Changed for the Better
Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide!
"Mamí! Mister Diablo!" Raiza calls out as she jumps on Maritza's bed excitedly. Giggles erupt from the small human.
"¿Qué?" they ask in unison as they come into the children's room.
"I can't wait for kindy-garden today! Miss Karla is gonna be my maestra again!"
"Lo sé, bebé, you'll have so much fun!" Blanca grunts as Raiza throws herself into her mother's arms. "Oooh, but you're getting a little heavy." She sets Raiza down carefully. "When did you grow on me?" She's actually happy that Raiza isn't too skinny anymore, and neither is Maritza.
"Es mi culpa," Diablo says as he scoops Raiza up with ease. "I've spoiled you all too much with delicious food!"
That's my fault.
"Yeah, I feel like I gained a few more pounds myself, too," Blanca murmurs. "We're all in good hands with you, mi amor."
They share a kiss over Raiza's head and smile into it, then both of them peck Raiza's cheeks, one on either side of her.
"I'm eating polenta!"
Aleida scoffs. "Whoever the fuck that bitch is!"
"I thought you fully trusted me by now, Lei…polenta ain't a person, it's a food," Leon says exasperatedly. "Look, I'll make it for us sometime. It's delicious."
"Okay, never mind. Enjoy your boys' night out!"
"Thanks, baby, have fun with your girls!"
"Later, man!"
"Love you."
"También te amo."
Blanca, Karla, Gloria, and Margarita hold in their laughter until Aleida gets off the phone. "What? How the fuck would I know what polenta is?"
"Deberías confiar en tu hombre, hermana," Gloria insists with a roll of her eyes.
You should just trust your man, sister
"I'm enrolled in college with you and RJ now, I thought they would've mentioned that word a time or two," Blanca says.
"Nah, not really…but hey, at least I'm doin' Narcotics Anonymous like Nicky is gonna do!"
"Cheers to that!" Karla exclaims and they all lift their glasses of Bay Moon Sauvignon Blanc and clink them together. "¡Salud!" the five friends holler excitedly.
"I'm happy we shared this bottle, by the way…de ninguna manera iba a beberlo yo sola," Margarita states with a giggle.
No way I was gonna drink it by myself.
"Nah, nah," the other ladies agree and sip their respective drinks. "Gracias for bringing it, Maggie," Blanca murmurs.
"De nada."
"Hey honey, you can't eat off the floor," Blanca sighs.
Raiza picks off a chunk of cheese and throws it in Blanca's face while she's bent down to her level.
"Oh, you really want to play that game, huh?" Blanca teases her daughter, mildly amused. She tears off another piece of the cheese and throws it at Raiza, but the small girl dodges it and it hits Diablo's leg.
"Hey!" he shouts at Blanca, who he thinks has tossed it. He throws a handful of cheese at her, but she ducks while shrieking and it lands on Maritza and Laronne. They now have cheese in their hair and start to giggle hysterically. The two of them fire it at Blanca and Diablo, thus interrupting their makeout session. Blanca lets cheese fly back at them, and it's now a full-on food fight.
Maritza and Raiza pick up a pile of cooked noodles that have fallen on the floor. They both hurl it at Diablo, who throws noodles covered in sauce back, but just then, Flaca, who's sleeping over, decides to come in. It's now in her hair and dripping down her face. Blanca and Maritza snicker in unison. Raiza squeals while pointing at Flaca and jumping up and down with glee. "He got you, he got you!"
"Good thing you ain't wearin' white," Maritza adds sheepishly.
"After Labor Day? Chiquita, you trippin', I would never." Flaca shakes herself off. "Y'all are damn lucky I don't have on designer clothes either!"
"Looks like you aimed too high, mi amor," Blanca tells Diablo with a smirk.
He rubs his forehead, looking embarrassed. "Dios mío, lo siento, Flaca…"
Flaca appears to be shocked at first, and she puts her hands on her hips and raises her eyebrows. A small smile creeps across her face.
"Dude…you done did it now." Laronne tells his dad, seeming a bit worried. They back away from Flaca, slowly and carefully.
