Sixty Days (4 page)

I smile at him
. “Your right, we’re just going to have to make it work. If it becomes too, much we’ll just tell everyone the truth. But, I know we can make this work. Plus, your mom and Mama will help us.”

“Tienes toda la razón, those two crazy women would move hea
ven to earth to see us happy.” He gives me that one and only smile of his. His beautiful dimples winking at me, making me fall in love with him all over again.

“
Besides, we could just sneak out and see each other, away from any possible drama,” I yawn. At this moment, I really want to sleep.

“
I like that option. Yeah, let’s do that,” he says and I yawn again. He chuckles at this and tightens his grip on me, pulling me closer to him. “Buenas noches, my heaven,” he softly whispers close to my ear as he kisses my hair

“N
ight, babe.” Just like that, I fall into the deep sleep that always seems to consume me.

I wake up and there is no one by my side.
Through the open door of the bedroom I see that Mickey is talking on the phone. I bet that it’s my brother he is talking to. He, along with Mario, our oldest cousin, and Chino, Mickey’s brother, are set to arrive early this morning. More than likely, the call means that they have arrived at the airport.

“Good morning, my heaven,
” Mickey says to me as he hangs up and sees me coming out of the room, his smile on full display.

“Good morning.
” I smile back at him. “Was that your lover who happens to have the same DNA as me on the phone?” I say, smiling mischievously at him.

Mickey chuckles
.
God! I love that sound.
“Yeah, that was your brother. He, Chino, and Mario are already at the airport. I told him I’d be there soon.”

“The old
traffic excuse?” I look at him quizzically, a half-smile playing on my lips.

He smiles “Yeah
, the traffic excuse. I would’ve gone earlier but I wanted to wait until you woke up. And, before you say it, I know I could’ve woken you up before I left. But, you looked so peaceful, I couldn’t bring myself to wake up such a beautiful sight so I opted to let you sleep,” he grins at me before adding, “Plus, you know how much I love to see that sexy messy bed head of yours every morning. Melts me every time.”

“Oh, you! Always so considerate…what am I ever going to do with you?” I tease. “I guess this means no breakfast together?” I say, a little disappointed.

“
Sure looks like it.” He frowns and looks at his watch. “I have to go, baby. I’ll see you on Thursday. I’m going to miss you like crazy,” he says to me quickly as he heads to the door.

“Wh
at, no last kiss for me?” I ask, my pout on full display. Mickey looks at me as if he suddenly remembers that this will probably be our last kiss until January and heads toward me. Pulling me in his arms, he kisses me with such passion and need that it makes me weak in the knees.

“I could spend an
eternity kissing you, my heaven,” he says breathlessly. “I love you, Laylah. You are my world, remember that.”

“I love you to
o, Mickey,” I whisper to him. Stretching up onto my tiptoes, I hug the love of my life, wishing that we could stay like this forever.

After what
seems like only seconds, Mickey kisses my forehead and we say our good byes. I accompany him to the door and close it as he walks away from me.

I’m left alone in the hotel room for two more days. Part of me wishes that I could come clean with all that’s been happening, but it feels like too much of a risk. I know my parents
. No matter how much they like Mickey, they would never accept him as my boyfriend.

Especially
since we’ve been living together for almost a year now without them even knowing about it. Then, there is Kevin. My big brother tends to be very over protective and will freak out when he finds out. The truth has to come out eventually, I know that, it’s just a matter of good timing.

Right now
, all that goes through my mind is the festivities that are about to come. I’ve always loved the idea of my beautiful, big, happy family getting together. Sure, we’re not perfect, but who in this world is?

I’ve been
in this hotel for what it seems like forever.
Tomorrow I will finally get to see my entire family together as the preparations for the holidays begin. I suddenly find myself picking up the phone and calling the main house. I just need to talk to him, hear his voice. Since he left yesterday morning, our only way of communication has been through text messages or emails.

“
Hello?” Mama answers after the third ring.

“Hey
, vieja, is he there?” I say to her with a little bit of excitement.  She knows who ‘he’ is without asking.

“Claro
, let me call him. How are you by the way?”

“I’m good, r
eady to leave this place. I’ve missed home.”

“I know…I know.” I can hear her smile “Miguel, mijo. Phone
call for you, I’m pretty sure it’s the one you’ve been waiting for.” she says to Mickey away from the phone.

