Yolardis
by: Hojat Salehi
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I thought that maybe a stylish dress would make her happy and I took her to a chic clothing boutique in the lobby of a fancy international hotel. The store was air conditioned and played Italian pop music. The pretty storekeeper greeted us with a smile, presented some garments and made some suggestions. Yolardis was in awe from the moment we entered. She bashfully touched the fancy designer clothes. Then she tried a couple of dresses on and began posing by the mirror in a mix of self-consciousness and fascination. She examined the price tags in wonder. In no time, she wanted to try everything on.
Finally she put on a blue dress of beautiful silk that fit her well and she appeared to want the most. Feeling exalted, I thought to myself that I too deserved to see her in that dress. The price tag was a reasonable $135 and I decided to pay cash and buy her the dress as a present. When we left the boutique, she was all smiles, overjoyed with the fancy shopping bag in her hand. Afterwards we strolled hand in hand for a bit. In parting she kissed me and said with a sweet smile:
"Thank you for the beautiful present."
"You're welcome. I hope it's beautiful enough for you."
"Listen. I have to go home now and stay in tonight. But let's do something nice tomorrow. I will wear this dress."
"We can go to a very nice restaurant or a nightclub. Whatever you like."
"I'll come by tomorrow around this time."
"I'll be waiting."
"One more thing. You must stay away from shameless girls. Understand?"
That night I ate early at Alejandro's and went home and joined Margarita and her kids in watching a blurry video, a Hispanic romantic comedy about Dominican immigrants filmed in the Bronx. The following day I went to the beach early and read to the end of my book.
That night Yolardis stood me up. I anxiously stayed in until midnight and drank all the beer in the mini-bar but there was no sign of her. Then I decided to visit the shabby local bar and get drunk on rum.
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