At Second Blush

by OyHumbug

Part Two of the Mother of the Bride Series - In the three months since her only child's wedding, Beth Marks' life completely changed. Not only did she fall in love again, but she, Rio, and his son, Marcus, became a family together. Now, that family is about to grow. Doubly so.

7. Chapter Seven - 32 Weeks

Chapter Seven: Thirty-Two Weeks

Beth wasn't sure how exactly she came to be where she was.

It was a few days before Christmas, and she wasn't baking cookies, or hanging up last minute decorations, or wrapping presents. She wasn't finishing up work so that she could be off for the holidays. She wasn't at Ruby's, or Annie's, or Rosa's, or any of Rio's many Tías', and she certainly wasn't at home. Because instead of doing something that actually made sense on that late December afternoon, Beth was trying on clothes in a fitting room at a high-end department store.

Or, well, she was supposed to be trying on maternity wear, but she had yet to make it inside of the dressing room - she and Rio standing off against each other outside of the unlocked door.

She felt tricked, like Rio had managed to pull one over on her. Rio had almost everything he bought delivered. The only things he purchased in person were books and cars, he claimed. Beth was more of a traditionalist when it came to her shopping, especially during the holidays. So, when Rio suggested that they spend their afternoon at the mall, she jumped at the opportunity. She still had some last-minute Christmas presents to buy, and it never occurred to Beth that the whole trip was a ruse to get her into maternity clothes.

"Quit stallin', Mami, and get your fine ass in there," Rio nodded towards the enclosed, closet-sized space.

Beth held out her otherwise empty arms. "Give me my stuff, then."

"Nah, I don't think so. You see, I know you. You'll either tell me none of it works, or you'll just pick the cheapest shit… even if you don't like it… just to get this over with faster."

"Well, I guess we're at an impasse…."

"I'm comin' in with you," Rio interrupted her.

Looking around them in the otherwise empty dressing room - shocker, no one else was buying maternity clothes instead of Christmas presents, Beth hissed, "I'm not having sex with you in there! Even if it wasn't against the rules, that's just… Nope. Not happening!"

"Elizabeth, I'm trying to get you into clothes, not out of 'em."

Primly, she eyed him warily. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

"Now, are we gonna do this, or am I just gonna buy it all?"

Pivoting around on the heels of her ankle boots, Beth marched into the fitting room, Rio following silently behind her. Without dropping anything, he managed to shut the door somehow without his hands, and then he proceeded to organize the dresses, tops, pants, and undergarments into piles that only he understood… or cared about. "I'm surprised you didn't just get me a bunch of this stuff and wrap it up as my Christmas presents."

"This is a need, Ma, not a want. You've made it loud and clear that you don't want no maternity clothes, and I ain't in the habit of giftin' people necessities."

"It all just seems so… frivolous," Beth complained.

"Yeah, you wearin' clothes that don't leave marks on your skin is real frivolous," Rio scoffed. Then, hardening his tone before Beth could reply, he ordered, "strip."

Although she rolled her eyes, she complied. It was obvious that they weren't leaving until Rio was satisfied that she had a proper pregnancy wardrobe. With that in mind, Beth warned him, "I hope you know we're not buying all of this."

"Right, right. But options are good, yeah?"

Ignoring his concession, Beth continued, "there's just… no sense in buying much when I'll never wear it again."

"Who says?"

"What?!" Beth, caught by surprise, stopped mid-movement - one leg out of her pants, the other still covered - and looked up at Rio where he was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the dressing room, hands calmly folded in front of him.

Ignoring her question, he changed the topic. "See, I don't think this is you bein' cheap, Sweetheart. Dr. Smythe was right. You're punishin' yourself about somethin'. Maybe you're not feelin' guilty about havin' our kid, but you're blamin' and denyin' yourself for some reason, and I wanna know what it is."

With a huff, Beth finished removing her pants by kicking them off of her left leg. As soon as she was standing before him in her bra and thong, she grabbed for the first thing she could reach. "Nuh uh," Rio snatched it away from her. "Take it all off."

Lowering her voice to a whisper, she exclaimed, "you don't try on underwear, Rio!"

"Fine. But you do bras, so let me see those big, pretty titties, Baby."

He wasn't wrong, and even Beth was willing to admit she needed to buy new bras before she had the baby. She'd want ones that would make nursing easier, and the pregnancy had only made her chest even larger - something she didn't think possible, at that point in her life. Plus, maybe if she was topless, she'd be able to distract Rio from both his query and his determination that she needed to purchase maternity clothes. Just minutes before, she had been the one to tell him that they would not be fooling around in the fitting room. However, she said nothing about him imagining everything he wanted to do to her once they were home again. In just a thong - the only kind of underwear Beth would wear, because if her curves were going to swallow the fabric up anyway, she might as well give her body less to consume, less to twist and displace only to make her uncomfortable, she should be providing him with plenty of inspiration.

