"Does anyone need anything while I'm up?" Helena asked. "Eddie, do you want a beer?"
"Oh, no. I'm fine." He had made a conscious effort to not drink when he was with Mariana, even though she said it was fine. Before the pandemic, the team had gone out to sports bars plenty of times and he always had a beer or two. But since then, the only time he drank was with the other 118 members. Dinner time at the Diaz household meant no alcohol. Mariana didn't say anything about it, but he could see the appreciative look in her eyes.
"Mariana, anything for you? Wine? Beer?"
"Thank you but no. I don't drink."
Helena and Ramon stared at her for a beat before turning back to what they were doing. Mariana shut her eyes and inhaled deeply before opening them and plastering a smile on her face.
"So, Mariana," Ramon began. "Where does your family come from?"
The brunette shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a hint of a grimace pulling at her lips. She knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this without them asking about her parents at least once. Eddie grabbed her hand under the table and she squeezed it in a vice-like grip.
"Oaxaca. They came here on work visas and got their green cards a few years before they had me," she explained.
"And is it just you?"
"It is now. I had a little brother but he passed away a few years ago. My parents passed when I was young."
The silence at the dinner table was practically oppressive to the point where Mariana felt she was choking on it. She ducked her head and focused on the food in front of her, but her stomach didn't feel like eating.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Helena said as she rejoined them at the table. "So….ah, you're a firefighter?"
"Firefighter paramedic. I started as an ER nurse and still work there, but I mainly work at the firehouse."
"Certainly a dangerous job for all of you." Helena offered a tight smile at her new daughter-in-law. "As we've seen by you being in the hospital."
"I've been on the job for five years now and I can assure you that a truck being blown up is incredibly rare," Mariana replied sweetly.
"So was being shot," Buck supplied. Hen kicked him under the table as Mariana shot him a glare that could make paint peel off the walls.
"You were shot?!" Helena exclaimed.
"It is incredibly rare for paramedics and firefighters to be fired upon on duty. It was a failed ambulance robbery gone wrong," Mariana assured her. "It happened before Eddie joined us."
"Well, now that you two are married and you have Christopher to worry about, I presume you're going to stay home now?" Ramon asked.
Hen stamped her foot down on Buck's just to be sure as the blond hid his laugh into his cornbread. Mariana blinked in surprise and looked over at Eddie who sighed.
"No, Mariana will not be staying home unless she wants to. She's very good at her jobs and enjoys them," Eddie said shortly. She squeezed his hand and shot him a grateful look.
"Then who watches Christopher when you two are at work?"
"We had a bit of a struggle at the beginning of the pandemic with timing, but Pepa has been great help with taking care of Christopher and Diego."
"Diego?" Ramon asked.
"Yes, my nephew," Mariana explained. "Eddie and I actually just finalized adopting him and soon I'm going to start the process of adopting Christopher."
Eddie grinned with pride at his wife's words. He ran his thumb over her wedding ring and she winked at him, some of the tension leaking out of her shoulders.
However, not everyone was a fan.
"I'm sorry but this is ludicrous!" Helena exploded. "Shannon leaves you and then dies so you decide to move on with this girl we've never met and now you're telling me that she's adopting Christopher!"
"Hey Buck, I think it's time we go check on the truck," Hen said, practically dragging the taller man out of the house.
"I get that this is strange. Everything just happened quickly and there was really no time or way to explain," Mariana said calmly.
"Edmundo, this is irresponsible. We don't feel comfortable with Christopher being just left to his own devices because you're wrapped up in whatever this is," Ramon argued and waved a dismissive hand at Mariana. Her jaw clenched and the control she had on the Ramirez sass started to slip.
"'Whatever this is' is a highly capable EMT and nurse who has been raising Christopher just fine," she bit out.
"We can't know that to be sure. How can we be sure that you aren't just going to leave our son like the last wife?" Helena fired back.
"I am not going to sit here and disrespect a woman who is no longer here. She was the mother of my son and I am eternally grateful to her for that," Mariana growled.
"How do you even know how to parent? You don't know what Christopher needs. Edmundo, we have told you this constantly and rather than heeding our words, you marry the first girl you can find! Let me guess, you knocked her up already and that's why she's not drinking."
"I am sitting right here!" Mariana threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Hey!" Eddie shouted finally. "I let you walk all over Shannon and I'm not going to let that happen to Mari. I wasn't a good husband to Shannon. Her leaving was just as much my fault as it was hers. Mariana makes me the best man I can be simply by existing and I owe her my life for that. She knows about how many times I've messed up and yet she still stays. You should see how much she cares about Christopher and how she treats him like her own son. I love her and I love our family and if you have a problem with that, keep it to yourself."
His parents sat there dumbfounded. Eddie crossed his arms over his chest and stared them down as if he was challenging them. Mariana reached out and pressed her hand against his shoulder. He relaxed at her touch and turned to look at her, his jaw clenched with anger and a fire in his eyes that softened at the sight of her wide eyes.
"I'm going to call Chris and Diego before bed," she explained quietly. "I'll just step outside."
"Of course, amor. I'll join you in a bit." He could see the panicked look in her eyes and knew she was stepping out more for her own sanity. He pressed two fingers against her wrist to check her racing pulse and grimaced.
"I'm okay," she assured him softly. "Just...y'know."