She picks up a whole bowl of fettuccine and thrusts it straight at the whole family. They're now all covered in fettuccine, tomato sauce, and cheese, and the food fight lasts for thirty minutes. They all fall down laughing and making sauce angels in the kitchen.
"Oh god, that was fun!" Maritza hollers and the others cackle beside her.
"Just be lucky we're not calling some other woman Mami!" Ceci tells Gloria as she sits cross-legged on the counter.
"I am! Oye, get off that, por favor."
"Fine." Ceci reluctantly does as her mother says.
Gloria notices Benny trying to sneak an Oreo from the cookie jar. "I saw that! Tengo ojos en la parte de atrás de mi cabeza, ¿recuerdas?"
I got eyes in the back of my head, remember?
"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Benny whines.
"Yeah, but no dessert before lunch, I'm making it right now!"
"Besides, you just like to lick the cream in the middle and throw away the cookie part," Elena points out.
"Oooh!" Michaela wags her finger at Benny. "You in trouble, dude." Her hair is in braids today and her devilish grin shows her missing two front teeth.
"Put it on a napkin, you can have it after lunch."
Benny pouts, but does as his mom says anyway.
"Julio's tall for his age," Ceci says randomly. "He and Elena can't have both gotten that from you, Mami…"
"Joe Caputo, Elena's birth dad, era alto para su edad de niño, también. El perdedor que me dio a Julio también debe haberlo sido."
He was tall for his age, too. The loser who gave me Julio must've been, as well.
"Hey, guys!"
"Daddy!" Benny and Julio shout as they run up to Fahri. He scoops them both up and spins around with them in his arms as they laugh. Gloria tears up at the sight; it's so precious. She shares a smile with her daughters. It's confirmation that Fahri is good for the kids to have around and they probably miss having a father figure. She's aware the oldest two girls may not ever call him dad or papi, but that's just because they're teenagers. Maybe they will in their own time, though, she thinks.
"Papi, my favorite colors are orange and red, I forgot to tell you yesterday!" Benny says.
"Me gween!" Julio chimes in.
"That's great, sports!" He sets them down and then fist-bumps the girls.
Then, Fahri brings Gloria in for a passionate kiss.
"Who's ready to rock and roll?" Diablo yells into the microphone. He's sitting by the drums while Flaca holds a guitar and Maritza adjusts her own microphone to her level.
The crowd roars with loud, excited cheers.
"You may have noticed my usual bandmates aren't here…Sonya is on her honeymoon and Weevil's in the audience with strep throat, but Maritza here is one of the best new singers I've heard, and her girlfriend Flaca has been practicing playing the guitar all of her sophomore year. Plus, it's mi novia's first año back in Nueva York and god damn it, we're gonna celebrate!" He gestures to Blanca, who covers her face and giggles. "So, this canción is for you, mi amor, even though it's also mi cumpleaños, coincidentally enough!"
"Yaaaay!" Raiza and Laronne shout and clap in unison.
Then, the concert starts after everyone sings happy birthday to Diablo.
"It's celebration, it's elation, you moved across the nation…your fascination with the devil led you here…but he makes you scream! The endless love you have for each other is extreme…if you know what I mean!" Maritza belts out while Flaca strums her guitar along to the lyrics and Diablo plays the drums.
Flaca leans over and grabs the microphone. "You got your sordid, sleazy ex in hell, his soul is burned to crisps, he got you ensnared, but you're a tough cookie, like you're feral…that evil sadistic fuck couldn't stand a chance, so we sing, so we dance, it's a fairytale romance…but it's real!" She hands Maritza the microphone.
"So fuckin' real!" Maritza hollers. "It was eerie, it was daunting, our past was fucking haunting…he was sinister, he was vicious, but the tea is delicious…it was predator versus prey 'til Mami, me, and Raiza got away, all of us united, and now, we're here to staaaaay!"
It's Blanca's one year anniversary of being back in New York for good and she's celebrating with her family and friends. Everyone is standing up and dancing to the music, and it's so good that no one eats or drinks a thing. Blanca records it all. Flaca and Maritza sing together at times, too, and it really makes up for the fact that they weren't able to for their play.
