by Teresa Roman
“So whose house is this again?” I asked, not wanting to get anybody’s name wrong.
“My Aunt Veronica’s,” Jude replied.
“And she’s your mother’s sister, right?”
Jude nodded and reached for my hand. “C’mon.”
Instead of knocking on the front door or ringing the bell, he took me around the side of the house and reached over the top of a tall fence to unlatch the gate that led to the backyard. Two long tables were set up with paper tablecloths and plastic plates. A large banner that read Felicidades was strung between two trees. Two grills had been fired up, and a group of guys stood around them drinking beer and talking loudly in Spanish.
One of them spotted Jude, shouted his name, and waved him over.
He greeted Jude with a hug. “Who’s this pretty lady you got with you?”
“This is my girlfriend, Dawn,” Jude said. “Dawn, this is my uncle Carlos, Veronica’s husband.”
I held out my hand to shake his. “She’s a real pretty lady, Jude. You better not mess things up.”
Carlos was obviously just trying to be friendly. Still, I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. The truth was, I was shy when it came to meeting new people. I should’ve explained that to Jude, but I was embarrassed by my social awkwardness and hoped I could do a good job of hiding it.
“You need any help out here with the grill?” Jude asked.
“Nah, you two should go inside and find Veronica. She’ll be mad if you don’t introduce her to your girl first thing.”
The introductions seemed never-ending. Besides Veronica, who gushed in Spanish to Jude about how bonita I was, Jude also introduced me to a few of his cousins and another aunt. He had more family in this one small house than I had all put together. Though most of them spoke English, a few didn’t. Thankfully, I’d learned a good amount of Spanish since moving to LA, so I was able to piece together a lot of what was being said.
“When are your parents getting here?” I asked.
Jude reached into his back pocket and glanced down at his phone. “In another fifteen minutes,” he said. “Which means I should go tell Carlos to turn the music down. I’ll be right back.” He took off too quickly for me to ask if I could just go with him. Unsure of what to do, I slowly made my way over to the kitchen where everyone else besides the kids, who were in the living room playing video games, was hanging out.
“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked Veronica. Her back was turned to me as she stood in front of the stove, stirring something in a large soup pot.
“No, mija. Just sit and relax. Do you want a Corona?”
“Um, sure,” I said, more to be polite than anything else. In general beer was not my favorite thing to drink.
“Ana, go get Jude’s girlfriend a beer,” Veronica said to the girl standing beside her. It was hard keeping all the relationships straight, but I remembered Jude telling me Ana was Veronica’s daughter when he’d introduced us earlier.
She walked over to a giant cooler sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, took a beer out of it and then grabbed a slice of lime from a cutting board on the kitchen counter, which she wedged into the opening of the bottle.
“Thank you,” I said as she handed it to me.
Jude returned from the backyard a moment later. “Mama just texted me,” he announced. “They’re on their way.”
“Okay. You remember the plan, right? I’ll answer the door and then tell your parents that there’s something I have to show them in the backyard,” Veronica said.
Jude grabbed my hand, and I followed him outside. The crowd had grown since we’d first arrived. A short, slender woman with long jet-black hair falling down her back was instructing everyone on what to do. She looked so much like Jude, I figured she had to be one of his sisters. We gathered close to the gate that led into the backyard, huddling together since there wasn’t much room in that corner of the yard.
A few minutes later, Veronica’s voice rang out. “There’s something I have to show you first.”
“What is it?”
“You guys ready?” Carlos whispered.
Everyone murmured a quick yes. From where I stood, I could see when Veronica lifted the latch to the gate. She pushed it open and we all shouted, “Surprise.”
Jude’s mother clutched her hand over her heart. “Ay, Dios mio,” she said. “You guys scared me half to death.”
“Happy anniversary,” Veronica said, kissing Jude’s mom first, then his dad on the cheek.
“I can’t believe this,” Jude’s mother said, looking at her guests and the setup in the backyard in awe.
Someone turned the music back up while Jude and his sisters embraced their parents.
“Mama, Papa,” Jude said. “There’s someone I want you to meet. He pulled me closer and wrapped his arm around my waist. “This is my girlfriend, Dawn.”
His mother, whom he introduced as Beatriz, came right up to me and gave me a kiss on my cheek followed by a hug. “So you’re the girl my son can’t stop talking about.” She glanced at Jude. “You’re right mijo, she is beautiful.”
I blushed at the compliment.
“Beatriz, you’re embarrassing the poor girl,” Jude’s dad, Juan, said.
“Ay, I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s been so long since Jude has been this happy. You can’t blame a mother for being excited.”
Jude looked mortified. “Um, are you hungry?” he asked me.
“A little.”
“Good, then let’s get something to eat.”
He pulled me over to the grill where we were both given plates of carne asada. Side dishes filled a small table beside the grill. I helped myself to some rice and salad and followed Jude over to a table so we could sit down.
