Chapter 3: Breaking News

Summary: Lucia reveals that Rafael has a twin brother and Olivia connects the dots.

"Are you ready, sweet boy? It's nearly time to leave," Olivia called to her son, slipping a light cardigan sweater on over her sundress.

"Mooommm! I need your help!" Noah shouted back, his pleading tone coming from his bedroom closet. Olivia entered his room to find him struggling with a pair of suspenders and on the verge of tears. "I wanna wear s'spenders like Rafa, but I don't know how." He threw his arms in the air frustratedly, in a manner similar to what he'd seen Rafa do.

"Let Mommy help you, sweetheart. Maybe you can ask Rafa to show you the best way to put them on by yourself, so you'll know for next time." She secured the clips on the front and back of his trousers, tightening up the straps on his shoulders. "There we go. You look just like Rafa now."

The curly-haired little boy grinned with his chest puffed out proudly. "Come on, Momma! We need to go."

"Ah yes, sorry to keep you waiting," Olivia teased back as they made their way out of the apartment to meet Rafael and his mother for brunch. Lucia was kind enough to forego her usual brunch spot in favor of somewhere closer to Olivia's place, making the journey a quick walk with Noah.

Noah was a nonstop chatter box on the way to the restaurant, his excitement at meeting Rafael's mom too much to contain within his small body. She worried that he might be too much for the older woman, but then again, Lucia was well aware of what it was like raising an energetic little boy.

Soon enough, they were walking through the door into the diner, eyes searching the crowded tables for a sign of her boyfriend. Rafael caught her gaze, waving them over to a booth in the corner.

Noah was practically vibrating when they stopped next the booth were Lucia and Rafael sat. "Hi, Rafa's mom! I'm Noah," he declared before any of the adults could say a word, happily sliding onto the bench seat next to the older woman. "I'm wearing spenders just like Rafa does!"

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Noah. I've heard a lot about you from Rafi," Lucia replied, her eyes sparkling with delight and laughing when Noah pulled one suspender out to show her. "Those are lovely suspenders. You look so grown up!" The pair of them slipped right into conversation as if they had known each other their whole lives.

Rafael rolled his eyes playfully at Olivia. "We've become redundant, it seems." Standing to greet her, he placed a soft kiss on Olivia's cheek, letting her slide into the booth before him. He clasped her hand beneath the table, green eyes glinting as he flashed her a lop-sided grin.

Glancing across the table, the couple blushed seeing Lucia eyeing them with a knowing look.

"So, Lieutenant Benson, I guess you don't drive him all that crazy anymore," Lucia teased, still finding joy in making her son uncomfortable after all these years.

Olivia chuckled in response. "Please, call me Olivia. I have no doubt that I still drive Rafa crazy sometimes."

"Just in different ways, hmm?" Lucia winked at her, delighting in the continued blushing on their faces.

"Mami," Rafael groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb before readjusting his glasses.

"Que mijo?" She feigned innocence before turning her attention back to the young boy at her side, a devious smile still spread across her lips. "What are you having, chico hermoso?"

"Pancakes!" Noah declared without even glancing at the children's menu. Instead, he pushed a crayon toward Lucia. "Draw with me?"

"Manners, Noah," Olivia chided with a gentle, even tone and the young boy quickly added, "Please."

Once their brunch orders were placed, the table of four took turns drawing pictures on the back of the paper menus while they waited for their food. Noah was particularly fond of animals and insisted everyone draw their favorite one. Delighted peels of laughter rang out from the young boy as the adults took turns making ridiculous guesses about what the animals were.

The food arrived after a short wait and silence fell as everyone gobbled down their meals. The adults finished before Noah and started a conversation about their plans for the day.

"We were going to take Noah to the park. He needs to burn off some of the excited energy," Olivia explained to Lucia. After a beat, she added, "Would you like to join us? I'm sure Noah would love to spend more time with you."

