Chapter 131

Olivia hurried to her suit to check on Natalia as soon as Rafe left for a shower. She knew her wife was going to be pissed as soon as she found out what Olivia had done, but she hoped the outcome would outweigh Natalia's outrage and keep her from spending a few days on the couch, or worse, at the Beacon. Opening the door as quietly as possible, she entered and shut it softly behind her. Not finding either sister in the main space, she assumed they had made their way to one of the rooms and chose to check she and Natalia's first.

Stepping into the room, the first thing Olivia noticed was that it was not just dark, but really dark. The blackout shades Olivia had insisted on back when the Beacon was where she called home were drawn tightly closed and not a single light was on. The second and far more concerning thing, was that Natalia was curled into a tight ball in the middle of the bed, arms wrapped around her knees at her chest, the blankets covering her completely, and soft sobs escaping her throat.

Dropping her phone onto the bed side table, Olivia quickly climbed onto the bed and molded herself around her wife. Wrapping her arms around the sobbing woman and holding her close. She didn't say anything for a long while, just simply held her distraught lover and peppered her head, neck, and shoulders with gentle kisses. When she finally did speak, she kept her tone soft, whispering soothing words of love.

Rafe stepped from the cab he had taken from the airport and onto a street that seemed familiar to him somehow but he just couldn't place. He ignored yet another text from Ava asking where he was as he looked for the street number on the house before him. Olivia had told him to shower and head straight to the airport where Phillip's jet was waiting for him and not to tell anyone where he was going or even that he was leaving. He spotted the small numbers on the mailbox and found the house he needed was two down from where he stood. Taking a deep breath, he walked a little way down the street and up a warn path to the door he sought. Steeling his nerves, he knocked and waited for it to open.

After long moments, Natalia finally unfolded herself and turned in the embrace, burying her face in her wife's chest and clinging tightly to her. It wasn't what happened with her father that had her so upset, that hadn't bothered her much at all actually. He had made it clear the day he dropped her off at the home for unwed mothers how he felt about her and she had long ago dealt with the hurt that came along with that knowledge. No, it was what she had learned about her mother that both angered her and broke her heart.

She hated that her mother had lived so many years crying over a daughter she wasn't allowed to contact, but it also angered her beyond belief. Why couldn't her mother just be strong enough to stand up to her father? Why had she herself not sought her daughter out and protected her against the cruelness of the world? Why hadn't she left the man and taken her children with her so they might have a fighting chance of being more then he would ever allow?

She knew the answers to these questions of course, simply put, in their culture it was expected that woman be submissive of their husbands and bend to their every whim. Add to that being catholic and there you have it. Her mother had no choice but to be obedient to her father, it was all she had ever known, not to mention she had no work experience or job skills to speak of and would have had a very hard time finding work enough to support herself, let alone three children on her own. Not to mention the infant Natalia had been carrying at the time.

Knowing these truths, however, did not make the hurt and anger lessen. She had found work enough to support her son when she was still only a child herself, there is no reason her mother couldn't have. Mothers were meant to protect their children, and on that front, Clara Rivera had failed miserably. Not only had she allowed her eldest daughter to be thrown out onto the cold streets of Chicago, pregnant and alone. She had allowed her husband to turn her son into an exact replica of his father with zero regard or respect towards women and that his children were nothing more than pawns for him to mold into whatever he decided they should be. And then there was Isabel, the youngest Rivera child who was forced into a career that yes she loved but had absolutely no say in and was forced to all but forget her older sister who had been her best friend for the first fourteen years of her life.

Snuggling deeper into her wife's chest, she kissed the soft skin below her lips and allowed fresh tears to fall from her eyes. Olivia continued to rub soothing circles on her back and pepper kisses across her forehead, temple, and cheek. She knew her wife would calm eventually and they would be able to talk about exactly what had her worked into such a state, but until then, she would wait and just be there for the woman she loved.

The old wooden door creaked open slowly and an elderly woman stood before Rafe, looking at him questioningly. "Can I help you young man?"