After the family leaves the concert, it's two in the morning and they go to a late night diner. When they go home, they have the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and flan that Blanca's made for Diablo with ice cream. Blowing out his candles, he says it's the best birthday he's ever had.
They end up snoozing most of the next day, but they've had a lot of fun. They're grateful that Maia can regularly babysit Juliana for these kinds of occasions.
"Well, first of all, I'm always gonna be on top," Gloria says of her future sexy times with Fahri as the pair lay in bed together and cuddle.
"Yes, you got it, baby," he tells her.
She sighs happily. "What if one of your friends hits on me inappropriately? Would you believe me or stand by your friend?"
"Of course I'd take your side! I'd have a talk with the fool and not be close to him anymore. I'd threaten him too, 'you touch her again, I'll kick your ass!'"
Gloria lets out a relieved exhale. "Oh good…it's never happened to me before, but one time, I mistook one of your cousins for you and almost hugged and kissed him."
He laughs, unlike Arturo had, and it shouldn't really surprise her, but it does. "I know you're loyal, and I trust you, so no worries!"
"Oh, that's good!"
"When I went over to Daya's last night, she was in a state of anxiety, saying she paces while actually doing it because she doesn't like baseball since it's boring. She tried it once with Leon though." Maritza announces and her family looks over at her in interest. She has her daughter in her arms, but she's got her hair up into a bun and she's not wearing earrings so Juliana can't find anything to grab and hold onto. "Adarsh invited Daya to a game…she's just gonna go so he won't invite another chick in place of her, even though he'd never do that…in the end, she decided to go in support of her man."
"That's good, although he probably would've gone with a male buddy of his if she didn't wanna join him," Blanca points out.
"Lo sé, Daya gets insecure sometimes." Maritza sits down with Juliana and bounces her up and down in her lap, then jiggles her baby on her knees while holding the little one steady. Juliana squeals with delight and reaches for Maritza, who kisses her tiny hand, then her chubby cheek.
Diablo hands Blanca a beer after opening it. "I can tell…poor girl, she's seen her mama be that way."
"Yep! Anyway, Lucy was holding a lollipop and kept pointing it at her mama," Maritza goes on. "It was hilarious, but I was also hoping Aleida wouldn't have to deal with too much of a sticky mess; it already happened on the table a little. Aleida kept backing up. The small girl stuck it into her mouth and then threw it on the floor before any incidents occurred."
"Oh, wow, excepto el desorden en el suelo," Blanca murmurs and laughs. "That was close!"
Except the mess on the floor
"Yeah," Diablo agrees with a smile.
"What happened next?" Laronne wants to know.
"Then, I played peek-a-boo with her from across the table and made her smile and laugh! Afterwards, she vocalized her image in the mirror. Then, we played pat-a-cake."
"What's that?" Raiza asks.
"You know, the hand game? Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man, put it in the oven as fast as you can, pat it, prick it, mark it with a B, put it in the oven for baby and me!"
"Oh, yeah!"
"Hablando de bebes...estaba amamantando a Raiza debajo de una manta y me echaron de un restaurante por ello," Blanca murmurs.
I was breastfeeding Raiza under a blanket and they kicked me out of a restaurant for it.
"Wow, that's rude!" Maritza exclaims. "I hope that never happens to me with Juliana."
"Me neither."
"De todos modos, me alegré de haber traído a Juliana a la casa de Daya para que pudiera jugar con Lucy y Armaria." Maritza leans closer to Juliana. "Te divertiste, no, sweetie?"
Anyway, I was glad I brought Juliana to Daya's house so she could play with Lucy and Armaria. You had fun, didn't you?
Juliana coos and babbles in response and Maritza gazes down at her with a smile.
