Page 120 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
BEN
I don’t havetime to pull Sienna aside and make her promise to not hold anything that happens at my uncle’s house against me because I’m busy trying to calm Lily, who’s sobbing.
Not caring that she’s getting puke all over my shoulder, I pat her little butt to try to comfort her, but I’m still fuming over what Tía said to Sienna.
Coming here was a bad idea. I don’t know what I was thinking.
That’s just it. I wasn’t thinking. My uncle begged me to come, and I’ve always tried to be the dutiful son, but Teresa crossed a line just now.
I grab Sienna’s hand and reluctantly head into the house. I come up short when I see who’s in the dining room.
What the fuck?
“Janelle. What are you doing here?”
She’s sitting between her parents, dressed conservatively, like she’s about to go to church. She stands and gives me a hesitant smile. “Hi, Ben.”
Lily doesn’t even lift her head, just grabs my neck tighter and sniffles against me. The fact that our daughter doesn’t reach for Janelle speaks volumes.
“Hi, Ben? That’s all you have to say after disappearing for two months?”
Teresa, whose hair is damp from where she obviously washed out my daughter’s vomit, comes up along my side and tsks. “Mijo, be polite. Janelle and her parents want to talk to you.” She glances at Sienna. “By yourself.”
Be polite?My aunt is obnoxious to Sienna and then tells me to be polite?
Janelle’s mom runs up and starts cooing at the baby. At least one person misses Lily.
I squeeze Sienna’s hand as I look Janelle dead in the eye and say, “Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of my girlfriend. We don’t have secrets.”
I venture a glance at Sienna, who gives me a tight smile. She hasn’t run away screaming, so that’s promising.
When Janelle doesn’t say anything, I have to take a deep, calming breath and pray for patience. “Aren’t you going to ask about your daughter? You know, the kid you abandoned?” I wait for her response, but she looks down, her face turning red.
“Now, now, give the girl a chance.” My uncle pulls out a chair and motions for everyone to sit down.
“What do you mean, give the girl a chance? A chance at what? At being a parent? Because I know you’re not trying to get me back together with her. We broke up in high school. That’s a long-ass time ago.”
Teresa closes her eyes dramatically. “I did not raise you to speak like that in my house.”
“You didn’t raise me to chat up my ex about getting back together while I’m dating someone else either. Why don’t y’all be honest and tell me what’s really going on. I need to clean up the baby, but when I get back, I’d like the truth.”
“I’ll do it, Ben.” Sienna takes Lily out of my arms. “It’s okay,” she whispers to me. “Stay and talk. We’ll be right back.”
Wary, I sit at one end of the table, as far from Janelle as I can get. My aunt and uncle reach for the chairs on either side of me, but I stop them. “Sienna sits next to me.”
My aunt rolls her eyes, plants herself at my side, and grabs my arm. “Benjamín, listen, I know you like that girl. She’s very pretty, but looks aren’t everything. You have a duty to your daughter that you need to put first.”
What the fuck does that mean? “Why are you pushing me to get back with Janelle? Were you not listening when I told y’all on the phone that she lied about the paternity and tried to pass off Lily as some other man’s kid? Or what about when she ditched Lily at the lake without bothering to say goodbye to her, or leaving me word about where she’d gone? We called the damn cops.”
Teresa crosses herself and leans over to Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. “Please forgive his language. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
My uncle leans forward. “Mijo, we’re just worried about you. You haven’t been playing a lot this year. And we can’t help but think this girl is distracting you. You even got in a fight, and that’s never happened before.”
Yes, I made the mistake of telling my uncle what had happened with Winston. I’d been going out of my head at the dorms and desperately hoped to put things in perspective. I had no idea he’d throw it in my face later. At least I never told him about the second incident.
“Maybe ask me what’s going on instead of assuming you know. I can’t believe you’d blame Sienna for that. She has nothing to do with football.”
Would I have gotten in a fight with Winston if Sienna wasn’t involved? Maybe not. But he’s had a good ass-kicking heading his way for a long time regardless, and I don’t regret giving it to him.
