Page 158 of Along Came Amor
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 anit’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 reallylookedat 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 herfather?
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, missobrinas,” 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.
Chapter 49
