Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jocelyn
I roll over and see that it’s morning. I practically faceplanted into bed last night after we got home from the bioluminescent swim.
It was incredibly cool, but after a day of sun, pool, walking on the beach, and then that swim, I was exhausted.
Hutch wanted to go to the rainforest later this morning.
I grab my phone and see that it’s eight in the morning. I quickly grab a shower and get dressed. By the time I walk down to the kitchen, about half of our group is sitting at the table, kitchen island, and a few chairs on the deck by the pool. Jessa and Troy are here.
“Hey,” I say as I walk over to give them hugs. “How was the wedding?”
“Wonderful,” Jessa answers as she eats a homemade donut that appears to have just come out of a fryer. Cam’s whipping up more as Fletcher helps.
Ava comes buzzing past us with a bag of toys. “I’m going in the pool,” she yells as she drops the bag by the side of the pool.
“Shallow end only!” Carly yells. “Until Bray gets down here.”
“Yes, Mom,” she replies.
Kasen turns his computer around and smiles at me. Honestly, it’s a little creepy. That guy almost never smiles that big.
“Yes?” I say hesitantly.
“I found your family,” he says.
I freeze, and the room goes silent. Well, silent except for a lot of buzzing. It’s like a bunch of bees or something.
I know I’m not the only one to hear because everyone starts looking around, too. I try to concentrate because this is a big moment.
“Are they still alive?” I ask, attempting to ignore the buzzing sounds.
“Uh, yeah. Your grandmother lives like twenty minutes from here, and it looks like you have an aunt and two cousins that live a few blocks from her,” he says as he points to a map.
Then he pulls up photos of my aunt and cousins, two girls, who look to be maybe high school or college age, a few years younger than Val and me.
“Wow,” I manage, still distracted by the buzzing. Everyone else is looking around, picking up things, and pressing buttons in the kitchen.
“What if we don’t go to the rainforest?” Hutch says. “What if you go meet them?”
My eyes widen. “And say what? Just roll up and say, ‘Hey, hi, I’m your long-lost relative’?”
“Yeah, basically exactly that,” he says.
“What the hell is that buzzing noise?” Kasen asks as he looks around.
All of a sudden, Carly’s hand flies to her mouth. We follow her gaze to find Ava, pulling multiple vibrators out of her bag and making them float like boats in the water while they are turned on.
“Mom, look, I found these massager missiles for my mermaids,” she says, proudly holding up a giant pink vibrator complete with rabbit ears.
“Oh. My. God,” Cam says as she puts a hand over her mouth. “That’s mine,” she squeaks.
“I have a pink one, a blue one, and a purple one,” Ava says as she holds up three vibrating toys that she should not have.
“Ava, where did you get those?” Carly asks, a horrified look forming on her face.
“Oh, well, Mommy, you had one in your suitcase, and then I figured I’d check everyone’s suitcases, and Miss Cam had one and Miss Piper too,” she says. “Are they massagers for girls? I haven’t checked Miss Margie’s or Miss Cornelia’s bags yet.”
Suddenly, the room is alight with activity. Half of us are dying laughing. The other half are trying to get the vibrators from Ava.
I turn to Hutch as I laugh. “Uh, I’m really glad you had me share the guesthouse with you.”
He chuckles. “Why? What’s in your bag?”
I blush. “Oh, nothing,” I say as I grab a donut and stuff it in my mouth. He doesn’t need to see my vibrator or my fancy underwear.
He raises an eyebrow.
I blush more.
“So, I guess we’re going to see my family?” I say as I finish chewing.
“Sure, I’ll drive you over there, and then we can talk about all the stuff we packed,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “OK, morning wood. I’m sure we’ll have plenty to discuss.”
And just like that, as our friends start grabbing vibrators from the child in the pool, we plan our day trip to visit the family I just found.
* * *
I squeeze Hutch’s hand as we pull onto a side street. The homes are small with gated front yards. It’s a pleasant street, nothing fancy, but it all seems familiar, like I’ve been here in a dream.
“Let’s turn around,” I whisper, fear taking over.
Hutch doesn’t stop until we’re parked in front of a little white house with a black front door.
There are a few plants along the front of the house and a small fruit-bearing tree in the corner of the yard.
Wind chimes make a melodic sound that takes the edge off my nerves but doesn’t eradicate my fear.
“Seriously, let’s go,” I whisper again.
Hutch turns off the engine and swivels a bit in his seat to face me, pulling my hands into his. He searches my eyes.
“Can I share something with you? Something I haven’t shared with anyone else?” he asks.
I frown. What kind of weird-ass time is this for therapy? But I nod.
“I’ve been thinking about going to see my family when we get back.
I miss them. I miss the connections we had.
I know they feel guilty about what happened and that guilt ate at them and ate at what we had, but it’s been years.
Family is important, Jocelyn. It’s the most important thing.
And I have one with all of you, but…it doesn’t mean I don’t have a gaping hole in my chest from what I had before. ”
He pauses, and I frown.
“Why haven’t you gone to speak to them before?” I ask.
“It’s not that we don’t talk. We do. I see them at Christmas or occasional family events, or if they need me for something, but…
it’s just been…” He pauses again as he considers his words.
“It’s like my injury is the elephant in the room.
Everyone is always thinking about it, and no one wants to talk about it.
It got easier to just not talk about it, for me to separate myself from them, so they wouldn’t be constantly reminded,” he explains, and my heart hurts for him.
I take my hand and brush his jaw with my thumb as I cup his face. His eyes close a little at my touch and I don’t know what overcomes me, but I lean forward and press a kiss to his lips.
He stops breathing as our mouths fuse. And then, like a dam fracturing, the kiss becomes wild. His giant hands grip my face. My arms wrap around his neck. Our mouths open, and our tongues explore. The world melts away, and all my senses are filled by Hutchinson Cromwell.
It takes a minute for me to pull myself away. I shove back and we sit staring at each other, breathing hard.
“I…I…shouldn’t have…I don’t know what…I’m sorry,” I manage in between breaths.
He opens his mouth to speak, but a tap at the window has us turning to see a little old woman. A woman who has my eyes and cheekbones. A woman who looks kind and caring. She’s wiping her hands on an apron.
“Hola. Necesitas ayuda?” she asks.
“Uh, no, gracias,” I answer.
“Are you Senora Martinez?” Hutch asks as he looks from her to me.
“Oh, yes, I am,” she says with an accent, her brows knitting together in confusion or surprise or perhaps both.
I open my car door and stand. We’re about the same height. “Do you have a son named Marco Martinez?” I ask.
Her eyes widen, and her hand flies to her mouth. “Dios mio! It can’t be,” she says as tears well in her eyes.
I feel tears falling down my cheeks. “I’m Jocelyn. Marco’s daughter.”
She pulls me into a tight hug, nearly knocking the air from my lungs. A second later, she pulls back, and a wrinkled hand comes up and pats my cheek.
“You look like him,” she says as a tear escapes her right eye. She shakes her head and takes my hand. “Come in. Come in. I’m calling Natalia.” She turns to me as we walk inside her yard. “Your tia.”
And just like that, I meet my grandmother. Every fear I had vanishes. I look back toward Hutch, and I see tears in his eyes. He smiles through them.
“See. She already loves you,” he mouths.
I nod and turn back. Afraid to let him see that I already love this old woman too.
For the first time in my life, I feel at home, complete and whole, except for my missing dad, my life is nearly complete.
Oh, and the fact that I just kissed the hell out of my best friend.
Holy fuck! I have no idea how to even discuss that with him.
I decide not to think about that until after I meet my aunt and cousins.