Cristiana Chapter 11 #3
“Remember that for the times I’ll piss you off,” he smirked, then flicked his gaze back to the road.
The car began slowing significantly. I glanced around to find we were in a neighborhood of houses.
I gulped when Reuben turned right into the driveway of a house.
It was an enormous family home. The yard, despite everything dying, was immaculate.
Several cars were parked off to the side.
He pulled up to the closed garage door on the left.
“We’re here. I want you to breathe and know that they’ll like you because you’re mine. But I don’t doubt that they’ll love you for who you are. Hang tight,” he said, as he shut off the engine.
I sat there concentrating on my breathing while he got out, rounded the car, and opened my door. Being the gentleman he was, Reuben even leaned down and undid my seatbelt for me. Holding onto my hand, he helped me out, and I admit, I clung to his arm as he walked us to the front door.
Like it was at my parents’ house, he didn’t knock or ring the doorbell.
He simply opened the door, and we waltzed in.
Inside, there was the buzz of numerous voices, adults and children.
Again, so reminiscent of home when my whole family was together.
Closing the door, Reuben called out loudly to be heard over the din.
I saw people ahead of us in a living room, but no one saw us.
“We’re here. What’s with all the noise in here?”
Heads turned. Adults exclaimed and began moving our way. I heard kids yelling, Tio, Uncle Reuben as they ran toward us.
The first to reach us was a gaggle of kids. They ranged from ten years old to toddlers. The clamoring was almost deafening as the kids jumped and hugged his legs. Reuben laughed.
“Hang on, you animals. You need to give me a minute to greet everyone,” he told them.
I felt the stares of his entire family as they focused on me. An older couple moved to the front of the crowd. There was no doubt these were his parents. While Reuben strongly favored his dad, he had his mom’s eyes and smile.
He let go of my hand to step forward to embrace and kiss them both on the cheek. Then, he stepped back and retook my hand in his. “Papá, Mamá, it’s good to see you.”
“And us to see you, hijo, son,” his dad replied.
“It’s been too long. You look skinny,” his mom replied. It reminded me of my mamá so much that I giggled, causing all eyes to refocus on me.
Reuben winked at me as he smiled. “You always say that. I’d like to introduce you to someone. This lady beside me is Cristiana Perez—” Before he finished, the oldest boy interrupted.
“Is she your girlfriend, Tio?” He had the same looks as Reuben and his brothers. No doubt he’d be a heartbreaker when he got older.
“Mind your manners and don’t interrupt,” a woman hissed, no doubt his mom. She flicked the back of his ear.
The boy cried out, “Ow,” and rubbed his ear.
“Rico, if you had given me another second, I would’ve told you. Yes, Cristiana is my girlfriend. Tiana, this scamp is Rico, my brother Antonio’s son. Let me run through the names with you. No worries, there’s no test later.” He winked at me.
“These are my parents, Roberto and Lucia. Then, from left to right, between them are my brother Antonio and his wife, Rosalia. That’s my brother Marcello and his wife, Ava.
Next to them is my sister Sofia and her husband, Javier.
The next one is Liam. He’s my sister Maya’s husband.
On the other side of Maya are my youngest brother, Francisco, and his wife, Eliza.
Lastly, this guy is Daniel. He’s married to my baby sister, Lolita. ”
My head was whirling with names. He’d mentioned several of them before, but I was trying to recall who was with whom and to memorize names with faces. I smiled and unglued my tongue from the roof of my mouth to speak.
“It’s a pleasure to meet everyone. Reuben has mentioned all of you. Please forgive me if I forget your name and have to ask for it. Mr. and Mrs. Davila, thank you for allowing me into your home.”
His mom stepped forward and held out her hands. I gave her one of mine. She clutched it. Her smile was warm and sweet. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cristiana. May we call you that?”
“Oh, of course, you may.”
“Lovely. And you must call me Lucia. We don’t stand on formality. I must say, you are a surprise, but a welcome one. Our Reuben has never brought a girl home with him.”
“So that’s true. He told me he hadn’t, but I thought surely he had to be mistaken,” I automatically replied.
“He wasn’t lying. Cristiana, it’s wonderful to meet you. Please, call me Roberto,” his dad said next. From there, I was greeted and invited to call everyone by their first names. However, that wasn’t the end of it. Besides Rico, there were eleven more kids. I smiled and talked to them as well.
