Chapter 14

Betty hurried downstairs. "It's almost time for the party, Hilda," she said. "Can I come down now?"

"Ay, chica, si," her sister said with exasperation. "You are so impatient."

Betty smiled cheekily. "It's my birthday party. I'm supposed to be excited."

Hilda hugged her. "And you should be, hermana. Happy birthday."

Christina arrived, then Daniel. All who was left was Dulce and Gio. When Betty heard a knock at the door, she rushed to the foyer. She opened the door with a smile that soon faded as she saw who was standing there. "Marc. Amanda. What are you doing here?"

Amanda walked right through. "Christina told us that your pappy was making flan for this." With a perfectly arched eyebrow, she said, "It's really delicious you know."

Betty nodded. "Yeah, I eat them, too. And it's papi."

Amanda's face scrunched apathetically. "Whatever. Do I look bilingual?"

Marc let her take his arm. "No," he said, "but you look bi-something."

She scoffed. "Not tonight. There's not a guy or girl I would make out with here for the entire season's collection of Monolos." She saw Marc's wounded expression and shrugged. "Except for you."

Betty watched them walk into the room, completely ignoring her. She waved at them and said, "Have fun. Try not to get drunk and flirty."

Betty, who had not closed the front door yet, jumped when she heard, "Well, we'll try not to, but I can't promise you that I won't get drunk and hit on your dad. He's a very graceful man."

Betty's head whipped around until she was looking at Gio and Dulce. Holding hands. "Gio, hey, thanks for coming." She swallowed. "It's nice to see you again, Dulce."

Dulce smiled. "Likewise. And happy birthday." She looked at the decorations as she said, "So what are you, like 30?"

Gio saw Betty's incredulous face. He chuckled softly. "Betty's 24."

Dulce's face got close to Gio's. "You better know how old I am," she said flirtatiously.

Gio squeezed her hand. "Of course I do. You're 26."

Dulce squinted at him. "When's my birthday?"

He raised his eyebrows. "When's mine?"

Without missing a beat, she said, "January 4. You're still not off the hook."

Gio eyed Betty and then looked at Dulce playfully. "I'm going to have to get back to you on that."

She pointed at him. "You can't call my mother and ask."

Gio turned his face from her. "I wasn't going to do that."

"Good."

"I was going to wait 'til you fall asleep and look at your driver's license."

Dulce slapped him on the shoulder. "How did I find a guy so sneaky?"

Betty, tired of being left out of every conversation said, "All that sandwich-making comes in handy for so many skills."

He tilted his head. "You two mock but it really does."

Dulce rubbed his shaved head. "Now all you need is people skills."

He smiled. "Oh, you're funny."

"I think so."

Betty watched their arms brush against each other and nearly shuddered.

As if sensing her tension, Gio turned and asked, "How's your job coming, Betty?"

Finally she got excited and jumped a little on the balls of her feet. "It's really nice to be Daniel's assistant again."

"Have you been writing?"

Betty looked away from him. "Not for a while." Then she looked into his eyes for a brief few seconds and said quietly, "But I will."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Good. You should follow your dream, Betty." He put his other arm around Dulce and started to lead her away. "Thanks for inviting us."

She smiled a little. "Thanks for coming."

Christina noticed that Betty was watching Dulce and Gio and decided to walk over to her. "So are we supposed to hate her?"

"Dulce?" Betty asked with a furrowed brow. "No? Why should we?"

Christina frowned. "Well, she is dating that gorgeous man."

Betty rolled her eyes. "It's Gio, Christina. Dulce is welcome to him."

"Are you sure?"

Betty bobbled her head up and down. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Christina leaned towards her to whisper, "You're done with Henry now. And you used to talk a lot about Gio before you left for Tucson."

Betty looked at her pointedly. "Gio is a friend. I'm trying to get over Henry. I don't want to think about anyone else."

Christina raised her hands in defense. "Okay, I guess I'm just a crazy pregnant lady."

Betty laughed. "I think you are."

Christina started to look around, asking, "Where is your father with the food? I'm starving!"

On the other side of the room, Hilda and Daniel were standing close to each other, pretending to laugh and joke about something. With a fake smile, Daniel asked, "Are you coming over later?"

"I don't think I can get away tonight. I'll have to help clean up for the party," she said, her feigned smile plastered on her face.

Daniel broke the pretense and flashed puppy dog eyes at her. "I can hire a cleaning service to take care of this."

Hilda laughed. "You aren't in that much need. I'll be by tomorrow."

He stepped a hair closer to her. "Will you meet me at my apartment for lunch?"

She batted her eyelashes. "I think I can do that."

Dulce had been watching the scene from several feet away, not hearing the conversation. As she sat down next to Gio at the table, she asked, "Those two are totally sleeping together aren't they?"

Without flinching, Gio said, "Most definitely."

"Do you think anyone knows?"

