When they arrive, the restaurant is set up on the beach and packed with wealthy, posh people. Dahlia instantly feels out of place, but puts on a confident face, so maybe no one notices that she doesn't fit in such a nice place.
"Hold my hand," whispers Jenna, as a waiter leads them away to sit at her mother's table.
Dahlia reaches out, breathes, and tangles her fingers. They walk to the table, her mother looking at her phone as she approaches.
"We're here," Jenna smiled a little, shaking hands. Her mother looks at them, and Dahlia instantly feels uncomfortable.
"Jesus, Jenna, Camila and Juan are going to be here in minutes and you couldn't even bother putting on a little makeup to make yourself look presentable?" Her mother gets up from the table, grabbing her arm and leading her towards the bathroom. " Come with me."
Dahlia and Jenna's hands then separate, and she swallows, left alone now in this impossibly fancy restaurant. And she feels bad for Jenna too, who even stepped out of her comfort zone to please her mother and that was still somehow not good enough.
She waits for five minutes, ten minutes, and just as she starts to worry, she spots Jenna and her mother approaching, Jenna looking completely drained of energy as her mother still picks her up on their way. .
Jenna walks over and sits next to Dahlia, now wearing lipstick, eye shadow and mascara. She pushes her hair back, before taking a huge glass of her mother's margarita from across the table.
"At least you look pretty now when you're completely rude," her mother rolls her eyes, snatching the drink from her hands. "Doesn't she look so much better, Dahlia? I don't know why you would even put up with her if she can't even try to be pretty for you on occasion. It is a terrible waste."
Dahlia is in absolute shock. Not only that anyone could say something so mean, so bad, but especially a mother figure; someone who is supposed to love you and tell you that you are beautiful all the time, even if you don't feel like it. Not that.
Dahlia looks at Jenna, who is looking at the table, her finger tracing over her napkin. Dahlia swallows as she reaches out, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
"Actually, Miss Ortega, I don't agree," she tells her, and Jenna turns to look at her. Her mother looks confused, annoyed, but Dahlia doesn't care. "I think she's still beautiful. And even if she wasn't - which she is - beauty isn't everything, anyway."
You wouldn't think saying something nice about someone would warrant such a look of pure hatred from their mother, but in this case, it does.
Jenna looks at her, smiling a little to say thank you. Dahlia nods, smiling back.
"Finally," her mother speaks, and Dahlia and Jenna look at her. Dahlia thinks she's retaliating against her for a moment, before she sees what she's looking at: an approaching couple, who she thinks are the expected members of the family.
"She gets really fake around my Aunt Camila. She's super jealous, which is one of the reasons she wants me to look perfect all the time." Jenna whispers to Dahlia, and she nods, finding the whole thing completely ridiculous.
"Jenna! It's so good to see you" comes the aunt giving her a hug. " And it's...?"
"Dahlia," smiled Jenna, pulling back from their hug. "My Girlfriend"
"Oh, Girlfriend?" Her aunt looks at Dahlia, sizing her up, trying to decide what to think. "I can't believe you finally did it. Your mother always talked about how this would never happen!"
"Yeah, well," Jenna replies with a sigh.
"Hello, Dahlia," she holds out her hand, she shakes it with a greeting, before she turns around and says, "Juan? This is Jenna's Girlfriend . Can you believe it?"
Dahlia and the aunt's fiancé then shake hands, and while Dahlia smiles at him, this guy shoots daggers at her with just a glance. So none of her family members are nice, then. Good to know.
"Oh, I know," laughed Jenna's mom, sitting back in her chair to sip her margarita. "At first, when she told me she was bringing someone, I thought she was lying! I thought she would come and lie about how she couldn't come, and that would be it. But here she is, holding Jenna's hand."
"And I'm so incredibly happy," Jenna ignores her mother and aunt's sarcastic comments, resting her head on Dahlia's shoulder. Dahlia breathes nervously, putting on a smile as she wraps her arm around her.
"What a lovely couple. So how did you meet?" The aunt asks, clinging to the waiter to bring a drink. Dahlia feels Jenna tense at the rude gesture, but she soothingly squeezes her arm to calm her down, and remind her that this is all an act anyway. They can do it. "I thought we might have to arrange an intervention for you if you showed up at my walk-in wedding. But it looks like you're finally putting some care into your appearance, so good for you. It had to pay!"
Dahlia feels angry. Seriously angry, as Jenna puts her arms around her and tries to act like everything is fine while they completely tear her down on everything. It's especially awful when it's on top of something as silly and superficial as she looks.
"Babe, do you want me to tell the story?" Dahlia asks, smiling at her. She doesn't want her to have to talk or pretend that everything is okay right now, because it's not. This can not be it.
Jenna nods, swallowing. " Yes of course. It sounds better when you say it anyway."
"Awww," they all respond, nodding as they wait for Dahlia to begin. she's so nervous her hands are shaking - scared she'll mess it up and mess it up, or get asked a question she can't answer. But she does it for Jenna, because she knows she would want someone to do it for her if she had been in that situation.