Chapter 24
Stephanie's POV
Today is Thanksgiving and my mother and sister have been back in Trenton for two long, painful weeks. For the first four days, we had to send men out to the house at least three times each day because they forgot to set the alarm. Then, my "mother" demanded that I join them for dinner on Sunday, but not with my children. Needless to say, I didn't attend. If my children aren't invited, then I don't go. Then, Valerie decided that she wanted to send my nieces to the same private school that Lucia and Alex attended, but somehow, she was under the impression that I should pay for their schooling. When I burst that bubble, she became angry with me. Now, because she can't afford to send Angie and Mary Alice to private school, they are attending public school. Valerie is telling anyone who will listen that I promised to pay for their school, and I am now reneging on that promise. Fortunately, in the last few years since they left Trenton, the values of the Burg have changed. Don't get me wrong, the Burg is still traditional and conservative, but most of my peers have both husband and wife working outside the home. Those who can afford to stay home still do, but there are many women who work. Private school is a privilege, and if Valerie can't afford it, too bad. No one is overly sympathetic to her, except for a few core members of the Burg gossip society, of which my mother is a founding member.
Halloween this year was a blast. I always have my home decorated to the extreme, and this year was no exception. With the help of my Merry Men, I had an even better display. The guys were great and running cobwebs across most of the exterior, setting up a very realistic cemetery with the best epitaphs, and finding the most ludicrous motion-activated decorations. Carlos fulfilled his promise to the twins and dressed up as Batman to my Wonder Woman and Lester's Robin. Due to his perfect physique, there was no need for padding. The twins invited about twenty friends over and we also have Carlos' nieces and nephews over for our party. Several Rangeman stopped by in costumes throughout the party, and a good time was had by all. In fact, I'm already starting to plan the decorations for our new home. The twins' Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker costumes were so spot on that they looked like we had the real deal. Ella is a genius.
This year, for the first time, I'll be spending Thanksgiving with Carlos' family. I am excited and nervous at the same time. While I have met all his immediate family over the last few months, I haven't been to a large family gathering since Carlos and I started to date. The Manosos are an intimidating bunch, and I know that they are waiting for a ring to appear on my left hand. I'm not quite ready to commit yet, and I don't think Carlos is either. Yesterday was the twin's birthday, and we are going to celebrate it today.
Unfortunately, my father is going to spend the day with Valerie, the girls, Grandma Mazur, and my mother. Even though my father and grandmother don't speak to my mother, they want to spend time with my nieces and Valerie. They were afraid that I would be hurt, but I'm not. I wish that Valerie wasn't so brainwashed by our mother because I would love to have a close relationship with my nieces, and I know Alex and Lucia would enjoy spending time with their cousins. However, it is out of my hands. Both my father and grandmother came over last night to celebrate Alex and Lucia's birthday.
Living with Carlos in our new house has been an easy transition. I thought that there would be growing pains learning to live with each other, but everything has been so smooth. He knows I'm not a morning person, so he gets up each morning and makes breakfast for the twins and me. He also makes and packs the twin's lunches on days when I forget to do so the night before. When I finally do wake up, all I need to do is get ready for work. The twins love being with both their parents full time, and I must say, waking up in Carlos' arms each morning is heavenly.
We have yet to make love, but we have explored each other's bodies. I swear, that man can ignite my nerve endings on fire with the lightest touch. It's getting increasingly more difficult for me to hold off his advances. I know that he is ready for us to make love once again, but I am still having difficulty being intimate with the kids down the hall. Carlos asked his sister Celia to watch the twins this weekend so we can go away together. As much as I don't want to be away from the kids, especially over their birthday weekend, this is something that we need to do. I don't know where Carlos is taking me, but we are leaving straight from his mother's house tonight. We will be back home on Sunday.
"Babe, are you almost ready? We need to leave in five minutes if we're going to be on time." Carlos says, startling me and bringing me out of my musings.
"Yes, I'm ready. I'm just trying to decide which boots to wear." I tell him, holding up a brown heelless riding boot and a brown one with a three-inch heel.
"The one with the heel. Always wear heels."
"Really, I feel too tall in heels sometimes."
"I love you in heels. It makes kissing you so much easier." Carlos replies as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me up against him before he leans down to kiss me.
"Being barefoot doesn't seem to stop you."
"Babe."
I roll my eyes. I know Carlos is amused by me. I put on the boots with heels and Carlos helps me stand. I call for Lucia and Alex as we leave the bedroom, and both come bounding out from their rooms, completely dressed. We head down to the main floor, where I briefly stop in the kitchen to get the apple pie I made. I am far from a gourmet cook, but I have learned how to make an apple pie. Dr. Mitchell loved them, and it was something I would do for him about once a month. It was a small way of showing him that I appreciated everything he did for me. I only hope the Manosos will like it as well.
