From 'the Double' X Poem by Morgan Michaels

When he proposed, Miggi said his love for Miriam was 'boundless'. He meant it. For him, love was the whole buffalo, impossible to fraction. Otherwise- no dice.

His mother encouraged the marriage. Unlike her own, years before, his was obligation-less. Gracias a Dios, his fiancee resembled her father, who wasn't handsome. She was the oldest in a family of four daughters, the second of whom was already safely wed. While there was no emergency, there was no reason to shirk opportunity. And, in some ways, Miggi seemed the ideal son-in-law. A little nervously, her family welcomed his dark, good looks, which turned thuggish in the wrong light. He was known as a 'rhumba king', pleased to demonstrate his moves in the dance-bars of Havana. To Mamita's distress, his reputation as a juego-putto had reached her even in Oriente. His father had been the same, where ever he now was. Anyone could see, Miggi was dashing in his dress whites and buffed, patent-leather shoes.He had a sultry eye yet a friendly, facile smile. His voice was exceptional- deep and rich, subject to sudden diminuendo. He'd learned to peer provocatively from under the brim of his officer's cap. Mamita may even have encouraged him. She was tired of uncertainty and wanted him well-settled. At twenty-two, he was easily old enough. From time to time, she recalled her own ill-starred union with his half-Castilian father, who'd acquired acreage under the terms of land re-distribution. Gallantly, shrugging off family disapproval, she entered the union, positing the glass half-full. After their split...