Page 41 of Love in Focus

Celeste gets back on her feet. “Okay, well, there’s this quote I always say to myself whenever shit happens, and I’m not even that religious. ‘Man makes plans, and God laughs.’ We have no idea what’s going to happen in life, and even when we think we have it all figured out, everything can come crashing down, anyway. The best we can do is roll with the punches and stop blaming ourselves whenever something goes wrong. Your ex leaving you like that is not your fault at all,especiallyif he’s already fucking someone else, just like it’s not my mom’s fault that my dad now has a girlfriend who’s younger than me. Both dudes have serious issues. You’re better off, like my mom’s better off without my dad.”

Celeste’s words aren’t exactlyencouraginglike she said they’d be, but they do help me feel a bit less alone. “Is your mom doing better now?” I ask. “Not just health-wise, but… everything else.”

She nods. “She’s been enjoying her single, empty nester life for a while now. Like I said, better off.”

“Okay, good.” I get back on my feet, too. “Well, thanks for the advice. And for coming down here to get me. Let’s go finish the interview. I’d rather complete it now, since we already had to reschedule them once. Are they still up there?”

“Yup. Joey and Maria have their hands full. I think you distracted the girls from the game enough that they want to do something else.”

“Great,” I say with a bone-weary laugh. Suddenly, I’m afraid I’ve ruined everything. “How are we going to keep them distracted now?”

“It’s no big deal.” Celeste says, holding the door open for me. “We can have them play another game. It’s okay, Gem. We’ll figure it out.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” It’s something I’ve been wondering for a while, but didn’t have the chance to ask her until now.

Celeste blinks. “What do you mean?”

“Gem.”

She shrugs. “It’s a habit, I guess. I can’t even remember the last time I called you Gemma. Does it bother you? Because I can say Gemma, if you want.”

I take the couple minutes’ walk up the stairs to ponder on Celeste’s question. When we reach the studio, I say, “It did, at first. But if it’s just out of habit, I’m fine with it. Actually, I think it’d be weird if you randomly started calling me Gemma.”

Her lips spread into a small smile. “Okay, then. Gem it is.”

Thankfully, Celeste manages to distract the girls withPlants vs. Zombies, and I power through the rest of the questions by keeping my own emotions at bay. We finish the interview without any other incident.

Before the family leaves, Celeste asks the couple if they’d like her to take a picture of them.

“We don’t have to share it publicly if you don’t want us to, but I would love to take a picture of your beautiful family and give it to you as a keepsake,” she says. “Consider it a token of appreciation and gratitude for coming out here when you probably have a million things going on right now.”

“That’s incredibly kind of you,” Maria says with a smile. “That would be lovely. Thank you so much!”

The girls crawl into their parents’ laps, and the resulting portrait is so adorable that I for sure want to include itin the interview spread for the magazine if the Amatos are okay with it.

When I ask, the couple nods at each other.

“Feel free,” Joey says. “I think the family picture would be a nice thing to have on there. After all, love isn’t just romantic.”

I’m taken aback by Joey’s words and how right they are. I think of my parents, who have always loved me and are constantly worrying about me in their little home in Irvine. I think about Val and Kiara, who immediately offered up their place when I needed somewhere to stay and never pressured me to pay rent or contribute in any way.

I may have hilariously tragic luck when it comes to romance, but for other kinds of love, I hit the jackpot.

On their way out, I apologize to the Amatos for earlier, telling them I’m going through a lot in terms of my personal life.

“It happens,” Maria graciously says. “I hope things get better for you soon.”

“Thank you.”

Soon enough, it’s just Celeste and me in the studio again. I’m entirely spent, emotionally and physically. It’s been one of those days that feels like a whole month. Celeste must have also been exhausted, because she doesn’t say anything as we get ready to go home.

“I’ll see you for the next interview,” I say before I leave. “Safe travels next week.”

“See you,” she replies. “You, too.”

Like all holidays, Christmas comes and goes way too fast. Aside from doing typical holiday things with my parents, I manage to finally find a promising listing for a shared apartment in Chinatown, only a ten-minute bus ride from our office.

When I’m back in town the next Monday, I work out the contract terms with my new landlady, Ms. Chang, who runs a Chinese gift shop with her husband. Since I don’t want to commit to anything long term after the last couple of wildcard months I had, I end up signing a month-to-month lease. Luckily, Ms. Chang is flexible, since she’s just renting out her spare room to make some extra money after her kid moved out to start school as a spring admit at USC.

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