Andres waited for his father's police cruiser to arrive. That was his routine for every night since he was a 3 year old toddler. As soon as he would hear that engine sound which was registered not in his brain but in his psyche, he would make a ruckus, " Papa is here, Papa is here until his Step Mother came out of the kitchen, put her hand on his mouth and then took him to greet her husband. He did that exercise right until he started to go to a kindergarten. This is his story.

Andres loved his father; the only parent he knew in flesh as his very own. Andres never had a chance to remember the touch, kisses or the tight hugs of his mother; she was killed just months after his birth. Marissa was his stepmother and although he loved her too, it was not the same love he had for his dad. He loved her perhaps like one would love his or her Nanny who diligently and efficiently provide everything a mother would, except those special touches, kisses, hugs and caresses which only a mother can give, a child can receive and remember rest of its life.

Andres was a naturally very well behaved individual. He did not miss his mother because he was just few month short of his first birthday when she took a bullet in her heart that was meant for her husband, 'Señor Menendez' as people called him. For the little boy, he was his Papa and his whole world revolved around him. There was a special pride in his heart for Papa because he was a Police officer with fifteen years of distinguished service in the special anti-narcotic traffic department of Mexican Border Police. Andres would put on his dad's hat and play policeman with his toy gun and hide behind his toy box and shoot the bad guys " I'm gone be a Policia Mama" he would say to his stepmother. She would reply,
" por qué (why)? You're Papa no want you be Policia" she would try to discourage him. He would then get angry at her and make faces and lock himself in the room until Papa arrived and then complain to him that she tells a lie "you don't want me be Policia she says; is it not true no; papa?" No Nino she no lie, I want you be a Texas Ranger not the Mexico Policia, now go to bed" he would tell him with a hug and kiss on his forehead, while tucking him in the bed,, shutting the light, and ensure his windows were shut tight and secured. Only after that routine he would return to kitchen to eat his supper. Marissa was younger than him by at least fifteen years. He had married her right after the loss of his wife when Andres was a baby and since then they had lived as a man and wife.

There was a unique and close relationship between them which on the surface looked like that of a married couple but in reality; it was more like a business arrangement; like a master and his house keeper with all rights of a husband. He found Marissa working on a farm in the central part of Mexico, in a rural county where he had gone to investigate a drug related killing of a farmer and his family. He had stopped at a shop to buy some provisions and also to get some information because the storekeeper was his informer. She walked in on them and their eyes met. She had a course top and a flared skirt which did justice to her shapely buttocks and narrow waist and elevated firm breasts which attracted male attention more quickly to her torso, ignoring the intelligent face with beautiful dark eyes, smooth, matching hair. Even though her face appeared rather plain to casual onlooker, there was a hint of Spanish pedigree indicated by her sloping shoulders, longer neck than most native women, clear almond shaped eyes and those long, eyelashes. The slightly pinched and bit longer nose indicated perhaps native Indian blood also. He quickly measured her as the policemen are trained to do so to make note of the body and facial features of all the folks they run into.

He liked what he saw in spite of her earthly, plain appearance. Perhaps it was an instinct a man harboring a dormant thought about bringing a second wife for his motherless child drove him to act. May be the unexplainable and instant rise of desires for her youthful body prompted him to take a second look at her and maybe, there was still a spark of passion smoldering in his bosom, which for all practical purpose appeared to have been completely extinguished by the loss of his beloved wife. Meeting of their eyes now had suddenly brought that desire to life, like a candle spluttering due to lack of oxygen in a cave, comes alive when some opening in the walls sends a gush of fresh air. Looking at her youthful and seductive body his loin got hot. Carlos Menendez was a gentleman and a professional police officer. He politely moved away from the storefront and made courtesy gesture which was so foreign to that farm girl that she gasped, instead of acknowledging and returning it.