He was quiet for several minutes while Beth tried on bras. Not only did she have to jump up a cup size, but her band size also increased. Even after she found the right fit, she kept it on, conceding that, if she was going to be buying some of the clothes as well, it made sense to see how they fit with a bra that wasn't too small. As she was pulling on a pair of maternity jeans, Rio finally spoke again. His tone was gentler, though, almost pleading, and that's what made Beth cave. "Talk to me, Elizabeth."

"I just… everything about this pregnancy has been easier."

"That ain't a bad thing," he reminded her.

"No, of course not," she agreed. "But allowing myself to buy maternity clothes is yet another way it's… better this time." Grabbing a long sleeved nursing t-shirt, Beth used the moment when she was pulling the top over her head to try and will away the tears she could already feel forming in her eyes.

"Mama, it's not just gonna be your pregnancy that's better. You're not gonna be raisin' this baby alone, and you can't spend the next eighteen years makin' things harder on yourself to compensate for things bein' easier for him or her."

The clothes fit, and she actually liked them. She felt good in them, and the acknowledgment, even if private, only made her feel worse. Stripping them off and trying on something else, anything else - whatever was nearest and next, Beth, frustrated, contended through gritted teeth, "it's more complicated than that, though. I'm not just worried about this pregnancy, this baby, this… life being easier or better. I think… I'm afraid…"

Rio sighed, pushed off from the wall, and touched her with just his pinkie as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear while whispering in understanding, "you're afraid you're gonna love this baby more."

"Oh god, I'm a horrible mother," Beth sobbed, lifting a hand to cover her face in shame.

"No, Elizabeth, no," Rio argued emphatically, brushing her hand aside so that he could cup her jaw, tilt her head back and up to better meet his gaze. "You're the best fuckin' Mama my kids could ever have."

Desperate for him to believe her, she stressed, "I love Kensley, Rio. I love her so much!"

"Of course you do. If you didn't, you wouldn't be puttin' up with all her nonsense."

"And I always thought that was it, that no one could ever love anybody as much as I love my daughter. But then I met you, and Marcus, and I found out that we were having this baby." To emphasize their new family, Beth wrapped her arms around the child growing in her womb. "God, Rio, I didn't know a woman could love someone who wasn't their child as much as I love you. And I'm just Marcus' stepmother, but he's your son, and he's this amazing little person all in his own right, too, and I adore him. He is the child of my heart as much as Kensley is the child of my body. I already feel guilty enough about that, but now I'm having a baby that's both a part of me and a part of you?"

"And you're happy," he stated, obviously understanding what Beth was trying to tell him.

But she still had to say it all. Now that she'd started, it felt like she would choke on the words if she didn't confess everything. "I love my daughter despite who her father is. I didn't want her, Rio. If I'd found out that I was pregnant earlier, if I never told anybody that I was pregnant, I might not have gone through with it. And then the pregnancy itself was difficult, and I felt so alone. My baby was a burden to me, not a blessing. Mentally, I knew that I loved her while I was pregnant, but it wasn't until they placed her in my arms that I felt the first stirrings of maternal love. After that, I fell hard. I loved her completely… or at least I thought I did. Until now."

"Lovin' me, lovin' Marcus, lovin' our baby ain't gonna diminish what you feel for Kensley. It might even make you love her more. It'll be different, but that don't mean it can't be better, Ma… just like how you love us can be different and better but not necessarily more than how you love her, too."

"But she won't see it that way."

He shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders. "Then that's on her. She's an adult now, a wife, soon she'll be a Mom as well. She should realize that our feelings ain't stagnant. They change and grow as we do."

Stepping away from him, Beth wiped the tears from her eyes, laughing mirthlessly. "God, I'm a hormonal mess."

"Nah, you're sexy as fuck - lovin' all your babies so much that you worry about 'em even when they're havin' babies themselves." While he talked, Rio finished covering Beth with the wrap dress she was trying on, tying it for her. "And you havin' these fears is natural. I had 'em, too - worryin' that, because I'm in love with you, my relationship with our kid will be better than the one I have with Pop. But then all I had to do was watch you with my son, Mami, and I knew that my fears were bullshit. We got this," he finished by caressing her belly, narrowing his gaze in pointed insistence.

"Also," Rio added, sliding his hands around to squeeze her ass. "You gettin' this dress."

While Beth finished trying on the rest of the clothes they brought with them into the fitting room, she and Rio negotiated just how much they would buy. By the end of the afternoon, they settled on two pairs of pants - both maternity jeans just in different washes, the stretch wrap dress he liked so much on her, another dress but in a maxi style, three maternity blouses, a stack of plain long and short sleeved nursing t-shirts, a cape coat so that Beth could wear it for years to come, four nursing bras, and as many cotton, pregnancy thongs as they could carry, because her lingerie seemed to always be mysteriously disappearing; by the end of the afternoon, Beth walked out of the store in one of her new outfits; by the end of the afternoon, she actually managed to have a little fun.

Rio held her hand and the bags as they made their way out of the mall, towards the parking garage, and up to where his Mercedes was parked. After putting their purchases in the back, Beth rounded the SUV to climb into the passenger seat, but Rio ran in front of her, blocking her path and, instead, opening the back door for her. "What are you doing," Beth demanded to know. Then, hands on hips, she accused him, "if this has something to do with you not wanting me to be so close to the airbags, I am not riding in the back seat for the next two months!"

