Take My Breath Away

"Megan is family. Why should she not be so close to Carlos?" Valerie snapped.

Before Debbie could respond, Carlos held her hands and told her in a calm voice, "Deb, Megan is just a kid with a lot of enthusiasm. You're overreacting. Let's go upstairs."

'An 18-year-old kid? With a lot of enthusiasm? She has a thing for you. Why can't you see it?' Debbie retorted in her mind.

With red eyes, Megan apologized again, "Aunt Debbie, please don't be mad at me. If you're not happy, I will keep that in mind and stay away from Uncle Carlos."

Debbie was fuming with rage. 'So you all think I'm the bad guy here? Fine! I'll be the black sheep.'

Debbie shook Carlos' hands off and walked up the stairs. He started after her. She suddenly turned around and shouted at him, "Don't follow me. Leave me alone."

Before Carlos could say anything, Megan stepped backwards as if she were intimidated by Debbie, and Valerie stood up from the couch. "Debbie Nian!" she shouted imperiously. "Don't talk to my grandson that way! He's your husband! The husband is always right!"

'The husband is always right?' Debbie rolled her eyes secretly. 'This woman is positively medieval!'

She wanted to say something back. But on second thought, Valerie was Carlos' grandma, so she bit back the words she would like to have said.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Carlos chimed in, "Grandma, you're wrong. It's the 21st century, and a wife has as much power as her husband when it comes to family. Please stay out of it, Grandma. Megan, keep Grandma company."

After saying that, he grabbed Debbie's hand and walked up the stairs.

Although Debbie had lost her temper at him in front of his family, Carlos made his stand clear and defended her. Valerie couldn't believe her ears. 'Carlos used to be a proud man. I didn't expect him to defend such a rude woman.'

She grabbed her walking stick tighter. "Women have as much power?" she retorted. "Only when she's from a family of equal social rank. What kind of family does she come

He opened his laptop and began to work, without saying a word to Debbie.

'What?! I thought he wasn't mad anymore.

Turns out I was wrong, and he's still angry, ' Debbie thought.

She sat on the bedside, wondering what she should do to cool him down. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her mind. She entered the study quietly and sat on the couch.

All of a sudden, she held her back with her right hand and cried, "Aaaargh! It hurts! My back!"

Carlos stopped typing and stood up. He strode towards her and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Your back hurts? Let me take you to the hospital."

"No... No... No need for that. I can handle it."

"No! I must take you to the hospital." He scooped her up in his arms and was about to leave.

Debbie cuddled his neck and said quickly, "Don't take me to the hospital! I just feel like I'm sprouting wings."

Carlos stopped and looked at her in disbelief.

His reaction amused Debbie, and she wanted to laugh out loud. But she knew he would get angry again if she did. So she said playfully, "Honey, I've developing wings."

Instead of putting her down, Carlos took her to the bed and threw her onto it. He began to strip off her clothes while saying, "Well, I'd like to check how your wings are coming along. What kind of bird are you, anyway? Never mind, let's have fun finding it out."