Mireya felt as a hand drop onto her shoulder, and instinctively shook it off.
But it was Jeff's hand, not Dr. Gustavo's. She stared at him blankly, and all she could see was that haunted melancholy that often accompanied him and his brother. Mireya's befuddlement gave way to tenderness. In tears, she embraced the young man. "I’m so sorry," she said.
"Mireya." Dr. Gustavo approached, trying to soothe her with that neutral, sterile, almost lifelessly professional tone. "I understand your gesture, but you don’t need to feel sorry about--" She felt as the young man’s hand rose, and the voice stopped, and how almost immediately he wrapped his hands around her and collapsed into sobs.
The two couldn’t say a thing for minutes, as they allowed their emotions to soothe each other. It was only as they released all the tears welled within that the young man finally gave an answer. "Thank you."
Mireya stepped back, rubbing his straw-like hair, and mustered a faint smile. "I was so desperate to know about you, that I wasn’t aware just how much you held within." She glanced at Dr. Gustavo, finally recovered. "Dr. Gus, do you mind if I...?"
"Sure, sure!" Dr. Gustavo led the two outside the door, as the young man moved close to a night table and left the tragedian’s mask. "I’ll investigate this new development while you... Do what you must."
"Thanks", she said, appreciative of the doctor’s vote of confidence. Grasping the young man’s hand – unsure if calling him "Jeff" or by his real name – she led him outside, to a very specific place. "Follow me. I need to tell you something too..."
--
Mireya and the young man ended their walk at the reception room, where the large portrait of the Institute’s founder, Dr. Maribella Aristizábal, oversaw those who came in. She asked him to sit, starting with a rather obvious question. "Um, so... Sorry if I said nothing on the way, but... How should I call you? Should I keep calling you ‘Jeff’, or...?"
The young man glanced at the receptionist, Samaris. He seemed calmer, but still kept his voice to a whisper. "Call me ‘Jeff’, but it really, doesn’t matter. No one's called me that in a long time."
"Except when Marty calls you that." She smiled, proud of her recognition. "So, you took your real names and made them your fake middle names?"
Jeff nodded. "Pretty much."
"And your fake names?"
Jeff grinned. "The other one’s middle name."
"So", she whispered. "Your real name is William Martin, and Marty’s real name is Robert Geoffrey?"
"Mmhmm."
"And what about the ‘Harrison’ surname?"
Jeff sighed. "Dad’s name is Harris."
Mireya’s eyes grew wide. "Harris. Harris’ sons."
Then she couldn't help laughing. It was a well-thought-out set of changes they had made. Jeff blushed and winced, and she patted his thigh. "Don’t feel sad! It’s a pretty clever take on fake names! I still don’t understand why you did so, but--"
Jeff’s face hardened. "In case the professor was looking for us. Or...anyone, really."
Mireya grasped Jeff’s hand. "I see. Yeah, I figure that’d be an important precaution." She glanced at her mother’s portrait, recalling the reason for her impromptu visit. "You might be wondering why I took you here, no?"
"Out where?" Jeff asked. He looked around.
"Here." Mireya pointed at her mother’s portrait, watching her with awe and longing. "You’re probably wondering who she is, no?"
"Oh. Uh...yeah, I guess so. Must be Dr. Maribella, right?"
"Right." Mireya sighed, basking in her mother’s bright and confident smile. "She was beautiful, don’t you think?"
"Um, well..." Jeff nodded curtly, almost ashamed of answering. "Y-yeah. But...you got nothing on her!"
Mireya stared at Jeff, shaken by his words, before surprising him with her answer. "Actually...I owe her a lot. That woman you see there? That was my mother."
Jeff stared at the portrait and at Mireya. "Sorry", he said, gulping and lowering his eyes.
"I’m surprised you didn’t notice the resemblance. But...that’s not what I wanted to tell you. I...only wanted to speak a little bit about her, because I know it’ll help you. I understand what it means to lose someone you care about, let alone someone from your family." Mustering her strength, Mireya took a deep breath and continued. "She was a Stellae, just like you."
