A Better Day is Coming part 34

PG13 rating

I own nothing and expect even less

This story takes place in the 1950's

Thank you Chely for all your help

A/N This update has both pregnant women drinking alcohol. This was before they knew that it was bad for the baby. No harm to any unborn child happened durning the writing of this episode!

Tino and Phillip had finally gotten back to their suite. They had spent the day enjoying the city and each other. Phillip had surprised Tino with a trip to The Art Institute of Chicago. It was always so romantic when they went there. It was where Phillip had taken Tino on their first date.

Natalia wanted to tell Tino about the confrontation she had with her mother and everything that she had said. She was feeling much better about it after spending the afternoon in Olivia's arms. They were both starting to feel the effects of being pregnant and their increased desire for each other. Olivia told her repeatedly that she had said all the right things.

"Baby the way you pushed that it was Tino that was the one trying to help bring everyone together. You said you were only doing this to make your husband happy. Really the way you spoke about him, no one would think he was anything other than your loving husband. I was so proud of you. You were a tiger. You are so sexy." Natalia growled and bit down on Olivia's pulse point in her neck. That was the end of talking for awhile. Natalia knew Olivia was right, all Natalia needed to do was start to believe it.

Once the guys had changed out of their suits and ties and into dungarees and t shirts, they came into the girl's suite to share the bottle of bourbon they had picked up on their way back to the hotel. Tonight was going to be another poker night.

"Guys sit down, while I get some glasses. Natalia needs to tell you what happened at lunch today. All I'm going to say is that I think she was fabulous." Olivia went to the bar for the glasses and Natalia stood up to pace as she told them exactly what had happened at lunch with her mother. Tino waited until Natalia finished talking. He stood up and wrapped his arms around his wife. He kissed her temple and hugged her tight.

"You said all that in a restaurant and no one but your mother and Olivia heard you? That's just amazing. I was in my mother's house and was way louder than that. Olivia is right! You my very feisty wife are absolutely fabulous!" He threw his arms in the air giving his best imitation of a show girl. That got everyone laughing. It was just what the room needed. Olivia had opened the bourbon and poured a glass for everyone. They were just settling down to enjoy the first hand of poker, when they heard someone knocking on the door of the guy's suite. Tino jumped up to go answer it. Olivia started to deal the cards until they heard Tino talking.

"Jorge, Celia come in. How did you find us? I didn't tell my parents what hotel we were staying in and I am quite sure Natalia didn't tell you either." They all put the cards away. Natalia started to go into the other suite. Olivia grabbed her hand to stop her.

"I just figured this is where you'd be staying. I know your friend Spaulding would only stay in the best hotel in the city. Where is Natalia? She was just awful to her mother this afternoon and I think she needs to apologize immediately to her." Natalia was getting ready to explode. She broke loose of Olivia's hand and headed into the other room to confront both her parents. Olivia and Phillip took off after her. They didn't want her to say something in anger that they all would regret. Olivia caught up to her first. Phillip came in behind them and almost ran into everyone before he could stop his forward momentum. Tino shot them all a dirty look. Natalia was about to tell everyone just where they could all go, when it dawned on her what they must all look like.

The picture that came vividly to her mind was a scene out Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Three Ring Circus. The clowns getting all excited about something. Now all they needed was a bucket of glitter and the picture would be complete. Everyone was completely shocked when Natalia started to laugh.

"If you're coming in, then do so. If not then I'm closing the door." Her father was about to complain about her behavior, but he shut his mouth and took Celia's arm and they both came into the suite.

"Let's go in the other room. It has the bottle of bourbon and I think we're all going to need it." Natalia took Tino's hand and lead everyone into hers and Olivia's suite. She got two more glasses from the bar and poured her parents each a glass. She sat down on the couch and let everyone else settle where they wanted too. Tino sat next to her on the couch. Olivia sat in one of the club chairs. Phillip sat on the arm of his wife's chair. Celia took the other club chair and Jorge took a chair from the table.

Natalia took a good pull off her drink and let it slide down her throat. All she felt was the warm sensation as the liquor hit her stomach.

"Father the chances of me giving an apology for my behavior today is somewhere between slim and none. I have every right to not trust either of you. I did not want anything to do with you. If Maria hadn't brought you to our wedding none of this would be happening." Jorge started to say something. Natalia cut him off.

