Show Me Chapter 22
Hi everyone! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed the holiday despite everything going on in the world. As always, enjoy this chapter and feel free to comment!
Warning: Emotional subject matter ahead.
Gloria stared at the scraps of material in her hands, almost willing it to make a pair of shoes appear out of nowhere. It had been several days since the anniversary party and to say Gloria was still in a funk was a bit of an understatement.
Activity at the workshop had definitely picked up since the break-in. Franco had fully recovered and within weeks, he was allowed to go back to work on the condition that he wouldn't "over-do it". Miguel had expressed some reluctance about going back to school, but after a pep-talk from his parents and Elena, he had agreed to go back.
Gloria didn't get the chance to talk to her family at the party and, not wanting to spoil the mood, she kept quiet and absolved to focus primarily on the shoe shop, despite Martinez's desire to make the relationship public.
"We can't say anything about it, Jule," Gloria said as they spoke on the phone one night. "Not until the whole lío with the Rodriguez family is over. People might see it as a conflict of interest."
Martinez sighed but agreed. He knew better than anyone that it would be better and safer for all parties involved to not make the relationship public. But he did disagree on one aspect.
"Glorita, we should probably tell your family though. Having them find out from a news report isn't the best idea." Martinez said.
Agreeing with Martinez, Gloria decided to have a sit-down talk with both of her parents that afternoon. After saying a quick good-bye, Gloria ended the call and sat back on her bed. While the talking bit was relatively easy, getting her two parents away from the other Riveras was more difficult. And especially important considering what she was about to tell them.
The next morning, as soon as she got up, Gloria asked her parents to come into the living room. Elena looked concerned, knowing that something was definitely up with her middle child. Franco looked concerned too, but having already guessed what was going on, he decided to let Gloria tell it in her own way.
"What's wrong mija?" Elena asked. "Is everything okay?"
At first Gloria sat silently but after a brief moment she took a deep breath and started to talk.
"Do you like Señor Martinez, Mamá?" Gloria asked tentatively. Smiling softly, Elena nodded.
"He seems like a very nice man. No one could ask for anything better," the matriarch answered firmly. "Why do you ask?"
"Porque…porque…." Gloria faltered slightly before taking another deep breath. "We've been dating, Mamá. For almost six months."
Elena's eyes went big for a moment as she took in the news. Then giving her daughter a bone-crushing hug, Elena said, "Why didn't you tell us, mija? That's wonderful!"
"And you're not doing anything loco, right?" Franco asked his daughter, who looked astonished.
"We're waiting, Papá," Gloria muttered as her face turned red. "And he's very kind to me. But por favor, don't tell the rest of the family or anyone else yet. We want to wait for the Rodriguez case to be over to avoid conflict of interest."
Elena frowned but nodded in agreement. The last thing the Rodriguez family needed was for people to think that Martinez only took on the case as a favor to win Gloria's heart. Franco also understood as well, but, realizing there was more on her mind, he asked a big question.
"Is there something else you want to tell us, Gloria?" Franco asked softly as he held his daughter's hands.
Taking another deep breath, Gloria said, "Well, I just found out that I—"
"Hola everyone!" the twins said as they ran into the room, laughing and giggling with excitement as they played tag. Gloria left the room, leaving both of her parents astounded at what had just happened.
Carmen walked over to the twins, her hands on her hips. "How many times have I told you two that it's rude to interrupt when people are talking?"
Apologizing sheepishly, Benny and Manny walked out of the room, followed by their grandparents.
Carmen headed for the kitchen where Gloria was, texting a friend. Not looking up, Gloria said, "I didn't get a chance to tell them about the other issue, Carma."
"But did you tell them about Jule?"
Nodding Gloria continued "They were both thrilled for me. I just have to tell Mamá about the...other issue." Stopping to catch her breath, Gloria said "I need to tell Jule in person, I can't do this sobre FaceTime. But how can I tell them if we keep getting interrupted by the family? I understand that we agreed on no more secrets in this family, but this is something I don't want los niños to know just yet."
Carmen squeezed Gloria's hand in understanding. "No te preocupes, Gloria. I'll take Miguel, Rosa and the twins out for tamales at the Plaza. It'll give you plenty of time to talk to Mamá y Papá."
"What's wrong, mija?" Franco asked as he reached out for his daughter's hand. "You've been very quiet all afternoon and you look like you have something on your mind."
Gloria looked conflicted until Carmen reached over and squeezed her hand. "It's okay, Gloria."
"I heard from the doctor before I left, Papá," Gloria said in a rush. "HetoldmethatIcouldnthave..."
"Whoa, mija, slow down a bit," Elena said. "Take a deep breath and try it again."
"The doctor said I can't have children, Mamá." Gloria repeated, speaking very fast as she bowed her head in shame.
Silence.
Elena went pale, wanting to say something but couldn't find the words. Franco sat back on the couch. The Rivera matriarch knew that the next moment could easily wreck her relationship with her daughter if she said the wrong thing. Just like what had happened with Miguel two years ago and that had taken months to repair.
"Mamá?" Gloria croaked. "Por favor, say something."
Coming over to hug her daughter, Elena simply said, "It doesn't mean you are anything less, Gloria. We still love you and will always support you."
"Did you talk to Mart-Jule yet?" Franco asked his daughter. "It sounds like this relationship is getting serious pretty quickly and he needs to know."
Shaking her head, Gloria said, "I just want to be sure that he is the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with before I break the news. I'm going to go up to Mexico City with Enrique when he goes on the supply run in a few days. I'll go and see Jule then. Díos, I hope he'll be okay."
As Gloria stood up, Franco looked at her seriously. "If he cares for you and truly loves you, he won't reject you for this."
Smiling softly, Gloria left, her heart feeling somewhat lighter for the first time in days.
After their daughter left the room, Elena and Julio sat back down, stunned. Neither of them had expected their daughter to drop that bombshell and they were very worried about her.
"I'm not upset, Franco," Elena insisted as Franco asked her how she was feeling. "I just feel so guilty. Why didn't Gloria tell us? What made her afraid of telling us?"
Franco shrugged as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "It could be that she didn't want us to think she was doing anything crazy. Remember that rebel phase she went through as a teenager?"
Elena cringed. That phase was difficult to forget. It seemed like no matter how many times Gloria was grounded or lectured; she was determined to rebel. It wasn't until Gloria got injured in a fight at school over the music ban that she began to take it more seriously.
"But I'm her mamá, Franco," Elena said softly as tears formed in her eyes. "Why didn't she trust me?"
"She does, Lena. I think she was just afraid of your reaction," Franco said as he handed Elena a tissue. "The last time someone told you a secret like this, you got pretty upset."
Knowing that he was referring to Miguel, Elena's shoulders slumped. But she made a promise:
"From now on, I'll try to encourage the family to be open with me about their problems. Gloria is going to need all the support she can from our familia."