Fighting. Raised voices. Defending yourself. It's different when it's random strangers versus the parents of your husband. He nodded and she slipped out of the kitchen and out the front door. Sitting on the porch so her legs dangled off the edge, Mariana pulled out her phone and dialed Pepa's number.
She waited for a moment until the excited greeting of her son and nephew met her ears. All of her fears and sorrows washed away in that moment as she laughed out a greeting back. They started rambling on about their day and Mariana set her phone down next to her. She leaned against her knees and stared up at the night sky above her, amazed at all the stars you could see in a Texas sky.
The front door creaked open and shut and Eddie sat down next to his wife silently. She immediately leaned against him, setting her phone in between them as the boys kept talking. He dropped a kiss to her hair and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they just sat and listened.
"Hey guys," Eddie spoke up once the boys quieted down.
"Dad!" "Hey Uncle Eddie, how's Texas?"
"It's good. We helped control the wildfire and saved a few people. We'll be back home tomorrow for sure and maybe we can convince Mari to get ice cream."
"After dinner of course," she blurted out. "I'm not spoiling your dinners by giving you two stomach aches and sugar highs."
"That sound like a deal, boys?"
The resounding cheer of agreement echoed through her speakers and the family burst into laughter together. Mariana rested her head on his shoulder and was content to just listen to the three of them talk, but nerves were eating away at her heart. The last thing she wanted was to alienate Eddie from his parents.
A truck peeled out of the driveway and Mariana sent a questioning look up at Eddie.
"My dad...whenever we had fights, he would go for a drive. Basically he doesn't want to deal with us anymore," he explained quietly so the boys wouldn't hear him.
"I should go help your mom clean up," she sighed. A surprised look crossed his face but he shook his head. Mariana ignored him and stood up, pointing at the phone to indicate he should keep talking. She headed back into the house and made her way to the kitchen where Helena was slowly clearing off the table.
"His favorite color is blue," Mariana said. "Navy blue, to be exact. Christopher's is red. Like a firetruck. Eddie likes his coffee black with two sugars, but when he thinks I'm not looking, he uses my hazelnut creamer. He sleeps with two pillows and his back hurts when he falls asleep on the couch. Sometimes I find him sleeping after he tucked Christopher into bed.
"He loves country music even though he claims he doesn't. Whenever I drive his truck, the radio is always playing country. He would rather chew glass than admit he loves Shania Twain. He's awful at surfing, no matter how many times I try to teach him. He sucks at cooking so breakfast in bed is either something he got from a food truck or cereal, but he's never made a bad cup of coffee.
"Sometimes, he wakes up screaming. On cold and rainy days, his wrist and shoulder hurt. He can't watch How to Train Your Dragon because the dragon gets shot down. Sometimes, Eddie gets this faraway look in his eyes and I know he's there in that desert and I wish I could be there with him. I wish I could help him fight that battle in his mind, but I can't and that hurts so much.
"He takes Christopher to Shannon's grave sometimes. Her birthday. The anniversary of her death. He loved her and I don't fault him for that. I'm not angry. We love and we lose and that's the horrible, unforgiving reality of life. I never want Christopher to forget his mom or to feel like he can't love and mourn her."
Mariana shut her eyes against the burning build of tears in her brown eyes. She inhaled shakily before looking at Helena once more.
"I don't understand how your son loves me. Sometimes he loves me so much that it scares me because I know I have a dangerous job where everyday is unpredictable. When he proposed, he promised that he would come home to me and I'm going to hold him to that but I'm still scared. I never want to lose him. Some mornings I'm scared to open my eyes and find out it's all been a dream. Because that's what my life is like married to your son and being Christopher's stepmom. A dream."
Helena stepped forward and clasped Mariana's hands tightly with her own. The older woman's eyes were filled with tears and she offered her daughter in law a sad smile. "I'm sorry."
"Please don't apologize. I just...I needed to say that. Because I don't want Eddie to feel like he has to choose between you or me. I would always tell him to choose you. I know what it's like to lose a family and I never want him to know what that feels like. You raised a good man, Helena. A good man that I am proud to call my husband. I should be thanking you."
Helena looked past her and Mariana turned her head to find Eddie leaning against the doorframe, watching the two women. His dark eyes were locked on her and she understood what he was saying with that single look.
"I need time. I want to get to know you, Mariana. As my daughter in law," Helena finally said. "I can already tell that you love my son and grandson deeply and that you care for people so much. I think it will be an honor to call you my daughter-in-law."
Mariana grinned and hugged the older woman before pulling away. Helena made quick work of whipping up some to go boxes for the two idiots hiding in the truck and left to go give it to them, leaving the couple alone in the kitchen.
"How much of that did you hear?" Mari asked.
"I'm more of a Carrie fan over Shania," he said hoarsely. Her laugh was swallowed by his kiss, one that was filled with that indescribable emotion that brewed in both of their chest every moment they met. Mariana grabbed onto the counter behind her and used it to make sure she was standing even as her knees felt like they were giving out from the way he was pouring his heart into this one kiss. Mariana wouldn't lie, kissing him was like going to the beach on the perfect day. He warmed her up in the best way head to toe and she was always left craving more, more, more.
"I love you," he said the second they pulled away for air. "Fuck, I love you so much."
"I love you but I am not going to desecrate your parent's kitchen," she gasped.
"You're going to kill me for this but it wouldn't be the first time."
"You're kidding me."
"The ring's on your finger, babe. Nothing can change that."