A/N: Title of this chapter was taken from the lyrics from the song Memory Lane by Tim McGraw.
Walkin' Down Memory Lane
They heard the sound of an engine approaching the driveway. Michelle turned to look out her window and saw a woman of about her same age pull up in a white Mercedez along side the passenger side of the Bronco.
"Tony, she's waving at us," Michelle murmured after the other woman had parked and was leaning over the steering wheel looking at them with amused curiosity. "That's Lilia, isn't she?" she probed now smiling politely at the woman.
Tony leaned over slightly and turned his head to the side so that the driver of the other vehicle was in his full line of vision. His awknowledgement of the new arrival lasted for a moment. Then, he turned to stare straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
Under ordinary circumstances he would have thought this whole situation rather amusing but he was still too annoyed to see straight. Lilia was the last person in the world he wanted to see. He made a sound resembling a grunt. "That's her,' He admitted most reluctantly.
Flashback
Tony sighed in exasperation as he listened to Lilia's voice leaving a message on his answering machine for the uptenth time in the last few hours. No matter what he did the result had been the same. Thus, in the end he had resorted to simply not taking any of her calls.
"Guess she's not one of those girls that takes no for an answer," Tony's friend Joe mentioned on their first day of College. Joe had been Tony's best friend since grade school and ever since then he had frequently traveled down to Mexico with the Almeidas whenever they visited the grandparents. "By the way, you know, "it's almost like that Tommy Tutone song."
Tony rolled his eyes, as far as he was concerned Tommy Tutone was just about as famous as David Soul.
"Jenny don't change your number," Joe started singing, standing on his bed. "I need to make you mine 8-6-7-5-3-0-9, ( 8-6-7-5-3-0-9 ). He pretended to drum an electric guitar in a rock star stance, with his legs spread apart and hair messed up like a British rock star. He kept singing the numbers over and over again.
Tony laughed and threw a pillow at Joe from across the room. "Hate to break it to ya, rock-star-wanna-be but those voice lessons don't seem to be paying off!"
"Rocks and stones may hurt my bones but words will never hurt me!" Joe chanted. "Nah, seriously man, you gotta change your number or she'll just keep on calling!"
Tony had let out an ironic chuckle and dismissed any thoughts of Lilia. Then, he proceeded to continue unpacking his belongings. They had just arrived at the student dorms at San Diego State University (SDSU). Unlike many of his classmates, he had chosen to stay in town rather than moving out of state for college. Still, living on campus was a solid step in gaining independence from his parents. and thus he was living on cloud nine.
He was excited; he felt as if he was turning a new leaf in every area of his life. Moreover, he had just turned eighteen a couple of weeks ago and he felt on top of the world.
From now on he was going to me making his own decisions according to his own priorities. Even though he was particularly close to his grandparents, he'd made a conscious decision to visit Mexico as little as possible...maybe just for special occasions like Christmas. He'd tell his parents that he was just going to be busy studying.
Only occasionally did he allow the real reason to resurface, the reason behind his decision to put some distance between himself and his family in Mexico.
Looking back, his life had been in a sort of upheaval since the summer prior to starting school at SDSU. It had been a time of many changes in Tony's life. It wasn't just that he had graduated finally from high school (it seemed to him that time had been on a standstill) and his eighteenth birthday had been just around the corner.
"Dammit, " Tony had cursed under his breath as he swerved the steering wheel just in time to avoid a vehicle that merged into his lane seemingly out of nowhere.
Tony had obtained his driver's licence the previous summer. And although he had some experience driving in San Diego, he was utterly unprepared for what he had encountered when drove through the streets of Ensenada for the first time. Mexican drivers had utterly unpredictable driving methods such as as pulling into lanes at the last possible moment or turning in front of other vehicles without warning. Not to mention the unusual number of pedestrians that fancied to cross the street at various points blatantly ignoring crosswalks and traffic lights.
After he finally found the plaza and a parking spot, he heaved a sigh of relief as he parked his Honda. It felt like a true miracle he had made it in one piece. It felt as if he had just participated in round of drag racing, except that he had no idea he was participating until he was in the midst of it.
Tony had been the most level headed out of his group of peers in high school. Still, even he had sometimes let his buddies drag him along in some pretty wild racing stunts across the San Diego freeways late at night when there were fewer cars on the road.
He walked through an array of two story buildings with large windows around a large fountain. There were pigeons, children running, street vendors selling everything from books to clothing and touristy merchandise. It never ceased to amaze him how different Mexico was from his homeland. How just a few miles could make such a difference.
He spotted Lilia right away.
She had been engaging in a 'barganing debate' with one of the street vendors. It was a game to be played just right, he had learned, as any deviation from the implicit pattern meant that you would be considered a clueless 'gringo' and be charged at least twice as much for the same merchandise sold to a local.