She ordered some tobacco and can of beans then her eyes fell on a beautiful hat on the rack with flowers and other fanciful things on it. She impulsively reached for it and was about to put it on her head when the shopkeeper, stopped her by saying; my dear it is of no use to you on the farm; it is more than your weeks wages also. She pulled her hand back and started to apologies when Carlos who was near the stand reached for it and placed it on her head and said "don't worry Mario, I will pay for it, let her have it and put it on my bill".
She was delighted and at the same time was nervous; because the impulsive desire part was resolved for her but the other question, 'where was she going to wear it' was the real kicker. In the practical sense, she had no place to even store it. She protested it by saying:
" No Señor Policia, Mucho gracias pero ¿dónde lo puedo usar" (No Mr. Police, many thanks, but where can I use it?)", and then she left with the provisions .
Carlos was pleased because that farm girl did not sound like a village raised cowhand; she appeared to be from a city; sort of an implant. He turned around and asked the shopkeeper if he knew anything about her and where she lived. He did know, and he gave him her name, address and told him that she was an orphan from Veracruz. Carlos purchased the hat and made his way to her maternal uncle's Casa. Seeing a man in uniform approaching his shack scared the hell out of the old Man.
Poor always have fear of authority, because anyone with power can come and take away what so ever little they possess or drag their women and there would be no one, not even their Gods could stop that. He automatically assumed that his unwanted nice from the city with her voluptuous body and sexy walk, has attracted troubles and he yelled at her:
"Ve, corre desde la puerta de atrás y escóndete en el pajar, un policía viene." --(" go, run from the back door and hide in the haystack, a police man is coming").
She peeped from the window and responded to him:
Está bien tío, él es un caballero; viene a hablar de mí". (That is alright uncle, he is a gentleman; he is coming to talk to you about me)".
Hearing the calm word and self-assurance in her answer, that cunning old man guessed that there must have been some interaction between the two when she went to get provisions and saw the opportunity to wash his hands off her and making some dough in the bargain. Ever since she arrived at his casa, there was no shortage of young bucks knocking on his door from the villages. However, she rejected them vehemently. In any case there was no profit in the sale, except few bucks for the local brew as the suitors were not weighting the offer with enough Pesos for him to buy few goats. There was no rush; she was feeding him regularly and was putting up with his foul smell and snoring. There wasn't much he could do except waiting for a better luck and now, he saw his gamble paying the dividends.
He straightened himself and lit a cheroot he had rolled from the cheap tobacco she had purchased and brought upon his face a look, which fell between being nonchalant and anxious at the same time and waited for the man to come to him and of course, he had noticed the fancy hat in the hands of approaching man. Now, that poor helpless man had sensed that he, for once had an angle. He would be in control of the negotiation and may dare to dictate terms to a powerful man; at least he could try.
It is indeed a paradox. On one hand there are poor people worthy of compassion and charity but then same helpless and weak can become demanding, atrocious and as crueler as those oppressed them when they get the power in their hands. It happened in the French and Bolshevik revolutions. Well, in the present situation, it was not as historical an event as those two scenarios but the old farmer was empowered by the thought that as a senior relation, a guardian and care taker of his nice, Marissa, he had the authority to decide who she goes with and also a right to make some profit out of it.-If the man wants her so badly as to buy her a fancy hat, which he knew was not a gift for him, then he would be open to the price negotiations in earnest-. He grinned with his toothless mouth preparing himself for a prolonged battle of the wits.

When Carlo arrived at his door; old man acted as if he needed something from inside his Casa and started to go in when Carlos addressed him: "¿Puedo hablar con usted Señor?" -("Can I speak with you Sir?")

Old man had no choice but to turn around and pretend to see who it was. Sensing it was a Police Captain standing in front of him, and the natural fears taking hold of him, he replied:

"¿Cómo está el capitán? Por favor, com pulgadas, mi casa es tu casa". "Gracias Señor," -("How's the captain? ("Please, come in, my house is your House". "Thank you Lord.").

"Let me not waste your time; I want to come to the point; I want your nice" said the Capitan without mincing the words.

Old man took his time to sit down on a chair and gathered his courage, took a deep breath and after few minutes spoke in a subdued voice:

"Ella es demasiado joven para ti. Parece que estás en los años cuarenta y es sólo dieciocho". -- ( " She is too young to for you. You look like you are in forties and she is just eighteen).

He stopped for a moment to see the reaction on Carlos face and found none, he continued with his planned dialogue:
"I would have to work hard to convince her that you are the right person for her; she has many younger suitors in the village you know and one is coming back third time to take her out; I will have hard time stopping these buckaroos".

Carlos had dealt with many petty traders and he saw old man's angle right away.
He said, "OK then, maybe I wasted my time. Good luck to you with the buckaroo deal".