“Sorry about my mom. She sort of just says whatever comes to her mind.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
We’d been the first two people to sit down at the table, but a few minutes later two girls joined us—identical twins who looked to be about ten years old. “Hey, Tio Jude,” one of them said.
“Hey, Lisette,” Jude replied. He looked at me. “These are my nieces, Lisette and Lydia, my sister Monica’s kids.”
“Is that your girlfriend?” Lisette asked her uncle.
“Yes, she is.”
“Are you guys going to get married?”
I almost choked on my rice.
“You ask a lot of questions,” Jude said.
“Your uncle and I haven’t been together that long,” I said. “We’re really still just getting to know each other.”
“Aunt Patricia married Ricky in Vegas even though they were only together for a few weeks,” Lydia chimed in. “And now they’re about to have a baby.”
“You know what,” I said, getting up from the table, “I think I’m going to grab myself another beer.”
I managed not to trip over my feet as I practically dashed inside the house. Jude’s family was really nice and they were all super friendly, but I’d never been comfortable at large parties and I didn’t like prying questions from people who were practically strangers, even if those strangers were just children.
I grabbed another beer from the cooler in the kitchen. Someone I didn’t remember being introduced to walked by, yanking on her son’s hand and talking in Spanish so fast I had no idea what she was saying.
“Excuse me,” I asked her. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”
“It’s down the hallway and on your left,” she said, pointing in the right direction.
Once I found it, I locked the door behind me, took a big gulp of beer and splashed my face with cold water. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I started talking to myself. “You’re fine, Dawn. Stop freaking out.” Why had a ten-year-old child’s question gotten me so riled?
Calmer, I emerged from the bathroom and returned to the backyard. Half of the crowd was eating, the other half dancing. A woman walked up to me. “You must be Dawn,” she said.
She stuck her hand out and I shook it. “I’m Monica, Jude’s sister.”
Good looks definitely ran in the Morales family. Monica had the same tan complexion as her brother with dark, almost black hair, and piercing brown eyes. Her hair was swept into a neat ponytail without a strand out of place.
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Your daughters are adorable.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I hope they didn’t say anything to you they shouldn’t have. Those two are obsessed with weddings ever since they started watching Say Yes to the Dress marathons on TV. They’ve been trying to pair up everyone they meet, hoping to go to Kleinfeld’s and help dress shop in real life.”
I laughed. “They might’ve asked a question or two.”
“Oh no,” Monica groaned. “I’m so embarrassed. I keep telling them to stop, but they don’t listen.”
“It’s okay, really.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Jude walking over to the two of us. “Hey, Monica,” he said, lowering his head to kiss her cheek before turning his head in my direction. “Where did you go? I’ve been looking for you.”
“In the kitchen to get another beer, then to the bathroom.”
“There are a few more people I wanted to introduce you to,” Jude said.
“You two go ahead, I’m going to find Lisette and Lydia,” Monica said.
Besides Patricia, who was so pregnant she looked like she was about burst, and her husband, Ricky, Jude also introduced me to his two other sisters, Jazmin and Noemi, and a handful of cousins, nieces and nephews. After a while, I gave up trying to remember everyone’s names.
Someone turned the music down and then let out a series of loud whistles to get everyone’s attention. I was glad for the interruption.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate this anniversary with me and Beatriz,” Juan said. “Thirty years is a long time, but it feels like it’s flown by. We have been so blessed to not only have each other, but to have all of you guys, too.” He raised his bottle of beer in the air. “To family.”
A chorus of “salud” rang out.
Jude whispered in my ear. “I should say something, too. I’ll be right back.”
He ran over to his parents and put his arms over their shoulders, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. “Mama, Papa, I just want to say that the two of you are not just an inspiration to me and my sisters, but to everyone who knows you. You’ve taught us how to love and how to be respectful. I only pray that one day I’ll be as blessed as the two of you.”
Another chorus of “salud” rang out. A few minutes after, Monica walked out of the house with a giant cake that she set down on one of the tables. Someone turned the music back up.
Jude returned and took me by my hand, pulling me. “Let’s dance,” he said.
“I . . . I don’t know how to dance to this kind of music.”
“It’s easy, I’ll show you.”
“I’m not really much of a dancer.”
“Oh, come on. You have to dance. It’s a party.”
“I already told you I can’t,” I said, getting flustered.
Thankfully, before he could reply, someone walked up to us with two slices of cake, which we took to a table to sit and eat. I felt awkward. The tension in the air was almost palpable.
“Do you want to get going soon?” Jude asked, apparently sensing it, too.
“Sure. I’m ready whenever you are,” I said, trying not to sound overly eager.
“We should say bye to my parents and my sisters first, Aunt Veronica, too.”
We finished our cake and Jude took my hand, holding it as we weaved through the crowd in his aunt’s backyard. Everyone wanted to know why we were leaving so soon and when they’d get to see us again. After hugs, cheek kisses and a lot of, “It was nice meeting you,” exchanges, Jude and I made our escape.
