Chapter 48
Ten Minutes Earlier
Ava’s eyes darted around the ballroom, taking note of her relatives like an antelope trying to maneuver through a grassland
scattered with lions.
There, by the bar, her mother and Titi Val spoke quickly with their heads together.
Next to the buffet table, Willow and Olympia yelled at each other, tears streaming down their faces.
Behind them, Ava’s father rubbed his temples the way Ava did when she was getting a migraine.
At the edge of the dance floor, Abuela and Michelle argued animatedly, while Titi Nereida prayed the rosary in Spanish at
the top of her lungs.
Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores...
For one brief, shining moment, Ava thought she’d be able to sneak out unnoticed.
Until Olympia spotted her.
Her stepmother turned her tear-stained face to Ava and wailed, “How could you say that about me?”
Willow’s face pinched in anger. “Because you’re the evil stepmother, Mom!”
The commotion drew Abuela’s attention and she barreled toward Ava like an oncoming express train, wagging her finger in the
air. “Mira, I never said I wanted you to get knocked around.”
“It’s knocked up , Abuela.” Michelle was hot on Esperanza’s heels. “It means pregnant.”
“Embarazada, sí,” Abuela answered, like Michelle had just suggested a wonderful idea. The old woman turned back to Ava with
an expression that somehow melded glee and reproach. “?Por qué no nos dijiste que tienes novio?”
This , Ava thought dully. This is why I didn’t tell you I have a boyfriend .
Ronnie hurried over, a sleepy three-year-old balanced on her hip. “So I was right?” she asked, breathless. “Roman is your boyfriend?”
“He’s her fiancé,” Titi Nita amended, joining the growing crowd around Ava.
“I knew it.” Ronnie shot a smug grin over her shoulder. “Pay up, Sammy!”
“Is this because Hector’s getting remarried?” Titi Nereida’s daughter, Marta, asked from somewhere in the background.
Sammy began to sing an off-key rendition of “We Don’t Talk About Hector” with gusto.
“Shut up ,” Michelle shouted. “Everybody, give her some space—”
“Really, Ava, we’re happy for you, but your timing could have been better,” Titi Lisa chided.
“Don’t mess this one up, too.” Titi Nereida shook a finger in Ava’s face. “That man is very, very rich.”
“ Are you pregnant?” Esperanza pulled the fabric of Ava’s dress taut over her stomach, searching for a baby bump.
Nereida leaned in and adjusted her glasses. “No, just gordita.”
It was too much. Too fucking much. Ava could feel herself slipping away, numbing out. Her Resting Pleasant Face morphed over
her features, glazing her eyes, curving the corners of her lips, her jaw so tight it felt like it would crack.
Someone pinched her arm. “ Stop it .”
Startled, Ava glanced to her right, where Michelle gazed up at her with a fierce expression.
“Don’t do that,” Mich said in an undertone. “Don’t let them do this to you.”
Michelle was right. Keeping things hidden was what had gotten Ava into this mess in the first place. Hadn’t she often fantasized
about telling her family exactly how she felt? This was her chance.
New Ava is not afraid to express her feelings .
Right?
Right.
Fuck . She was really doing this.
With a deep breath, Ava straightened to her full height and pulled away from her grandmother.
“Abuela, stop .”
The sharp tone barely registered, and Esperanza was distracted as she asked, “Stop what?”
Ava swallowed hard. Now or never . “Stop it with the invasive questions.”
Esperanza’s penciled-in brows drew together. “?El qué?”
“Las preguntas invasivas,” Ava translated. “No more.”
Her grandmother shared an incredulous glance with Titi Nereida. “Pero why can’t I ask?”
“Because it’s none of your business, Grandma!” This came from Willow, whose baby goth mascara had smeared around her eyes. Ava felt a swell of gratitude and pride for her sister, along with shame that Willow felt she had to defend her. Ava should have been modeling this backbone for her sister well before now.
It’s not too late .
Esperanza threw her hands up. “How is my granddaughter’s life not my business?” She rounded on Ava again. “That man just asked
you to marry him. What are you so upset about?”
