He garbled something loud and with conviction. Sofia lifted her eyebrow pretending to understand him. “Really?”
“I still can’t get over how much he looks like you, Sal,” Eric said.
“You think? I think he looks like Grace.”
“Nah,” Romero shook his head. “That’s all you. Poor little dude.”
Sofia walked over to where Valerie and the other women sat at the picnic table They were making tortas. Sarah helped Savannah with hers while Valerie tried to calm Sienna who was whining about something.
“What’s wrong with her, babe?” Alex asked.
“Nothing she’s just getting fussy. This is their usual naptime.”
Angel came up from behind Sienna where she stood on the bench next to Valerie and kissed her head. “Naptime, Sienna?”
She put her arms out and he picked her up.
“Oh sure,” Valerie said. “She’s all smiles for uncle Angel.”
Angel walked away with her toward the other guys putting up the tent.
Sofia sat down in the space Sienna had occupied. Rose was lying on the beach with a towel over her face since before she and Eric had gone out into the water. At nearly eighteen, she was just as womanly looking as any of the other women here today. “Grace,” Sofia motioned to Rose. “Is she okay?”
Grace glanced back at Rose and nodded “She’s just tanning.”
Sofia lowered her voice. “Is she finally over… you know?”
Grace shrugged. “She says she is but sometimes she still seems a little down.”
“Maybe once he gets out of the Army they can—”
“No,” Grace said firmly. “She wants nothing to do with him again—ever.”
Sofia wouldn’t say it but she remembered Grace saying the very same thing about Sal once upon a time. She glanced back at Rose again. Never say never.
Romero
Seeing Isabel emerge from the ladies’ room for once not looking like a ghost made Romero smile. Ever since she’d dropped the news about being pregnant he’d been a wreck. Him a dad? Sure Manny and Max were already on board with helping out. Even though they could afford to buy a play set which the baby wouldn’t be using for years anyway, those two nuts were already building one from scratch.
Manny had tapped his chest several times already saying it was being built straight from the heart. Even when that hand had a bandaged thumb from where he’d hammered it. Romero chuckled. That probably wouldn’t be the last bandage the building of that play set would be producing.
“What are you smiling about?” Isabel said slipping her hand in his as she reached him.
“I was just thinking about the play set Manny and Max are building.”
Isabel turned to him. “I thought you told them not to bother. That’s a huge job they’re taking on.”
“Yeah, you try telling those two. Aida said it’s just another excuse for Manny to go out and buy more power tools.”
Isabel laughed. “Oh well, as long as they’re enjoying it.”
“You sure you don’t wanna find out what we’re having?” Romero’s eye teased. “Because Manny said if it’s a boy they could make it into a real cool looking fire station theme. And if it’s a girl he has this whole castle theme he could do instead.”
Isabel’s eyes teased right back. “Yeah, well what if it’s one of each?”
Romero stopped and looked at her, barely able to take another breath. Then she laughed. “I’m kidding!” Romero clutched his chest. “But it’s a possibility. Not only that, I wanna have more than one. What if we do have one of each eventually? They should keep it neutral.”
They’d started walking again and Romero’s heart was still trying to get over her unfunny joke. Then he thought of what she’d just said. More than one. Here he was barely getting used to the idea of having one kid and Izzy was already thinking more?
As they got closer to their campsite and Romero took in everything he had to smile. Damn what a turn his life had taken ever since he met the perfect girl. All those nights of partying and meaningless sex he would’ve never imagined his life turning into this. He watched as Sal applied sun block on his son and tried unsuccessfully to get him to wear a sun hat. Then he turned to Eric and Sofia who lay on the blanket under the tarp. Eric’s hand stroked her belly gently, making Romero raise an eyebrow. Could they be? Nah, they would’ve said something already. Though he wouldn’t put it past those two. They could barely keep their hands off each other.
Alex was showing one of his girls how to reel in the line on the fishing poles while the other one gave Valerie a hard time about putting on her water shoes. Romero still couldn’t tell them apart but if he had to guess based on their actions, Sienna was the one fighting the water shoes.
Angel and Sarah were far out in the water doing God knows what. Why did everyone think they were so sneaky when they did stuff like that? There was only one reason you’d go out so far.
“Let’s go in the water.” Isabel said, tugging at his hand.
“You sure?” Isabel hadn’t felt like doing much since they got here. The damn morning sickness really was doing a number on her.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said with a smile.
Once in the water up to their chests, Romero pulled her to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “So is this kid going to go by Romero, too?” she asked.