As he started to walk away, old man sensed that he was not only nowhere near being in control of the negotiations, but was about to lose that chance of unloading his nice on someone with good prospects of getting few Pesos every now and then in the future. He jumped up and said:

"cinco cabras y quinientos pesos y ella es tuyo". --(" five goats and five hundred Peso and she is yours").

Carlos with disgust on his face turned around and said:
"Quiero a una mujer, no un stock vivo para vender en la ciudad de México viejo". -(" I want a wife, not a live stock for selling in Mexico City old man"). He began his slow retreat down the path.

Before the old man make more fool of himself and annoying the Captain, Marissa came out and said:

"Acepto su propuesta; Me casaré contigo en la iglesia es decir, cuando esté listo. Dame el sombrero; Lo llevaré para mi vestido de novia." --( "I accept your proposal; I will marry you in the church though; that is, whenever you are ready. Let me have the hat; I will wear it for my bridal outfit").

They got married in the local church and Carlos gave her uncle two goats and two hundred peso as a gift. After that their relationship grew slowly and steadily. She had no expectations of him because she had not known how to have expectations from life. To her and many like her, all over the world had only few expectations from the society in which love, romance and individual's rights had no places because no one had ever told them that these things exist in the human society. All they had learn in that school of experiences where fees are astronomically high, was this: ' one must do anything and everything to survive and seek higher grounds; not by assaulting the bastions of society, but by crawling slowly; inch by inch and grabbing anything that reasonably looks like a strong hold; one that can pull you up to the next level and there by putting some distance between self and the poverty, miseries and the tyrannies of social structures.

In this, Mexican women are not alone; there are such women all over the world from the ghettos of Brazil and India to the most of the third and fourth worlds. It looks like the condemnation of Eve by the God of the Genesis seems to be taking place all over the world in form of atrocities committed every second; as if it is a self-fulfilling prophesy but then fate can in its whim, bring the relief and even good times and that's what happened to Marissa.
Carlos saved her from the flesh trade in which she would have been a valuable commodity to some mafia lord in Guadalupe. She had the urban exposure in Veracruz and had sufficient exposure to the English Speaking people and had a young body that could evoke passion in males like it does in a male Elephant when a female comes into estrogen. After her marriage, she did not disappoint her husband. She served both the father and son with devotion and skills of a born manager.

Carlos relationship with his wife grew out of association rather than passion. In the beginning they made love regularly. It satisfied their physical necessities. Both did not have the emotional needs of loving or intimately belonging to each other. He had the memories if Rosaline; who gave him handsome son and departed and Marissa grew up with not affording the luxury of love or intimacy most of us take it for granted. They were satisfied by the practical arrangements. She got safety, material comforts, kindness and she delivered to him what he wanted; a loving and nurturing home environment where his son could grow up and occasional pleasure of body, companionship and advice.
After his wife's killing, Captain Menendez went after the drug mafia with vengeance in his heart. He spared nothing and no one. He tortured petty smugglers and the suspected villagers with equal ferocity as he did the key players of this vicious game of drugs and flesh trade that had been flourishing for the past two hundred years unabated.
As long as flesh and drugs were coming from the south of the boarder and import and distribution was left in the hands of Families from Chicago, New York and LA with ties to Sicilian Mafioso with Names like Genovese, Getty and Gambino, to mention few, the North of the boarder law enforcement looked the other way. In fact, a Mexican regardless of which side of the border he or she was born or how long had lived in the US, was perceived as a potential criminal by the American population in general and Law Enforcement agencies in particular.
It was automatically assumed that presence of a Latino male or female hanging out on the street corners in a White Neighborhood, was for the sole purpose of engaging in crimes ranging from burglary to homicide. If the person was a young man then he was assumed to be a petty thief or a Pimp engaged in the human trafficking for the West-side bordello. If it was a young woman then she was assumed to be a streetwalker.Policemen stopped them, questioned them and even searched them without the warrants. No one complained and the 'Latinos', as they were called for separating them from the European immigrants of Spain, took the abuse in stride and were moving on quietly to cities and towns. They were taking the tough jobs, which no Whites or other minorities were willing to take like fruit and vegetable picking from the farmlands and Meat Packing from the Slaughter Houses. Their wages were very low and labor was back breaking. However it was lot better than being in the land of their births; here was hope that in the US, if not themselves, their children had a brighter future because they were getting free education and that too in English and healthcare that did not exist at home and no one would take their children in the servitude of the drug lords. They were in most part safe here.

