This chapter could be a trigger for some people… I know, for me, it wasn't easy to write... so TW.
The following day Callie woke up a little late; even though her home was in New York, something was calming and familiar about her parent's house. After a long time, she woke up without thinking about the hospital and surgery. She stretched her body and looked around her room. Nothing has changed. The posters she hung back then were still there. The shelf on her right had a few of her favorite books, still stacked the way she left them. She remembered waking up here many Sunday mornings with her mother banging at the door, asking her to get up and get ready for church. She got up from her bed and took a deep breath, taking in the warmth of the Florida Sun. One thing she never liked about New York or Seattle was its cold. Even though it has been almost 20 years since she lived in these places, her Florida-born and brought-up body still struggles to adjust to the cold. The Only thing she loved about cold mornings was snuggling in with Arizona, who loved the cold weather. As the thought of Arizona popped into her mind, she immediately picked up her phone and dropped a message to her.
Callie: Hey, good morning. I just woke up… I know it was late…. but it felt good not having any schedule for once. I guess you will be at the clinic by now. Wish me luck; I will spend my entire day with my parents. ?
She waited a few minutes for the reply, but she assumed that Arizona might be busy when nothing came, so she dropped her phone on the bed and went to the bathroom.
It wasn't until noon when Arizona replied
Arizona: Good Morning to you, too, sleepyhead. Ah, not having any schedule…What does it feel like? I had an early consult, just came to my office. All the best for the day, try to enjoy their company.
Callie was sitting with her father when a message from Arizona came. There was an instant smile on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Carlos.
"Anything interesting?" Carlos asked, eyeing Callie closely.
"Oh… nothing, Daddy… it... …nothing, "Callie replied, unsure what to tell him.
"Someone special in your life you didn't tell me about?" Carlos asked
"What…umm... come on, daddy… it's nothing big," Callie said, still trying to avoid the topic.
"The smile on your face says something else," Carlos said; just then, Lucia came with some fruits and sat down.
"It's just Arizona, daddy… she was telling me something, which Sofia did," Callie said, sounding nonchalant. She didn't miss the look on Lucia's face upon hearing Arizona's name, but she ignored that.
"How is Dr. Robbins… is she settling well in New York?" Carlos asked with genuine interest.
"Oh, she is settling very well. She opened her clinic for women's health, teaching and practicing neonatal surgery. Last month she did a very complicated surgery, after which her Clinic gained new heights. Now people are coming from different corners of the country just to be treated by her." Callie explained with pride in her eyes and a beaming smile. Carlos was observing everything but keeping quiet. On the other hand, Lucia pretended not to listen to anything about Arizona and peeled the apple with concentration.
" I always liked Dr. Robbins; her perkiness is contagious," Carlos replied
"Tell me about it" Callie laughed, rolling her eyes, and they fell into a comfortable silence. Callie resumed her chat with Arizona while Carlos got back to reading his newspaper
"Hija, at what time will your conference finish tomorrow," Lucia asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know, Mami; usually, after the Conference, there is meet and greet… so I'll be pretty late coming home," Callie replied, "why'd you ask?"
"Oh, nothing dear, few of my friends wanted to meet you as many of them saw you when you were a baby, and the rest have only heard about you… so I thought of having a small party day after your conference," Lucia said, smiling.
Callie wanted to say no right away as she suspected that her mother was up to something, but then the words of Arizona saying "try to be nice" played in her mind, and she gave in. "Okay, Mami, as you like," she replied politely.
Lucia seemed happy while passing the now cut apples to her and Carlos.
…
The morning of the conference, Callie was a nervous mess. She had puked three times already and was now on Facetime with Arizona, who was trying to calm her down.
"Callie, breathe, take a deep breath."
"I can't do this, Arizona, I can't… why did I agree to this… You know I am not a public speaker… WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP MEEE?" Callie said, pacing in the bathroom and yelling frantically.
"CALLIE," Arizona roared to gain Callie's attention. "Sit down, take a deep breath and listen to me," Arizona said once Callie looked towards her.
"Good! Now, listens to me carefully… these are just some people who are there to listen to you speak as they like your work. You will be standing on the stage with light shining on your face, and you won't be able to see farther than a few rows. All you need to do is focus only and only on your work. The work you know so well that you don't need cliff notes to explain it. Just remember, it's only you there and nobody else, and explains it to me as I'll be watching it live" Arizona tried her level best to calm Callie's nerves.
"You will be watching it live?" Callie asked meekly
"Yes, I have cleared my schedule for that time, and I'll be in my office watching you rock that speech on my laptop. So, tell me… explain me, and you will be good to go," Arizona replied
Callie smiled and nodded but didn't say anything.
