Page 44 of Riding the Line
“Oh, you’re the best.”
“Thank Maria—I think she’s got a notification set up on her phone for your meds.”
She was sitting on the couch but heard him and replied, “Well, of course I do. You’ve got a crap ton of them. Not that I need it, really. When they start wearing off, you can try and hide it, but it’s written all over your face.”
Her husband joined her on the couch, and she curled up next to him. He wrapped an arm protectively around her, pulling her in close.
Diego climbed up next to his dad and laid his head on his father’s lap. “Momma, can we watchLion King?”
Jewel sat next to Maria and leaned into her. “The second one, not the first one. We’ve seen that one hundreds of times.”
Diego and Maria looked at me, and I shrugged. “No complaints here.”
The baby was playing on his little mat with all of his toys, but laughed when “One of Us” started to play.
Halfway through the movie, in between dozing off, I found myself watching the little family gathered on the couch. Maria had picked up Manny at some point, and the little boy was fast asleep in his momma’s arms. Diego had one arm around his son, whowas still lying on his lap, and the other around Maria. Maria leaned against him, and Jewel was sharing a blanket with her mom.
They were the perfect picture, and I couldn’t help but stare. I hadn’t really ever thought about starting a family before—wearing white, walking down the aisle, and all that jazz was the last thing on my mind. But they were so comfortable, so relaxed with each other. So secure in their love, that nothing else mattered. It hit me all of a sudden how much I wanted that. And, even though I knew it was completely illogical, I let myself imagine having it with my boys.
Maybe… a baby with auburn hair and blue eyes.
But one day, they would discover my lies, and any feelings they had for me would vanish. Still, for now, a girl could dream.
When the movie was over, Maria and Diego untangled themselves from the children who had fallen asleep on them. Jewel woke up, then yawned and stretched. She kissed her parents goodnight, surprised me with a hug, and then went upstairs to her room. Diego took the baby from Maria so she could stand without risking waking him. She took Manny back, cooing to him when he fretted. She rocked him in her arms while Diego scooped his son up into his arms. Diego followed Jewel upstairs, while Maria went down the hall to Manny’s room. A little while later, as I started dozing off again in my chair, Maria came up behind and gently squeezed my good shoulder.
“You okay?” she asked.
I nodded. “Absolutely. You have such a beautiful family.”
Her smile was wistful. “I got really lucky with Diego. He’s one of the good ones.”
When Diego came back downstairs from putting his son to bed, he offered his arm so I could stand without too much trouble. Maria had made up the guest room for me,and the bed looked delightfully inviting—especially compared to the hospital bed I had been sleeping in. My giant stuffed fox, Molly, was there amongst the pillows. Maria fussed around us as Diego helped me climb into bed.
After he left the two of us alone, Maria said, “Are you comfy? Do you have enough pillows? Blankets? All set?”
I shook my head at her. “I’m fine, Mom—promise. I’m a big girl.”
She leaned forward and gently hugged me. “You almost died, Nicky. I am allowed to be a mother hen for a bit.”
I hugged her back as best I could. “It’ll take more than some asshole with a micropenis to take me out.”
She laughed and said, “You’re damn right. Goodnight,hermana. Sleep tight.”
Shutting the door behind her, I was left in almost total darkness. I had become used to the light and noise at the hospital, and this was a welcome change. The only thing I missed was the two men at my bedside who had been keeping me company.
Their absence left me antsy, and I reached for my phone on the nightstand, grimacing at the stretching movement. I debated which one to text for a minute, and then decided to just create a group chat between all of us. I giggled to myself as I titled it, “Threesome?” They must have gotten the notification, because my phone pinged instantly with a message from Dalton.
“Excuse me?”
Another ping, a message from Mac. “WTF?”
I sent back the angel emoji, along with a question mark.
“You know exactly what you’re doing, ma’am.”
“Oh, so it’s ma’am now?”
“Don’t make me come over there.”