He glanced around at the people in the room. "Doesn't look likely."

She shook her head. "Why are people so clueless?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Probably because we're all too busy with our own problems to see what's right in front of us."

She put her hand on his thigh. "Do you think we can't see what's right in front of us?"

He turned his head to look at her, confused by her question. He smiled. "I don't know. It is kind of dark in here."

She squeezed his leg. "And there goes the sincerity."

He tilted his head, saying, "It can only last so long."

Betty came up to them with a bowl of pasta and put it on the table. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked perkily.

"Whether or not Of Mice and Men is the great American novel," Gio said earnestly.

Dulce laughed, surprised at the teasing lie. "And you think it is?" she asked, playing along.

He nodded. "C'mon, that book has everything about Americana in it: the Great Depression, trying to accomplish your goals, friendship, love, apathy."

Now Dulce was interested. "But it's also got a cop-out shock ending that doesn't really tell the reader anything."

Shifting in his seat, he said, "It's supposed to be shocking. Steinbeck's trying to say that there is no American Dream—just reality."

Betty stared at him incredulously. "You've read Of Mice and Men?"

Gio stared back. "I love John Steinbeck. I've read everything he's ever written."

The words stung at her. They were an echo of what she had told Henry about Gio reading the dating books. "Oh," she said quietly.

He smiled. "When are you going to realize that I actually read more than cookbooks?"

She smiled back apologetically. "I'll know from now on. I promise."

He leaned towards the table and said mischievously, "Maybe you should stop making promises. They seem to get you into trouble."

"That's probably good advice," she said, laughing softly. "I better go get the tortillas."

Dulce watched her walk away in silence. A few minutes later Betty came back out of the kitchen with a plate of tortillas and put them on the table. She smiled sheepishly, almost reflexively at Gio and then walked away again. Dulce saw that she was headed towards the foyer by herself, so she got up and followed her. "Are you having a happy birthday?" she asked in a friendly voice.

Betty spun around to face her. "Uh, yeah, I wasn't expecting to be home for my birthday, but it's been nice."

Dulce smiled. "You have a really nice family."

Betty tried to smile back at her. "Thanks."

"You're friends seem great, too." When Betty nodded, Dulce continued, saying, "Gio really cares about you, too."

She blinked a few times and started to stammer, saying, "He's a great guy. He's been a really good friend."

Dulce, coolly and nonchalantly, said, "He's also told me about your last boyfriend and how you started dating him."

Betty squirmed uncomfortably. "Um, well—"

Dulce looked her in the eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that I think Gio should be there for you as a friend. He values your friendship and I know you could use that right now. But if something were to happen, you and I would have a few words."

Anger, embarrassment, and irrational guilt twisted in her stomach. "Gio's just a friend."

Dulce gave her a quick smile. "Good. Happy birthday again." Then she went back over to Gio and rubbed her hand on the back of his neck. He looked up at her and grinned.

Betty felt like she had been hit with a shovel. Taking a deep breath, she headed back for the kitchen and helped her father set out the rest of the food. About ten minutes later, they were all sitting around the table eating.

Daniel raised his glass and said, "I want to make a toast really fast." Everyone looked up and raised their glasses as well. He continued, saying, "I can speak for everyone when I say that we are thrilled you are back. Our world just isn't the same without you, Betty. Happy birthday."

Everyone followed by saying, "Happy birthday!" They drank from their glasses and continued to eat.

Dulce was sitting next to Hilda, watching her talk to Justin. When Hilda stopped talking, Dulce said, "How do you handle being a mom? It looks exhausting."

Hilda laughed. "It gets better once they can feed and dress themselves. Now I just have to worry about whether he's redecorated my salon when I'm sleeping."

Justin put a finger up. "Mom, I've told you that it would look much better if you had a leather couch in there. When are you going to listen to my fabulousness?"

Hilda chuckled lovingly and ran her hand through his hair. "See what I mean?" she asked Dulce.

She shook her head. "I just don't see how you do it."

Gio leaned towards her. "What are you talking about, D? You're going to be a great mom."

She let out a loud laugh. "No, I'm not."

Gio nudged her with his shoulder. "Yeah, you are. It just seems scary now."

She looked over at him seriously. "No, Gio. I'm not. I'm not planning to have kids."

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Ever?"

"It's not likely, no."

Everyone got quiet while they listened to the conversation. When Gio and Dulce noticed that they were causing a scene, they shut up and started eating.

Amanda leaned over to Marc. "That was deliciously awkward."

Marc whispered into her ear, saying, "I know. It's like watching Mexican day on the Jerry Springer show."

After dinner was over, they all got up and went back to their original positions of discussion. Betty stood alone as Ignacio cleared the table, refusing to let her help him. Gio and Dulce were talking to Christina on the couch while Daniel, Hilda, and Justin excitedly discussed something in the corner of the room. Marc and Amanda had left immediately after Amanda had finished her flan. Betty once again felt smacked upside the head with a shovel. She had come home to be with her family and friends and now she felt more alone than ever.