The trade between the two countries significantly kept Mexican state loaded with the US Dollars and also kept the American Gun business booming. What was there to be concerned about few unimportant and expandable labor class Mexican's sufferings? As long as so many politicians and businessmen were happy, prosperous and were able to pump money in the Catholic Churches which provided solace and even material help to poor Mexicans, there was no conflict of conscience for the Mexican elites. The Mexican State was marching on to become a playground of the usual, "Rich and Famous" Category and state was claiming that they were progressing. Then there was the Second Great War raging in Europe and Mexican could always go on the front if they chose to improve their stock while they were in the US by simply recruiting in the US Army and many who had learn enough English to read and write and understand commands did just that.

On the Andres side, his father knew he was fighting a losing battle in which the enemy on his side was, the drug cartel made up of his own native people and he also knew that there was a bullet with his name written on it and then he also feared his son's life because he had received threat of kidnapping and a violent death to his only son; a replica of his childhood sweetheart and Andres' mother. It was a decision he had to make which was not easy. Carlos, Philippe Menendez came from a distinguish family who served Mexico gallantly. His grandfather was a general in the imperial Army and his father served in the Mexican police as Inspector General. It was a hard decision to abandon his beloved Mexico and to move to the Gringo country where he will be nothing but a Chicano as the derogatory term then was used to describe folks from the south of the borders. He thought of all the possibilities. He couldn't trust his superiors because they were on the take from drug lords and his subordinates were mortally afraid of consequences they faced for opposing the free trade of drug- flesh trafficking which in one sense was benefiting their motherland as any other export of commodities do.

The Nineteen Sixties were rolling on and one after another conflicts, in which the US was fighting, were erupting and with that, lots of upheavals and loosening of moral values was happening in the US. The soldiers returning from the South East Asia were coming with a strong dependency on illegal drugs and that was driving the demand in the market, higher and higher as the years rolled. A booming industry was springing up all over the South and Central America with Mexico being the trading post on the border.

Carlos would battle with his conscience all the time. He would then share his troubled conscience with his wise and trusted friend; his wife. She never held back anything to which she felt she had the understanding of and had the solution for the problem her respected husband was facing. Carlos trusted her instincts and even judgment. She had seen and experienced so much of the wild and unpredictable world of poverty, atrocities and survival, that her instincts were highly attuned to the slightest changes in her environments like that of Thompson Guzzles on the Serengeti plains of Africa. It appears that nature seems to be taking care of its weakest elements by providing them those natural instincts which tells them when to fight or flee.

As it happened that in one encounter with the drug cartel's protection force, Carlos and his men gunned down a major drug king pin that had direct relationship with one of the powerful officials of Mexican government. Soon after that his immediate boss asked him to take another assignment in the top secrecy as another Mafia was entering the realm of the one Carlos group had encountered and killed. It was a bogus tip, a setup and a sure trap; which was actually set up for Carlos but his trusted young lieutenant, eager to prove his mettle had asked to lead the team and had gone instead. The scary thing about that raid was that his own boss had brought the tip and no one else knew anything about it. Hearing this from her husband, Marissa sensed that not only him but she and Andres were also in a mortal danger. She said to him:
"It is the time we must move on to the USA if we want to see our son's wedding and grandchildren" He accepted her analysis and started planning the move.

Captain Carlos Menendez was well known to the US border police on the Tijuana border of California because many times he had crossed the border to handover information on the American drug carrier pigeons and they had a healthy respect for him and the work he was doing to stop the drug traffic. He felt that his friend in the San Diego who was half Mexican, working for the border police would help him to cross over and may even get a job in the region training the border patrols to learn the techniques the Jackals used and where their staging operations were located. He also had another asset to trade and that he thought would be of interest to FBI and that asset was the list of corrupt Mexican Police and their counter parts serving on the US agencies who were tipping off the drug runners. He also had the details of bribes given to them and several spools of wire taped conversations. In return he wanted a safe haven somewhere in the USA for his family, good schooling in a Catholic Private Institution, and provision for college education.

Next day, he proceeded to Tijuana and from there to San Diego. Inspector Peter Cochran was actually a Custom Agent who worked with the Border Police. When they met at his farm house north of the city, Carlos revealed to him his situation:
"They could wipe me out with my family; you must help me to get us to safety as soon as possible". He did not tell him about the 'assets' he had because he was not sure if he could trust Peter completely, besides that, he wanted to keep it as a bargaining chip in case he gets caught for over staying his Visa and faced deportation. Peter was non-committal.

