Dirty Laundry [REPOSTED]

Chapter 26

"Lance invited me," Keith fumbled, feeling sheepish under her gaze. "We'd been dating for a while - we only felt it was right that I meet the family."

She smiled. It was sweet - if you considered a tightly pulled, obviously forced smile on a seventy year old woman to be 'sweet'.

"I thought it was because you had nowhere else to go to for christmas?"

Keith's eyes widened in surprise.

What was Abuela playing at? Why was she asking these questions? She was more forward than he'd anticipated. Rosa and Jaime told her he was an orphan, he'd assumed that much. But touching on the orphan subject? That was one thing, but doing so publicly? And at the dinner table no less? That was a low call, especially for a woman as respectable as Lance's Abuela. Keith wasn't sure what she was doing, but so far it didn't appear anywhere near good.

He took a bite of food, mostly so he'd have time to think. Once the burning tamale slipped down his throat he spoke.

"You're right." Keith set down his fork casually. "I'm a foster kid. Lance offered to let me stay for Christmas. It's been a nice change for sure."

There was a pause between the two of them. Keith kept his face calm and contained, but Lance he wasn't so sure could do the same- the boy was holding his breath.

"We've loved having Keith here," Rosa interrupted, racing to fill the gap. "He's been a wonderful addition to the household."

Abuela never missed a beat.

"Wonderful for the household? Or wonderful for Lance?" She took a small bite of tamale, the look on her face oozing with something Keith couldn't quite place. Sarcasm? Anger? Passive Aggression? All three?

"I'd say Keith has been more than wonderful for everyone ." Rosa smiled, and it was forced, feigned, all terribly so. Keith couldn't name a single time ever seeing Rosa look so fake. Keith knew that Rosa didn't like her mother-in-law, and it was obvious even now that she didn't approve of Abuela's prying questions.

"I'm not sure about everyone ." Abuela's words were devilish- how she could speak so calmly and appear so terrifying was beyond Keith.

Then, as if he thought his words could come to the rescue, Jaime spoke. He didn't even look up from his food.

"Mother? Would you please just keep your observations to yourself? We are trying to have a peaceful dinner."

Keith chewed lightly, eyes shifting between Abuela and her son.

What was he missing?

"My observations are important, Jaime. You can't ignore them."

Something was going on - was it the fight Jaime and Abuela had been disagreeing over just a half hour earlier? Keith didn't know much context of their disagreement, though one thing could be certain; Keith was a source of that dissent. How much of a role he played was unsure, but he had his hunches.

One thing Keith seemed to gather was that Abuela was against Keith being in the home. The first night he'd met her, Abuela had been composed and kind - in her own strange, barely tolerable way. However, the more time went on, the more Keith discovered that Abuela was only using that as a cover. She was disappointed in Keith's presence- and when Abuela didn't agree with something? Then it was automatically deemed wrong.

A second thing Keith gathered was that Jaime - though still stressed and confused - was trying beyond a doubt to stand at Lance's side. Even if Lance himself didn't recognise it.

"Mother," Jaime repeated. Laying down a fork. "Please stop."

It was then that a switch had flipped.

One moment everyone was sitting quietly - Benji scarfing down food, the cousins conversing with Cleo at the corner of the table - and the next moment? Abuela was slamming her palm against the table.