"You're acting like I care about what you think or how you feel. You should stop that right away because you're wrong. I most definitely do not. I am a grown married woman with my own child on the way. There is nothing I need or want from you. Your involvement in my life has everything to do with Nicky and his family. I was trying to make him happy by having contact with you. I have been waiting for you to apologize to me for what you tried to do to me. You still seem to think it was a good idea. I still disagree." Jorge looked like he wanted to say something but not in front of everyone else.

Say whatever you have to say. My husband and my dearest friends know what you tried to do to your own child. I have no secrets from these people." Jorge was starting to get angry. He didn't like how disrespectful his child was being.

"Just who do you think you're talking to young lady? I am still your father and you will show your mother and me the respect we deserve." Instead of looking contrite, Natalia got a big smile on her face. She took another sip of her drink. She let her father continue to talk without interrupting him.

"Your mother and I were called to the principal's office. They gave us a very detailed explanation as to why we were there. A priest told us what he saw. Are you going to tell me that the priest lied to us? That he didn't just pull you and that other girl out of the car you had been necking in?" You could see a shiver run up Jorge's spine when he talked about his daughter necking with another girl.

"Then you ran away. That proved we had made the right decision. When Maria Augustino called us and told us that you and Nicky were getting married, you could have knocked me over with a feather. We were so happy you had changed your evil ways and decided to live a normal respectable life. When you told us you were with child, it was a dream come true. We thought we would never know the joy of being grandparents. You reached out to us. You have been calling us. How could you treat your mother like she was a mean and heartless parent? You are the mean and heartless person not your mother, not me. You need to rethink your behavior and start showing us the respect we deserve." Jorge sat back down and patted Celia on the forearm. Natalia took another pull off her drink. She still hadn't said anything. Her father was beginning to think she was finally seeing it from their point of view.

"I was your only child. In all this time, you've never asked me what happened. You've never asked if it was true. A priest said it was so, so in your mind it was. Had I ever lied to you before? Had I ever gotten in trouble before? Or was I always the obedient child? What you tried to do was the ultimate betrayal. I was scared and all alone." Natalia paused for a moment to hang onto her control. There was no way she would cry in front of her parents.

"On one hand I was waiting for you to come and find me, so you could take me back to the life I had always known. On the other hand, I was always terrified that the men in white coats were waiting for me around every corner. That was until I was twenty one. Your blind faith in a priest's word broke our family apart. To this day you still believe what you wanted to do to me was the right thing to do. I don't ever think I can get past that. I don't know if I want to get past it." Natalia knew that was the real reason she was so upset with them. She didn't want to forgive her parents. She knew everything the priest had said was the truth, but she also knew deep down in her soul, that there was nothing wrong with her. Nothing that felt so right could be as wrong as everyone said it was.

Celia thought she would try to get Natalia to understand that they were only trying to do what was right for their little girl.

"Natalia, we were only doing what we thought was best for our child. If the school had said they thought you had polio, we would have sent you to a hospital that specialized in polio. Can't you see, we were just being responsible parents." Celia wanted Natalia to understand so badly. She had missed her child more then she had thought it was possible to miss another person. Natalia saw the look in her mother's eye. Natalia saw how she wanted her to understand. But this was so different than what her mother was talking about. Natalia had met people that had the shock treatments. They were all just a little off kilter and she had met every one of them in a homo bar.

"If they told you I had polio, don't you think you would have asked me how I felt? Where it hurt? Or would you have sent me to my room without saying a word to me, and made plans to send me away to get shock treatments." Natalia looked into the eyes of both her parents, this was getting them nowhere.

"I'm getting very tired of this conversation. The baby is making me tire easily. Why don't you just go home. We have nothing more to say to each other. I will never apologize for standing up for myself and you both feel you have nothing to apologize for. It was better when we didn't have any contact with each other. Goodbye." Natalia got up and walked into the bathroom in her's and Olivia's suite and closed the door.

Tino stood up and followed his wife out of the room. Phillip stood up and escorted the Rivera's to the door. He opened the door and let them out. Jorge looked like he was going to say something then changed his mind. He put his arm around his crying wife and they walked down the hall to the elevator.

Tbc