“What am I upset about?” Ava repeated the question with an edge bordering on hysterical. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you what
I’m upset about.”
She ticked it off on her fingers. “I’m upset about being asked if I’m pregnant and then being called fat .”
Nereida clutched her rosary to her chest.
“I’m upset about wagers being made regarding my relationship status.”
Ronnie looked away guiltily.
“I’m upset about the way everyone still talks about Hector .”
Sammy had the grace to look abashed, while Marta studied her nails.
Esperanza, who had evidently had enough of Ava’s feelings, waved a hand dismissively. “Families always talk about each other.
Es normal.”
“No.” Ava’s heart pounded from the stress of outright disagreeing with her grandmother. “It went beyond typical bochinche.
And while I do not regret my divorce, I am upset by the way everyone reacted. It was the most painful time of my life, and instead of being supported, I was judged and blamed me and treated like a failure. It was extremely hurtful, and still is.” Ava addressed the rest of the group. “After all that, can you understand why I’d be scared to introduce someone new?”
There were some nods, a few shrugs. Titi Val had joined the group, and she sent Ava a sympathetic smile.
Someone else moved into Ava’s line of vision—Jasmine, approaching from the back. Ava sucked in a breath as she turned to her
cousin. “Jas, I’m so sorry you found out this way.”
Jasmine’s expression turned sheepish. “I kinda already knew. Ashton told me after the bridal shower.”
“Of course.” Ava’s shoulders slumped, the weight she’d been carrying replaced by the shame of her actions. “I should’ve told
you sooner.”
Jasmine’s glance darted around the group surrounding them, and when their gazes met again, Ava saw deep understanding in her
cousin’s dark eyes.
Esperanza, who’d been conducting a rapid-fire conversation in Spanish with Nereida, rounded on Ava again. “Mira, nena. What
do you want me to say? I’m sorry?”
Despite speaking the words out loud, it was clearly not an apology. Still, Ava murmured, “Thank you.”
Shaking that off, Abuela pressed her cool hands to Ava’s cheeks. “I just don’t want you to be alone.”
“I don’t want to be alone either.” A note of pleading entered Ava’s voice. “But I needed time to heal, to figure out who I
am now and what I want from the rest of my life. I needed my family, I needed you , and instead, it felt like... like you didn’t love me anymore.”
Ava’s voice cracked at the end, the words forced out through a throat jammed with tears. The vulnerability of her admission
left her feeling raw and exposed.
Esperanza’s eyes went wide and she sputtered, as if such a thing had never occurred to her. As if such a thing were impossible.
“Muchacha, of course I love you!” She stepped forward and pulled Ava into a hug. “Ay, mi bebé. You could have murdered Hector and I would still love you. Not only that, I would tell everyone you were innocent.”
Ava leaned into the embrace, tears and laughter clogging her throat. “Why didn’t you say that at the time?”
Abuela shrugged as she pulled away. “Porque I thought it was obvious.”
“It still helps to hear it,” Ava said, because it definitely hadn’t been obvious.
Esperanza’s brow creased in thought, and she turned to her sister. “?Sabes qué? I remember having a similar conversation with
our mother, a long time ago.”
Nereida’s eyes narrowed on a point in the distance. “I remember that. Ay Diós, she was so angry that anyone dared to question
her.”
Esperanza blinked. “Aha. I see now that this is the problem.” But then her expression turned coy. “Y este hombre,” she began.
Ava suppressed an eye-roll at the immediate shift away from self-examination. Before her grandmother could continue interrogating
her about Roman, Ava blurted out, “I’m quitting my job.”
Esperanza’s thin brows leaped. “?Qué dijiste?”
Ava braced herself, but at that moment, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ode to wet ass pussies blasted through the ballroom at top volume.
Everyone jumped at the sudden noise. Jasmine snarled and stormed off, no doubt to throttle the AV techs. Michelle doubled
over laughing.