"Nah, Mami," he smiled languidly - eyes hooded with lust and intent, hand palming her hip. "I want you to ride me."

"What," Beth asked, a little scandalized. Looking around them, she pressed, "here?!"

"Can't wait," he told her, already attempting to tug down her new pants.

Despite the demanding nature of his tone, his words, his actions, Beth knew that, if even a small part of her didn't want to have sex in the car while parked in a public garage, all she had to do was say no. Rio would never pressure her. He'd seduce her, saying all sorts of wicked things to make her drip for him and touching her in ways that made her skin feel too hot and too tight with arousal. Ultimately, though, the choice was hers.

And she chose him.

As soon as she made a move to climb into the G-Class, Rio jumped to help her, the extra weight of her pregnancy throwing Beth's equilibrium off and making actions that, once were so easy they were rote, a little more complicated to accomplish. Once she was safely seated, though, he hopped in beside her, closing and locking the door behind him. They both immediately started stripping out of their outerwear, just wanting their coats and hats and her gloves out of the way. They slowed down, however, when it came time to strip off their clothes. Though Beth and Rio continued to undress themselves, they watched the other while doing so, their gazes never straying to their own hands and their eyes rarely blinking.

They got all the way down to their underwear before Rio held a hand out, staying her actions. "Leave 'em on."

He did that sometimes - asked her to keep her thong on while they were having sex. It barely covered anything, and Rio liked to brush it aside enough so that he could push into her but also use the fabric to further rub against and stimulate her clit. That usually meant that his hands were going to be occupied elsewhere, and Beth couldn't help but wonder where and how, her body being flooded with yet another wave of warmth and need. While Rio shoved his own underwear down just far enough for his heavy, swollen cock to spring free, Beth gripped one of the headrests to help her twist, turn, and swing around, up, and into his lap, but Rio stopped her, gently easing her back down while he said, "the other way, Mama."

Given the time of year and where they had just come from, Beth couldn't help but tease, "what, like Santa Claus?"

As he helped pull her over so that she was sitting on his legs but facing the front of the car rather than him, Rio rasped, "you do like tellin' me whatchu want."

"And you like giving it to me."

"I'm gonna give it to you now, Baby - nice and hard, nice and deep. But I want you to take it, too, yeah?"

Without waiting for a response, Rio scooted to the edge of the seat. They were in the middle of the back, so he had a little more room for his long legs, spreading them a shoulder width apart. Patiently, Beth waited to see what he would do next, the anticipation and the not knowing only increasing her desire. The first time Rio touched her, his fingers brushed aside her hair, urging it to fall over the edge of her left shoulder. Then his lips fluttered the softest, most delicate of kisses against the back of her neck.

Over and over again, he just whispered his mouth against her, following the trail of her spine until it dipped into the small of her back where the rounds of her ass started. Only then did he finally touch her with purpose - one hand spreading between her shoulder blades and the other reaching around to snag the small triangle of fabric that covered her mound, easing it to the side. While Rio started to slide his way inside of her, he also encouraged Beth to lean forward and over him, bending at the hips more than her waist so her ass was further thrust up and out towards him, her hands gripping the front seats to help her balance and give her purchase to eventually move.

The position allowed for Rio's long and lean yet powerful thighs to support her baby belly, and then he slipped the hand on her back around to unclip the cups of her nursing bra, leaving her pregnancy enhanced breasts still supported but her nipples exposed and aligned just perfectly so that with every thrust of his cock inside of her and with every roll of her hips to meet him, to ride him, the leaking and sensitive, hard and distended buds would abrade against the hair on his legs right over his knees.

Once he had her exactly where he wanted her, both of Rio's palms - talented fingers spread wide to caress and grip, to squeeze and massage - settled over the globes of her ass. While he fucked into her and while she fucked herself back and down on him, he would spread her cheeks wide, leaving her completely exposed to his unwavering gaze, before crushing them back together again. Between all of the various stimulations assailing Beth at once, it didn't take long for her to feel on the edge of her release, but it was Rio being driven so wild by her that he fell first, his cum showering her insides, that was the final push she needed to orgasm. And then it felt like she couldn't stop - clenching, and wringing, and screaming until every last muscle in her body was loose and completely relaxed.

Slipping out of her, Rio left a smear of their combined essences along the inside of her thighs, under and then up and around her ass. Completely boneless, he had to lift her from his lap, laying her down on the seat next to him. And then he took care of her the way only Rio could. He peeled her soaked and stretched thong down her legs, wiping himself off with it before tucking his now softened dick back into his dark gray boxer-briefs. He licked first her nipples and then her pussy clean, stoking the fire within her anew but banking it until they could get home. He reattached the cups of her bra, and then he leaned over the backseat, rummaging around in her bags until he found one of her new thongs. He dressed her completely, and then he dressed himself. And then, finally, he got them both into the front seat of the G-Class, making the trek back to the loft once more while holding her hand.

