"Is she okay with this?" Clara asked nervously as she walked up behind Camila and motioned to the younger brunette moving around the apartment frantically, busying herself until Michael's arrival.
"She's fine." The diva tried to assure her but concern slipped out with her words. "She's just feeling a little protective right now."
"Shouldn't I be the one protecting you two from what he's going to say?"
Camila didn't respond. She knew Lauren was most nervous about what Clara was going to say and was wanting to protect Camila from the pain of possibly losing another mother. But Camila pushed that fear away. From what Clara had said at their previous dinner, she had no intention of just falling back into her old life. Lauren was probably just preparing for the worst, not the probable.
"Was he always as bad as he is now?" Camila asked quietly and Clara shook her head as she walked around to the other side of the counter.
"When everything goes like he believes it should be, he's wonderful." The older woman explained with a light smile on her lips that left Camila with the feeling that Clara was still very much in love with him. "When things are perfect, he is charming, suave, chivalrous, even a little humorous."
Camila cringed internally as the words Clara was using to describe such a vile man were words that the diva used to describe Lauren. The difference was, things didn't have to be the way Lauren wanted them to be in order for her to act that way. That's just how she was, not a reward for doing what she wanted you to.
"Michael is... you aren't really going to like me saying this, and don't repeat it to Lauren. But those two are actually a lot alike." Camila's brow raised, completely not expecting that. I mean, she was just thinking it, but to have it confirmed was something very different. "They both have different faces that they put on for different situations. Lauren has fallen out of that habit over the years, but I'm sure you remember her in high school. From what I hear, the Lauren you all knew and saw day to day was nothing like the one I had at home."
"So, you're saying that Michael is just acting like he hates Lauren?"
Clara smiled and nodded her head.
"I don't get it."
"Why did Lauren act like she hated you when you were younger?"
The diva really wasn't liking this comparison, more so now that it was starting to seem logical. "She acted like she hated because she thought she was supposed to. She was at the top and I was at the bottom. It's what she was supposed to do."
"Right. And Michael is a 'Christian' who is supposed to think homosexuality is immoral."
"But you can think that without saying your own daughter is going to rot in Hell or call her all sorts of horrible names. I mean, you did."
"She could have also shunned you without throwing a slushie in your face every day, but she didn't."
"I think we are comparing apples to oranges here."
Clara shook her head and took a seat on the stool. "We're not. What makes how she treated you and how he treated her different, is one word: family. Subconsciously, we feel family is a sacred bond undone by nothing, but if you take that out of the way, the situations are very similar. She called you names because she was supposed to disapprove of you. He called her names because he was supposed to disapprove of her. He doesn't hate her. He hates her lifestyle, but can't separate the two. He is very black and white when it comes to problems. There is no middle ground. He either wins or admits complete and utter defeat, ungracefully so. Sound familiar?"
That was very much Lauren. However, like Clara had said, the younger brunette was falling out of the habit but Camila could remember things from their past that fit perfectly with Clara's words. "Where exactly are we going with this?" She had forgotten in her uneasiness with the topic.
"You asked me if Michael was always this bad and I told you no, comparing him to Lauren so you could see that what they project isn't always what they feel. They are deep individuals who rarely let their true feelings be known."
"I'm pretty sure Michael has no issues letting people know how he feels."
"You can go by what you've seen and heard about in high school, or you can go by what his wife of over thirty years is telling you. That's your call."
Camila mashed her lips between her teeth as she thought. She didn't like how Clara was already defending the man and completely oblivious to the fact that she was. "Why didn't you stand up for Lauren when he kicked her out at?"
"I was scared." Clara replied with a hint of sorrow in her voice.
"Scared of what exactly?"
"I'm not trying to justify how he has treated her over the years, if you are concerned about that. I was just trying to give you a better understanding of how he thinks. I wasn't saying the two are identical or act the same, just that they have similarities."
Camila leaned down on the counter, resting her chin in her hands as she watched the older woman dodge the question. "I know that and I understand it. Now I'm asking why you were scared."
Clara's eyes reddened a little as she held back her tears and the diva was beginning to wonder if she was really ready to stand up tonight and not go running back to Michael because she was scared of him. "If Michael kicked out his sixteen-year-old, defenseless, and pregnant daughter onto the streets because he was angry with her choice, what do you think he would have done with me?" Camila sat up and rethought her assumption on why Clara was tearing up. "I know, it was selfish. I sacrificed my daughter for myself. I watched her pack her bags and leave so I wouldn't have to pack my own."
Camila had to fight the urge to verbally agree with her, causing the woman to feel worse in the process. This was a very different Clara sitting in front of her than the one they were discussing. She needed to remind herself of that and apparently, she needed to remind Clara of that too. "You're here now and Lauren has forgiven you for the past."
Clara flipped her head to toss her hair out of her face as she wiped away the tear that escaped. "But I won't ever forgive myself. All I can do is try and make up for it."