"Really?" Almost immediately, Jeff rolled his eyes and winced, his palm on his forehead. "Right, right. You said something along the lines. Plus, she wouldn’t have--"
"It’s alright. Not everyone knows. Mami was treated here as a miracle worker, fixing things that others couldn’t. I always wondered why she could, and it took finding this world of secrecy and wonder to understand."
"Um... Can I ask--?"
"What?"
Jeff shrugged with seeming embarrassment. "Her planets."
"Oh." Mireya smiled. "Venus and Saturn. Venus, I've been told, made her charismatic, and Saturn... I think, her ability to heal was based on that. Or maybe it was their combination." She shrugged. "I'm no expert," she confessed, "and sometimes I thought I didn't want to know." Her gaze turned inward, and she was silent as she wrestled with a further confession. But she ended by simply saying, quietly. "It was a very strange world she lived in. Strange and sometimes very frightening."
"But Mami could be very nice," she continued, "though when she was angry, you felt it. That mix of...sweet-talking and motherly berating made her very convincing. She could bring a bear to heel if she wanted. But...medicine was her passion. Partly the reason why she moved away from Cuba."
Jeff blinked hard. "So ... she’s not from here?"
"Papi’s from here. Mami met and married him while he still lived here. Most of my family here’s from my father’s side. You’re not the only one who’s confused by that, though; most people thought she was Dominican, ‘til they heard her speak." Mireya followed by making her best attempt at mimicking her mother’s unique accent, sounding just like her, but as if she had something stuck on her throat. "Hola hola, and how is my patient doing today?"
"Yeah, it sounds...weird..." Mireya could notice as Jeff didn’t seem as distant as before; he was relaxed, though he was still careful of what he spoke. "Um...you’re always saying ‘was’. I know your mother died, but...how?"
Though the question slammed her like a tsunami, Mireya nonetheless answered. "That...is the reason why I’m here, actually. She... She died... Trying to save the lives of others."
Jeff gave Mireya a moment to compose, speaking uplifting words. "That was very noble. Can’t say the same about Dad."
"Our parents are everything to us, Jeff... Will. Doesn’t matter if you feel they didn’t do much when you hear what other people’s parents did, they’re still your heroes."
Mireya’s words seem to have struck a nerve, for Jeff stood and turned his back on her.
"I never had the chance to tell him," he said. "I always thought he was too harsh on me. I wish I’d have listened a lot earlier..." His knees weakened as he began to sob. "I wish I wouldn’t have--"
Approaching him from behind, Mireya cooled him with another hug. ‘You’re not the only one. I took Mami for granted so many times. Always asking why she had to be here, always at work, never spending time with us... It was only after her death as I realized how she touched the lives of people...and how she touched mine. I still can’t bear to hear people saying ‘you’re just like your mother’. I... I wanted to be the opposite of her – tough, stoic, unfazed. And yet...she always flows through me, as if she never left."
Now feeling on the verge of collapse, Mireya felt as Jeff uplifted her, mimicking her same gesture. "I understand. Dad might not have touched people’s lives, but he still cared for us. I owe Marty – Robert – at least to care for him. I might’ve felt him for granted, but when our parents were gone... He was the only family I had left. I learned to appreciate being with him, tolerating all his... His stuff. I always thought he was a bother, but now? I don’t want him away from me."
"Yeah, that seems obvious. You were very overprotective back at Olympia. It makes so much sense now." Mireya crossed eyes with Jeff, noticing a rare gleam in them. "Same thing with Vanessita, my little sister. After Mami died, I acted like her mother. Papi always reminded me of that. But before her death? Always wanted her to leave with a hoodlum, a tigerazo, and stop bothering us." She sighed, closing her eyes. "The moment I saw her noviecito, I almost killed that bastard. That’s when I realized my feelings for her changed."
"Kinda makes me feel glad my brother’s a boy." Almost at unison, Jeff and Mireya sat down nearby, sensing the weight of the pending question. "You said she died trying to help others. You don’t mind?"
"Right." With another deep breath, Mireya settled to speak of her mother’s demise. "She died trying to seek a cure for a deadly venom. And ironically...she died by the same venom she tried to cure."
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