Page 53 of Last First Kiss
I keep my eyes on the road. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that managing the new hires, on top of my increased workload, has been tough. And my boss has gotten a million times more demanding. Hopefully, it only feels this overwhelming because we’re in a transition period. I don’t think I could do this long-term. I’m only a couple of months into this role, and I already feel burned out.”
“Well, honey, I’m glad you took the day off and arecoming to do some crafts with us. Where’s Alejandra? I thought she might be coming with you.”
“She had to go to her office today.”
Cathia nods. “I see. Well, two out of three on a Monday is a win in my book.”
My lips curl into a smile.
The hour drive goes by quickly. Traffic is light since most people are leaving the island around this time to get to work. Cathia and I have scattered conversations about Diana’s wedding, Lala’s attempts to rope Cathia into speed dating, which she finds both amusing yet terrifying, and how hilarious she finds it that Lala still hasn’t caught on that Alejandra and I are fake dating.
The comment makes me pause, because technically, we’re dating now—or at least exploring the possibility. I don’t correct her, though. I don’t know when Alejandra will want to share that with her, and as much as Cathia is like a mother to me, I don’t want to tell her anything without discussing it with Alejandra first.
We pull up to Diana’s house and slip inside. She has this bad habit of never locking the doors, so we walk right in and kick off our wet shoes by the door. Rain started pouring halfway through the drive, and I nearly turned around; it had been that intense.
“Diana?” I shout when I can’t hear her.
“We’re in the kitchen!”
Cathia and I turn the corner and find Diana and Alex at the dining table, eating muffins and sipping coffee. The whole space is a mess of faux flowers spread out in little piles.
“What’s all this?” I ask as I move to kiss them both on the cheek.
“Our project for the day,” Diana says excitedly, lookingso much like Alejandra in that moment, it makes me miss her a thousand times more.
Cathia and I sit at the end of the dining table and are immediately put to work.
Diana sets down a little pile of supplies in front of us—jars of paint, bundles of faux flowers in soft blush and cream, spools of ribbon, and wide glass vases.
“Make it look like mine,” she says, gesturing to the example centerpiece she made: an elegant arrangement of blush peonies, baby’s breath, and eucalyptus, the stems painted in a wash of dusty pastels, tied together with a sheer ivory ribbon inside a vase with a beautiful bow wrapped around it.
I stare at it, then back at my scattered materials. “No pressure,” I mutter, and Diana grins.
“We only have to make thirty just like this one.”
“Onlythirty?” I laugh.
Diana rolls her eyes playfully.
I knew there would be a lot of centerpieces, but I didn’t realize there would bethismany. Diana wants us to make two for every table, one centerpiece per side of the table, to prevent arguments over who gets to take it home.
Alex appears completely confused when Diana insists that “extra centerpieces for family fighting prevention” is a top priority.
“Baby, I promise, it’s a need, not a want. If we don’t have them, my family will never stop talking about it,” Diana says. Cathia and I nod along. Alex gives the tiniest shake of her head but keeps her mouth shut.
In true Latin family fashion, the centerpieces at the wedding aren’t only for decor, they’retreasures. Everyone knows that by the end of the night, someone’s tía is walkingout with at least one under her arm like she paid for it herself.
We all start making bows, and I do my best to follow her instructions, but they all wind up lopsided, almost as if they’re wilting. Diana just sighs and quickly redoes them.
“Like this,” she says for the third time, giving me another step-by-step.
I try to mimic her, but somehow my bow still ends up stretched out and sad.
She holds it up, squinting at it. “This one looks like it gave up halfway through.”
I wince. “Well, same.”
“Come on, it’s literally two loops and a knot.”