" I am not sure how I could help you; let me think it over and consult with my trusted people" he said.
" There is not much time my friend; my child's life is on line; he is only twelve " Carlos Pleaded ".
" OK; I will give you answer tomorrow morning and now you sleep here and I will be back tomorrow with answer. I promise" Peter then left.

Carlos sat in that cottage staring at a photo copy of "The Last Supper". He stayed motionless for quite some time as if he was studying the original and his eyes were pinned at one face. Suddenly he jumped up as if a flash of light came through the picture and penetrated his cerebral cortex.

"Judas Iscariot! Oh my God, Santa Maria; how I did not see it? How could Peter own this farm house on Inspector's salary? Carlos asked the questions to himself. They will be here in any minute; I must get out now." He grabbed his overnight bag and slipped out of back door into darkness.

"What a fool I am; trusting someone I just know professionally." He reproached himself. He had left his car at Peter's home in San Diego and that was more than fifty miles and it would be risky to retrieve it now. He just kept on going north and walked all night. He must have traveled many miles without stopping until sliver of crimson light began streaming on the horizon and birds started chirping. On that cross road junction, he saw lights coming on in a store with Gas Pumps. He walked to that place and noticed a public phone hanging off the cradle. He picked the receiver and put it to his ear. There was a dial tone. He pulled his pocket diary and found a number. He put a call through.
" It was ringing and ringing and Carlos was about to hang up then a sleepy voice crackled," Who is this? Do you know what time....."
"Miguel this is Uncle Carlos Menendez, wake up, I am in trouble; I need you right now" Carlo's voice over rode Miguel's.
"Where are you Uncle?" Miguel asked.

Carlos gave him the description of the place and instructed him that he was walking on the road towards north and not to delay or make inquiry but to come immediately. Miguel picked him in an hour. They drove straight to a Motel. Miguel knew the Janitor and he gave him a room key at the back. Without giving him too much information, he told his nephew that he could not go back nor seek help from the US agencies. Miguel was about thirty, bit toll for a Mexican and with an athletic built. His personality was charming and somewhat on the border of being very smart and cunning. He had been living in the San Diego region for the past ten years and had established himself as an Independent Short Distance Trucker. He knew all sorts of people; some very good and others not so good but he instinctively stayed away from the Bad and Ugly folks playing the corridors of corruption.

After listening to his Uncle's description of what had befallen on him he suggested that Carlos should head for Montana and he had a friend who could take care of him and meanwhile he would go across the boarder and bring rest of the family to US. Carlos agreed to that plan and within few hours, Carlos was on a north east going truck and Miguel headed for the Mexican border.
Miguel was driving towards his destination and his mind was giving him the flash backs of his uncle's wedding. The first time he saw Marissa was just the night before the wedding day. He was not familiar with the place and like his uncle; he was directed to go to the post office which was part of the store where all that drama had taken place that had brought him there. Well, only thing the man could tell about his uncle's residence was the address of his aunt to be. He arrived at the location and found her alone because her old uncle with his gift of two hundred Peso was the richest man around and was partying with fellow Cow Pokes, celebrating the sale of his unwanted nice to a old fool for a Thousand Peso and lot more goats than he actually received.

When he knocked at her door, as usual she went up on the attic and observed who it was. When she saw him with all his urban looks and fancy clothing, she was at once attracted to him. Just as a precaution, she asked:
"¿Quién es y qué quiere?" (Who is it and what do you want?)
He responded: " Yo soy Miguel. ¿Dónde se queda Carlos? " ("I'm Miguel. Where is Carlos?")
"He not here; he live in village" she spoke in English to impress him with the fact that she was not a peasant woman.
It was getting dark and he wasn't sure where the village was. He asked her, Can you give me directions?"

She responded, " Yes, not easy find in night, go in the morning "
She pulled her blouse lower, tidied her face and went down to open the door. He came in and was at once struck by her youthful beauty. She was perhaps same age as he was then. He couldn't take his eyes off her bosom and those curling lips but then, he was there for his uncle's wedding. She asked him if he wanted a drink. He responded that he had brought a bottle with him. She cooked a special dinner for him with Pork and Beans and other special items which actually were for the feast after the marriage when Padre was to visit them for his usual collection, drink and supper.

