Oh, but my heart is in Havana (ay)
There's somethin' 'bout his manners (uh huh)
Havana, ooh na-na (uh)
He didn't walk up with that "how you doin'?"
(When he came in the room)
He said there's a lot of girls I can do with
(But I can't without you)
I knew him forever in a minute
(That summer night in June)
And papa says he got malo (bad) in him
He got me feelin' like
Havana, ooh na-na (ay)
Half of my heart is in Havana, ooh-na-na (ay, ay)
-Camila Cabello-
Chapter twelve
"You don't love me," Ana hissed, meeting her father's gaze. Everything about him seemingly alien, incomprehensible.
"Wh-what?" Ray furrowed his brow. "How can you say that, sweetheart? You have any idea everything I've done for you all these years trying to get you home?"
Ana met his gaze, unwavering. If she was going to survive this, she had to shed who she'd been and become a different Ana, and harden her heart against her father.
"If you loved me, you would take me to live with you."
Ray shook his head, outraged. "You're twisting things around," his sigh was more a huff of exasperation. "I've already explained the situation with Chloe's mother," he looked over at Chloe who was now half-listening, half- messing with her phone.
"All I know is that you don't want me with you, that's all I understand," she said, looking at her father square in the eye. "And I don't want to hear another bad word about Christian," she paused giving him a pointed look, "if I hear you bad-mouthing her again I will leave," she said, and she meant it one hundred percent. She had no money, no phone, and no way of getting back to Christian's place, but she would do it even if she had to hitchhike her way there. She'd never felt so helpless and utterly dependent in her entire life; yet she would find a way, even if she to go looking for a payphone somewhere and call Christian from there.
Right then, the waiter reappeared with a tray of steaming food. "There you go," he set a dish cheerfully in front of each person, even though tension at the table was palpable. "Anything else I can get you?"
"Yeah, I'd like a milkshake," Chloe said, and her father gave her a sharp look. She took a deep breath. "Please."
Ana almost asked for the nearest payphone but seeing the placating look on her father's face, she changed her mind. She would stay for the rest of this dinner (there was no point in wasting a perfectly good meal), but if he came close to bad-mouthing Christian again, she would walk away without turning back.
"Salt and pepper, please," Raymond said without looking at the waiter.
"Coming right up," the waiter mumbled before disappearing.
They ate in almost complete silence for the next ten minutes, with Chloe making small talk; remarks about her friends or school or a TV show she was wanting to watch.
"Okay, let's not discuss Christian Grey anymore. But please think about what I said: your own place while you're in town and then Harvard in the fall. You're such a bright student. With your grades and test scores, you can have the very best education in the world," he said, his gaze alternating between his two daughters, giving Ana the impression that this part of the conversation was being said mostly for Chloe's benefit.
Chloe crossed her arms with a huff and glared at her father. "Are you saying I have bad grades?"
"Chloe! " Ray admonished in an exasperated voice. "Why must you always assume everything is about you?" His gaze shifted back to Ana. "You do want to go to college, don't you? Last time we talked about this-"
"Last time we talked I was still living in Cuba. I've been here two days, and you're talking about sending me away to live half-way across the country!"
"Well, technically Washington and Massachusetts are on opposite ends," Chloe said.
"Ana," he tried to reach for her hand across the table, but she snatched it away.
Shaken, Ana grabbed the brochure he'd given her and flung it in his direction. It flew across the table and landed on the floor. One of the busboys retrieved it and brought back to their table with an apologetic expression.
The gesture left no doubt in her father's mind that she meant what she said about leaving if he didn't abide by her wishes. When he spoke again, he used a placating voice. "Okay, you don't want to move. Let's talk about college then. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, don't waste it."
"Dad! I think Ana doesn't wanna talk about that either," Chloe observed.