"Say with me, Callie; I can do this."
"I can do this," Callie said meekly
"I can't hear you."
"I can do this," Callie roared.
"Yes… that's my girl," Arizona said chirpily "now go and show everyone what a Rockstar you are"
After the call, Callie took many more calming breaths and got ready for the conference, her eyes fell on something in her jewelry box, which she had brought from New York, and with a smile, she picked it up and wore it. Upon reaching the venue, Callie felt like her legs were made of jelly; though she got out of the car the TED organizers sent, now she was standing in front of the convention center, staring at the gate and secretly weighing her option.
"What worse can happen if I just turn around and never come back," Callie thought in her mind. "Yeah, I will lose my reputation, and they would never call me back even if I come up with the cure for osteosarcoma. But it's still better than losing my dignity in front of all these people when I puke my guts out at the audience," Callie argued back to herself.
"But what about Sofia? What would she think of me… is this the example I want to set for my daughter? And what about Arizona… she is going to sit in her office and wait for me to get up on the stage and speak… she will be so disappointed?" Callie thought, continuing her inner monologue.
"Fine!" Callie said out loud with clenched teeth, "Let's get it over with."
The environment in the convention center was utterly different from that Callie was used to. There were so many people in the audience and maybe thousands online, which Callie was trying not to think about. There were five people before Callie. Callie was in a dilemma; on the one hand, she wanted this thing to get over, and on the other, she was scared to death to even walk on the stage, let alone speak. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths until one assistant came to put a mic on her and inform her that her name was about to get called.
With trembling legs and a pounding heart, Callie walked toward the stage, cursing herself for ever agreeing to this. As she reached the center of the stage and looked around the audience, she immediately realized it was a wrong decision. Upon seeing the size of the audience, her breakfast was threatening to make an appearance; she couldn't help but think about the scene from pitch-perfect when Aubrey puked on the stage. This is not the time to think about that, Torres.
"Just like we rehearsed, let's do it," Callie thought before she stepped into the spotlight.
"Wherever I go, people usually compliment me for my achievements and innovation in ortho. The next question they ask me makes me think about my whole life. Sometimes in your lifetime, there would be some incidents that would either make you not get out your bed, or they would motivate you to win the world." Callie began her speech; surprisingly, her nerves calmed down with each passing second.
"A perfect evening to all; thank you for coming out here and allowing me to share my work with the world. The most beautiful and horrifying thing about life is that it's unpredictable. It is beautiful because it brings you surprises that you don't even imagine, your first bike, first kiss, the day you get married, the day you hold your baby in your arms for the first time… others are not so much, but still, we say that life is amazing. I am talking about life and its unpredictable nature because, in the last ten years, I have experienced all these things... today I am here to talk about an achievement that was the product of one of these life surprises or shocks, to be honest..." There was a gentle chuckle from the crowd
"The last time I gave the TED talk, I mentioned that my wife was in a plane crash, which took my best friend's life- the father of our child. I nearly lost her, but she came out of it with nothing but a leg amputation. I know it feels odd to say, 'nothing but leg amputation,' but when I see the alternative where she would have been lying dead in that forest… I feel lucky… at least she is with me now, and I am forever grateful for that."
"But after the incident, it took my wife a great deal of pain and suffering to recover from her amputation, which motivated me to do something for the amputee. When I started my research, my main motive was only to better my wife's life… I know I was being selfish… but at that moment, I couldn't think of anything else than to make her life easy.…. But I had a moment of weakness, too… after I was separated from the said wife, I gave up on the project entirely, my whole purpose of doing this was gone, and I quit. But thankfully, my dear friend Late Dr. Derek Shepherd knocked some sense into me, and we continued our brain mapping project. After Dr shepherd's demise, I continued to work on the project with Dr. Owen Hunt, who showed me the implication of the technology for war veterans, which I am happy to say has now performed a miracle with them. Without Dr. Derek's sensors, I had to improvise and start this project with only one thing in mind, to make life somewhat easy for the amputee. Today Late, Dr. shepherd's work is helping hundreds of war veterans struggling to live comfortable lives after the amputation. Even though Dr. Shepherd is no longer with us, his vision has proven to be a guiding star for us, making this a better place… one amputee at a time…" and Callie continued to explain how her bionic limbs work and its future in sports medicine and Paralympics.
