The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway — Chapter 20

IS THAT REALLY ALL YOU WANT IN EXCHANGE?

YES, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ALBA. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE PREPARED THE ITEM I MENTIONED TO YOU EARLIER.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EVEN AS I AM LOOKING AT IT RIGHT NOW.

TO THINK YOU'D TRY BRIBING YOUR SUPERIOR WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

LIEUTENANT CÁRCEL ESCALANTE.

I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SEE YOU DIFFERENTLY, AND I MUST SAY...

...I AM TRULY TOUCHED BY WHAT YOU DID FOR ME!

THANK YOU, ESCALANTE!

NOT AT ALL, SIR. I LIKE TO THINK IT WAS SIMPLY GOD'S WILL...

...THAT YOU JUST HAPPENED TO BE ON VACATION HERE IN MENDOZA.

How Will I Ever Repay You?!

YES, CERTAINLY! BUT ARE YOU SURE MY RESIDENCE IN CALZTELA WILL SUFFICE?

I MEAN, A RIFLE AND BATON ENGRAVED WITH ADMIRAL CALDERON'S NAME...

THESE ARE GIFTS NO AMOUNT OF MONEY COULD BUY!

I AM WELL AWARE OF HOW MUCH RESPECT YOU HAVE FOR MY GRANDFATHER, SIR.

I'M MORE WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER MY HANDWRITTEN LETTER ALONE WILL BE ENOUGH FOR YOUR WIFE.

OF COURSE IT'S ENOUGH! WHEN I PASSED ALONG THE NEWS, SHE WAS BEYOND ECSTATIC!

WELL THEN, I AM COUNTING ON YOU. MY WEDDING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER, SO WE MUST HURRY AND...

BY THE WAY, I'M SURPRISED.

AS YOU KNOW, MY RESIDENCE IS RATHER SMALL...

PLUS, YOU'VE NEVER HAD MUCH OF AN INTEREST IN OCEANFRONT HOUSES.

I THOUGHT YOU WERE SICK OF THE SEA.

I WILL BE A NEWLYWED, AFTER ALL.

WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MUCH LUGGAGE?

WILL THERE EVEN BE ENOUGH ROOM FOR ME HERE?

MAYBE NOT.

I THINK YOU MIXED UP YOUR THOUGHTS WITH YOUR WORDS.

WHY WOULDN'T THERE BE?

HOWEVER I LOOK AT IT, IT DOESN'T SEEM THERE'S GOING TO BE ROOM FOR MY THINGS AS WELL.

YOU DO REALIZE THIS IS ALL YOUR LUGGAGE, DON'T YOU?

I KNOW THIS IS NORMAL SINCE IT'S RARE FOR SOLDIERS TO LIVE WITH THEIR FAMILIES AT THEIR POST, BUT STILL...

MY WIFE HAS BECOME A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WOMAN.

IT'S BEEN LIKE THIS EVER SINCE WE STARTED LIVING IN OUR RESIDENCE. IT'S AS IF SHE'S A WOMAN I'M MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME.

COULD IT BE BECAUSE YOU USED TO SEE EACH OTHER SO INFREQUENTLY? YOU DID GET MARRIED 10 YEARS AGO, AFTER ALL...

CAN YOU NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE A METAPHOR? I'M SAYING WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE EACH OTHER IN A NEW LIGHT. IT'S LIKE WE'RE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE NOW!

I WONDER IF IT'S ALL THE TIME WE'VE BEEN SPENDING TOGETHER SINCE WE DON'T HAVE MUCH STAFF AT THE HOUSE.

SHE'S BECOME SO MUCH KINDER NOW THAT I CAN HARDLY EVEN REMEMBER WHY WE FOUGHT BEFORE.

YOUR STAY HERE WILL BE PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE, SEÑORA!

THE RESIDENCE HOUSEKEEPER, ARONDRA

WHY DON'T YOU START BY THROWING AWAY ANYTHING YOU DON'T LIKE?

ASIDE FROM OUR LIEUTENANT, OF COURSE.

I DON'T WANT TO THROW AWAY SOMEONE ELSE'S THINGS...

A HUSBAND'S THINGS ARE HIS WIFE'S THINGS AS WELL.

So Feel Free To Throw Away Anything You Want!

AH, AND THIS IS WHERE THE POOL TABLE THE LIEUTENANT LIKED TO USE IS LOCATED.

THERE'S ALSO A CARD TABLE, AND A CHESS TABLE TOO.

IT WAS RARE FOR HIM TO EVER BRING A COLLEAGUE HERE.

HE MOSTLY JUST USED THIS ROOM TO CONTEMPLATE ON HIS OWN.

SO, YOU PLAYED HERE ALL BY YOURSELF, HUH?

DON'T MAKE ME SOUND LIKE SUCH A SOCIAL MISFIT.

COME OVER HERE, INÉS.

THIS HERE...

...IS OUR BEDROOM.

SEÑORA, WOULD YOU COME THIS WAY FOR A MOMENT?

THIS IS THE LIEUTENANT'S LIBRARY.

PERSONALLY, I'VE NEVER SEEN THE LIEUTENANT READING ANYTHING,

SO PERHAPS THIS COULD BECOME YOUR OWN PRIVATE LIBRARY, SEÑORA.

WELL, I'M SURE HE READS FROM TIME TO TIME...

IN ALL MY YEARS, I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT MAN CRACK OPEN A SINGLE BOOK.

I THINK SHE'S SAYING THESE THINGS BECAUSE SHE'S WORRIED INÉS MIGHT RUN AWAY...

NOT TO MENTION, HE ALWAYS FINISHES HIS WORK BACK AT THE HEADQUARTERS.

He Says He Doesn't Like To Bring His Work Home.

FROM THE LIBRARY, YOU CAN SEE BOTH THE OCEAN...

...AND THE NAVAL RESIDENCES ON THE HILL.

WHAT DO YOU THINK, SEÑORA? DO YOU LIKE IT?

OF COURSE.

I LOVE IT.

...HOW CAN YOU ALREADY...

...BE ENDING YOUR VACATION TOMORROW?

ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED?

I'M JUST SHOCKED BY YOUR LACK OF PLANNING.

I PLANNED THINGS JUST FINE.

ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE PLAN YOU MADE WHERE YOU HAD JUST TWO WEEKS OF VACATION EVEN AFTER USING UP ALL YOUR ALLOTTED TIME?

WELL, THE WEDDING WENT FINE, AND YOU'RE HERE NOW, AREN'T YOU?

I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM.

AT ANY RATE, I'M RELIEVED.

THIS PLACE IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I EXPECTED.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MORE LIKE A PORT.

PERHAPS BUSIER OR LOUDER, AND FILLED WITH FISHING BOATS...

THAT'S BECAUSE THIS IS A MILITARY BASE WHERE FISHING IS BANNED.

BUT IF YOU GO DOWN JUST A BIT ALONG THE COAST, THERE'S A FAMOUS PORT.

IN MENDOZA, PEOPLE JUST CALL IT THE CALZTELA PORT...

...BUT THE LOCALS CALL IT "PORT EL TABEO."

THAT'S THE MAIN PORT.

THEN...

...IS THIS PLACE "EL TABEO" TOO?

THAT'S ONE OF THE SMALLER PORTS.

I THINK THE NAME IS...

...WAS IT SEVILLA?

WHY? DO YOU LIKE THE PAINTING?

SHOULD I PUT IT IN YOUR LIBRARY?

NO,

I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL.

PLEASE THROW IT AWAY.

I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO SEE IT EVER AGAIN.

To Be Continued