We had lunch at the zoo but for dinner we went to a café by the beach that Nahuel liked. Felipe wanted to go pick up shells on the shore so I took him while Nahuel waited for the food. I could feel his eyes on me from the outside table as I picked shells and played with his son. It was too cold to be out in the water but the beach still had some people out enjoying the sun.
Felipe ran out trying to go into the water to catch a wave but I quickly caught him and spun him around. His giggle made my heart beat faster and put a goofy smile on my face. I couldn't help but love that little boy. I kissed both his cheeks before I set him down and we walked hand in hand to his father. The waitress had brought our food by then.
"What a beautiful family you have." She told Nahuel as Felipe and I sat. I saw Nahuel stiffen and he nodded at the lady.
We ate mostly in silence with Felipe showing Nahuel all the shells he collected. Nahuel would glance towards me from time to time when he thought I wasn't looking. After dinner, we drove back through the town and we passed my apartment.
"That's where I live." I told Felipe.
"I wanna see your house!" Felipe announced. I smiled at him.
"Its just an apartment. Nothing special." I told him. He frowned.
"Yes it is because you live there." Felipe told me. I looked at Nahuel.
"I cannot argue with that logic. Should I turn?" He asked me. I laughed.
"Sure." I told them.
We went into my building and up to my apartment. My apartment was a modest two bedroom condo. I used one room as my office and the other held my bed. I gave the boys a tour. Nahuel looked through all the books on my shelf, quietly smiling at certain tittles. Wuthering Heights was one of them. I showed them my bedroom and Felipe instantly jumped onto my extra-large kind size bed. Nahuel gave him a scolding look but then I jumped on the bed next to him. Felipe giggled and we both looked at his father.
"Come on daddy!" Felipe urged so Nahuel jumped on the bed next to his son.
I had the boys sit on the living room while I made them coffee and hot cocoa. Felipe kept looking outside. I had a top floor so Felipe wanted to go out to the balcony. We took him out and he watched the cars go by below. It was a beautiful view.
"I like it here but I still wish you lived with us." Felipe told me. I looked at Nahuel and blushed.
"You'd get sick of me after a week." I told him shaking my head. I smiled at him but he frowned.
"No I won't. I love you." Felipe told me. I knelt down and was face to face with him. My eyes instantly welled with tears of pure happiness.
"I love you too, Felipe." I told him. He looked at me curious.
"Why are you crying?" He asked sadly.
"Because I love you so much." I said and hugged him. I looked up at Nahuel who was smiling at us. I smiled back at him.
"You and daddy should get married. That way you can be with us forever." Felipe told me as I hugged him. I was still looking at Nahuel so I saw his expression turn to sadness. I let go of Felipe and took his hand.
"I will always be here for you and your father. Forever." I told him. Felipe's little head went sideways.
"You promise?" He asked me. I smiled at him.
"I promise. Cross my heart." I told him. Felipe smiled again and hugged me before he went inside. Nahuel just stood frozen in place for a few more seconds. I took a step towards him but he took a step back.
"Are you ok?" I asked him. He looked at me and I saw the regret in his eyes. The moment I looked into his eyes, I was lost. My hand reached out to touch his cheek. He sighed and placed his hand over mine against his cheek holding it there for a second before he removed my hand and kissed it.
"We should get going." He whispered. I nodded, my heart breaking.
We drove back to the farmhouse. Felipe fell asleep on the way back after his hot chocolate so that's when Nahuel decided to talk.
"This was a bad idea. He's getting confused." Nahuel said. I looked out my window and said nothing. I couldn't argue with him because it was true but at the same time. I still couldn't figure out who I had imprinted on.
"Perhaps it would be best if we spend less time together." Nahuel said. I knew instantly what he meant by we. He didn't want to be around me.
"What Felipe needs is a mother, a family. I can…" I started but Nahuel stopped me.
"No. This is wrong. I am not stealing my son's future from him." He said firmly. We were back at the house by then. He parked right next to my car.
"You should go." He told me. I glared at him hurt for a moment before I got out. I drove home crying that night and I fell asleep crying.
In the morning I woke up to someone jumping on my bed. "Wake up sleeping beauty!" My sister's voice said in the distance. I groaned but a second later my eyes popped open and I sat up on the bet. She laughed at my confusion.
"Emma? What the hell are you doing here?" I asked her confused.
"Is that the way you greet your favorite sista?" She asked me. I found myself instantly in her arms.
"I missed you." She told me.
"I missed you too." I whispered, trying to contain my emotion. I was happy to see her but I was also slightly panicked.
"I can't believe you're here. Where's Seth?" I asked her listening in for his quick heartbeat.
"He's back home. This is strictly a girls trip. Mom and grandma are getting settled in the hotel but they dropped me off so that I could kidnap you." Emma told me. I smiled at her but inside I panicked.
"Sure. Just let me shower first." I told her. She laughed at me and went to the kitchen. I quickly got into the bathroom and texted Nahuel.
Please do not panic. My sister, mom and grandma came to surprise me. I will be spending some time with them. Don't worry. I will keep them away from the restaurant. Please tell Felipe I will see him soon. I sent the text slightly panicked and I nearly jumped when my phone buzzed in reply.
Don't break your promise. Nahuel texted.
I won't. I assured him and then I deleted the texts just in case.
Emma and I took my car to the hotel where momma and grandma waited for us.
"Mom!" I said as soon as I walked into the room and hugged her. I went over to grandma next who stood there pouting slightly because she was second.
"Hey grams." I said apologetically. She smiled and gave me a big hug.
"Finally! I have my girls in the same place." Mom exclaimed.
"I can't believe you guys are here." I said.
"It was aunt Alice's idea. She said it would be a cloudy couple of days so it was the perfect time to visit." Emma told me.
"We have spa appointments, then brunch, then shopping." Mom said. Grandma and I rolled our eyes simultaneously.
"Shopping?" I asked them and sighed.
"Oh stop it! It'll be fun!" Emma said excited.
We spent the day together catching up. Emma told me all about her new classes. Nothing I didn't already know from our daily conversations. Momma told me how hard dad was thinking about opening an auto shop in Nevada. Grandma told me all about her time in Greece with grandpa. She really enjoyed traveling to exotic places with him. I really had nothing new to report.
"So you haven't gone out with anybody?" Grandma asked me as we drove back from shopping. I shook my head and blushed.
"No grams. Nobody has asked me out." I told her. Mom snorted.
"I doubt that. I think you just haven't been paying attention." She told me. Emma laughed at me when I frowned.
"Her problem is that she likes to do everything alone. I get you're trying to learn to be alone but you don't want to turn into a nun either." Emma told me. I glared at her. She shrugged.
"I'm not. I have friends that I go out with. I just haven't found anyone interesting to go out on a date. Besides, its hard to get excited about going out with someone while knowing it won't lead anywhere."
"Not that I'm complaining, but you're the only one of us who gets the experience of exploring her options so take advantage of it. Do it for us." Emma winked and I rolled my eyes.
"I'll take that into consideration." I told her as I parked in my building.
We went upstairs to bring our purchases to my apartment. Emma and I were going to have some sister time while mom and grandma went out to hunt. We were going to meet later that night for dancing. Emma and I went straight to my room to put away my bags while grandma and mom followed behind us.
"Are you ok baby?" Grandma asked mom. I turned to see mom plaster a fake smile on her face.
"Of course. I was just remembering the day we moved her in." Mom told her. I saw grandma's eyes narrow doubtfully. I smiled at them. Mom could be so emotional sometimes.