!

Holidays with the Garza, Santos, and Rios families were a revelation for Beth. She'd always enjoyed the festivities, but for many years, it had just been her, Kensley, and Annie, and Beth had to share Kensley with the Bolands. She and Ruby always tried to do something together as well, but her best friend had her family, and then Stan's, and then her own children, too. Beth's Christmas celebrations were usually quite modest. The same could not be said about Rio's - and now her - family.

While gift giving was kept to a minimum - they only exchanged with each other, Marcus, and Rosa, the events were not, and it would be seen as the greatest of insults if they did not attend every one. There was a master schedule over which all the aunts battled to get what they considered the prime time slots. More importantly, the schedule guaranteed that not too many get togethers overlapped. Even without presents, there was plenty to do. Some Tías hosted cookie decorating sessions; others had everyone gather together to trim the tree. There were outings with sledding, ice skating, and snowball fights; sporting events and favorite holiday movies to watch; and Tía Adela even tried to force the entire family into caroling. It didn't go very well.

And then there was the food. For the adults who weren't pregnant, there was also a lot of booze as well, and the Tíos all seemed incapable of doing anything without a cigar in their hands. If skipping an event was the greatest of insults, then refusing to eat something when it was offered to you was probably enough to get you disowned. No one was allowed to serve a full meal, because that might prevent someone else from serving anything. Even with the excuse that she was eating for two, Beth felt like a glutton, and she had the luxury of claiming something didn't agree with the baby. She had no idea how Rio and Marcus made it through the weekend without simply exploding. It was all delicious, but it was all a little too much as well.

And she adored every single second of it.

Not only was such a big, loving family a balm for her after so many years of feeling alone, of wanting to be a part of something bigger but not quite knowing how to accomplish that, but traipsing through the city from one relative's house to another's was a fantastic distraction for Beth. Because as special as her first Christmas with Rio and Marcus was, it was haunted by the shadow of Kensley's absence. Beth had neither seen nor heard from her daughter since they accidentally ran into each other at the doctor's office, but she thought, if anything could thaw Kensley towards her, towards her marriage, towards the new family Beth was making and wanted her daughter to be a part of, it would have been the holidays.

But Beth's disappointment could only be diverted for so long by Tía Silvia's impressive display of poinsettias, Tía Jenn's antique glass ornament collection, or Tía Adela's horrible, pitchy voice; and she could only be partially sidetracked by Tía Gloria's tamales, Tía Ana's champurrado, and Rosa's buñuelos before she'd start to wonder what Kensley would think of the food, what traditions from her own childhood her daughter would want to share with Beth's grandson. So as much as she cherished those days with Rio, Marcus, Rosa, and the rest of the large, sprawling family, what was missing ate away at Beth until she found herself sitting on the paper covered exam table in Dr. Smythe's office unable to think about anything else.

"Is Kensley okay?"

Beth watched as her OB-GYN glanced towards a silent, sympathetic Rio for guidance. Even after she met Beth's gaze again, Dr. Smythe didn't say anything.

"Is my grandson?"

The physician who had been on her way out of the room - Beth's check-up finished - retook her seat. Still, she remained silent.

"I know you can't tell me about another patient, but…?" Beth shrugged helplessly. "I don't know who else to ask or what else to do."

"Beth, she's not even under my care. She's on Dr. Park's service."

"I know," Beth acknowledged. Kensley had refused to see the same gynecologist as her mother, so once she was old enough to need one, Beth sought a referral from her former physician, and Kensley had been a patient of Dr. Park's ever since. "But I also know that you're aware of our situation - not just what I've told you, but I think you've talked to Dr. Park as well, because you were… wary around me on the day that Kensley had her ultrasound and invited her father but didn't even tell me about it."

Wincing, Dr. Smythe asked, "you know about that?"

"We ran into 'em on the way out," Rio explained, sounding just as irritated if not more so than he had been that fateful day. "The elevator doors opened, and there they were - all three of 'em. Elizabeth's jackass ex started mouthin' off, disrespectin' her and his own kid, but you think she or that pansy-ass husband of hers would call him out on it? Nah! She wouldn't even ride on the same lift as us. They called 'nother one. Kensley never said a fuckin' word."

Her doctor sighed. "I'm so sorry, Beth. Have you seen or talked to her since?"

"No."

Dr. Smythe looked a little shocked. "Not even for the holidays?"

"I called, texted. We even stopped by," Beth indicated herself and Rio - Marcus was with them, too, "hoping that, if we forced the issue, she might at least relent long enough for us to give them their gifts. But if they were home, they didn't answer the door."

"We ended up messengerin' over their shit. Didn't want to leave wrapped presents just sittin' on their front porch. Plus, Tía Gloria insisted on giving them some tamales, and Elizabeth made a whole bakery's worth of Christmas cookies - all Kensley's favorites. Didn't think we should leave food out neither."

Attempting to inject some levity into the conversation, Dr. Smythe teased, "if you have any of those tamales leftover, I'd gladly take them off of your hands."