"Babe, they'll love it."
I smile at Carlos, still surprised at how well he can read my mind. I don't even need to talk for him to know what I'm thinking. We make our way into the garage and climb into Carlos' Cayenne. Both Alex and Lucia are still using booster seats, but Alex should reach the height to go without in a few months. I can't wait for them to be able to ride in a car without them. I swear, these regulations for kids nowadays can be a little ridiculous. I mean, I rode in the back of my father's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado without a seatbelt, with my backside off the seat and my head practically on the rear window with Mary Lou and Val sitting next to me as mom would drive us to religion, sliding all over the rear of the car. We survived.
Alex and Lucia are excited to have a sleepover at Tia Celia's house. They can't wait to play with their cousins, Mateo and Rebecca. Celia married young, at twenty, and had Mateo two years later. Rebecca was born in 2000. Her husband, John Almodovar, is an electrician in the local union. He is up for a promotion. The twins keep talking about the activities they want to do with their cousins. I'm glad that they are okay with us going away. Up until Carlos came into our lives, we were never apart from each other, so I'm thrilled they are adjusting well.
When we pull up to Carlos' parent's house, I can see that most of the family is here, simply by the number of cars on the street. The twin's excitement is palpable. When we enter the house, it's like walking into a crowded train station. There are kids running in every direction, with adults, mostly the men, trying to corral the younger ones and women barking out orders from the kitchen and dining room. I absolutely love it here. I thrive in chaos since my life growing up was so chaotic with my mother trying to contain my grandmother and me. Carlos, though, is on edge. It seems to take him a few minutes to relax and acclimate and given his years in the military and the way he runs Rangeman, I can understand why. Before I get five steps into the house, Rosa and Anita are dragging me to the kitchen. Javier and John surround Carlos, and the twins find cousins to play with.
In the kitchen, I help the rest of the women place the final touches on Thanksgiving dinner. Thankfully, I'm not expected to actually cook anything, just help place the finished products in the proper serving dishes with the proper serving utensils. This I can handle, as my mom never trusted me with anything else growing up. Maybe I should ask Carlos' sisters to teach me how to cook Cuban food.
"Stephanie, how are things with your mother? Are they getting any better?" Juliana, Carlos' mom, asks me.
"No, not at all. In fact, she's being even more demanding. I can't help feeling like the other shoe is going to drop, and I, unfortunately, have no idea what that shoe will be."
"I don't understand how she can expect you to drop everything for her. Doesn't she understand that you have a family and a job? Doesn't she value how hard you have worked to give your children everything they have?" Rose asked, anger radiating off her.
"No, she doesn't. I'm a failure in her eyes. I'm a divorced, single woman. I have two children from a man I had a one-night stand with who isn't Italian or Hungarian, or from the Burg. That man is not my ex-husband. I am working outside the home in an office where I am one of two female employees. If she discovered that Carlos and I were living together, and sharing a bed, well, those are all mortal sins in the eyes of the great Ellen Plum." I say as I shake my head.
"Well, mi hija, she's missing out on being part of your life. You are a wonderful mother, and I applaud you for all your hard work. I am fully aware that many women would never allow Carlos to be in their life after everything that happened. I am so relieved that you let him in and have allowed us to know our grandchildren. They are respectful, loving, caring, and full of life, everything that you are. Don't allow your mother's antiquated expectations to get you down. If she can't accept you for who you are, then she is not worthy of you."
I try to hold back the tears that are forming in my eyes. I will not cry, even though these are happy tears. I never in my life thought that I would have so many people who believed in me. Carlos' family has supported me fully since the day they found out about me. I know that his parents and Abuela would love for us to be married, instead of only living together, but they won't pressure us or make us change. They see how much we love our children, and respect each other, so they support us. They understand that we are adults and are capable of making our own decisions.
We finish prepping our feast and have everything on the table. The adults sit around the large dining room table, while the kids sit at various folding tables that extend into the living room. Juliana announces for everyone to find their seats and we all sit. Juliana and Ricardo sit opposite each other, at the heads of the table. To Ricardo's right are Javier and his wife Kaylee, then Anita and James, followed by Rosa and Pablo. On the right of Juliana are Abuela Rosa, Mariela, Celia and Mateo, and finally, Carlos and me. I notice that the family sits in birth order. Mariela is the only one of Carlos' siblings who is not married and not dating anyone. She is 35 years old and had been engaged. However, three months before the wedding, she found her fiancé screwing his nurse in his office. He was a plastic surgeon who she met at the hospital where she was working part-time as a pharmacist. She called off the wedding before you could say "lying, cheating asshole." She was smart enough to get a photo, so her former fiancé, is no longer working in New Jersey.