Ray ignored her. "Annie, I only want the best for you. Harvard is my alma mater, and it's only natural I would want the same for you-"
"Maybe something fun would be better," Chloe said, putting her silverware down, signaling she'd finished her meal. "Like my Nikki dress up game," she went on, scooting her chair closer to Ana. "Let me show you."
Ana stared at the colorful, busy screen. It had so much to look at, she felt overwhelmed. Looking down at her plate, which was still half-full, she felt a tinge of guilt. She was sure she could not eat another bite and yet, she couldn't let all this food go to waste, could she?"
Chloe went on to explain how the game worked. Looking bored, Ray pulled out his phone and messed with it while he ate.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Chloe squealed. "I got a present for you," she said retrieving a gift bag she had stored under the table.
Ana held her breath in surprise. A gift for her? Now that was really thoughtful. It wasn't her birthday or any special occasion.
"Tada! Go ahead, open it!"
Ana untied the strings and looked through mountains of wrapping paper. Down at the bottom was what appeared to be a cell phone.
"It was my old phone, my very first one. It's not an I-phone, but it's still pretty good."
Ana looked over at her father. He wasn't paying attention to them anymore, his head buried in his phone. "Thank you, Chloe, that was thoughtful of you," she said, holding the cell phone in her hand. It was incredibly lightweight. At least now she would be able to call Christian to come and get her if it came to that.
"How do I make a call?"
"Oh. You can't make calls with this one unless it's to 911. It doesn't have service, but you can still connect to Wi-fi. Here, I'll show you."
Ana watched her half-sister mess with her 'new' phone. It seemed to take forever. In the meantime, she looked at other people around her and sipped her water.
"This is just temporary," Ray said to Ana, referring to the phone. "I'm getting you a brand new phone, but I don't have it yet. This one that Chloe is giving you should tide you over until then."
Ana shook her head, bewildered. Why would she need a new phone when she's getting this one?
"Okay, I got it set up so you can play the Nikki dress up game too! We can play together at the same time or anywhere, anytime!" she exclaimed excitedly, handing her the android phone. "All you have to do is type a username and password, and you're in!"
Ana looked at the phone helplessly, she truly had no clue what to do. In all honesty, the girl had spoken at super-sonic speed, and she'd only caught half of what she'd said, not nearly enough to get the general gist.
"Chloe, you're gonna have to show her," Ray murmured, dabbing his mouth with his napkin. He then crossed flatware over his plate.
"Oh, okay," Chloe swivel the screen toward her. "I'm gonna type my name here, look. The keyboard pops up and then down. Now I make up a secret password. See? I can do it for you if you want, just tell me the username you want."
"Any name?"
"Yeah. The more creative, the better...also, you don't want to use your real name."
The waiter came back to inquire about dessert.
"I want vanilla ice cream with a cherry on top," Chloe said without looking at the menu.
Ray looked tired. "Nothing for me. How about you, Anastasia?"
"No dessert for me, thank you," Ana said her gaze shifting from her father to the waiter.
"Okay. What do you want your username to be?" Chloe reiterated once the waiter was gone.
"I don't know."
"I can choose one for you...how about Desert Princess? Or Cherrypie, altogether no spaces? What's your favorite dessert?"
Ana considered it for a moment. Her father was no longer involved in the conversation, his attention returning to his mobile device. "I don't think I have one-"
"Oh, c'mon! Everyone has one!"
Ana felt the pressure. It was all too much sensory overload. For a minute there, she thought she would scream, but the feeling quickly passed. "How about you choose?"
Chloe seemed delighted. "I choose Cherrypie." She then typed and swiped screens. At last, she handed the phone to Ana.
The screen seemed like a circus of activity; filled with characters and images everywhere. This virtual world was a twisted caricature of the real world; Ana feared she would never be able to understand any of this. The thought filled her with dread; much like being stuck in an elevator for hours with no hope of ever getting rescued.
Thankfully, dessert came, giving Ana some time to collect herself mentally before she was required to interact with the child sitting beside her; keeping up with her was simply exhausting. Not ordering desert, allowed her time to people watch while sipping her water.