In New York, Arizona was sitting glued to the screen, proudly showing off her Rockstar girlfriend to some of the staff. She has not missed a single world, and she couldn't help but feel swollen with pride for Callie. After her speech, people around Arizona showed their appreciation and amazement toward Callie's achievement, and Arizona smiled brightly and agreed with them enthusiastically. She was over the moon that Callie not only gave an excellent speech but also gave it so gracefully, without her famous pee dance or puking.
After the speech and meeting a few well-renowned scientists and activists interested in knowing more about her project, Callie left for her parents' house.
She switched on her phone and found a message from Arizona
Arizona: You were terrific, Calliope…. The speech was ssoooo good…and you didn't do your pee dance? … I am so proud of you.
Callie laughed at the message and quickly dialed Arizona's number, but her phone was unavailable. Realizing that Arizona might be in the surgery, she rescheduled for a Ted talk. She decided to call later.
"Daddy… Mami?" Callie called out to her parents.
"Senora, your father is in his study, and your mother is at some event," Martina replied, coming out of the kitchen.
"Ah, okay, thanks, Martina," Callie replied and went to her father's study.
Calliope! You are back!" Carlos asks at the site of his daughter.
"Did you watch it?"
"Oh yes, I watched till the end," Carlos replied proudly. "You did good, Mija!"
"Thank you, Daddy," Callie said, hugging her father.
After the dinner, Callie went back to her room and called Arizona again, but her number was still not reachable, so Callie went to sleep.
When she got up in the morning, Arizona's message explained that she was in surgery till late and apologized for not picking up the phone. Callie glanced at the clock and quickly facetimed Arizona as it was already 8 in the morning.
"Hey you," Arizona said from the other side of the line.
"Hey," Callie replied in a groggy voice.
"Hmm, seems like somebody didn't get her coffee fix yet?" Arizona teased
"No, I just woke up and saw your message, so I thought of calling you first."
"Saw your speech yesterday," Arizona said
"Oh yeah? Were you watching? I didn't know that," Callie teased
"Yeah, I had nothing to do, so I thought I 'll give your speech a try," Arizona teased back
"mhmm… so you had no surgeries, which you rescheduled for my speech, huh?"
"Nope," Arizona replied, making Callie laugh.
"So, how was it?" Callie asked
"meh…It was okay," Arizona replied, mocking disinterest
"Arizona!" Callie whined
" I am Kidding, Calliope… it was amazing… you nailed it."
"Why thank you, Dr. Robbins… now was that hard to say?"
"Extremely," Arizona teased again while Callie scoffed.
"By the way, my mom is throwing a party in my honor, apparently," Callie informed Arizona.
"Oh… that's nice, I guess."
"I don't know; she knows I hate these parties, but still, she insisted... so I didn't say no," Callie replied with a pout.
"Try to keep an open mind... maybe it's her way to mend the relationship…." Arizona tried to reason out, " She is raised in a certain way… it was hard for her to change, and I believe she is trying this time… so cut her some slack… she will come around."
"aarrgh, why do you have to be so sensible all the time… I hate you," Callie whined.
"Because I am right, and I am awesome?" Arizona laughed
"No, because you are annoying," Callie said, still maintaining the pout.
"And awesome," Arizona said, bouncing her eyebrows.
"Annoying"
"Right and Awesome"
"Fine, you are right, but you ARE annoying, and that's final," Callie said in a child-like manner, making Arizona laugh.
"Ok... I am annoying, but you love me anyway," Arizona said with a dimpled smile, making Callie melt.
"Yes… I love you anyway."
"I love you too… now go and have your coffee and try to enjoy the party."
"Yes, Mom," Callie said, rolling her eyes
"Calliope!" Arizona exclaimed
"Alright, alright… I will try to enjoy the party and try not to get hit on by the ladies…. Or you know men," Callie said, teasing Arizona.
Arizona didn't reply but squinted her eyes. Callie was now laughing even harder "You are so cute, you know that?"
"Don't make me come there with a brick, Calliope…." Arizona warned, "You know I'll do."
"Okay… okay… I won't… I'll make sure that everybody knows that I am taken."
"You bet your ass you are."
…
After the call, Callie went down to have a coffee. When she reached the patio holding a hot cup of coffee in her hands, she met with both of her parents sitting quietly reading newspapers. Her parent's house was so different from her home in New York. The morning here was so quiet. Nobody talks loudly, and the workers quietly do their designated tasks of the day. For as long as she remembers, her parent would sit on a patio like this reading their respective newspapers every day without uttering a word the whole time.
