VIII
Carmen pulled out her phone from her pocket as she walked to the exit of the restaurant with James. She squinted her eyes as she looked at the bright screen, just as she felt someone brush past her. And once she was outside, the sensation of the cool air biting her skin caused her to look up.
"I'll get the car, wait here," James said to her. She nodded as she watched him walk towards the parking lot. She folded her arms across her chest to retain some warmth as she rocked back and forth.
A few moments later, a formally dressed lady walked past her. And as she did, she dropped her phone. Carmen bent down and picked it up for her. The lady smiled as she took her phone from her.
"Thank you," she said to Carmen. Carmen smiled back and as the lady went to put her phone in her bag, Carmen spotted what looked like a familiar name on the screen where a conversation was open. But as she attempted to ask her about the name, the sound of a car horn caused her to turn around to find that James had arrived with the car. She turned around, intending to quickly ask the lady what she was going to ask before but she was gone.
As James drove her to her mother's house, Carmen couldn't stop thinking about the name that she had seen on the lady's phone.
What was her relationship with him? she wondered as she blankly looked out of the window.
The car came to a stop in front of her mother's house and James turned off the engine. Carmen quickly realized that they had arrived and turned her head to look at him with a small smile. He held onto her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, causing her smile to widen.
"Are you sure you don't want us to meet tonight?" James asked.
It had been several days since she and James had decided to make the trip down to their hometown to get their families' blessings so they could finally start planning their wedding. And during the days that followed that decision, Carmen had not been able to stop worrying about what her mother would say.
The last time she had heard from her, she was with Taylor after giving birth to their daughter. But after six years, she would finally be facing her mother once again--and with a new man. How else would her mother react other than to freak out? And so, because of that, she couldn't bring herself to let James go with her; she had to explain everything to her mother and allow her to calm down before introducing them.
She smiled slightly as she nodded.
"You'll meet her soon. It's just that I haven't seen her in a while so I think we should catch up a bit before I introduce you, okay babe?"
She didn't miss the slight disappointment on his face but he smiled to cover it up as he placed another kiss on the back of her hand.
"If you say so, love."
Carmen placed her hands on his cheeks as she looked into his eyes.
"I promise, you'll meet her soon."
She placed a soft kiss on his lips before getting out of the car. James did the same and opened the trunk, taking out her suitcase.
"I'll call you when I get to my parent's house," James told her. She nodded before walking towards the door. But before she could get far from him, he held onto her wrist and turned her around, hugging her tightly.
"Just let me stay like this for a little while, I don't know when I'll see you again," he mumbled from where his lips rested on her shoulder. Carmen turned around and kissed him again, this time giving him as much of her as he could. Because even though she was putting on a brave face, she too didn't know when she would see him again after she entered her mother's house.
---
She watched James pull away from the curb several minutes later before she rang the doorbell, taking in a deep breath. She heard movement inside the house before the door opened to reveal her stunned mother.
"Carmen."
"Mom," she said as she wrapped her arms around her mother, immediately immersed in the warmth that was her mother. She heard her mother sniffle as she wrapped her arms around her. And they stayed in the doorway for a few minutes, both of them now crying.
---
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for six years. How could you just leave without telling me anything?" her mother asked her once they had entered the house and she had made tea for both of them.
"I'm sorry mom, I just," tears fell from her eyes before she even had the time to register what was happening. Memories from when she was taking care of her and Taylor's daughter appeared in her mind, a reminder of how hard life had been for her.
She hadn't asked to get pregnant. She hadn't asked for Taylor to kiss her that night. So why did she have to deal with the baby alone? Why did she have to sacrifice her education and career goals for something that she didn't ask for?
Those thoughts repeated themselves over and over again as she cried. Her mother wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.
"You don't have to tell me everything tonight, sweetheart. You can tell me slowly," her mother told her.
"Can I stay here for a few nights?" she asked her mother through tears.
"Of course, you don't even have to ask."
"Thanks mom."
"Anytime sweetheart."
ns 15.158.61.36da2