“I’m going to
take it outside,” he tells Mama. I can feel that he is smiling. I’m not sure if it’s the way he speaks or the inflection he gives, but I can imagine his infectious smile as if I’m staring at those beautiful dimple. “Hey!” he finally says to me over the phone.

“Hey…I’ve missed you.”

“I know, me too.” He smiles once again. “God, I’ve missed that sweet voice of yours!” he exclaims.

“Miguelitoo
o! Who’s that you’re on the phone with? A loooooveer?” I can hear my brother nagging him. I imagine Mickey is getting is rolling his eyes at him.

“Shut up
, Kevin! This is a business thing…it’s for a very important job offer,” he nervously lies.

“Sure…I get it.” my brother finally says
, giving Mickey some privacy.

“You know he didn’t believe you, right?” I smile.

Mickey chuckles. “Yeah, I know. Let’s just ignore him for a while. I’m just happy to finally hear your voice”

I smile once more, blushing
. “Me, too,” I sigh.

“You know, the whole family is here. Diana and Carlos are supposed to get here later on during the day. Junior, Angel
, and the girls got here pretty early this morning. And, I think Mary has a thing for me,” he says, keeping me up to date.

“Say it ain’t so…” I can
’t help but smile at the idea of Mary liking Mickey. “I’m not surprised. I always knew she had a little thing for you. Maybe she will like you even more once she finds out about us.” I’m annoyed but I hide it well enough.

Mickey laughs
. “Well, too bad for her. I only have eyes for one woman.” I can’t help but smile at his statement. “Hey, by the way, I talked to John.”

“You d
id?” I ask getting excited. “What did he say?”

“He said th
at as long as we are a hundred percent sure we have the green light to go ahead with it. We agreed that we could all talk more about it later. There are a few more things that he needs to explain to us. What do you think?”

“Mickey, my love, if you’re up for it, I’m up for it. We just have to talk to my parents about us before we go ahead with this plan.”

“Lai, I love you. I really think we can do this. It’s our next step.”

“Actually
, I think we are skipping a few steps there,” I laugh.

He laughs
. “Yes, yes we are. But, since when have we done things by the book?” He’s right, we haven’t really done things like normal people do when they are in a relationship. But, everything we have gone through has made us stronger. I can only hope that this will strengthen us even more.

We spend what seems like
only minutes on the phone. With him, times always flies by so quickly. He tells me everything he and my brother have done since leaving the airport and, how excited everyone is to spend time with each other. He also mentions how Kevin has been worried about me driving all the way from California by myself. This doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s just how my brother functions.

“As much as I hate
to do it, I have to hang up now. People are going to start talking and will eventually figure out that this wasn’t a business call,” he says, sounding a little sad.

“I know. T
hanks for updating me on everything that’s been happening. Let the games begin.” I fake excitement.

He chuckles “Bring it on, baby. I’m ready for t
hem. Let’s kick some ass! I-L-Y,” he spells out.

“I love you too. Have fun
, but not too much fun.” I playfully warn.

“
See you soon, my heaven.” He blows a kiss to me over the phone.

Chapter Two

I

wake up with the sunlight hitting my face.
I look at the clock on my bedside table and see that it’s seven thirty in the morning. I stretch out of bed and let the morning rituals begin. Once I’ve showered, brushed my teeth, and eaten breakfast, I start getting ready for the Gonzalez festivities.

As for
clothes, I decide to wear some denim shorts, a tank top, and my favorite converse black high tops. Finishing off the look, I pull on my leather jacket and decide to let my wavy, long, black hair down. There is no way in hell that I’m putting it up during this time of the year. It’s one of the only times during the year when it doesn’t get all frizzy. After I finished my phone call with Mickey last night, I packed most of my things back up. Stuffing the last of my belongings into my bag, I head for the door.

“Here you go
, ma’am,” the valet says as he hands me the keys to my Jeep.

“Thanks.” I smile at him and
get into the car.

Once inside my Jeep
, I take in a deep breath and hope that everything goes well. I turn the car on and look for something good to listen to on the radio. Like always, nothing. I reach for my iPod and connect it to the radio, putting it on shuffle. The first song that comes out is “California Girls” by Katy Perry. Since I’m supposed to be driving all the way from Cali, I decide what the heck and put it on repeat as I head to the main house.

I spend the
drive to the main house singing the ironical song with my Jeep’s windows down, feeling the wind in my face. As I’m getting near the house, I see a tall, tanned, fit guy with black hair jogging on the streets. I could recognize that figure anywhere. My brother, Kevin. I slowly pull over and whistle at him.