I was surprised to learn that Lester wasn't going to be here. Then Carlos explained how his family will join us for dessert, but the group was too big to eat dinner at one person's house. He is hoping, that maybe in the future we can host the holidays since we have the largest house. I started to hyperventilate slightly at that suggestion, to which Carlos laughed. Bastard. Dinner is a chaotic affair, with dishes being passed back and forth multiple times, and with the adults periodically checking on the children to make sure they are eating what they are supposed to eat. During dinner, there are conversations abounding between everyone, on almost every topic. However, the one topic that never comes up is my relationship with Carlos. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing at this point, but I'm pleased that no one is pushing us.
Once dinner is finished, the men clean up. They put the food away, and Juliana swears that there is less that ends up in her refrigerator than should be based on the conditions of the dishes when they leave the table. Abuela says it's because the men sneak some more food while their wives aren't watching. I can't help but laugh, because though Carlos eats a lot, I can't see him eating in excess. For example, he had at least a cup of every vegetable on the table, the carrots, Brussel sprouts, green beans, and cranberries (not the canned cranberry sauce that I eat, but the real thing), a large helping of salad, a large sweet potato, about a half cup of stuffing, turkey with gravy, and a piece of ham. If I ate what he did, I'd be 200 lbs. But not Carlos. I once asked him about the amount of food he consumes and he told me that because of his workout regime, he needs to take in more calories than most people, but he prefers to eat healthy foods as opposed to the empty calories in fast food. I understand his approach. He also prefers to eat a low carbohydrate diet because diabetes runs in his family, so he limits his bread, pasta, and rice. He'll eat a larger protein portion and load up on vegetables because the body metabolizes it better. Since I have been struggling to lose the last ten pounds from my pregnancy, I started to emulate his eating habits, and I must say, I lost those last stubborn pounds and feel much better. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy my TastyKakes and donuts, but I only eat them on the weekend or special occasions.
Once the food is put away and the dishes are clean, the twins are given their birthday gifts. Alex gets an assortment of Legos, which he loves, while Lucia gets a chemistry kit, a microscope, and loom kits. The twins love their gifts and thank their aunts, uncles, and cousins. Juliana made them a birthday cake, so we are going to sing Happy Birthday once Lester and the Santos part of the clan arrive, which should be soon.
"Carlos, where are you going?" Mariela asks.
"Somewhere."
"Duh, but where is that somewhere?"
"Top secret."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you, and while I don't necessarily mind getting rid of my nosy sister, I'm sure Mama and Papi will."
"Mari, give it up, you know Carlos won't tell you. Gone are the days when you could intimidate him." Javier tells his sister.
"He was much more fun when he was little. Hey, Steph, did Carlos tell you the time he put on Mama's make-up and high-heeled shoes?"
I almost spit my water out of my mouth, as I had just taken a sip. Carlos, with makeup on and high heels? I can hardly picture that. "No, he never did."
"Oh my, it was hilarious. Javier and Anita were in high school. There was some event there that Mama and Papa had to attend. Rosa was watching the rest of us. Celia and I decided it would be a good idea to make empanadas, so while Rosa was trying to corral us and clean up the kitchen, Carlos disappeared upstairs to Mama's room. He was always quiet, and we forgot all about him while we tried to fix the kitchen. Well, Mama, Papa, Javi, and Anita returned just as we finished. Mama immediately asked about Carlos. He was about three or four at the time. Well, we had no idea where he was. The family immediately started to look for him. It was Anita who found him."
I couldn't help but laugh at that image. He must have looked adorable. "The only thing I regret," Anita added, "was not taking a picture of him."
"Aye, I should have known that Carlos would be a trouble-maker then. Javi was the typical hyperactive boy, so I was never surprised with his behavior, but Carlos, he was the exact opposite." Juliana said.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Ricardo opened the door, and in walked Lester, his two sisters and their significant others, his parents, and Ella and Luis. If it were even possible, the volume increased tenfold. After all the greetings were done, Lester gave Alex and Lucia their gifts. He got Alex and Lucia frames to store their karate belts in. I know Lester is proud of their progress.
All too soon, though, it was time for us to leave. Carlos still hasn't told me where we are going, but I'm okay with that. I love him and trust him completely.
"Now Lucia, Alejandro, I need you to be good for Tia Celia and Tio John. I'll call you before bed each night. We'll be home on Sunday."
"Mom, don't worry, we're fine," Alex tells me.
"Yeah, Mom, we're looking forward to spending time with our cousins," Lucia adds.
"I'll miss you both."
"We'll miss you too, Mom." Lucia responds, then adds, "and you too, Dad."
"Celia"
"Stephanie, don't worry. They'll be fine." I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This is only the second time that I will be away from my babies. They are not helpless they are with people who love them. They will be okay.
"Babe."
"I'm ready."
With a final hug and kiss, Carlos and I finally leave. We get into the Cayenne, ready to head off to who knows where.