The silence in Jude’s car as he drove stood in such sharp contrast to the noise and commotion of the party we’d just left.
“So what did you think of my family?” Jude asked.
“They’re really nice.”
“They like you, you know.”
“That’s good,” I said, relieved that my reserved personality hadn’t put them off too much. I’d done my best to be friendly, but meeting so much of Jude’s family all at once was overwhelming and difficult for someone as introverted as I was.
Another heavy silence fell like a thick curtain. After several minutes of it, Jude glanced at me and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Why do you think anything is?”
“It was what my nieces asked you, wasn’t it? You’re worried again about things moving too fast.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. I can tell because you’re pushing me away again.”
“I am not.”
“Then tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing. How many times do I have to tell you that?” I shook my head, trying to figure out a way to explain what I was feeling. “It’s just that I’m not very good with parties and large crowds. I’ve always been kind of shy.”
Jude glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “If it was more than that, you’d tell me, right?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling guilty for partly lying, but at the same time hoping things would sort themselves out eventually, and that sooner or later this fear that gripped my insides would let go.
“So does that mean we’re still on for tomorrow?” he asked as he pulled into the driveway of my apartment complex.
“Of course we are.”
He parked and I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Good night, Jude,” I said before darting out of the car.
Tomorrow would be better, I told myself as I put my key in the doorknob and turned it. Because tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. What could possibly go wrong?
Chapter 13
Jude arrived at my apartment the next morning with a bouquet of roses in a gorgeous glass vase and a box of chocolates in his hands. I’d had the whole night to talk myself out of my crazy thoughts and his bright smile further chipped away at my silly fears. It was our first Valentine’s Day together. I was not going to ruin it.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, beautiful,” he said.
I gave him a kiss, took the flowers and chocolates from him and placed them on the table. “The flowers are beautiful,” I said, staring at them. “Thank you.”
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yup, I’m starving.” I grabbed my jacket and quickly put it on.
As expected, the restaurant was packed. Thankfully we’d made a reservation. Once we were seated and our brunch orders taken, Jude reached across the table for my hand. “I have something else for you,” he said.
“You mean another gift?” He nodded, then reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a black velvet box and handed it to me. Hesitantly, I took it. “You really didn’t have to. The flowers and candy were more than enough.”
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. You’re special to me, Dawn, and I want to show you that.”
Curious, I opened the box. In it lay a necklace with two intertwined platinum hearts. One had my birthstone set in it, the other his. He had to have had it custom-made. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, but all I could think as I stared down at it was that it was too much. I’d agreed to be his girlfriend, but we were still getting to know each other, which meant it was too soon to be giving each other such intimate presents.
“Do you like it?” Jude asked as I stared at it.
I lifted my head to look into his eyes. “I didn’t get you anything,” I said. “I thought we were just going to have brunch and maybe take a walk and hang out. I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts.”
“I’m not expecting anything in return,” he said.
I had no idea how to respond. Thankfully, the server arrived with our food before I could come up with something to say. I
didn’t want to hurt Jude’s feelings, but I feared that’s where things were headed.
We ate mostly in silence. I made a comment about the weather, which was gorgeous. The sky was a beautiful cornflower blue, with only a few white fluffy clouds, and the temperature perfect, warm with a slight breeze.
“Yes, it is a beautiful day,” Jude agreed, and even smiled, but the light that usually came on in his eyes when he did wasn’t there. I felt guilty, realizing it was my fault and that I desperately needed to do something to salvage our date.
After we finished our meals I suggested that we take a walk around Old Town, a beautifully manicured section of Pasadena with all sorts of shops and restaurants hoping that would melt some of the tension between us and give us more of a chance to talk. Maybe I’d even work up the courage to tell him to save the necklace for another time. But somehow I just couldn’t think of the right words to say. Despite the beauty of the day, an uneasy feeling blossomed in the pit of my stomach and grew with each step we took.
“Can I ask you something,” Jude said after a while.
“Of course.”
“Why won’t you put the necklace on?”
I couldn’t think of a reason that didn’t sound terrible. There was no good way to explain to the person you were dating that you weren’t ready to wear a necklace that basically announced to the world you were in a serious relationship. It wasn’t that I minded people knowing I was with someone. I just couldn’t help but feel like the necklace was Jude’s way of staking his claim on me, and I didn’t like that. I tried telling myself I was reading too much into the situation and even though I didn’t want to, I pulled the necklace out of my purse and took it out of the box it came in. “Can you give me a hand?”
Jude helped me with the clasp. I stared down at it. It really was lovely, and modern-looking, a style I preferred. I needed to talk myself out of my crazy thoughts and fears, because I was determined not to ruin this day. I took Jude’s hand. He smiled as I did. Putting the necklace on had appeared to put Jude at ease, but I was no less anxious than when he’d first given me the gift.