“Vaya papi, y
ou sure are looking good. You are working that sexiness. It’s obvious that the whole hotness thing runs in the family, I hear your sister is even hotter,” I playfully say to him.

“Laylah! Am I glad to see you
! I’ve missed you baby sis,” he exclaims, fatigued by his jog but clearly excited.

“I’ve missed you too
, big bro. How many rounds has it been already?” I ask quizzically.

“Not much. L
ike…half an hour, I think,” he says while catching his breath.

“You’re heading back already?”

“Yeah…”

“Ride?” I pointedly stare at him.

“That, hermanita, is the best idea you’ve ever had.” We both smile. “Can I drive? You must be really tired from all that driving.”

If you only knew big bro…if you only knew.

“Sure…why not?” I say as I slide over to the passenger seat. Kevin jumps into the driver’s seat and we quickly drive the last few blocks to the main house. During our drive, he catches me up on everything that has gone on over the past couple of days. Things that I already know, compliments of Mickey. He eventually asks me how things have been going back in Cali. I don’t say much. I just tell him that everything is pretty much the same as it was the last time he asked me.

“I can’t believe dad actually got to have o
ne of his kids follow his steps,” he exclaims.

“So
, it seems,” I mutter. “So, how’s your thing going? Lots of weddings and shit?” I ask, diverting the conversation away from me.

“Things are going great. It’s what I love to do
. And, yeah, I’ve been getting hired for a lot of weddings and shit, as you so nicely put it.”

Kevin parks right in front of the main house.
Mickey, Chino, and Mario are standing in the front yard, staring curiosity over Kevin driving the Jeep ruling their faces. Kevin gets out of the car, waves at them, and opens the back door to help with my luggage. I do a few breathing exercises to calm myself down before getting out of the Jeep to help with my bags. By help, I mean get lugged down with the majority.

“D
aaamn, Kevin! Who’s the hottie you’ve brought with you?” Chino exclaims, looking me up and down. Mickey looks as if he’s about to sucker punch his own brother, but he just rolls his eyes at him and shakes it off. I can’t help but smile.

“Relax
, Chino, unless you want me to knock you out. No one talks about my baby sister like that,” Kevin says sternly, frowning at him.

“No way, no freaking way! Li
ttle T’s all grown up. Come on! Seriously, chica, is that you?” Chino exclaims, clearly surprised to see me. It has been years since we’ve seen each other. Chino is pretty much like his brother; tanned, tall, fit, and muscular with dark hair and dark brown eyes. But, it’s his naturally squinted eyes that make him stand out. Hence his nickname, Chino, because he sort of looks Chinese. To this day, I still have no clue what his actual name is.

“In the
flesh. We all grow up eventually, don’t we? How’ve you been?”

“Those, what…eight years without seeing you have definitely done you some good. I’m great mami, you?”

Ugh! I hate when they call me mami.

“Well, first of all, last I knew I was no one’s mother so don’t call me ‘mami’ ever again. Other than that, I’m good,” I snap at him.

“Damn girl, you grew up with an
attitude,” he says, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

“I can’t believe my little primita is all grown up. Come here you,
give your favorite cousin a hug,” Mario says to me as he pulls me up in a big bear hug. His hugs always make me feel loved and cherished. Mario is a big, chubby guy with frizzy curly hair he always ties into a low pony tail. But, under all that weight lies a heart of gold any girl would be lucky to have.

I giggle as he put
s me down. “God! I’ve missed you the most, big guy. But, don’t tell the others. We don’t want them to get jealous,” I whisper to him and smile.

“Don’t worry
, you’re secret is safe with me,” he whispers back, smiling.

“Mickey
.” I nod to the love of my life, giving him a secretive smile that he could only understand.

“Lay
lah, hope the trip went well.” He nods and smiles back.

“I
t did, thanks.”

“Oh,
come on. You gave the big guy a hug, but you left your brother hanging!” Kevin exclaims, interrupting our moment.

“I let you drive the monster
,” I say smiling back at him while stretching out my arms for a hug.

“
I’ve missed you, you little brat,” he whispers to me, hugging me tightly.

No
matter how suffocating he can be, I really have missed him. There is no kind of love like brotherly love. Deep down, I know his overprotective ways are because he loves me and cares for my wellbeing.

