to rest.” Pilar turned to the girls. “Where's the baby?” she asked.
“Mrs. Gonzalez has her,” Tia responded. “Mommy, why are you so wet?”
“We got caught out in the rain. I'm on my way upstairs to change now.” Pilar turned to Val. “You can meet the baby later. Come on, I'll show you to your room.”
“Alec is so cute,” Val commented as they climbed the stairs.
“Yes, I love all my children, but he's my favorite. He's a momma's boy.”
Pilar led Val to a guest room that was larger than her and Julian's master bedroom. She looked around at the bronze interior room. Circular ceiling lights brightened the room. On the nightstand a crystal vase showcased lilies in bloom.
What an elegantly decorated room
, she thought. Against the far wall hung a full length mirror and a forty-two-inch plasma television was mounted above the fireplace.
“There's a bathroom through that door if you want to take a shower.”
“Yes, I would love that.”
“While you're in the shower, I'll make you a cup of hot tea and I'll get you one of Carlos's T-shirts to sleep in.”
“Thanks for everything, Pilar. I don't know what I would have done without you today.”
Pilar smiled.
Val got in the shower and turned the faucet until the water was steaming hot. She loved taking a hot shower. The steam usually cleared her mind, but not today. Today her mind was full of memories of her and Julian. She turned her back to the steady stream of water, allowing it to loosen her back muscles. Taking the washcloth to splash water on her face, she remembered how she and Julian met.
Val and Olivia, both freshmen at Philly High, were excited about the school's first basketball game of the season. It was going to be an exciting game against Dobbins High School, and the entire student body was attending.
Before the start of the game, Julian paraded out onto the court to demonstrate his ability to ignite screams from the female spectators.
“That must be Julian Pennington,” Val whispered to Olivia.
“Yeah, that's him. He's cute, isn't he?”
“He's all right.”
“Stop lying. That boy isn't just cuteâhe's K-ute.”
K-ute was their private definition of a guy that was a 10 or better.
“Okay, I'll admit he is K-ute, but let's see if he's a real baller.” She laughed at her emphasis on baller.
From the time the official tossed up the ball until the very last second ticked away on the game clock, Julian put on a performance for his fans. He broke three school records that one night: the highest number of points in one quarter, the highest number of points in a single game, and the highest number of assists.
“That boy can really play,” Val commented.
“They said he's good. A lot of people say he's a shoo-in for the pros.”
Val watched Julian celebrate with his teammates. He is K-ute, she thought, but he probably has girls lined up around the block.
Val and Olivia waited inside the school for Val's father to pick them up. They stood not too far from the boys' locker room where, indeed, a pack of girls had assembled, waiting for Julian. Val watched as Julian walked out of the locker room. The flirtatious and obviously excited females pushed and shoved to get closer to the handsome ball player.
Julian looked up and saw Val standing close by. He broke away from the crowd and stepped to her. “Hi, what's your name?”
“Valencia,” she replied. “Valencia Benson.”
“That is such a beautiful name.” He batted his long eyelashes at her flirtatiously. “I saw you in the stands. Did you enjoy the game?”
“Yes, I did. You played very well.”
“Thanks.” He smiled boldly. “Would you like to get something to eat?”
Val shied away from the handsome young man and pulled Olivia closer to her. “I'm sorry. We're waiting for my father to come pick us up.”
“I understand,” Julian replied. “Can I get your phone number? Maybe we can go out another time.”
“I'm sorry, but my father doesn't allow guys he hasn't met to call the house.”
Julian was disappointed. Soon the girls heard a car horn.
“I have to go,” Val announced. “It was nice speaking with you, Julian.” Val and Olivia rushed out to the car.
Julian watched them get in the car, but before she closed the passenger side door Julian yelled out, “Valencia!”
Val looked in his direction as he ran out to the car and over to her father.
“Hello, Mr. Benson, my name is Julian Pennington. I attend school with your daughter.” Julian held out his hand for a handshake. “I was just talking with your daughter and she told me that you don't allow guys to call your home whom you haven't met yet. So I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I hope that sometime in the near future you will give me permission to speak with your daughter on the telephone.”
Mr. Benson was impressed by Julian's respectful manner, and was amused by how smitten he was with his daughter.
“Val is right. I don't allow boys I haven't met to call the house, but now that I've met you and I see that you are a nice young man, I don't have a problem with Val giving you the house number.” He turned to Valencia. “Baby girl, give him the house number.”