They made small talk. Ana had the impression her father was either distracted or bored. Chloe filled in the moments of silence with her bubbly chatter. At last, the waiter brought the check, and they left the restaurant. Ana was supremely glad to leave at least; she couldn't wait to get back to Christian's place and have a few moments to herself.
Ana rode in the backseat of her father's car. She stole a glance at her father, who was riding in the passenger seat, talking to his chauffeur. Beside her, Chloe was showing her a few features of the fashion game she was playing. It had a dressing room where a character could choose different pieces of clothing from the menu on the right hand of the screen. Chloe showed her how to click and swipe. Ana was amazed at how the clothing magically appeared on the character.
"That's a cute crop top!" Chloe squealed. "Oh, look, you got a super special achievement. It's a cool brooch that will go well with your style, cute and elegant!"
"What do I do now?" Ana asked.
"Just tap. And tap, and tap!"
Ana did as she was told even though she had no clue why.
"Whoo-hoo, another achievement, tap, and tap," Chloe demonstrated. "Tap again. Again, again. There you go! Now you can go and dress up...just tap back to get out of that screen. See the arrow? It takes you to the previous screen," she patiently explained. "Okay, now that you're in your bedroom you need to select a top and bottoms. Or you can choose a dress. But first, you must select the style. Tap at the top of the screen where it says TIP. Now tap elegant and cute."
Ana felt dizzy from all the tapping. The worst part was that she didn't get to look at anything long enough to consider at all the possibilities. When she tapped on 'dress,' she only saw one dress. "This dress is too short! Isn't there anything else Nikki can wear?
"Hmm...no. First of all, you're not Nikki, you're Cherrypie, remember?" Chloe sighed. "And since this is your first time playing this game, you don't have enough achievements to get more dresses. You're a newbie and newbies only get one piece of clothing in each category."
Ana blinked. It sure sounded a lot like her life story: The newbie who didn't have much.
"You gotta log in every day to claim your prizes and compete for events, and that's how you get your points so you can go to the store and get more clothes!"
"But...what do I have to do to claim my prizes?"
"Just log in every day and battle."
Ana was dumbfounded. None of this made my sense. "Battle?"
"Yeah, let me show you."
They were further into the game by the time they got to Escala. Ray insisted on accompanying her upstairs, so he and Chloe walked behind her past the doorman who just nodded in greeting. The building manager walked toward them and greeted her father.
"Yes, this is my daughter Anastasia," he smiled. "She's staying temporarily with Mr. Grey."
Ana wasn't about to let that slide. "What my father meant to say is that my stay at Mr. Grey's apartment is not temporary," Ana said resolutely. "We're newlyweds."
"Yes, Mr. Grey informed me," the man smiled nodding at Ana. "Welcome, Mrs. Grey."
"Thank you!" Ana smiled at the man.
"You didn't have to contradict me," Ray murmured sharply once the three of them boarded the elevator.
"Christian and I are preparing for the spousal interview," Ana reminded him. What if the doorman is asked to provide a statement to prove we are living together like husband and wife?" She exhaled deeply annoyed. It seemed like her father was determined to ruin everything they were trying to do.
Once they were inside the residence (Christian had left her a key by the door this morning before he left), Ray stood around awkwardly while Chloe showed Ana her phone. She had been playing her game even while riding the elevator.
"Oh, look at all the stuff you won! You got 30,000 points! That's pretty good for your first day! You think you'll play some more later tonight?" She said, handing Ana her phone back. The entire time she had been playing on Ana's phone and not hers.
Ana exhaled deeply. "You want to know the truth?"
Chloe nodded.
"I don't think so," she said matter-of-factly, and Chloe's face fell. "But thanks for showing me your game...and for giving me your old phone." She said sincerely.
Chloe smiled. "You're welcome. I guess we'll have to play more times together before you can play on your own."