She rushed to the bathroom. No one had noticed her leave. She opened the door, went inside, and closed the door behind her. As she started to cry, she thought she had locked the door but the latch didn't turn all the way.

…………………………..

Gio put his hand on Dulce's arm. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

He stood up. "I'll go get our jackets." He walked over to the foyer to pick them up but decided that he better go to the bathroom before they left. Remembering where it was from that day he had fixed Hilda's salon sink, he headed towards it. He twisted the knob and opened the door. When he saw Betty standing there, his first reaction was shock and embarrassment. "Damn, I'm sorry, Betty," he said and quickly shut the door, not giving her a chance to say anything. But as he reflected on what he had seen, he realized that she was crying. Opening the door again, he asked, "Betty, are you okay?"

She shook her head and turned from him. "Gio, just go away."

"Nah, I can't do that." He shut the door, locked it, and walked further into the room. "What's wrong?"

Her head drooped, her back still to him. "I was wrong. I thought that I could come back and everything would be okay."

"Betty, that's pretty naïve."

The breath left her lungs. "Gio, I don't need to hear that right now."

He stood his ground. "No, I think you do. You completely uprooted your life two months ago. And now you've uprooted it again. You affected a lot of people when you did that."

She struggled not to sob. "What's your point?"

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "You have to give everyone time, Betty. They love you and are so excited that you're home. You have to see that. But you've all been apart for a long time. You have to give yourself time, too"

It stung that he had used the word they instead of we. But she conceded his point and said, "I know. But it just hurts so much. It's so hard."

Hating to hear her cry, he put his hand on her shoulder. The act made her turn around. Instinctively, they came together in a hug. "It's going to be okay. It will get easier," he said reassuringly.

He let her cry into the crook of his shoulder for what felt like hours. She let out all of the stress, pain, grief, and worry that had plagued her since she had moved away two months ago. But through all of the tears, she could feel it in his hug. He was holding her in arms that were friendly and kind. There was nothing more in the hug. He was comforting a friend and he would be leaving with his girlfriend. That thought inexplicably made her cry harder.

Once she was finished crying, he tipped her head up to look at him. With a soft smile, he asked, "Do you think you'll be okay now?"

She nodded. "Yeah, thank you, Gio."

He stepped back from her and pulled some toilet paper from the roll. "I'm your friend. You don't need to thank me for being here." Handing her the sheets, he said, "Take a deep breath, clean off your face, and have a good birthday. Okay?"

She laughed. "How do you make everything simple?"

He opened the door. "Because it is simple. We just make everything so difficult." They looked at each other one more time before he said, "Good night, Betty. I'll see you soon."

"Good night, Gio."

He walked out and shut the door. She looked at herself in the mirror and wiped her face. She hoped that someday, she'd stop making things so difficult.

…………………………………

Gio grabbed the jackets and went to Dulce, handing her the jacket.

"Why'd it take you so long? Is everything okay?"

He gave her a weary look. "I'll tell you later."

She put her hand on his chest and started to smile, but then felt that the cotton was wet. She looked at him inquisitively.

He gave her another look. "Later." Once they got into his van, he told her what had happened. "She just needed a shoulder to cry on and I was there."

She gave him a sideways glance. "I think she thinks more of you than that."

He took her hand. "But I don't."

"I know. That's why I trust you," she said, rubbing her thumb against his finger.

As he drove her back to her apartment, he asked, "Were you serious about not wanting kids?"

She sighed. "Yeah."

"And you know that I want kids? Several of them?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I do now."

His voice became tense. "I think we should talk about that."

She waved her hand. "Not tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because we're going to get into a fight about it and I don't want to do that yet."

His face scrunched. "How do you know we'll fight?"

"Are you willing to change your mind about children? No, and neither am I. So let's just shelve that conversation for a few days okay?"

"Okay." He pulled up in front of her building. "But only for a few days. This is important, Dulce."

"I know." She started to open the van door but when she saw that he made no move to do the same, she asked, "Are you coming up?"

He shook his head. "It's been a rough day. I think I'm just going to go to bed."

She reached over the seats and kissed him. "I need to get up early tomorrow anyway."

He ran his fingers through her soft hair. "I'll call you tomorrow."

She acknowledged the offer, got out of the car, and shut the door. She waved at him before she went inside.

He waited until she was in the building and he saw the light go on in her apartment before he drove away. Tonight had not gone like he thought at all. He was worried for Betty. She was not readjusting well and he hoped that she would get back on track soon. But what really invaded his thoughts was Dulce. He cared so much about her. He was beginning to think about having a future with her. He had thought they were so alike. And on most things they were, but tonight proved that they didn't agree on everything.

If they didn't agree on children, what else did they disagree about?

TBC