"And you're doing that." The diva assured her. "You're a good mother. A good mother to Lauren now, and to me. You've taken me under your wing and taught me all of the things my dads couldn't about marriage from a woman's perspective. You've already started teaching me so many things about raising a family that I wouldn't have been able to find in a book or online. You are nothing like the woman we were just talking about. You've changed for the better."
"I'll agree with that." Lauren stated, joining the pair and wrapping her arms around her mother from behind, pulling her into a light hug. "I can definitely agree with that."
The buzzer rang and all three women stared at the elevator for a minute. "I guess I'll go get him." Camila offered.
"No." Both brunettes cried out in unison.
"Yes." The diva retorted, her mind already made up. Her approach to Michael Jauregui, her soon to be father-in-law whether he liked it or not, was going to be killing him with kindness. "If you think I am in danger then you can watch from the window to make sure he doesn't kidnap me."
Lauren was not amused but did exactly what the diva had suggested as soon as the elevator doors closed. "Can you see him?" Clara asked as the younger brunette pressed her face against the window.
"Barely."
~/~
Camila swallowed hard around the lump of nerves in her throat as the elevator doors opened on the bottom floor. Her acting skills were going to be needed tonight. She couldn't show any fear or concern. Lauren had warned her about that. He could smell it and always used it, even if he gained nothing out of it.
"Good evening." She greeted him as she opened the door with a beaming smile. He looked at her for a second, seeming almost startled by her friendliness.
"Good evening."
That was a pleasant start so far. "Follow me and I'll show you up." He looked around before getting into the elevator and crossed his hands in front of him, trying to increase his size over the petite diva. "Have you been to New York before?" She asked as the doors closed and she selected their floor.
"No. I haven't."
"Have you been able to see much of the city?"
He shifted nervously but refused to make eye contact, staring at the illuminating floor lights instead. "I have taken a few walks. It's a very big place."
"Yes, it is. Always something to see and something to do." Thankfully they arrived as the conversation hit a lull. Michael looked around with the same stern look on his face until his eyes fell on Clara and Lauren in the Kitchen. The older brunette was still sitting on the bar stool looking at him while Lauren had returned to her spot behind her, her arms tightly around her mother's shoulders.
Michael cleared his throat and followed Camila further into the apartment. That's when the awkwardness really started. There were no introductions because everyone was obviously aware of the other's identity but there were no hugs or handshakes either, just emotionless stares, waiting for the other to make the first move.
"Did you find the place alright?" Lauren asked, opting for a neutral conversation starter, much to Clara and Camila's surprise and relief.
"It's not too terribly difficult when you give the taxi driver the address." His comment would normally be taken as a snide remark, but his tone of voice didn't match. He was stating it as fact, not insult.
Lauren nodded her head and released her arms around Clara to motion to the table. "Have a seat. Dinner is just finishing up."
"What are we having?"
"It's a vegan casserole." The young brunette offered as she took a seat at the head of the table, the seat which was normally considered her father's place of dominance. He noticed and paused for only a second before taking a seat next to her.
"Vegan?"
"Camila doesn't eat meat or dairy." Clara explained as she walked around to the other side of the table but left a seat for the diva to sit next to Lauren.
"That's because she's Jewish, right? She can't eat meat?"
Lauren shook her head. "There are some meats she can't eat because of her religion. This is based on personal belief."
"Another personal belief of mine, is that a certain brunette should get off her butt and comes help me."
Lauren glanced down and tapped her fingers on the table for a few seconds as Clara and even Michael suppressed their smiles before she stood to help the diva, kissing her cheek in apology. Lauren may have been above her father in the pecking order tonight, but Camila was top dog in the brunette's world. What she wants, she gets. "What would you all like to drink?"
Clara held up her glass. "I'm good. Thank you."
"Scotch."
"No alcohol." The youngest Jauregui replied quickly, causing her father to turn around in confusion.
"She doesn't drink either?"
"No, I drink." Camila stated, setting her glass of wine down at her spot before returning to the kitchen, hoping the man understood that Lauren meant no alcohol for him. "But what would you like?"
She could tell by the faint scowl on his face that he understood. "Water."
The diva was getting a small taste of how the Jauregui family functioned in the past. He sat at the head of the table, expected to be waited on, and all of which without so much as a please or thank you. She was going to pick her battles with him tonight. They had just told him he wasn't allowed to have alcohol, correcting him on improper etiquette would not be a wise move at the moment.
"So, Michael." Clara began, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear and with a confidence he had never seen before as she sipped her drink. "What brought you to New York?"
"So, you want to jump right into that now? Don't you think it would be nice to enjoy dinner first?"
She shook her head. "Neither myself nor the girls are going to be able to enjoy dinner until we know why you're here. So, we might as well start the conversation now."
