Jessica sat down at the table. “How old is he?” she asked Anna, indicating the baby.

“Eight weeks.”

“He’s adorable.”

Anna beamed. “Gracias. Yes, he will be as handsome as his father. Do you have children?”

“No. I’m not married.” Jessica took a sip of iced tea.

“You have known Señor Ethan for a long time?” Rita inquired with more than polite interest. “You are his friend from San Francisco?”

“Um, no. Actually, I only met him, uh, Ethan, yesterday. My car broke down, you see, and Mrs. McAllister was kind enough to ask me to stay.”

Rita dissolved in mirth. She clapped her hands over her mouth, chortling through her fingers. “Oh, I said the wrong thing.” She said something in rapid Spanish to her sister who let out a hoot of laughter. Jessica looked at them both with increasing confusion until Rita at last was able to explain her amusement. “I thought you were his girlfriend, the one he was to marry. I never met her. I said to him—” She chortled again. “I said the two of you would make beautiful babies together!”

From Ethan’s Bride
Copyright © 2013 by Margaret Desmond

This post is in response to the Daily Prompt: Rapid