"Don't joke about that. If my Tía finds out our obstetra was askin' after her tamales, you'll get weekly deliveries to your office."

"What'll it get me if the baby I deliver for you is beautiful without, you know," the physician winced, "the usual misshapen head or red and blotchy skin?"

Rio sauntered over to Beth. Running and rubbing his left hand down her back, he smugly replied, "you've seen almost as much of Elizabeth as I have, so you know our kid's gonna be just as gorgeous as its Mama. There ain't no doubt our baby's gonna be beautiful."

Beth felt disloyal even saying it, but Rio also needed to be prepared for the reality of what newborns looked like. Of course, Marcus could have given the Gerber Baby a run for its money. She highly doubted he'd be so lucky twice. "Kensley was… not a cute baby."

"Yeah, but that half of her DNA that ain't yours, Sweetheart, has been replaced with mine this time. Trust me, our kid's gonna be camera ready as soon as they crownin'."

Horrified by even the idea of Rio documenting… that, Beth turned worried, warning eyes on him. "No photos, Rio!" He just smirked at her, so she told Dr. Smythe instead, "if he even attempts to take pictures, you have my permission to smash his phone."

"How you feel about videos, Baby?"

"Ugh!," Beth groaned. But she sobered quickly, because she realized two seconds later exactly what Rio and Dr. Smythe were trying to do. They wanted to distract her from her desperate need to know what the hell was going on with her daughter and her daughter's pregnancy. "It's not going to work," she informed them.

Without needing to ask for clarification, the OB-GYN said, "it worked for a few minutes, at least, and every moment of your pregnancy that's good and happy is one less when you're worried and distressed. Those add up, Beth… just like the more you can be comfortable in your body now, the better down the road when labor and delivery make comfort impossible. I'm glad to see you took my advice and bought some maternity clothes," Dr. Smythe finished by nodding towards Beth's simple yet flattering outfit.

Sharing a look with her husband, Beth admitted, "Rio found a way to convince me and make it worth my while."

The physician eyed them warily. "Do I even want to know?"

"Let's just say I'm doin' my part to make sure Elizabeth has multiple good and happy moments every day."

Pushing to her feet once more, Dr. Smythe sighed, "somehow, I don't think I'll forget to ask the two of you about your birth control preferences at Beth's postpartum appointments." Beth felt herself blush, while out of the corner of her eye she watched as Rio appeared to puff up his chest. "As for Kensley, her pregnancy, and your unborn grandson, all I will say is please do not let things you cannot control or change stress you out. We," the OB-GYN indicated all three of them, "can only worry about you and your baby."

It wasn't much of an answer at all, but it at least told Beth two very important things. She hadn't suffered a late term miscarriage or already given birth, failing to share the news with her mother. Kensley was still pregnant. She'd made it to twenty-eight weeks. Her pregnancy was viable.

!

For their date that night, Rio told her the three of them were going to dinner. He didn't lie. What he failed to do, however, was tell her that dinner wasn't in a restaurant… but at his Grandmother's house. With his family. And he didn't even give her the chance to make something for it. At least, she was dressed appropriately - wearing another sundress, and she had a cardigan in her tote should the evening become cool. But Beth wanted to be better prepared for when she met the rest of the people who mattered the most to Rio. They hadn't known each other for long, but she felt like they were getting to know each other well, so he obviously understood that about her… which is probably why he kept the picnic a secret.

Rio wanted his family to know her the way he knew her: without any of the fronts people often put up when trying to impress others. Without needing to ask for more details, Marcus' exchange with his father had revealed enough to her for Beth to understand that this - Rio introducing a girlfriend to his aunts and uncles, his cousins, his grandmother - was not something he did often, if ever. She also knew that a forty year old, divorced, single parent of a twenty-two year old was not exactly every family's dream significant other for a beloved nephew, cousin, grandson. Add to that the fact that she was white and didn't even speak Spanish? Yeah, Beth was nervous. Maybe she didn't believe Rio would necessarily break up with her if his family didn't like and accept her, but their disapproval would certainly make their relationship more complicated. And she would know, seeing as how her sister, best friend, and particularly her daughter had reacted to the news that Beth was dating.

So, it seemed really important - like she had made a big mistake - when she walked into Rosa Garza's backyard without a dish to pass in her hands. And of course Rio wouldn't understand. Guys just… didn't get it - what cooking meant to women. Not only was it a competition - who could make the best of whatever meal or dessert was being compared, but it was also a way to prove that you could properly take care of your own. Maybe it was outdated and old fashioned, perhaps even a little sexist, but Beth liked cooking and baking, she took pride in her abilities to do both, and she enjoyed feeding the people she loved. It wasn't that she didn't see Rio as capable of taking care of himself and his son. He'd been doing so for years, after all. But she had a feeling his grandmother and aunts would look at food and family the same way she did, and she came to a dinner, meeting them for the first time, empty handed.