When it came to striking a good bargain garage sales (wildly popular in America) were practically unheard of in Mexico. People often preferred to their shopping in the midst of their workweek on their lunch break or as part of their daily commute.
"El senor en la otra esquina me lo dejaba por menos, (the guy down the street will sell me this same CD for less)" Lilia argued about a CD she wanted to purchase. This was back when music CD's were still somewhat of a novelty and thus nobody that considered themselves 'cool' wanted to be caught dead buying a record or LP as Lilia used to call them.
A few minutes later, Lilia emerged triumphantly CD in hand. As they walked away, she told Tony that in reality the CD had wound up costing her a mere fraction of the price of the first street vendor.
Tony looked to her with disapproval. Honesty was an absolute in his book and there were no compromises. Ever.
That's when she told him the news. It hit him like a ton of bricks.
They were sitting at a wooden slat park bench with iron legs on a quieter area of the plaza, away from the vendors.
Everything around them grew unusually quiet. Even the birds seemed to have stopped chirping and the docile doves seemed to be moving in slow motion. Around him, he noticed there was only the midday heat and silence.
"Mis padres me van a matar, (my parents are gonna kill me)" she mumbled, her face filled with apprehension. Even though Lilia had taught herself English and loved to practice speaking English with Tony (actually refusing to speak Spanish to help her fluency), at times of stress like this she reverted back to her native tongue.
Tony's face grew dark and there was a certain tightness around his mouth. He was certain that Lilia was in no way exaggerating.
Lilia's entire family loved to gather in front of the TV to watch their novelas (prime time soaps) and thus, he could totally picture them reacting like the stars of their favorite TV shows complete with high pitched expressions and even some expletives.
Luckily, his own parents (knock on wood) were not particularly prone to over the top emotional outbursts.
End of flashback.
"Okay, this is just silly," Michelle said after what seemed like a very long time. "We can't just stay here forever." she added while reaching for the door handle and stepping out of the Bronco in one single motion.
Tony followed suit to stand by her side in four seconds flat.
Lilia smiled at them as they stood by and took her sweet time getting out of her car. She fumbled about in her purse for something and then checked her reflection in her rearview mirror.
While they waited Michelle shot a glance at Tony's parents who had been looking on from a distance by the front door. She meet their eyes decidedly. After a moment, Dolores doublebacked to the house with her husband in tow.
Then, Tony and Michelle watched Lilia emerge flashing her five inch heels, low cut top and a skirt that was just a little too short.
She had sleek bobbed hair, heavily applied eyeshadow and flashy earrings, Michelle noticed.
After an awkward moment, Lilia stepped forward and greeted Tony, a fleeting kiss on both cheeks.
Introductions were made.
"This is Michelle, my fiancee" he stated emphasizing the word 'fiancee'.
Lilia turned to Michelle sporting her best plastic smile as though she was a contestant in a televised beauty pageant right at the moment when the TV cameras pan to take a close up as the judges get ready to submit their final scores. "Hi, I'm Lilia." she extended her hand for a handshake.
Michelle shook hands wih Lilia exhibiting just the right amount of self-confidence and assertiveness; secure of her place in the world and yet without any trace of arrogance.
"Sorry, I'm late" Lilia said. "Just stopped to say a quick hi. I'll come back tomorrow for a proper visit," she smiled at Tony and then her gaze shifted to Michelle in a condescending way. "Nice to meet you."
That's when Michelle knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. She knew Lilia, she knew her type; she was not that much different than Carrie Turner. "Nice meeting you," Michelle replied looking at the other woman straight in the eye, her gaze unwavering.
"I will let you all get a good night's rest," she chirped. "Dile a los tios que vengo manana (tell my aunt and uncle that I'll be back tomorrow), " she said to Tony and turned towards her car.
Tony's lips curved into a thin smile at the sound of the familiar name that Lilia used for his parents. She had always referred to them as her aunt and uncle even though technically Lilia was the daughter of one of Dolores' first cousins. Thus, technically Lilia was a second cousin to his mother.
"We don't have to stay. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." Tony announced as they watched Lilia drive away.
"We're not going anywhere, Tony" Michelle said with a fierce determination that reminded him so much of the way she had decided to support Jack after Mason had left Tony in command of CTU the day of the nuclear bomb in L.A. He had secretly admired the way she would stand up for her beliefs to the very end. Not once had she given up on her belief in the veracity of the Cyprus recording.
"Michelle, I..."
"No, Tony. We're not leaving." she interrrupted him. "We're staying here the entire weekend just like we planned." Granted, this weekend would be a challenge, but she had never been one to back away from challenges.
A/N: Thanks to Lifeisaticket, Kacikayy and Cartina7st for chapter 7's awesome reviews.
Dear Guest reviewer (from chapter 7): I'm glad you're liking this story. Normally, I reply to all reviews so here is my response to you. Thanks so much for your comments and I hope to hear from you soon :)