The music was, luckily, too loud for anyone to ask follow-up questions. Abuelo Willie appeared to draw Esperanza toward the
open bar. Over his shoulder, he sent Ava a wink and mouthed, “Te quiero, nena.”
As the crowd began to disperse, a soft hand landed on her arm. Ava turned to see her mother. Wearing a pained smile, Patricia
wordlessly enfolded Ava in a hug.
Ava breathed in the familiar floral scent of Patricia’s perfume. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes yet again, and she
remembered that everyone had overheard more than just Roman proposing to her. “Mommy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Baby, don’t apologize.” Patricia shifted back, her eyes filled with sadness. “I’m the one who should be saying sorry. When
we sent you to live with your grandparents, I never imagined you would think it was because we didn’t want you. It seemed
like the best option at the time, but... maybe we should have tried harder to find another solution.”
“It—thank you.” Ava cut herself off before she could brush it aside with an it’s okay . “That means a lot.”
She’d never meant for her mother to hear those things, but she had, and now Patricia had apologized. That was a start, wasn’t
it? Ava couldn’t change the past, but she could determine how her interactions went from this point on.
Patricia’s next words came as a surprise. “For what it’s worth, I understand why you kept Roman to yourself.”
Ava squinted at her mother. “Is this because of the lap dance?”
Patricia’s face registered shock, and she burst into embarrassed laughter. “Oh my goodness. I won’t go into detail, but...
whew .” She fanned herself. “No, I meant that I understand how your father’s family can sometimes feel like... well, like being
on a stage. Everyone is watching, and while they’re cheering for you, they’re also waiting for you to make a mistake.”
Ava blinked. She hadn’t known her mother understood so deeply. Why hadn’t they ever talked about this before?
Patricia grasped Ava’s hands. Her light brown eyes bored into Ava’s hazel green ones.
“Listen to me, baby. I will always be on your side. No matter what happens, or who says what. Okay?”
“Thanks, Mommy.” And then Ava really looked at her mother, seeing Patricia not as her mom, but as a woman who had lived a life, who’d gone through many of the same things
Ava had. Patricia likely had her own wisdom to share, if only Ava had the courage to ask.
But before she could even consider what to say next, her father appeared on Patricia’s other side, a look of contrition on
his face.
“Lo siento, mija.”
Ava nearly swallowed her tongue. Another apology? And from her father ?
He rubbed the back of his head, his salt-and-pepper hair more salt these days. “Willow always says you help us too much, but
I didn’t realize it was so bad. I’ll talk to Olympia.”
“I’d appreciate that.” These were bigger conversations that shouldn’t occur in the middle of a ballroom. But still, to receive apologies from both of her parents, after what they’d heard her say... it was mind-boggling.
Jasmine and Michelle drifted over, each carrying two glasses of champagne. The music—now a slightly more family-friendly playlist,
starting with Beyoncé—had been lowered to an appropriate volume, and the dance floor was filling up. Waitstaff rotated around
the room with platters of finger food. The party had officially begun.
Patricia kissed Ava on the cheek. “We’ll talk more later. I love you, baby.” She accepted the glass Michelle handed her with
a smile, then went off to join Titi Val.
“Love you, kid.” Miguel pulled Ava into a one-armed hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead, like he used to when she was little.
“Just for being you.”
Ava’s heart twisted. It was what she’d needed to hear for so long, but the words didn’t provide the immediate sense of healing
she’d once thought they would. Instead, the wound they touched simply felt a little less sore. For so many years, Ava had
been trying to meet other people’s expectations of who she should be. But over the past few months she’d discovered that just
being herself was, well... it was enough.
“Thanks, Daddy.” Ava let herself lean against him for a moment. She wasn’t quite ready to let her father off the hook, but
this was a start. She was grateful for Willow, and while she knew things with Olympia would take work, maybe, with time and
communication, they could find some semblance of balance.
Before her father walked away, he murmured, “Hola, mis sobrinas,” to Jasmine and Michelle, who responded with, “Hi, Tío,” in unison.
The second he was out of earshot, Jasmine and Michelle turned as one to stare at Ava.
It was time to face the music.