Even after Rio told her that he provided all of the Corona, Cerveza, and Casamigos, so that was

their contribution for the evening, her lack of something to share that she made herself threw Beth off, made her a little quieter, a lot more awkward for the first few hours of the night. Thankfully, there were plenty of distractions… even if, apparently, Rosa restrained herself and didn't invite the entire family, keeping the guest list to just her siblings and their families - twenty-five new people to meet rather than fifty or more.

It was fascinating to watch Rio and how he interacted with his various relatives. She could easily see the depth of his connections by how much deference he showed his elders, could tell which cousins he preferred by how easily he smiled around them. Beth enjoyed watching Marcus play with all of the other kids as well - their antics amusing and diverting. And of course there was the challenge of trying to learn and remember names, who was married to who, who had which kids, and all of the interpersonal dynamics - years upon years, decades upon decades of history - she was trying to navigate. But all of Beth's uncertainty, the stress, her anxiety disappeared, became more than worth it, when she went inside to use the bathroom and found a window into the past. Rio's past.

Beth wasn't sure how long she had been studying the family photos on display when Rosa found her there - in that moment, staring particularly at a picture of a young woman she believed to be Rio's mother. "Is this your daughter?"

When Rosa didn't answer right away, Beth turned towards her to find the older woman watching her closely. If she wasn't mistaken, there was a glimmer of approval. "Yes. That's my Adriana. She was seventeen there - her senior picture."

"Rio looks a lot like her," Beth commented, moving her gaze back to the photo. Rio and his mother shared the same graceful facial structures, especially those high cheekbones, full mouths, and big, dark eyes framed by such lush lashes. Of course, Adriana's features were a little softer, more feminine. But Rio was a beautiful man. "She was stunning.""I always thought so, but then again, I was slightly biased." The two women exchanged warm smiles. "You have a daughter, too, yes?""I do. Her name is Kensley. She... looks like her father.""A blessing or a curse, depending upon the father," Rosa commented wisely.

Not looking at Rio's grandmother so as to give her the privacy to either deny Beth's next question or to formulate her answer without prying eyes on her, Beth asked, "is it difficult for you - that Rio… and now Marcus… look so much like her?"

"No, it's a comfort. My relationship with my daughter was very complicated.""Aren't they always?," Beth acknowledged. "I know mine is… less than thrilled that I am dating again.""That you are dating in general or that you're dating my grandson?"

Tipping her head in recognition, she replied, "both, I think."

Returning to their previous topic, Rosa said, "it's been more than thirty years since I lost my Adriana. Of course, I still miss her. I always will. But time has a way to soften and blur the edges of our grief. When I look at Rio and Marcus, I see both them and echoes of the child I lost far too soon."

"What was she like," Beth wondered. Her eyes skipped along the wall to land upon other shots of a young Adriana. "Not as Rio's mother. That's his story to tell me." Surprising Beth, Rosa reached over and briefly squeezed her hand, appreciating the distinction Beth was setting. "But as your daughter.""To understand Adriana, you must first understand me and my husband, Marco," Rosa prefaced her recollections. "Marco was ten years older than me, but we were both first generation Mexican. Our parents both moved here when they were first married, but we did not meet until after I graduated high school and got a job as a secretary at one of the GM factories, the one where Marco just so happened to work. We fell in love, were married, and I was pregnant with our first child all before I turned twenty. We wanted a big family… just like the ones we both came from, but there were complications with my delivery, and I ended up not able to carry any more children.""Oh, Rosa," Beth sighed in sympathy. She, too, only had one child - a daughter as well, but it had been Beth's choice not to have any more children. The option was not taken away from her. "I'm so sorry."

Rosa shrugged - not dismissing Beth's compassion but letting her know that, over time, this wound had healed as well. "At least we had our Adriana. She was her father's princesa and my baby, always. We were… indulgent parents. I can see that now, looking back. But we just had so much love to give, and she was so sweet, so pretty, that it was easy to spoil her. She wanted for nothing, and we had the money. Even after the auto industry started to leave the city, automate, fail, Marco had been with GM for long enough that his job was safe, and I went back to work once Adriana was in school. For many years, we lived a charmed life together, the three of us.

"She wasn't just beautiful, you know," Rosa told Beth, indicating several pictures which showed Adriana pursuing her interests. They showed her ballroom dancing, riding horses, and playing soccer. "She was smart, and talented, and brave. Stubborn, too. We didn't just buy her everything she asked for; if Adriana wanted something, she'd take it or earn it for herself: captain of her team, first place, the boy she liked that week. She shined the brightest wherever she went… until she burned herself up.""Like a supernova," Beth whispered, fearing where Rosa's story was going.

The older woman laughed mirthlessly, nodding her head. "Yes, exactly. Like a supernova. I know all about those now because of Marcus."

"Growing up, Kensley, my daughter, liked science. To be closer to and to encourage her, I learned about it, too. It's been nice to share that again with a child. Marcus is fascinated by space.""And by you as well," Rosa informed her with a happy smile.

