Page 91 of Guava Flavored Lies

CHAPTER37

In a daze,Lauren plopped down on her parents’ sectional. The U-shaped sofa was large enough to hold her high school softball team. Not that her mother would allow that many teenagers near her overpriced Fabergé eggs. She posed them all around the living room like she was planning the poshest Easter egg hunt.

Lauren’s father tossed his car keys in the glass bowl in the foyer and continued to where her mother was grabbing a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge. “My brother is going to drive your mother home,” he told her before putting his hands on his narrow hips and looking around the kitchen. “She was too shaken up to drive and there are a lot of mailboxes she can take out in three blocks.”

Trays full of food were covering the massive island at the center of the sprawling kitchen. Lauren watched with guilt-induced shame as he considered what to do with the untouched bounty.

Judging by the single dinner plate with sliced pork and a mound of rice, they’d only just started serving lunch when someone realized Lauren was missing.

Instead of a roast pork feast, the Machado clan had left confused and hungry. A terrible combo.

“I should have told everybody to take a plate,” her mother lamented. She cracked open a bottle of vodka and poured a generous amount into the lemonade. “Maybe we can run this over to the shelter now that we’re no longer banned from the premises.”

Her dad accepted two glasses of spiked lemonade. “I don’t think anybody was interested in hanging around. I thought your mother would never stop crying. It was a lot to take in.” He handed Lauren a glass before taking his usual spot at the far end of the sofa.

“Which part was a lot?” Lauren sipped her drink. “The dismantling of everything we know to be true, or that I’m dating Sylvie Campos?”

Her mother did the sign of the cross over herself before chugging her drink. After several gulps of the strong concoction, she joined them on the sofa, taking the spot at the sectional’s bend.

“I don’t know what’s worse.” Her mother shook her head.

“Mom! Seriously? You think me dating someone is just as bad as finding out Abuelo was keeping this huge secret? Actually, not just keeping this a secret, but actively lying to us. Pretending that the Campos family committed this huge betrayal, way after he knew it wasn’t true.”

Her mother’s response was the glugging sound her throat made as she inhaled the vodka drink.

“This great-grandpa thing aside, that family is just a bunch of unlikable jerks.” Her father folded one long leg over the other, resting his ankle on his knee. “That Manny is such a pendejo. Do you notice how he’s always scurrying behind Barbara like a mutant rat?” He did his best rodent impression as if they wouldn’t understand the reference. “It’s weird as hell. What a creep. And a weak creep at that.”

Her mother shook her head. “How else is he going to keep Barbara from flying off the handle and attacking people? He’s probably learned that’s where he needs to stand to stop her before she commits a felony. I’ve seriously never seen someone with such a hair trigger.”

Lauren laughed in disbelief. “Let he who has not sinned cast the first turkey leg.” She set her drink down on a coaster. “Mom, you’ve started just as many fights as she has, come on. Just because you’re a more subtle instigator doesn’t mean you’re innocent. I’m not innocent either and I’ve been owning that. It was easy to always blame Sylvie for everything until I took stock of my own behavior and admitted that I’m an instigator.”

Her father glanced at her mother. “Why did we let her go to California again?”

With a smirk, Lauren tilted her head to the side. “Give Sylvie and her family a fair shot. Maybe if we can all get together—”

“Absolutely not.” Ice jingled in her mother’s glass as she drained the remaining sip. “You’re an adult and we can’t control who you spend time with, but I’m not going to sit down with those people. It’s bad enough we have to see them at every society function. That’s more than enough contact for me.” She plucked her husband’s nearly full glass out of his hand and traded him for her empty one.

“Oh yeah? So what if Sylvie and I are hopelessly in love? What if we get married? You’re not going to come to the wedding?”

Her mother’s dark eyes widened as she nearly spit out her drink. “Married? Wedding? What are you saying? You’re thinking about marrying her? How long have you been seeing each other? How serious is this?” The questions were a rapid-fire assault.

Lauren shifted in her seat. “We haven’t been dating that long, but in some ways, it feels like we’ve been together for years. As difficult as Sylvie is,” a smile sprouted on her lips, “being with her has felt so natural. I’ve never been so comfortable around anyone . . . so completely myself. As corny as it sounds, it’s like I’ve discovered a missing piece. It’s like coming home.”

Her parents shared a worried glance.

“Maybe you feel like that because you just broke up with Jenny,” her father suggested. “That was so recent, maybe you aren’t thinking clearly.”

“It has nothing to do with Jenny.” She shook her head. “I’ve honestly never felt like this about anybody. Listen, I know its nuts, okay? Had anybody told me that I’d be falling in love—”

The admission stopped Lauren short as if her heart leapt into her throat to keep her from revealing too much.

“Love?” Her father leaned forward on the edge of the couch. “Really? Love? That’s a big word.”

Her mother drained the second drink with even more gusto than the first. Lauren slid her glass across the table toward her. A peace offering.

For a long, uncomfortable, time her mother sat in silence. Lauren’s attention darted between her parents. Her father didn’t seem to know what his wife was about to say either.

“You know we love you more than anything. All we want is your happiness.” She took a deep breath. “And if you’re serious about Sylvie, we can try to give her a chance.” It sounded like each syllable was a boulder she had to push uphill.

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