Rafe shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he took in the woman that could easily be his mother, were she thirty or forty years younger. "Umm, yeah. Are…are you Mrs. Rivera? Clara Rivera?"

"Y-yes." The woman responded wearily, feeling as if she should know the young man that stood before her with eyes that matched her husbands and hair so much like her sons. "And who might you be young man?"

"Uh, do you think we could take this inside? I think you might want to sit down before I tell you."

The woman knew she should be worried about letting a complete stranger into her home; however, she wasn't. Something in her told her she had nothing to fear from the dashing young man stood before her. With a deep sigh, she opened the door further and allowed him in. "Can I at least ask you your name?" She asked, closing the door, and leading him to the living room.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm Rafael, Rafe." He answered, extending his hand for her to shake.

As she took his hand in hers, Clara felt a jolt, as if electricity was shooting through her arm and she quickly pulled her hand back. "It's nice to meet you." She gestured towards the couch behind them. "Won't you take a seat."

Sitting down gingerly on the edge of the couch, Rafe cleared his throat as he waited for her to sit as well. "So um, we don't have a whole lot of time, but uh, my mom sent me, she wanted me to make you an offer before your husband returned."

Clara raised an eyebrow and Rafe had to hold in a laugh as he watched her face contort in the same way his mother's did when she was confused. "How did you know my husband was out of town?"

Rafe could tell his grandmother was now slightly afraid and instantly wanted to sooth her worries. "Oh, uh, sorry. Please don't be scared. I guess I should have started with my whole name."

"If that will explain who you are and how you know of my husband's whereabouts, then yes, I believe that would be best."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Rafe looked down at his feet before meeting the woman's eyes. "Um, well, my full name is Rafael Joseph Spencer-Rivera. Your daughter, Natalia, is my mother."

Clara's hand shot to her chest and she gasped. Now understanding why, she felt as if she knew the handsome man that now sat in her living room the second she opened the front door. "N-Natalia, my Natalia. She…she is your mother?" She asked in barely a whisper.

"Yes ma'am."

Tears leaked from the elder Latina's eyes as she shook her head back and forth. "You…you are my grandson?"

"Yes ma'am."

Drying her eyes and raising her head, the woman took a deep breath to calm herself. "Where is your mother? Is she here?"

"Um, no. She doesn't exactly know I'm here."

"What do you mean? You said she sent you."

"No, my mom sent me, her wife, Olivia Spencer-Rivera. She didn't tell Ma cause she and Aunt Isabel were so upset after your husband left. She didn't want to give Ma false hope."

"False hope? I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying. Are you saying Louis spoke to the girls? He saw them both, together?"

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I don't really know what happened. My big sister, Ava, and I were in Isabel's room at our hotel waiting for our moms and little sister, Emma, so we could all go to lunch. When they came in Emma was crying and really upset and Ma was kind of…I don't know, frozen I guess. Mom had me take Emma into the bedroom and put on a movie for her and when I came out they told us that Ma's dad was in the lobby and I guess he wasn't so nice to mom or to Ma. He really wanted Isabel's room number and our front desk manager wouldn't give it to him. Mom had to have security take him to her office. After calling the nanny for Emma, Ava and I were sent to handle customer complaints after all the screaming in the lobby and Ma, Mom, and Isabel went to talk to Mr. Rivera. I don't know what happen after that. It was about an hour or so later when my mom came to find me. She asked me to fly here and see if you might want to see Ma. I guess she was worried you might say no and didn't want Ma to be any more upset or hurt then she already is." He finished and took a deep breath as he leaned back on the couch.

Clara was staring blankly at him. Unsure what to think about what she had just been told. She knew her husband went to bring Isabel home, and there was a chance he might run into Natalia, but he hadn't mentioned it when he called to let her know he was heading home. He merely said that Isabel was being her stubborn self but not to worry because he knew she would be home in a few days, as she always was when she got the notion to run away as if she was still a child and not a thirty-four-year-old woman.