Beth blushed, pleased and content with the observation. For several minutes, the two women allowed the moment to just stand between them. They both continued to look at the wall of photographs but neither said anything until Rosa sighed, her voice suddenly strained and awash with emotion. "It was drugs," she shared. "Cocaine at first, then crack once her father and I finally learned what she was doing to herself and tried to get her clean - first with rehab and then by cutting her off financially."

"Did she… use while she was pregnant?""Thankfully, no. She had Rio between rehab stints. And he was such a happy baby, slept through the night almost immediately. Adriana loved him very much, but she wasn't ready to be a mother, probably never would have been. Too selfish. I think she resented how much her father and I doted on him… instead of her… after he was born."And Nick, Rio's father, wanted nothing to do with him, took off as soon as Adriana told him she was pregnant. He was older, had all these big ideas and dreams for his life, and a pregnant teenage girlfriend - and then a son - didn't exactly fit in with his plans. He was a very narcissistic man, but my daughter was so in love with him - the only boy she couldn't hold onto. I think she blamed Rio for that, too."But she and Nick were too similar. After all, Adriana was self-absorbed as well - thanks to me and her father. They never would have worked out. Four years later, though, it didn't matter. Adriana was gone, and Marco and I were already raising Rio as our own." Shaking off her melancholy, Rosa chastised herself, "but you only wanted to know about my daughter, not Rio's mother. I'm afraid I am monopolizing my mijo's story.""I don't know about that," Rio drawled from behind them, making Beth jump before she twisted around to see him lounging in the doorway - hands in the front pockets of his pants, shoulder against the jam, and left leg crossed over his right. "But you definitely hoggin' my girl, Grandma.""Don't give me that," Rosa playfully scolded him. "I think we both know who has been keeping Beth to themselves.""Yeah. Pop's greedy like that."

His Grandmother just hummed in disagreement. "Speaking of my nieto, I'm going to go spend some time with him and give the two of you a moment." Before walking away, Rosa touched Beth's shoulder affectionately.

Rio pushed off of the doorframe, pausing halfway towards Beth to buss a kiss against his Grandma's cheek. "Be careful," he smirked. "The kids somehow found some globos de agua."

While eyeing Beth knowingly, Rosa remarked, "I bet they did."

The older woman was almost out in the hallway when Beth called out, "wait!" Once she had both of the Garzas' gazes on her, Beth continued, "I'm sorry I didn't bring anything. Someone," she looked pointedly at Rio, "didn't tell me we were coming to a potluck picnic. I can cook. And bake." She wasn't sure how much longer they would be there or if she would have another private moment with Rio's Grandma, so Beth took the opportunity before her to apologize and explain.

"Don't worry. I know how this one," Rosa nodded towards Rio, "operates. That's why I get all of my information from Marcus. And he sings your culinary praises."

Not to be outdone, Rio contended, "I like her food, too. It's real dope. But unlike my eight year old son who thinks with his stomach, I thought there were more important things for me to tell you about Elizabeth."

Quite aware of what Rio thought with, Beth wasn't sure she wanted to know what he had shared with his Grandmother about her… until she saw the adoring, sweet smile that lit up Rosa's face. That was not the expression of a woman whose Grandson had bragged about his girlfriend's… curves. With one last nod in their direction, Rosa left them alone.

Rio sidled up to Beth, coming to stand behind her so he could wrap his arms around her waist and pull her back into his chest, the cradle of his hips. "Missed you," Rio informed her, kissing her neck before settling his chin on her right shoulder. "I'm already sharin' you tonight. You can't go disappearin' on me now, too."

Waving towards the wall of photographs before her, Beth explained, "I was distracted."

"By how cute I've always been?""Modest, too," she gasped in mock astonishment.

Rio rocked them both from side to side suggestively. "You like how cocky I am."

Relenting, she admitted, "you were pretty cute. But as I told you before, Marcus is cuter."

"It's those damn dimples." Bringing one hand up to her jaw, Rio used a finger to roll Beth's face towards him, nipping at her chin. "I'm partial to one myself."

But he did nothing more to push the moment, and she returned to her observations, turning serious. "Actually, I was looking at pictures of your Mom. You don't have any of her up at the loft."

Rio shrugged. "Grandma raised me."

"Do you remember her at all," Beth wondered, pointing to what she believed was the last photo taken of Adriana. In it, she looked older than twenty-three years, and she was holding Rio up to blow out the four candles on his birthday cake. "You were so young when she died.""A li'l, I think? I have these images of her in my mind, yeah? I'm just not sure if they're actually mine, or if I made 'em up based on snapshots and stories from other people."

Because he didn't sound upset or bothered to be talking about her, Beth voiced the question she couldn't bring herself to ask Rosa. "Did she OD?"

"Actually, no," Rio told her. His answer was kind of a surprise given how his Grandma had talked about the loss of her daughter. "She was high at the time, but she actually drowned - out at some party on the lake. She got so loaded that she forgot how to swim. Happened a few weeks after that shot was taken," he indicated the picture Beth had been looking at from his fourth birthday."How could you… did it…," she struggled to find the words she needed, and then she just gave up. "Nevermind.""Ask your question, Elizabeth. If I don't wanna answer it, I won't. You ain't gonna hurt my feelings or make me mad."

