Chapter 24
Lucy
Iam feeling far less stressed when we push into Mama Betty’s room.
She is sitting up, watching some home improvement show on the TV, and looking like her good day has continued.
When she hears the door open, she mutes the program and looks toward me with a smile.
But, when she catches sight of Aria behind me, her smile grows to blinding proportions.
“Mija, I thought that was you,” she smiles and waves me over to give her a hug. I only let go of Aria once we are both next to her bed. “And this is the girl you were telling me so much about, yes?” Apparently, this is all Aria needs to straighten her spine and offer her hand to Mama Betty.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Gonzalez,” she greets formally, offering her hand. “I have heard so much about you.” Mama Betty eyes her critically before shaking her head.
“No, this simply won’t do,” she says, and I see Aria’s shoulders drop fractionally. “Come over here and give an old woman a hug and call me ‘Mama Betty’, silly girl.”
Aria jolts forward automatically, caught off guard by her bluntness, and she gives Mama Betty a hug.
I see her whisper something in Cherry’s ear before releasing her that appears to have drained the rest of the tension from her body.
The smile she has on her face as she stands back up appears to be far more genuine and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“We won’t be here too long, Mama,” I interject, giving Aria a reprieve from being the center of attention. “I am taking Aria to dinner and then I am going to spend tonight at home. Unless you want me to come back h—”
“Go, go,” she flaps her hands lazily at us. “I will be just fine here on my own. I will just have to question your young lady another time.”
I snort and Aria lets out a string of giggles in response. I lean down to give Mama Betty a hug before we go and she grips my shoulders, holding me in place.
“Keep her, Luciana,” she whispers with conviction. “That girl is good for you.”
“I plan to, Mama,” I whisper back, squeezing her for a brief moment before straightening up and grabbing my purse. Aria and I both give her another wave before leaving for the lobby, our fingers once again entwined.
***
We take our time on our way to the restaurant, talking and laughing the whole way. Aria insisted on driving, which was more than fine with me. There is something about the way she wants to both submit to and take care of me that makes my heart skip a beat.
When we pull into the parking lot of Rosewood Cottage Eatery, she turns to me with a blinding smile.
“Oh my god, this place is so cute!” she gushes. She’s not wrong. The Rosewood Cottage Eatery is a tiny stone building, covered in vines of ivy, that is tucked away from the rest of the world. It looks and feels like something out of a storybook
It is a local gem; one we keep away from tourists and influencers. The only signage is a hand-painted plank above the door. They have no online presence at all, not even a website, and there is a silent pact amongst the patrons to never change that fact.
As we walk in, the tinkling of bells above the door alerts the server to our presence. He lifts a hand in greeting and we wave back as we follow the signs to seat ourselves.
“Hi, ladies,” the server—Tyler, according to his name tag—greets us with a smile, “Can I get you both something to drink while you look over the menus?”
“Just a water for me,” I reply with a smile. I hear Aria murmur her agreement and we are once again left alone as he excuses himself.
“How did you even find this place?” Aria asks, curiosity and awe swirling in her gray eyes.
“Honestly? I was just out for a walk one day. Me and my girlfriend at the time were looking to kill some time while our boyfriend was on a date. We decided to drive out here and walk around and, lo and behold, we stumbled into this place.” I smile fondly at the memory.
“Isabelle wasn’t a huge fan, but I have been back to visit by myself more times than I can count. It is one of my favorite spots.
“It just feels like I could be anyone I want to be here, you know? A princess on a grand adventure, a traveling merchant resting for an evening, or—” I feel my cheeks heat as I realize I have been rambling.
“—I can just be me. Sitting here, across from the woman I love. Hopefully to talk about everything that’s been going on?
” I reach my hand across the table to hold hers and watch a delicious blush spread across her face once more.
She takes a deep breath to respond, but we are interrupted by Tyler coming back with our waters.
I let go and we both lean back, breaking the tension for the moment.
We quickly glance over the menu. I choose my tried and true favorite: the shepherd’s pie. Aria orders the steak salad and we both settle in to talk while we wait. I stay silent, waiting for her to start. She fidgets for a few seconds before deliberately placing her hands on the table.
“I got the message while we were at the hotel,” she begins.
“Jacob sent me a text asking if I had ever shared those pictures with anyone else. When I told him no, of course not, he said that someone had leaked everything online and that we should be prepared for the fallout.” She draws in a shaky breath and glances to the side.
“It felt violating, knowing that other people had seen me that way. But I could deal with it. We both reported the content and got it taken down, but it keeps popping up on other sites and platforms. I have Lila, my sister, looking into where it came from in the first place. She is a bit of a tech genius.” A soft smile tugs its way across her face before her lips turn down once again.
“Then that damn article came out. You and I both know that it didn’t do anything but stir up curiosity and interest and cast suspicion on me as the perpetrator.
” Aria’s throat bobs and I watch her eyes become shiny with unshed tears.
I can’t help myself and I reach out to take her hand once more.
She seems to take strength from the gesture and continues, her voice cracking, “I don’t want to believe he would be capable of posting this shit himself, but what else am I supposed to think? ”
This seems to be the final straw for her and she breaks down in soft sobs, tears streaming freely down her face.
I give her hand a squeeze and gently rub my thumb in circles on the back, allowing her the space to calm down.
After a few minutes, she takes a deep breath and pulls her hand back to wipe her face.
“I…I’m not used to having someone who wants to know about my problems,” she says falteringly, her tone far more subdued, “Jacob was around, but I always felt like my problems were a burden to him. I just wanted…I just want to be easy to love.” At that, she brings her eyes up to meet mine and all I could see is the haunted look of a woman who feels like who she is isn’t enough.
I know because I see the same look in the mirror every damn day.
“Cherry, Aria, you are so easy to love,” I murmur, her hand still in mine. “Goddess, I have been falling since the moment I met you. I want to know about all your problems, even if I can’t fix them. At least you won’t have to carry it alone.”
“Okay.” She whispers the word, but I feel the weight of it settle in my chest.
Trust.
It’s a start.