Then, it's Halloween and Maritza, in Blanca's old Esmeralda costume, goes to a party with Flaca and their friends as other Disney girls and guys while Blanca and Diablo, dressed as a sprite and a unicorn, take Raiza and Laronne trick-or-treating. Raiza is Wonder Woman while Laronne is Black Panther. Gloria, Fahri, Benny, and Julio go with them, too, dressed as Marvel characters. Gloria is Catwoman while Fahri is Iron Man, Benny Spider Man, and Julio Captain America.
Later, when it's cold, Diablo puts his leather jacket over Blanca. The night is over anyway and they're taking the kids home and saying goodbye to their friends. Maritza is apparently sleeping over at Flaca's.
After putting the children to bed, they watch a scary movie, Scream on low volume while eating some Halloween candy and having pumpkin beer. Anthropologie candles are lit, creating dim, pretty glows in the room. The film plays in the background, but Blanca and Diablo are hardly paying attention. Diablo's arm is thrown around Blanca's shoulders, wrist bent to curl his fingers into her hair. They French kiss, but only stop when the shrieking from the movie starts.
"Ven a la cama," Diablo murmurs softly after it's over, sliding his hands down Blanca's arms to her hands, lacing their fingers together and slowly starting to pull her towards their bedroom. Diablo continues to pepper Blanca with kisses all the while, trailing them down her jaw and neck.
Come to bed.
"I wanna watch you masturbate. Por favor, let me see you squeezing your firm cock…then my hand will replace yours." Blanca is so hot as she talks dirty like this, licks her bottom lip sensually, and bats her lashes, her eyes blazing with desire. "I feel so safe contigo, baby…" Diablo holds himself back, though; he has a plan in mind, and he's determined to do it tonight.
He puts his arm over her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Te amo, you and only you," he says with no space left between them. "No one makes me laugh like you do. You make me incredibly happy."
"Then why…every time we get close, ¿por qué no quieres tener sexo conmigo? Am I fea or something, is the honeymoon stage dying?" she asks worriedly.
Why do you not want to have sex with me?
"Dios mío, no, mi amor. You look amazing tonight…todo el tiempo, en realidad. Eres asombrosa. You've always felt like home."
All the time, actually. You are amazing.
"Tú también. I'm right where I belong."
"After everything we've been through, you still don't think that I love you?" he asks incredulously.
She flushes. "It's not even been un año yet…and for sixteen years and then three weeks, we didn't see each other at all. We've only been a couple for about eleven months…and yet, you haven't, um… wanted to jump my bones."
He plays with her hair a little and caresses the side of her face. "Baby, lo he hecho desde que éramos adolescentes, we really clicked, pero nunca he hecho un movimiento, respeté tus límites…quería que tú hicieras un movimiento primero…sobria… porque necesito tu consentimiento coherente."
I have since we were teenagers, but I've never made a move, I respected your boundaries...I wanted you to make a move first...sober...because I need your coherent consent.
"Se lo doy ahora mismo. ¡Estamos solos! ¡Estoy bien!" Blanca insists, grabbing his shirt. "Do you know how many times I've orgasmed to the thought of you…coming inside me? With your fingers, your tongue…and I can give you birthday sex, I know it's late, but…no me importa. Eres caliente…"
I'm giving it right now. We are alone! I'm fine! I don't care. You're hot…
"Lo sé, we can, just not before…"
"¿No antes de qué?"
Not before what?
Their legs are tangled like vines now and he keeps her close to him in their room, bathed in soft yellow light.
"My sweet love, siempre te querré. We've said it to each other many times, as we huddle together, the storm raging outside, over and over again, till it's nothing but a senseless babble, over a cup of tea, over a beer bottle, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the late sunlight glowing in your hair, when baking chocolate chip cookies, when we lay together in the fresh spring grass, through a blissful sigh as we both fall asleep, through a song, …a whisper, loudly so everyone can hear, every chance we get. La primera vez que lo dijimos fue la primera noche que te quedaste a dormir en mi casa."
I will always love you. The first time we said it, was the first night you slept over at my place.
Blanca's face breaks into a smile as he cups it in his hands. "Sí, lo recuerdo. We were in awe the first time we realized it!"
Yes, I remember.