Twisting around in his arms so that she could face him, Beth said, "when you told me about what you… used to do, you mentioned drugs. Was it hard to sell them when you lost your Mom because she was an addict?"

"It's not like I was some corner boy out there slingin' eight balls, Mami. Besides, I was more in the pharmaceuticals business than I was street drugs. If anything, it felt like that world owed me. What about you," Rio turned the question around on her. "You mentioned needin' to steal your Mom's car to buy you and your sister food. That why you obsessed with feedin' people?"

Beth had never thought of it that way. "Maybe subconsciously," she allowed. "But I think it's less complicated than that." She shrugged, foregoing humility. "I'm good at it. Don't we all like doing what we're good at?"

"Who taught you how to cook?""My Nana Bridie taught me the basics before she passed away, and then I just… figured it out myself - first for Annie, then even more for Kensley.""And why were you takin' care of your kid sister?" When she hesitated to respond - for as pleased and astonished that Rosa had seemed to learn that Rio had at least mentioned his mother to Beth, she was actually the one who was more reticent to open up about her parents. It was just… Beth was always afraid that, when she told people about Daniel and Shannon Marks, they would start to see her for her family's weaknesses. She had the Bolands to thank for that particular neurosis. "I showed you mine; you gotta show me yours, Sweetheart."

Beth rolled her eyes at his choice of expression, but she started talking nevertheless. "My mother was beautiful but difficult, and my father was… not so great at handling either. When she got pregnant with me, her proud, Irish Catholic family did not give my parents any other choice but to get married. It was not an auspicious start for their marriage. They had me, my Dad did enough to keep us afloat - he really didn't have any skills or interests; he just… drifted from one thing, one person, one place to the next, and my Mom was able to hold it together until both of her parents died within six months of each other, she found out she was pregnant with Annie, and my Dad drifted off again… only, this time, he never returned."

"How old were you when this all went down?"

"I was seven."

"Damn, Ma," Rio commiserated.

"Without my grandparents to hold everyone together, my Mom's siblings just sort of splintered apart. She was one of eight kids - the youngest, but I barely remember any of my aunts and uncles. In fact, I'm not even sure if I really remember my Dad either. I used to make up these tales for Annie, so she wouldn't blame herself for him leaving and so she'd believe that he loved her, and now sometimes I think that all I have left - all I ever really had - are those stupid fantasies I created as bedtime stories. Anyway," Beth shook off the sad tangent, "I know my Mom's family loved her, but she always needed more from others than what she could give. Eventually, everyone in her life just got tired of the discrepancy, and then she got tired of it as well. She'd just… mentally check out for a while. My father physically left; my mother disappeared inside of her own head. We found out later that she was manic depressive, but it was too late to really help her by then."

Pulling her even closer to him, Rio leaned their foreheads together, rubbed his nose against hers. "She in a facility or somethin' now?"

"She died when Annie was still in high school."

"And your father?"

Beth shrugged. "I have no idea."

She wasn't prepared when Rio stepped away from her, turning them both so that they were once more facing the wall of framed pictures. First, he gestured towards the photographs - not just of his Mom but of his whole extended family, and then he folded their hands together - her skin so pale and soft against his dark and calloused fingers. "We real different, Baby, but we the same, too, yeah?"

He was exactly right. As they got to know each other better, how they compared and contrasted proved irrelevant, but all of it - what they had in common and what they didn't - complimented. They just… clicked - from the very first moment they met, and slowly but surely they were learning how and why. It was how Beth knew that she was falling in love with him. And fast.

An out of breath and running Marcus burst into the room, drawing Beth and Rio's attention away from their separate pasts, their combined presents, and thoughts of a shared future. "Daddy, Beth, come on! I've been waiting for you for forever!"

"What is it? Do you need something, Honey," Beth asked the eight year old."Daddy said we had to wait for you to play water balloons with us, because you're the best at them."

Narrowing her gaze at Rio, she challenged, "so, that's what you and Rosa were talking about?" Not allowing him a chance to defend himself, she further accused, "and water balloons, really? I'm wearing a white dress!"

Murmuring so just she could hear, Rio complimented, "you know I think you look good wet, Mama."

"And we both know you're not going to want anyone else to see me like that… for either meaning.""I'll let you wear my shirt," he offered oh so magnanimously."How about this," Beth bargained with Marcus, turning back towards the little boy. "I'll fill the balloons for you, your Dad, and all of your cousins?"

How Rio managed to say his next words with a straight face in front of his son, Beth would never know. "You wanna handle the hose, Darlin'?"

Shoving him a little as she moved away from his side, Beth left Rio to approach Marcus. "If you throw all of your balloons at your Dad, then we'll make homemade ice cream the next time I come over, okay?"

From behind her, Rio tsked, "bribery, Elizabeth? Grandma's not gonna be impressed."

Winking over her shoulder at him, Beth replied, "she will when she tastes it. And I don't care what either of you say, I owe her a dish."

Rio nodded, smiling widely at her. "It's a date."