He liked her presence around him and she aroused him by walking by him in that sensual hip swinging way and dropping things to bend and pick it when he was watching her. With that game play, Miguel forgot why he was there in the first place. She knew her own uncle probably was sleeping in some harlot's shack and was not returning until someone goes and drags him out to church to give the bride away. As she was working on Miguel she was also reasoning with her own conscience. I am not a married woman so I am not committing any adultry; I have the right to have one night with someone who I should have had for a husband and would have fulfilled all my heart's desires. Tomorrow I will be married to an old man to escape poverty and miseries which were dished out to me by fate. Why can I not get what I really want just for a night? Then she prayed and asked Santa Maria to forgive her if she was going to sin because desires made her flesh weak and opportunities do not come every day. With that thought she decided to seduce him.

On his part, he had no scruples about the lusty thoughts he was carrying in his heart. The passion was raging in his bosom and flesh was demanding quenching that thirst. He had already forgotten why he had come there. He was also justifying his desire for that teaser, hot babe and felt that his uncle had no rights on this young and voluptuous body which he thought his uncle had purchased and that is he considered as exploitation of the poor by powerful and rich men. With that mindset, he started to plan how he was going to get her to come to bed. In any case she wouldn't be a virgin he thought and even if she was, his uncle would likely to have problem penetrating her and with that mischievous thought of doing a favor to his uncle, he pushed aside any other thoughts of betraying him and was getting ready to make a move.

It was after their drinking and dinner; he asked her where he could retire. She pointed to him her uncle's room. When he entered, he could not bear the smell associated with the old age and to add that, there was that odor hanging around from the old man's countless cheroot smoking. He turned around and went back to her room. The door was closed but not locked. He tapped on the door and she said, " It's not lock; come in ".

As he entered, he found her standing there without a stitch. He did not waste time and they made love all night. Her passion engulfed him and his skillful lovemaking thrilled her and fueled the passion she never knew she was capable of having. In the morning when with great reluctance they pulled themselves apart from the embrace; they knew that they loved each other and yet there was no way they could remain united as it happens in the harlequin romances. She in her practical way knew her destiny was with the wealthy policeman who had a home of his own and the handsome devil she loved so much was not about to offer a marriage she desperately needed. Life's lesson she remembered was simple; the romantic love does not fill the hunger of human belly but use of woman's body does put food on the plate if it comes to starvation. Here a new and bright future was waiting for her walking next to Carlos; she wasn't going to jeopardize that chance and she got Miguel out of her hut and her mind as soon as the rooster heralded the rising sun.

Both had lived in a practical world most humans live in, where compromising is the rule for survival and 'do not carry emotional baggage', is the order of the day. Miguel could not support her and she could not afford to let go that one opportunity came her way to be a respected Mrs. Menendez; wife of a decorated Police officer with the Aristocratic pedigree. They both understood life as was dished out to them. In spite of that, he whispered in her ears as he left:

" Cuídate, Marissa."- ("Take care of yourself, Marissa.").

She responded: " Te amo demasiado Miguel". ("I love you too much Miguel")

Love and passion are not essential commodities in this equation of survival of the species and procreation has always depended on the mating between the strongest and fittest male and the youngest and healthiest of the females; a cross over from the animal gens to ours. When situation arises, a mature young woman will select stability and comforts in which she can raise her progeny successfully, over the romantic running away with most attractive male without the means of supporting her or her babies; of course this is rule and there are exceptions.

Both got ready for the church, said "adios". They moved on as if that night was a dream. He went ahead of her and met his uncle outside the Church.

The first question the uncle asked to his only nephew was:

"Where were you last night? I was hoping you would come and in the evening and we could celebrate".
"Oh, I forgot my passport and had to go back to San Diego and in any case I did not know where to find you. Good thing that I came this morning or else, I would have been searching for a motel and I bet there are none in this Godforsaken village" he said ".

"Never mind, I am glad you came." We should be on our way by tomorrow and you can stay with us or return home; it is up to you." said Carlos.
The wedding went off flawlessly and they headed for home. After that evening they never saw each other and knowing the nature of a one night stand very well he just moved on with his Trucking business and forgot her. Now she was coming back in his life again under different circumstances.
As the destination came closer, Miguel's mind was racing ahead of his truck. He was thinking about the forthcoming encounter with Marissa; now his aunt.