"First, I fell in love with your ojos and overall beauty, then it was your strength and pure corazón, and next, your smarts…and you're the only one I wanna wake up next to in mornings and fall asleep cuddling with during nights. Eres una madre maravillosa. I'd like to adopt your niñas as my own, and I have already in my heart."
You're a wonderful mother.
"You don't need to spend money on actually doing it through legal means." Blanca murmurs. "Pero, gracias…"
"I know…but lo que intento decirte, mi hermosa paloma, es...¿te casarías conmigo?" He swallows nervously, even though he knows what her answer will probably be. "Sería un honor para mí que fueras mi esposa."
What I'm trying to say, my beautiful dove, is will you marry me? I would be honored if you would be my wife.
She gasps quietly. Her features turn even softer, her eyes glisten, and she nods, an excited giggle escaping her. "Sí, sí, I'm in love with you, mi Diablo, of course I'll marry you!"
He quickly plucks the gold engagement ring from his pocket and slides it carefully over the third finger of her left hand. Karla has told him Blanca's size. She gazes down at her new piece of jewelry, beaming impossibly harder as it sparkles under the light that's on.
Their kiss is so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they're finished. Then it's just a night of sweet, slow, gentle making out.
"¡Ay dios mío! I knew it!" Maritza squeals just after Blanca and Diablo announce their engagement to the children. She grabs her mother's left hand to look at it closer. "Oh, wow…he totally popped the question...it's really happening! ¡Ese anillo es tan hermoso, Mamá! Diamonds and everything! ¡Felicidades a ustedes dos!" She hugs Blanca, and then Diablo. Both of them return the gesture.
That ring is so beautiful, Mom! Congratulations, you two!
"¡Sí…gracias!"
"Yay!" Raiza claps her hands. "Mister Diablo, you're gonna be my papi!"
"I've always felt like I was…but you and Maritza don't need to call me Papi unless you want to."
"Congrats, you guys!" Laronne high-fives them both. "Hey, Blanca, I don't mind calling you mom…if you're cool with it?"
Tears swim in Blanca's eyes, making them glisten. "Sure, mijo, I'd be honored!"
They gather their kids in a group embrace and everyone starts laughing; they're just so cheery.
"So, we make videos and get money giving makeovers," Maritza explains about her and Flaca on the way to the city with Blanca, Diablo, Juliana, Raiza, and Laronne. "We eat on benches sometimes at school instead of the cafeteria and film ourselves just talking about whatever…or we go to Little Caesars, 'cause I love pizza! Or we have Bongo's spicy chicken and hot pockets…Jamba Juice is also a cool spot to do 'em!"
"That's amazing, you could be a cosmetologist or a vlogger," Blanca comments.
"You'd be fantastic!" Diablo puts in.
"Muchas gracias, but I already am!"
"Yay!" Raiza exclaims, clapping her hands.
"Awesome!" Laronne says happily.
Juliana coos and reaches up for Maritza's dangling hoop earrings; she'd remembered to put her hair up, but not stay away from the big jewelry. "No gracias, bebé…"
The family goes to the Empire State Building, which is near Central Park in Manhattan. They take pictures there as they explore the area and window shop; then they have cheese enchiladas, rice, beans, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream for lunch.
"¡Papi!" Raiza stretches her arms up over her head. "I'm tired of walking," she whines.
"It's okay, kiddo, I got you!" Tears form in his eyes and he turns to Blanca. "Ella me llamó papi…"
She called me daddy…
Blanca's features soften and she wears an emotional expression too. "No estoy sorprendida."
I'm not surprised.
Raiza is soon sitting high on Diablo's shoulders, and the rest of them just smile.
Maritza isn't sure if she'll call him the title yet, but she's thinking about it. At almost eighteen, it may be a little weird. She certainly loves Diablo like he's her father. She wishes he always had been, but there's no dwelling on the past, she knows. He's just seventeen years older than her, so she has pretty much her whole adult life to bond with him and actually have a really awesome dad. That's certainly better than absolutely nothing at all. In fact, it sounds just about great.
Thank you for reading and reviewing, MsSchneeheide!