He shuffled in his seat and glanced over his shoulders to the younger women who watched as they worked. He clearly wasn't intending on having this conversation while they were present. He was out of his comfort zone and no longer in control. With a clearing of his throat, he started. "I came with the hope of reconciling with you. I thought maybe we could talk things out and that maybe you would consider coming home."
"I am home." She stated as fact. "I live in New York now and I love it here. Miami isn't the place for me anymore. I have a job, real friends, not the fake ones from church. I have my daughter and will soon have another that I have already grown very fond of." Michael's shock had set in. She wasn't even open to the consideration of going back to Miami and she stated as much with a great deal of confidence and certainty.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Quit my job, sell the house, and leave everything behind so I can move to New York with you on this midlife crisis you're going through." Lauren halted her work and tensed slightly.
"It's not a midlife crisis I'm having. It's just a life. And I'm not expecting you to do anything. I'm not asking you to do anything. I love you and there are times that I miss you, but there are a lot of times I really, really don't. I'm not going back to what we had in Miami."
Michael tensed as Lauren relaxed and tried to steady his frustration, completely forgetting about the couple behind him that had stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange. "You're my wife. How can you be my wife from New York?"
"You're my husband. How can you be my husband from Miami? One thing that everyone always said, but we never followed, is that a successful marriage is made of compromises. But not just from one person." Clara remarked before taking a sip of her water. "Maybe that's why we don't have a successful marriage."
"So, you're wanting me to give up everything?"
"I want you to do what you need to do to be happy. I'm happy here and I'm not giving it up. I'm not saying I couldn't be happier, but I am happy."
The man sat there for a few silent moments and Camila's eyes darted between the three Jauregui's, unsure of what was going on. She took Lauren's calm demeanor to mean that it was nothing serious... yet. "This isn't just about me moving to New York because you like it better, is it? You're wanting me to humble myself. To beg for forgiveness because I let you go and follow her here."
Clara glanced at her daughter over his shoulder and smiled softly at her. "Humble yourself, yes. Beg for forgiveness, no. I'm actually very thankful to you for allowing me to follow her. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world that I feel more at ease with." Lauren beamed a smile at her mother. She was showing an amazing amount of strength and poise. Clara was in her comfort zone. She was in Lauren and Camila's apartment, with their support, and Michael was more or less on his knees. She was empowered.
"If..." He stumbled, lowering his voice. "If I move here, we can try again?" Camila was seeing something she wasn't expecting, defeat in Michael. He wanted his wife, loved her, and was actually considering giving something up for her.
Clara reclined in her chair, not really expecting him to cave like that either. "It isn't that simple. I'm not going to fall back into an unhappy marriage in just a different state. I've changed and I need to know that you have as well. The fact that you are considering moving here is a start, but there is more to the picture now."
"Like what?"
"Like why I moved here. Your daughter and her fiancé." Lauren stretched her hand out and Camila took it. She pulled the diva in close because she knew this was going to get rough. "I can't let you back into my life knowing that you will make theirs a living hell."
"What are you wanting me to do exactly? They are making their own lives hell."
"What I want is for you to love your daughter unconditionally." Clara pleaded but Michael shook his head, not so much as a refusal, but as a reaction to the emotional whirlwind he was experiencing.
"Then you want me to abandon my Christian morals."
"No." She corrected him calmly, fighting the uprising of her emotions as he struggled with his. "I want you to embrace those morals. Acceptance of those who are different, tolerance, love, passion, family worth. I want you to be the Christian man you claim to be."
"The Bible says that homosexual offenders will not inherit the kingdom of God. It is wrong and I cannot accept it as right."
"You're forgetting the whole list." Lauren stated calmly, reminding him of her presence and that she too knew the Bible. He looked at her and the petite brunette in her arms. "Because that list also includes adulterers."
"God can forgive me for my indiscretion because I am ashamed of it. You..." He shook with his rising anger. "You embraced it. You say it is love and pure and that I should be happy for you."
"No. I'd never ask you to do that. I don't want anything from you other than for you to leave me, my fiancé, and my mother alone. However, she is apparently wanting something different."
He looked back at Clara whose posture was still strong. "You want me to just ignore their immoral behavior?"
"If that is what it takes to keep the peace, then yes. I found that keeping my opinions to myself, and allowing them to be themselves, I learned that they love each other as deeply if not deeper than you and I do. They sacrifice themselves for each other."
"They sacrifice their souls for each other." He corrected her and his jaw dropped as Clara shook her head.
"I don't believe that's true, and even if it was, it's not for me to judge. It's not for you to judge. You have done your job as a Christian man by telling them that the Bible doesn't support what they are doing. Now it is up to God to decide if they are worthy for His Kingdom. All that is left for you to do is enjoy the rest of your life. And if that's going to be with me, then you need to learn tolerance. If you can't do that, then you should get up and leave right now."