“We’re being terrible hosts, making you stand there. Come, come, have a seat. We’re just relaxing as things cook. Reuben, you know where things are. Get her a drink. Make her feel welcome,” his mom chided.
He placed a kiss on her cheek as he guided me into the large family room. It was huge and opened into the kitchen. The air was filled with delicious scents. I inhaled and then moaned.
“Lord, it smells like home,” I told him.
“I always love coming home and smelling the food. I can promise you, it’s better than my cooking and will taste amazing. Even if my sisters had their hands in it,” Reuben said, smirking at his sisters.
And just like it would at my parents’ house, it caused them to protest, and a loud, mock verbal battle began. It continued as Reuben brought me a glass of ice water with fresh lemon and lime slices. He had one, too. Listening to them, I laughed over and over.
“I swear, you’ll have Cristiana thinking I raised a bunch of animals,” Lucia told them.
“Oh, don’t worry, I love it. My siblings and I are the same way, and my mamá says the same thing.”
“Cristiana, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself since my brother has kept you a secret? Where are you from?” Sofia asked.
“How long have you two been dating?” Lolita added.
“How did you meet?” Antonio asked.
I saw the curiosity written all over them and the others.
“I’m a recent transplant to the Nashville area. I grew up near Memphis. I grew up in a household like this. I have two older brothers and an older sister. They all still live around Memphis. My parents love that they have most of the family close, especially their grandchildren. I’m an accountant.”
“Don’t let her fool you. She’s more than an accountant. She’s a forensic accountant who sleuths out misdeeds and helps gather evidence to prosecute people if necessary,” Reuben bragged.
“That sounds intriguing. We’ll have to hear more about how you do that. How long have you two been dating?” Maya asked.
“It’s been three weeks,” I admitted.
“Three weeks, wow, and he’s brought you to meet us. You must’ve known each other for a long time for him to do that,” Marcello remarked.
It appeared his siblings were the ones leading the interrogation, though that was a strong word for what they were doing. It was no less than what my siblings would do. I wasn’t sure what I should say. Reuben and I talked about this, but my mind went blank.
Reuben was standing next to where I was seated on a sectional. He sank onto the arm of it and put his arm around me. I was grateful for the light squeeze he gave me.
“Actually, we’ve known each other for a month,” he told them.
And there it was, the look. They tried to be covert about it, but the darted eyes to the side and the hastily masked surprise and disbelief were there. I refused to lie, but this made it uncomfortable.
“Before you start saying that’s not long enough to date someone or to bring them home to meet your family, I need you to know that it is long enough.
I knew the moment I met her that Cristiana was the woman I was meant to be with.
I was lucky that she saw me the same way.
Papá, Mamá, you told us that it was love at first sight when the two of you met.
It’s the same for us. I love her and she loves me. ” Reuben boldly told them.
“It was,” his dad agreed.
We were saved from more questions by the sound of a buzzer. Several of the women, along with his mom, rose to their feet and asked us to excuse them. As they headed to the kitchen, I had to offer.
“Is there anything I can do? I feel funny sitting here while you work. My mamá would disown me if she knew I did that.”
“You’re welcome to come with us. Not sure there’s much left to do, but we can chat. Plus, it’ll leave the men to talk about sports and who knows what else.” Sofia rolled her eyes.
Her words made the men protest, but they didn’t deny it. Rising, I glanced over at Reuben. He gave me an encouraging smile and mouthed, I love you. I mouthed the same back.
Watching the food come together to be served was like a well-orchestrated dance.
No one ran into each other, despite all the bodies in there.
Off through another doorway, I saw a massive table all set with dishware and silverware.
On the other side of the kitchen was a breakfast nook with a smaller table. It was set as well.
“Let me guess. The kids in here, and the adults in there? My parents will have to start that at home soon.”
“We hate that we have to, but there’s no way we can get a longer or a second table in the dining room.
This place is so huge, you’d think it wouldn’t be necessary.
When we moved in six years ago, Roberto and I thought it would be more than enough.
It’s too much when it’s just us and crowded when we have the kids here, but we love it,” Lucia confessed.
“Don’t let her fool you, Cristiana. They’d let us all live here if we would,” Lolita said, smiling.
“We would. You all survived in a tiny house compared to this one. When you all insisted we move in here, I was lost,” her mom admitted.