Page 37 of Fixed Up Ever After
If it were possible for eyes to roll all the way to the back of her head, this would have been the moment. She had been late once to one of the functions her mother had put on, simply because she was out doing errands forher. She had yet to live it down and now her mom always asked if she needed to send someone to escort her like a babysitter.
“I think between me and Javi, we’ll manage to make it to dinner.”
“Oh, yes, the young man you brought with you. He’ll be joining us?”
“Yes, Mother.” If there was a reward for forced patience, Lola would win in every category. “He’s my date, of course he’s going to be part of the wedding activities.”
“It’s interesting we have never heard of him, that’s all. No need to get so pressed. Anyway, I actually called you for a different reason. Your sister and I are going out to look for shoes. Can you believe that she hasn’t found her wedding shoes yet? You would think everyone is getting married and buying up all the semi-decent shoes in town. But that means I won't be able to retrieve her earrings arriving today. The front desk graciously agreed to keep them safe. Would you be a dear and check periodically throughout the day? You can bring them to dinner. Are you sure you don’t need me to send for you when it’s dinner time?”
“I’m certain. And yes, I’ll get the earrings. Anything else?”
“No, nothing I can think of. Make sure you and your…erm, boyfriend are dressed appropriately.”
“Perhaps you want to come in and dress us yourself.” Lola tried to hide the bitterness in her tone, but failed.
“Dolores Cecilia Roberts,” her mom reprimanded, throwing out all three names like confetti. Except there was nothing celebratory in her tone.
“Kidding. Yes, I promise myboyfriendand I won’t embarrass you. I’ll see you tonight and don’t ask me again if I need someone to remind me about dinner. I’m not going to forget. Bye, Mother.” She cut the line before Luciana could ask her to do anything else.
“Boyfriend has a good ring to it, don’t you think?”
Her soul jumped all the way out of her body, ascending far into the heavens. She could hear her spiritual self now, telling the golden angel that she died of fright. “How long have you been awake!?” She shrieked and pulled the covers tighter around her as if they could protect her from a smirking Javi.
“Long enough for your mother to call me your boyfriend. Though she didn’t sound fond of me.” Despite having slept on the couch, he looked fully rested and not disheveled like Lola was certain she looked. Her hair alone would take time to tame the bird’s nest it probably was.
“Well you are technically my boyfriend this week, so her assumption is correct.”
“Does being your boyfriend this week earn me a good morning kiss?”
Despite herself, she smiled at his lame attempt at flirting. “Honey, you do not want to kiss my morning breath mouth.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Just a taste, preciosa. I’ll be a happy man.” How this man could make her stomach flutter upon waking up, she would never know. She was certain there was a permanent flush to her cheeks now, thanks to Javi.
She flipped over the blankets, freeing her tangled legs and got up to walk toward him. She stopped right in front of the couch and leaned down, placing a swift kiss to his forehead. “That’s all you get. Now, if you would kindly stop flirting with me so I can get dressed, that would be amazing. Don’t think about checking out my ass when I turn around.”
“Never would dream of it. What type of man do you take me for?”
“Hopefully a decent one. Feel free to get ready here. I’m going to be hogging the bathroom for a bit. We’re on earring duty, by the way.” She turned her back to him and felt his searing gaze on her ass as she walked away. That might have made her swing her hips a bit more dramatically than normal.
* * *
Much to hermother’s dismay, Lola had kept her word and made it to dinner alongside Javi and the damned earrings with five minutes to spare, successfully preventing Luciana’s beloved lectures. Her father and mother lingered outside the hostess stand, waiting to be sat. Marisol and Archie were nowhere to be found, so her mother pegged the wrong sister as tardy.
“My girl,” her father said, wrapping his bulky arms around her. He was the only one in the family that could wrap around her torso and it made her feel safe within his arms. When he pulled away, he shook Javi’s hand with a vigorous handshake. “And Javier, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir. Javier Mendez. Nice to meet you again.”
The conversation lolled soon after that with still no sign of her sister. Lola wasn’t surprised by this though. Marisol had always been notoriously late. It was like time held no meaning for her and when she showed up, that was simply the time she was meant to be there. Oh, how Lola wished she could operate like that, but anxiety made her arrive at everything at least five minutes early.
Their stunted conversation came to an abrupt end when the red-haired waiter came by wearing a smile the size of Texas. Working with a population of people who made money in their sleep, Lola too would smile like that in hopes of a good tip.
“Welcome and thank you for dining with us tonight. If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to your booth,” he said in an English accent. Lola’s stomach churned at the word booth, but she tried not to think too much about it.
Their waiter led them through the expensively decorated restaurant with a stocked bar off toward the right. In the center was a large crystal fire pit with a burning blue fire that added to the ambiance. They were led to a row of booths and she held back a groan.
Her mother’s petite frame scooted in first, followed by her father. Her father had a rounded belly that she always loved. The table pressed up against his stomach and he laughed, patting his belly. “Gotta lay off the Oreos,” he joked. If Lola made that joke, her mother would have died on the spot, but since it came from her husband, Luciana was all smiles and tickled with laughter.
Lola had said it once and she would continue to say it. Booths at fancy-ass restaurants—or most restaurants for that matter—were not built with plus-size people in mind. They were often placed too close to the table in order to fill more of the space with booths and customers.