" I don't know how I am going to do this" he said to himself. It had been three years since they set their eyes on each other and he had put her aside like the Sombrero in the attic. However, in his unconscious mind, he had her image fixed from that evening when she stood in front of him. Perhaps in reality, he never got rid of it and may be that is the reason he had not found a woman who could have built a homestead for him where he would have raised children of his own. He decided to play by the ear and not expect anything or do stupid mistake; their lives depended on his successful return.

" let it happen as it did that night", his heart wished.
"Tonight is a different night, " his conscience reminded him.
"Get them out as soon as you can or get killed along with them" came the warning.

When he reached to their place it was about eleven o'clock and street lamps were dimmed by the pollution like a foggy night of winter. He pulled his truck in front of their villa and watched for anyone hanging around and then took a parcel out as if he was making a late delivery. When he rang the bell, Marissa was waiting for him. Carlos had managed to get someone to call her and appraised the situation Carlos was in.
"Do not take anything; not even a suitcase except cash and gold", he told her. Let Nino sleep and make them carry him out as if he is a laundry basket" and use your imagination; I trust your instincts and do what is appropriate" he had told her. She had worked out a plan.

"If Carlo is right then getting out at night would be suicidal, they would be watching all roads", she thought. "It will be safe if we go about our ways in the normal fashion where I go shopping and Andres goes to school as usual and I pick him up from the midday recesses and not return home. Anyone keeping eye on the house will never know we have left the country"; she calculated the odds and planned the move.

There was this problem though; how to handle presence of Miguel in her home. Her relationship with Carlos was beyond reproach. He not only treated her with kindness but also gave her the respect of a competent better half and in fact it was he who gave her the confidence and self-worth by acknowledging and praising her contribution to the well-being of his household and particularly the upbringing of his son. He was happy and doing well in the school.

She never made an attempt to be Andres Mother, but did everything for him to gain his respect and love. A practical woman as she was, she understood that her interest would be well served by taking care of the most valued entity her husband had and that was his son, Andres. As the time passed she served them both very well. To the child, she created a loving but unattached mother person and to the man, she was available as a wife doing all the duties a wife supposed to perform and those included, supporting her husband in his endeavors and the tasks of bringing the bacon home, providing comforts and security. In doing that, it did not involve passion or fantasies of carnal nature; only satisfying the physical needs of their bodies. Nothing was lost and much was gained by all three souls orbiting in the universe of their lives.

That night she faced a dilemma; man she loved momentarily and poured all her youthful passions on with a belief that it was the first and the last encounter she would have with him, in fact had reappeared on her door steps as unexpectedly as he had done on that fateful night; the last night of her total surrender to her physical, emotional and psychological needs, which her heart had dared to wish. Indeed, it was an "everlasting" event. However, this encounter which the fate had arranged again was difficult to deal with. Now she had obligations and the morality issues to deal with. As a married woman with all the trappings of a moribund contract with the religion and society, she knew, she had to be in full acceptance of all the dictates about what she could and could not do. To keep her conscience clean, she couldn't just relay on her feelings and emotions but must invoke the sense of morality. On the one hand she had her sexuality which had been slightly diminished with age but had not reached yet to that point in time when the absence of sexuality and passion is masked by the virtues of being prudent and dignified.

Marissa's heart missed a bit when she realized that the opportunity to reenact that night before her wedding was coming to her again because that night was not a one night stand but was stored in her memories as a monument of her ecstatic pleasure born out of intense passion she felt for that man. She had cherished those memories as the Paradise gained and lost never to be revisited. She battled all day with her desires since the time someone called her and told her to be ready and leave with Miguel as soon as circumstances permit.

Three years had eroded his image from her memory but her psyche had not forgotten his skillful touches and kisses which lighted her passion and took her beyond the realms of earthly constrains and the sense of being free and in control of her body, mind and spirit; a journey she never made with her husband. Human sexuality is a blessing and curse at the same time. It is a blessing because it distinguishes us from the other species on this planet and is so much unique to humans that even our creator does not claim to have it. It Is also a curse though, if left unbridled, it can lead to destruction of a civilization as Helen of Troy and Cleopatra discovered In the current situation of Marissa of course, her actions that night would only effect the outcomes of Miguel's mission and there had to be but one and only option; successful departure .