Isabel woke slowly from the impromptu nap she had taken. She wasn't exactly sure when had fallen asleep. She remembered Natalia showing her to Emma's room so she could have some time to herself before Olivia came up. She remembered laying in the bed and running through the conversation with her father over and over again in her head. What she didn't remember, was falling asleep. She didn't even remember being tired. Sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she stretched and climbed from the bed, heading into the main space of the suite in search of Natalia.

Walking out of the room, she realized no one was in the main area or the kitchenette. Seeing the door still closed to Olivia and Natalia's room, she made her way over and knocked softly. When no answer came she knocked again before cracking it open and peering inside. She noticed the two women cuddled up together just a second before Olivia's eye landed on her. With a shake of her head, Olivia made it clear that they weren't ready for company. Isabel nodded and closed the door as she went to make some coffee she was sure they would all need when the Spencer-Rivera women finally did emerge.

"I, I don't know, I'm not sure what to say." Clara shook her head, trying to compose herself so she could properly address her grandson. "You uh, you said you came here to make me an offer. Is that it? You want me to go and see Natalia?"

"Kind of. Mom, Olivia, wants you to come and see Ma, but also Isabel. Like I said, I don't know what happened when they went and spoke to Mr. Rivera, all I know is that my mom told me to tell you that Isabel isn't planning on coming back here, and she's pretty sure your husband wouldn't allow it anyways."

"What do you mean? I just spoke to Louis not more than an hour ago. He assured me that Isabel would be coming home in a few days." She said frantically, feeling very much as she had twenty years ago. Knowing somewhere in the pit of her stomach that this man who claimed to be her grandson was right. Isabel would not be coming home, and if she continued to refuse, Louis would write her out of their lives just as he had Natalia all those years ago.

"I'm sorry. Mom didn't give me any details." He shrugged. "She just told me to tell you that this was your chance to reclaim the daughter you lost and not lose another one. That if you truly are as heartbroken over losing Ma as Isabel claims, then you'll make the right decision and get on the plane with me."

"Is that it then? If I don't come with you I will lose both of my daughters?"

"Like I said, I don't know. Ma hasn't talked to anyone and mom came to me before she even went to check on Ma after Mr. Rivera was escorted from the hotel. She does have an offer for you though. One that might make your decision easier."

"What kind of an offer?"

"She said that you could come back here after seeing Ma and Isabel if that's what you wanted, but, she is prepared to give you a room at the hotel or help you find other arrangements for as long as you need should you decide to stay for a while. Get to know Ma again, and maybe me and mom and my sisters too. She is willing to pay all expenses as well as help in other ways you might need." Rafe reached a handout to the older woman and pat her knee that had started to bounce.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but mom said Isabel said some things that made her believe that your husband is the reason you never tried to find Ma, and that he might stop you from reaching out to Isabel since she didn't come home. She doesn't want you to be separated from your children if you don't wish to be. I know you don't know me, or my mom, or Ma really, but uh, I know my mom's. They will do whatever you want them to."

"Do I have some time to think about it?"

"I guess that's up to you really. I don't know your husband or how he will respond to this so I don't really know if you have time or not. It's about a three-hour drive from Springfield to here. I was given the impression that if you were going to come, then you should probably leave before Mr. Rivera gets home. That's about two hours, but I would say an hour and half to be safe."

Clara nodded mutely. Trying to get her racing thoughts in order. She knew he was right, if she wanted to see her daughters, she needed to leave before Louis arrived. He would never allow her to leave the city, especially not if he knew she was going to see Natalia, the daughter she was forced to pretend never existed.

"Look." Rafe said after several minutes of silence. He handed her a card with his number on it. "This is my card, that's my cell number. The jet I'm using is at O'Hare international. I'll hold it until five o'clock tonight. That's in three hours. You just need to go to the ticket counter and give them your name and they'll bring you back if you decide to come. If I don't hear from you by five, I'll assume you decided to stay." He stood from the couch and headed for the door.

It only took a split second before Clara stood and ran after him. "Wait." Rafe spun on his heel just in time to catch the woman in his arms. She hugged him tighter than anyone ever had in his life. "Eres un buen hijo. Mi Natalia tiene suerte de tenerte." (You are a good son. My Natalia is lucky to have you.) She kissed his cheek and opened the door for him. Part of her wanted to just walk out with him and run to her daughters, but she knew she needed to really think this through. If she got on that plane, she could never come back. Her marriage would be over and the life she had lived for over forty years would change in an instant.