On the other hand, the morning at the Torres household was the complete opposite. It would start with Sofia waking up and starting her chatter nonstop, followed by Callie or Arizona asking Sofia to get ready for school, followed by their hoch-poch of going to work. It had been a long time since they had a quiet morning, but to be honest, Callie loved her morning back at her home, and she wouldn't trade it for anything. She remembers when Sofia was in Seattle, and she had just broken up with Penny; there were a few weeks when she would wake up to an empty and quiet house, and she hated every bit of it.
"Good morning, everybody," Callie greeted her parents, breaking the silence.
"Good morning, Mija! Had a good night's sleep?" Carlos asked
"Yeah, I slept like a rock," Callie replied, sipping her coffee.
"How was your conference, darling? Lucia asked. "Sorry I couldn't watch it yesterday; my event ran long."
"That's alright, Mami… it went well," Callie replied, a little disappointed but didn't show.
"I was thinking about going shopping… I wanted to buy something for Sofia and Ari…. ahem… Sofia," Callie said, sitting down next to her father. Her slip-up didn't go unnoticed by her father, but he chose to keep quiet.
"As you wish, darling, but don't forget; there is a party in the evening." Lucia reminded Callie
Callie discreetly rolled her eyes and looked at her dad, who quickly winked.
"Si, Mami… I'll be back in a few hours," Callie said.
"Party time is at 6, Mija, don't be late," Lucia called after Callie.
…
Callie wandered around the familiar market and bought a frozen lego set for Sofia and a dress for Arizona. After having lunch at her all-time favorite restaurant, where she met with a few familiar faces, she headed back to Torres's mansion—mentally preparing herself for the upcoming Party.
Since she was eleven years old, Callie hated these parties, whether at their house or somebody else's. The people at these parties were all so obnoxious with more money than God. Their kids were even worse; most of her childhood was spent hiding from these kids who used to bully Callie for being different than them. She tried her best to fit in, but she was never enough for them, and now Callie's thanks all start that she didn't turn out to be like them.
After returning home, Callie stuffed her purchases in her luggage and got ready in the dress her mom left on her bed. At around 6:15 in the evening, Callie went down to join the party.
Lucia introduced Callie to many of their family friends, some of them were new, and some were familiar. She made small talks with some and caught up with a few old acquaintances. To her surprise, this party turned out to be fun, especially when a few of her school classmates came. She was reminiscing some old days with classmates when Lucia called her. Excusing herself, she went to her mother.
"Calliope, please meet David Santiago; he is a hotelier like your dad," Lucia said with an enthusiasm that Callie had never seen before "and David, this is my daughter Calliope; she is an orthopedic surgeon in New York."
"Hello. Calliope," David said with a smile extending her hand
"Hi… and it's Callie," Callie replied politely, extending her hand for a handshake.
"You guys talk, and I'll be right back," Lucia said and quickly disappeared.
"So surgeon…. that's impressive," David Said.
"Well… it sounds fancier than it is," Callie replied, "not nearly as fancy as Hotel business."
"Meh! Sound fancier than it is," David replied casually, imitating Callie.
At first, Callie thought that David would be just like another businessman in her father's circle, who can only talk about money. But, David turned out to be a decent guy, and Callie found herself enjoying his company until she saw her mother glancing at them from time to time. The realization of her Mother's intentions made a dent in Callie's mood. She turned towards David and decided to ask him straight away.
"Sorry to be blunt, David… but what did my mother say to you?" Callie asked
David was taken aback by the sudden change of topic, but he honestly replied, " well.. umm… she just told me that you are a surgeon and single, and she wanted us to meet… to you know…."
Callie couldn't believe the audacity of her mother; after all these years, she hadn't changed a bit.
"did she tell you that I am bisexual and was married to a woman and have a daughter with her?" Callie asked loudly but not loud enough to cause a scene.
"Oh.. ahem… no.. she told me that you are divorced and have a kid, but the kid's father has passed away," David said awkwardly.
"Dios Mio! Ella es imposible (my god, she is impossible)," Callie mumbled under her breath, now fuming with anger.
"Hey, listen… I don't have any problem with your sexuality… Love is love… be it, anyone," David said calmly.
"Thank you for saying that, David… I appreciate your honesty…you are a nice guy…."
"But…" David asked
"But… I am in a relationship… mmm…." Callie said awkwardly.
"Hey, I understand… I guess your mom didn't know… that's alright," David said, pacifying Callie.
"Thank you… and I am sorry for this blunder," Callie said apologetically
"It's perfectly alright… in fact, I had a great time talking to you… else I hate these parties." David said, laughing at the last part
"Oh God, Me too…." Callie exclaimed.
After clearing things out, they chatted for a few more minutes and then bid adieu. Callie was waiting for the party to get over. She needed to have a word with her mother… soon.