Now finished with his pancakes, Noah shrieked, startling the three adults, as well as patrons at nearby tables. "Yes, yes, please come! I can show you how I go down the slide! Please?"

Lucia was instantly lost to those excited blue eyes and could say nothing but a resounding yes to joining them for the afternoon. They departed once Rafael paid the bill, Noah clutching tightly to Lucia's hand and chattering away as they made their way to the park.

Encouraged by a captive audience, Noah ran wildly through the playground cheering and calling for everyone to watch him. After a while, Rafael left his mother and Olivia to chat on a bench while he chased Noah.

"I am in awe right now," Lucia admitted, patting Olivia's arm. "It is wonderful to see Rafi happy and relaxed… and dare I say, very much in love. He's changed since he met you."

The younger woman blushed under Lucia's assessing gaze, a shy smile spreading across her lips. "He is wonderful with Noah, despite his first few nervous interactions. My boy is your boy's biggest fan. They are thick as thieves, those two."

Pleased at the high praise for her son, Lucia smiled knowingly. "And?"

Olivia shot her a sideways glance and sighed. "I am very much in love with Rafael, too."

Clapping joyously, Lucia declared, "I knew it!" The women shared a laugh as they watched the boys on the swings. It warmed Lucia's heart to see her too serious son let loose and be goofy with a child. It was something that she never thought she'd see.

"I'm sure you are aware that Rafael's birthday is coming up in October," Lucia started. At Olivia's nod, she continued, "It's been too long since my boys celebrated their birthday together. I'd like to plan a party for them, and I will need your help in planning and keeping it a secret."

Olivia could feel the other woman's eyes on her, waiting for a response, but she was stuck on one particular part of what Lucia said. After several long moments, she finally spoke, eyes wide with surprise. "Rafa has a brother? He never mentioned that." Olivia couldn't help but wonder why that was.

A wince crossed Lucia's face and she sighed deeply. It ate her up inside that her mijos didn't get along. "I'm not surprised. Despite them being twins, Rafi never liked his brother. They were polar opposites from the start. Rafael was a sweet boy with a kind heart, always driven to do his best. Ramirez was moody, attracted trouble, and hated being told what to do."

Olivia tried to picture Rafael as a child, it seemed almost impossible. Equally impossible was picturing him with an identical twin.

"Their father, my late husband, was hard on them, on all of us. Downright vicious sometimes. The boys dealt with it in different ways, though they both hated the man. Things fell apart when they were in high school, Ramirez stole Rafi's girlfriend, a girl he'd been head over heels in love with. After that, they fought all the time. Their father lost it one day and beat the pair of them near to death. He beat me when I tried to stop him." Lucia drifted near distress recalling the painful memories and Olivia patted her hand, giving the woman a few minutes to gather herself.

"My mother, angel that she was, may she rest in peace, helped me get the boys away from their father after that, but it was too late for Ramirez. He turned a dark corner and never looked back. I see him every now again, but Rafi hasn't spoken to him, or of him, in far too long."

The women sat in silence watching the boys chase each other. What Lucia shared with her was a lot to absorb and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she tried to think of reasons that Rafael wouldn't have shared this with her. Even when they were just friends, they shared a lot about their childhoods, about the abuse or neglect they experienced. He spoke about his father and how he hated the man. He never once mentioned that he had a brother, a twin fucking brother.

Things started to piece together in Olivia's mind… The odd familiarity she felt upon meeting Rafael. Now that she had context, she could see the strong physical resemblance between the cold man from her past and her current boyfriend.

"Does he still go by Ramirez?" she blurted suddenly.

Lucia frowned slightly, tilting her head. "He dropped the Barba surname the moment he was out of the house. He wanted no further ties to his father other than the blood running through his veins. He changed his name to Nevada Ramirez, he always like that word, and started hanging out with Dominicans rather than Cubans."

The confirmation left Olivia stunned.

TBC