When he finally walked through the front door of their brownstone that Saturday mid-morning, he was more than a little relieved. It'd been a long couple of days, and he missed his family. He'd also been more than a little worried about Olivia, although he knew she had support.
The first thing that hit him was the smell. His mother had very clearly commandeered the kitchen, preparing lunch.
His heart fluttered when he was greeted by Noah running up yelling 'Papi' and throwing his arms around him, his wife pulling him into a kiss moments later. "I'm so glad you're home."
He smiled, giving her another peck on the cheek. "I am too, Cariño."
He had to smile when his mother - Sofía in her arms, Eddie, his partner Erika, and Sebastián walked up, his honorary nephew giving him a hug as well, before running off to play with Noah again.
"¿Y qué es esto que escucho sobre el alcalde De Blasio?" his mother inquired. (And what is this I hear about Mayor de Blasio?)
He shook his head, amused. He really wasn't surprised Olivia confided in his mother and that Lucía Barba of all people was being nosy. "Nada está escrito en piedra, Mami. Simplemente dije que consideraría el puesto." (Nothing is set in stone, Mami. I merely said that I'd consider the post.)
"Bueno, creo que deberías tomarlo," his mother shot back without missing a beat. "Pero, it's your call, Mijo." (Well, I think you should take it.)
He rolled his eyes, but, despite the slight snark, he really wasn't remotely irritated by the comment. "Tu voto es apreciado." (Your vote is appreciated.)
Eddie eyed him. "What's up? ¿Qué pasa?"
He gave a look, and switched to English for Erika's sake, taking the not too subtle hint from Eddie. "I'll explain once I know more if it goes anywhere."
"Alright," Eddie said, "but you're not moving, are you?"
He shook his head in the negative. "No, no. We're staying in the city."
Eddie smiled more warmly at that. "Good."
"So, how was the conference?" Erika asked.
"It was interesting," he drawled.
Olivia looked at him with fond amusement. "Could have been worse. You could be currently tilting at windmills."
A chuckle immediately left his lips. "True." He glanced between Eddie and Erika. "What have you guys been up to lately?"
"Well, we went to the movies yesterday," Erika said. "That was fun."
"We checked out the Chocolate, Wine & Whiskey Festival too," Eddie said. "Not necessarily my thing, but we enjoyed ourselves for the most part." He glanced at Rafael and Olivia. "You guys? Besides the work trip, I mean."
"Well, -" Olivia immediately went off chatting, and eventually they broke off into little groups the women gossiping while he and Eddie prattled away about something or other over cups of coffee. Sofía being passed between them all, giggling happily, the almost-eight-month-old clearly revelling in the attention.
Eventually, the boys came out, wanting something to drink. He'd easily agreed, trying not to laugh at his mother's, and Eddie's, antics. Poor Sebastián looked more than a little uncomfortable with the request. Both had easily readable looks on their faces and his mother was mouthing something about 'casa ajena.'
Casa ajena: a house that's not yours. Those were loaded words in Cuban culture. There were many things you couldn't do in a casa ajena. Going into someone else's fridge or accepting something when offered wasn't really done. If your hosts asked you, which they often would, you already ate or weren't thirsty. And a sleepover at a casa ajena? HA! There were strict rules of behaviour around the whole thing.
He just rolled his eyes, and then eyed them both as he spoke. "Apenas somos extraños." He gave Sebastián a small smile to reassure the kid. "Adelante, and grab yourself a drink, Chiquito."
The kid glanced at his father questioningly.
"Go ahead," Eddie conceded, "if it's alright with your tío."
Olivia was now giving him a questioning look, clearly wondering where this all was going. She definitely didn't care if the kid wanted a drink or something to eat, and honestly, he doubted she actually caught 'ajena' and if she had, she likely wasn't overly familiar with it.
Rafael rolled his eyes so hard it wasn't funny. "It's fine, I assure you." When the two boys ran to the kitchen, he eyed Eddie. "Hermano, my house, my rules. Your kid can have a drink. Honestly." Another pointed look. "Your family had a definite open door policy with me and the same goes for your kid with me." They had. They'd made sure Rafael had lunch, or at least a small snack, more times than he could count over the years, which was saying something given the García family's own situation both now and at the time. Especially once the gang from PS109 decided to make Rafael their new punching bag and made it a point to constantly take his meagre lunch money. Eddie was also one of the only people Rafael had ever admitted he was abused at home to. Not using that word, but Eddie knew he was being hurt and he'd tried to help. He really had.
Eventually, they all sat down for lunch, Olivia feeding Sofía, and Noah and Sebastián had maybe a little too much soda and decided to beguile the table with a few, admittedly entertaining, stories. His mother throwing in a few anecdotes of her own; one of which was only slightly embarrassing for Rafael, but he should've gotten used to that by now. He loved his mother, he really did, but she also really needed a new hobby, in his opinion.
Lunch passed pleasantly, however, and after everyone had had their fill, they migrated back to the living room, a fresh pot of coffee on.
By one o'clock, Sofía was getting fussy and was giving Erika a bit of a hard time. She was clearly tired, so he held his arms out, taking Sofía from her. "I'll be back in a minute. "I think it's nap time for la princesita here."
"I can take her," Olivia offered.
He waved it off, giving her a quick kiss. "I love you, but I've got this. You looked after both kids while I was gone. I can handle nap time."
She chuckled. "This is why I love you."
He took the little girl to her nursery, changed her, and put her down. She refused to settle though, so he sat down in the rocking chair with her and started singing softly, a soft smile on his face as he did so, looking at the little girl he was holding who was now beaming at him.
Drume negrita
Que yo va a comprar nueva cunita
Que tendrá capite' y también ca'cabe'
Si tu drume yo te traigo un mamey muy colorao
Si no drume yo te traigo un babalao
Que da pau pau
A la negrita se le salen
Los pies de la cunita
Y la negra Merce' ya no sabe que hace'
Drume negrita
Que yo va a compra' nueva cunita
Que tendrá capite' y también ca'cabe'
As he finished that line she was clearly almost out of it, so he sang the rest even softer, finally lulling her to sleep.
Si tú drume yo te traigo un mamey muy colorao'
Si no drume yo te traigo un babalao'
Que da pau pau.
The lullaby now finished, he gently got up and placed her in her crib, staying a moment to make sure she stayed asleep before he snuck out of the room. She looked so peaceful he almost didn't want to leave, but he closed the door behind him and went to join the others again.
