Manuel s eyes were another green. Reminiscent of marbles, murk, clouds, long walks in the warm South American rain. I was happy for the first time in months. But time didn t stop, and I learned that faith, too, set the colour in those eyes. He s asked me but he says he s not ready for marriage.
Liaisons don t run in our family.
And anyway here s what my mother told me. Sex, she said, is a poor way to get a man. We ll dip our fingers in Lake Puerrodon and our toes in the Chalia River. We ll taste the salt ponds of the Dseado and backpack in the high peaks of the Andes. We ll trek the plains and scrunch pampas grass beneath our sandals.