Natalia finally stirred in Olivia's arms and looked into those understanding green eyes. "Hey."

"Hey." Olivia smiled down at her. "How are you feeling sweetheart?"

"I'm okay." Natalia tried to smile back but just couldn't make herself.

"No, you're not, and that's okay."

Natalia nodded. "I'm not sure exactly how I feel at the moment."

"I can understand that. A lot's happened today."

"Yeah." She nodded in agreement. "Is it okay if we don't talk about it yet? I just want to be here, with you, for just a little while longer."

Olivia kissed her forehead and smiled. "Of course, it is honey. We don't have to talk about it all if you don't want to."

Natalia chuckled at that, knowing her wife enough to know that was far from the truth. "Yes we do, but I'm not ready yet. I just want to enjoy how safe I feel in your arms for a little longer. Can we do that? Will you just lay here and hold me?"

"I can do that." Olivia bent to kiss her wife's lips. "I can most definitely do that." Just as the two got comfortable again, Olivia's phone rang. Rolling just enough to grab it from the nightstand, Olivia looked at the caller ID. Groaning, she half smiled at her wife. "Right after I take this call." Kissing Natalia's head once more, she rolled from the bed, answering the phone before the caller hung up but not saying a word until she was in the attached bathroom with the door closed. "Hey, how did it go?"

"Okay, I guess. She uh, she needed to think about it." Rafe answered, knowing it wasn't what his mom wanted to hear. "I'm sitting at the jet terminal at the airport. I told her I would hold off on flying home until five. Figured that was all the time I really had to give her since Mr. Rivera will be home before then and Phillip said he needed the jet later this evening for some over sea meeting."

Olivia sighed. "Alright. I guess all we can do now is wait. Thank you for doing this Rafe. I know your mom is going to be upset that I didn't tell her, but I'm hoping your grandmother will have grown a backbone over the past twenty years and take the chance we are giving her."

"Me too. She was nice, I could tell she wanted to ask me a bunch of questions, but she didn't. I could also tell she misses Ma, and she's scared of losing Isabel. I just don't know if it's enough. I know how scary it was for Ma to leave Chicago and move to Springfield and we didn't have anything or anyone holding us here. If what you think is true, and she'll have to leave her entire life behind if she comes with me, I'm sure that's a hard decision."

"I'm sure it is, but for me, my children always come first."

"I know mom. I really hope she shows up. I told her what airport and I gave the ticket counter her information so they would bring her back here if she does, I just, I don't know mom. She seemed really scared."

"I know bub. Well, thanks for trying, no matter what happens, we'll tell your ma what you did and she'll be grateful you tried. Just hang out until five, see if she shows."

"How's Ma doing?"

"She's okay. Well as okay as anyone would be given what she's been through today."

"Yeah."

"It's going to be alright son. You just wait and see if your grandmother is the women I hope she is and I'll take care of your Ma."

"I will. I think I'm gonna go find something to eat and maybe work on some emails while I wait."

"That's my boy, thinking about work even when your life has just been turned upside down." She chuckled.

"What can I say, I'm just like my mom." He responded; the smile evident in his voice.

"I think you're far more your ma then me on that front, but I love you anyways."

"I love you too mom. I'll call before takeoff."

"Okay bub. Bye." She hung up and exited the bathroom, rejoining her wife in the bed and wrapping her back into her arms.

Natalia settled back on her chest and breathed her scent in. "What was that about?"

"Just Rafe, wondering what's going on and how you're doing."

"He really has grown up so much since last year."

"That he has my love."

They lay together in a comfortable silence for a little while longer, both thinking over the events from earlier. Eventually Natalia decided they needed to get up and check on Isabel, she still wasn't ready to talk just yet, but she had smelled coffee and figured she should join her sister in the sitting area since she was surely feeling just as much if not more than Natalia herself was.