As we pull out of our hug,
I see my mom and dad come out of the house. My mom has a big, excited, ear-to-ear smile on her face. She’s basically power walking toward me as my dad follows, trying to catch up. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen them, so it’s really overwhelming.

My mom, Diana, looks
like her usual self. Long, brown, straight hair and light brown skin, making her hereditary roots pretty clear. Her amazing hazel eyes and curvy shape makes her look amazingly great for a soon to be forty year old mother of a twenty one year old daughter and stepmother of a twenty six year old, full grown man.

Then
, there is my old man, Carlos Torres. For a forty-four year old father of two, he looks very fit. His thick eyelashes, short, dark hair, and hazel green eyes give him a very mysterious look. He’s half Cuban and half Italian, giving him a pretty unique light olive skin tone. There is something about his posture that screams command, making him appear taller than his five-foot-ten. I remember hearing all the girls, and even some teachers, at my school talking about the crushes they had on my dad. Needless to say, it was completely awkward.

But
, my dad has that kind of charm on everyone. He raised Kevin as a single father up until he met and fell in love with my mom. Even after all these years, their love is still palpable. I only wish to have the same success in my love life.

“Laylah!” my mom shouts out her happiness and pulls me in for an embra
ce, hugging me tightly as if she never wants to let go. My dad eventually catches up and joins us, turning it into a group hug.

“I’ve miss you guys,
” I tell them, breaking up the hug.

“We’ve missed you too
, baby girl. You make us so proud,” my dad says with an ‘isn’t my daughter amazing’ smile. I just nod and smile back, silently wondering how the hell I’m going to drop these major bombs on them.

“W
e should all head inside so you, my dear, can settle in. Mama is going to be so happy to finally see you,” my mom gushes, her beaming smile still on full display.
Oh, boy! If she only knew.
I nod at her and weakly smile once more.

Once
inside, the first person I see is Arianna.
She’s sitting in the family room watching television. As soon as she sees me, she jumps off the couch.

“Aa
aah! Laylah!!! It’s sooooo great to finally see you,” she squeaks out of excitement, She skips her way to me, her long, straight, dark brown hair swaying behind her.

“Ariii!” I say back to
her, mirroring her excitement as I hug her skinny figure.

“Oh my God, we have so much to talk
about. You look even better in person than you do over Skype,” she says to me as we pull away from each other. I can see the excitement written in her big, brown eyes. Ari, unlike her sister, is a sweetheart.

“Right back at ya, cuz!” I say t
o her while smiling.

“This is so exciting!” she finally exclaims
clearly showing her excitement. We both giggle.

“Ok, enough from you…
for now. I’m going to check on Mama,” I finally say to her and smile once more.

“Of course. Mama is in the kitchen
, as always,” she says pointing toward the kitchen. Smiling one last time, she heads back to the couch to continue watching the parade.

When I look back
, my mom and dad are gone and so is my luggage. I head to the kitchen and see my grandmother working on the food preparation. She has the radio on, listening to one of her favorite Puerto Rican singers Gilberto Santa Rosa. She’s singing, cooking, and dancing around to his song, “Me Cambiaron Las Preguntas”. I’ve always loved watching her cook. She just enjoys it so much and seems peaceful. I smile at the sight. My mom and Lola are sitting at the dinner area talking about something. Mama turns around and spots me at the kitchen door. She walks towards me, her one and only angelic smile spreading across her face, making her seem vibrant and youthful.

“Laylah, mi niña. So nice to see you, hop
e the trip went well,” she says throwing a conspiratorial wink at me.

“Hola, vieja. How are you?” I say to her
, smiling back.

“Vieja tu madre! I’m great, happy to see you and everyone else
is finally here,” she says with an ear to ear grin. I giggle at her words. “There is just Lucas missing, I hope he makes it on time,” Mama says, an expression full of worry taking over her beautiful face.

“
When is he coming?”

“Oh,
he should be here by the beginning of next month. It was the only way he could get the time off from work,” she replies her worries suddenly disappearing.

My uncle Luke works
in a public relations company. He’s all work and no play. Luke rarely missing a day of work. According to him, the only way they let him have the time off was if he left at the beginning of December and took all of his vacation time. For a young thirty-three year old living in Los Angeles to never get a vacation is a shame. But, he’s happy, and that’s all that matters.

“You should
go outside and see your uncles,” Mama says, pulling me out of my line of thought.

“Sure. Let me just say hello to Lola.” I smile at her and give her a quick
, warm, loving hug.