Roads That Cross...

... With Interruptions (Part 2)

His shoulders sagged and he smiled. "Great."

"And, if you really want me to... I'll talk with your mom."

He perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, I'm gonna have to eventually, and she's less likely to murder me through the phone than in person so it's actually a good plan," she reasoned. "I just have a couple questions first though."

"Sure, what questions?"

She shrugged, acting nonchalant. "You know, the basics. What's your mom's name? What's she like? I mean, you've mentioned her but, I don't know, just out of curiosity— Could you tell me some of her likes and dislikes?" She grabbed her phone and opened the Notes app. "Not an extensive list, just about 20 of each. Or all you can think of, it's fine either way."

Simón laughed and shook his head. He leaned over the table to leave a kiss on Ámbar's forehead and stood to go back to work.

"I was being serious!" She called after him.

"I know!" He said right back and disappeared behind the bar's wall.

Ámbar leaned back in her chair and huffed. She really hoped she wouldn't have to resort to stalking Simón's mom on social media, but if he thought she wouldn't do that, he was dead wrong. She was gonna win over that woman.

*****************

That night, Simón returned to the mansion with the guys, Luna and Nina after having been rehearsing for Matteo's video for a couple of hours. Luna and Nina had shown everyone the spot where the shooting would take place, which were some alleys outside an abandoned warehouse. It surely had street vibe and Luna was certain it would look even better when they installed the lights.

Jim had shown them the choreography she had come up with for the song, which was very cool. Clearly dancing was her thing and it showed on her bright face how much she loved it. Simón tried to follow her along with Matteo, Pedro and Ramiro, who had also agreed to help.

It was really nice of him to do so even when they hadn't given him an answer yet about his request to return to the Roller. If anything, it showed that he really wanted to fix things with them regardless of being on the team or not.

After the unsuccessful team meeting the day before, they hadn't had another to discuss the topic, but judging by the conversations Simón had had with some of the guys, he believed that Ramiro's return to the team was already a reality. Everyone was focused on Matteo's video right now, but once that was done, and with Ramiro's help to top it all off, he was pretty sure everyone would welcome him back.

The one who seemed the more averse to the idea was Yam. Simón understood that she had been the one most hurt by Ramiro's actions, but he didn't think it was fair for her to disregard Ramiro's attempts to make amends. Even now, she had claimed she was busy working on the outfits and that was why she wouldn't go with them to the rehearsal, which might had been true, but Simón suspected the real reason was that she didn't want to face Ramiro until she absolutely had to. Ramiro hadn't said anything, but he did look a little disappointed when Luna said Yam wouldn't be joining them. Simón really hoped they could fix things between them eventually.

The rehearsal had been tiring but very fun. They all entered the mansion laughing and joking around; even Nina who was usually more reserved. Mónica walked out of the dining room and received them with a smile. She asked how the rehearsal had gone, to which everyone answered that it'd been great and told her some of what they'd come up with for the video.

"Mom, can Nina sleepover tonight?" Luna asked once they finished retelling.

"Of course, sweetling. Nina is always welcomed here," Mónica said kindly. "Do you have something to do for school or is it just for fun?"