…
After the party, when Lucia was instructing the housemaids about cleaning their hall, Callie walked toward her mother with determination.
"Mami, can I talk to you?"
"Of course, Mija!" Lucia said, gesturing for Callie to sit.
"Why did you introduce me to David? Callie asked right away
"What do you mean why? He was at the party… you are of the same age. I thought you both would hit it off," Lucia said, shrugging her shoulder.
"is that true?... or were you trying to hook me up with him," Callie asked loudly. Carlos also entered the hall at that moment.
"what's going…." Carlos began to ask but was cut off by his wife
"So what if I was?" Lucia said, matching Callie's pitch, "He is handsome, successful, and shares the same value and culture as ours… and thankfully, you are not dating that woman anymore… so what's the problem."
"what the problem?" Callie repeated, amazed by this question, " the problem is Mother, that's its Mi Vida…, and it's my decision who I want to spend it with."
"Of course, it's your decision… I was giving you the option… If you don't like David, I have a few other…."
"Oh My God! I am not interested in anyone, especially not the one you bring," Callie was now shouting, "did you know about this" she turned to her father and asked.
"No, Mija! I had no idea," Carlos said honestly.
"Your father has nothing to do with this… I thought of the…." Lucia smugly
"Of course you did…." Callie scoffed, "why didn't you tell him about Arizona or that I was married to her and we have a daughter?"
Lucia rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, sweetheart, you can't be still talking about that abomination… You had Sofia with Mark that I told him… everything else was irrelevant."
"IRRELEVANT?" Callie roared, "My marriage... my relationship… my wife is irrelevant to you."
"First of all, mind your language, Calliope; you are taught better than raising your voice in front of your parents… second, yes, it's irrelevant because you were not married… not in God's eye, not by law, and certainly not in my"
"Lucia, we talked about this" Carlos interfered before Callie could blast
"No, Carlos, I tried to come to terms with her tantrums… but not anymore… She needs to find a man and settle down."
"The man you find?" Callie asked sarcastically
"not necessarily; if you have someone you like, you can tell… we are more than happy to meet him… do you have someone?" Lucia asked
"I don't have a man in my life," Callie replied with clenched teeth. It was taking every ounce of her strength to control her anger.
"Than…What is your problem… he is intelligent and smart, and you are single… so why don't you give him a shot?... You are.. this… this… bisexual as you say… means you can marry a man too, right?"
Callie took a few deep breaths before speaking, "Yes, Mami, it means I can marry a man and a woman too… but I won't be pursuing David."
"But why?"
"Because I am dating someone."
"But you just said…."
"Yes, I just said that I don't have any man in my life… but I have a woman," Callie replied. "Before you say anything else… Its Arizona"
"You can't be serious, Calliope… why do you do this? Why do you want to hurt your mother like that?" Lucia cried out
"Lucia…" Carlos tries to intervene but keeps getting cut off
"Hurt my mother? You think I do this because I wanna hurt you."
"Calliope…"
"Why else would you do that… why else would you go back to that woman… or any woman?"
"Because that's who I am, Mom… I am bisexual… I like both men and women… may be more women than men… and I went back to Arizona because she is it for me…. She is the mother of my child… she is the love of my life, and she would be my wife again, and this time it will be legal," Callie yelled back.
"But it won't be in God's eyes… your marriage would mean nothing," Lucia yelled back.
"I. DO. NOT. CARE," Callie said, enunciating each word. "I don't care what you think… I don't care what the priest thinks, nor do I care what your friend's society thinks… I know my God, and my god doesn't differentiate… if your does, then it's your problem, not mine."
"How dare you!" Lucia shouted
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Carlos roared from the side, "there won't be any more yelling in this house… Lucia. Calliope… go to your rooms… we will talk about this tomorrow like civilized people."
"No… you know what… I don't want to stay in this house for any more seconds than I had to… I am leaving… I am going back to New York… right now."
"Calliope no"
"No, Daddy, please don't stop me," Callie pleaded to her father. "I need to be with my family… I will call you later…."
Carlos tried to counter, but Callie's eyes stopped him, so instead, he nodded and instructed his driver to take Callie to the airport.
After deboarding the flight, Callie knew where she would find the peace. So at 3 in the morning, Callie knocked on Arizona's apartment door.
After a few knocks, Arizona opened the door in confusion…
"Callie? What Happened?"
Hey,
Finally, I got the time to update. I hope you all like this chapter.
Leave your comments on what you think about this…
I guess 2 or 3 more chapters and this story will be complete… then I would be able to focus on the other.
Until next time
Stay Safe
Love
~RT