Clara sat thinking on her bed. Her suitcase was half packed with clothes strewn around her. She had no idea what she was doing. She had never been an impulsive woman. She had never done anything she wasn't told to do. First from her father and then from her husband. She and Louis married only six months after meeting. She had wanted to wait and get to know him a little better, but her father had told her that he was a good, hard working, catholic man and she would do well to marry him before he found someone else who would. Without another thought, she obeyed her father and said yes to the handsome Latino and never looked back.

The first thing she ever did that wasn't planned by someone else was her son, Javier. She and Louis hadn't talked about children, but being catholic, they weren't using any sort of protection and she became pregnant within weeks of being married. That was part of why she questioned her husband's decision about Natalia. Children are a gift from God, that's why birth control is frowned upon. Their church believes that if God wills you to have a child, then you shall have it. Which is why birth control and abortions are unheard of in the catholic community.

She knew Natalia had made a mistake when she chose to have sexual relations outside of the confines of marriage, but if God had not wanted her to have the child that was created by that union, then he wouldn't have allowed her to become pregnant. Would he? She understood that Louis had wanted what was best for the child, for it to live in a good catholic home with well-adjusted and finically secure parents, but from what she had seen of her grandchild today, he seemed to be doing alright for himself. He was well mannered, well dressed, obviously loving and caring, and apparently worked for the hotel his mother owned.

That sparked another thought all together. Her daughter, the one her husband had cast aside and guaranteed would become nothing more than a street rat owned a hotel, and not just one, but two at the very least. She had heard enough when Isabel tried to persuade him to seek Natalia out to know that she had also opened a hotel not far from her home. She was successful, and although Clara couldn't agree with her daughter being married to a woman, it seemed that she had a very happy and close-knit family. If she remembered correctly, Rafe had spoken of two sisters, one of which her husband had upset.

She found herself wondering about that child. She could surmise that the older sister Rafe spoke of was most likely her daughter's wife's child, since Rafe was obviously the child she had been pregnant with when she left home. But this younger sister, was she Natalia's child or another stepdaughter? Did she have a second grandchild she had never met? Rafe said the girl had been upset and she wondered exactly what her husband had done to make the child cry.

She pondered this thought for a little while longer. Trying desperately to figure out what was the right thing to do. She had already prayed several prayers and still had no answers. What would Louis do if he came home and found her gone? How bad would it be if he discovered where she had gone? Would she only be making Natalia's life worse by coming back into it? From what little she knew of the trial that brought Isabel's attention to her sister, Natalia and her family had already been through quite an ordeal since the new year. Would her coming into their lives, and the tantrum her husband would no doubt throw only upset her life more?

She had a million questions and not a single answer. Just as she was about to give up and start to prepare dinner for her husband as she did every night, something caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the box that had been buried at the back of her closest. She figured she must have accidently knocked it over when she got out her suitcase. Walking over, she noticed the box was on its side and a single parchment had fallen out. As she picked it up with shaky hands, she gasped. In that instant, her decision was made for her.

Walking out of the room, Natalia yawned and stretched as her eyes landed on her sister, curled up on the couch, eyes blood shot, and staring blankly at the wall, a cup of coffee clutched in her hands. Sharing a look with Olivia, she made her way over and sat beside her. At the movement, Isabel blinked, coming back to the present. Placing her coffee down on the side table, she looked to her older sister, hoping to find the answer to the question playing over and over in her mind. What do we do now? Only all she saw when their eyes met, was the same question reflected back at her. Collapsing into her arms as she had so many times when they were younger, she tried to hold back the fresh bout of tears but simply couldn't.

Natalia rocked her baby sister in her arms, looking at Olivia over her head. There were no words that could fix the ache both sisters felt. Natalia knew, just as she had known about herself all those years ago. Isabel would never see their mother again. One did not defy Louis Rivera without suffering the consequences. All she could do was be there for her and pray that together they would find a way to get through this. Kissing the top of her head, she rested her cheek there and fought to keep her own tears at bay. This kiss was for the hope that Isabel would survive the pain losing one's mother causes and come out on the other side, stronger and more resilient, as Natalia herself had.