Ray rolled his eyes. He was about to scold Chloe but then changed his mind. "Ana, we should do this again, go out to dinner together again."
Ana looked at her father as though she was seeing him for the first time. And in a way, she was. This was not the same man she remembered from her childhood when he visited her in Cuba. Or maybe he was and she just never truly saw him for what he was.
Realizing that Ana was not going to respond, Ray cleared his throat. "I guess we've better get going. Chloe has school tomorrow."
"Thank you for taking me out to dinner," Ana said coldly as though he was an acquaintance and not her father.
"I was about to ask you if you wanted something to drink, juice, soda?"
"No, we really ought to get going," Ray leaned in to kiss Ana's cheek. "We'll have to get you set-up with an email so that we can keep in touch," he hesitated thinking it would be a long time before Ana became proficient in using a phone and sending emails. "Oh, yes, almost forgot. I ordered you an I-phone, is due to arrive tomorrow or the day after, Federal Express. The package will have your name on it. Chloe and I will help you set it up."
Chloe threw her arms around Ana, surprising her. "Bye. I'm glad I have a big sister like you. You are nice."
Ana hugged her back, touched by the gesture. "I'm glad you're my little sister, Chloe." She told her. However, she was quite glad to see them both leave. She leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief. Those two were emotionally draining.
By the time Christian arrived home an hour later, Ana had changed into a long brown skirt and a bright yellow blouse that looked in good shape. Not for the first time, she was glad her grandmother had packed the best of the best and left ALL of her bleach-stained clothes behind.
In preparation for Christian's arrival, she got busy in the kitchen. She didn't know whether or not Christian had had dinner, but in either case, she needed to have something ready for him to eat. She made another pot of rice, except this time she shredded a carrot and added it to the rice. Hmm. Maybe she should cook some veggies for variation. She looked in the fridge thinking she could cook a steak instead to go with the rice. But no such luck. But at least she got the leftover beans, and she could always make a new batch of ripe tostones, and she knew Christian had loved those.
"Thanks for making dinner again," Christian smiled at her appreciatively as he sat down to eat. "Everything is delicious."
Ana smiled while rinsing the dishes in the sink. "Ana, leave those, please. When I'm done eating, we'll put them all in the dishwasher. I'll show you how it works. Come and sit with me and keep me company."
Ana hesitated before coming to sit at a bar-stool across from him.
"I have a surprise for you," he grinned. He really couldn't wait to show her what he'd gotten her. "But first, tell me how it went today with your father."
"Not fair!" Ana pouted playfully dropping her hands to her hips. "You tell me you got me a surprise and then you're going to make me wait!'
Christian laughed. "We'll plenty of time for that. Plus, it's good to save the best for last," he said pausing with his fork in mid-air. "So tell me... how did father dearest behave today?
Ana smiled at the light-heartedness of his tone. "I guess father was his usual self. And Chloe was both adorable and infuriating," she paused. She really didn't want to dwell on the negative, but she had no choice. "Oh, he tried his usual tricks, trying to get us separated. This time he told me he wanted me to go to Harvard and move into an apartment alone. And he's getting me a cell phone, it's coming in the mail." She paused again, and Christian narrowed his brow at that. "I told him that I wasn't going to listen to him bad-mouthing you and that I was leaving the restaurant if he insisted..."
Christian's eyes widened in surprise. He was proud of her for standing up to her father. And he really hadn't been too worried about Ray spilling the beans; he was confident Ana would understand once he got to tell her his side of the story. Tonight, however, he didn't want to do that. Tonight, he just wanted to spend time with Ana and enjoy himself; he was very much looking forward to her reaction to his gifts.
A/N:
Kira: I' ve been watching Shawn Mendes' senorita video and now I can't get enough of him and Camila, LOL. So I think I will use them for inspiration for future chapters ;) btw, Camila' s Havana song partly inspired this story when I first posted it last year, I think I listened to this song way too much, haha.
XO