A string of dots raced across her bed from where light filtered in through the holes in her blinds from where the strings held the slats shut. That, however, was not what woke her. Nor was it the sound of their neighbors miniature something-or-other barking outside. Wasn’t even the guy across the street starting up his motorcycle before leaving for work.
No, it was the smell of breakfast that caused Sonia to stir. Smoked paprika, chorizo with garlic and no doubt eggs to go along with it.
Damn she’s good, stomach growling loud enough that one would think that she hadn’t been fed in over a week. Sonia rolled out of bed, still in her clothes from the day before, and put on a pair of slippers.
This wasn’t some typical toast and cereal kind of morning. No, this was one of those breakfasts where everyone sits at the table and has a ‘nice conversation’. The delay in breaking the news to her mother the night before only served to also afford her the time to think of how to change her mind.
It would work! If it wasn’t that this decision was completely out of her control. The woman could cook like a master chef but even that wouldn’t be able to change Reed’s mind about the whole situation, that much she was certain. Even the threat of meeting her parents didn’t sway him, nor did the idea that she had a lot of crap she’d be bringing into his home; which was a lie of course. Sonia didn’t have many belongings.
There was a knock on the door and from the other side she heard her fathers voice, “Venga a desayunar”.
Seems she’s been summoned.
After brushing her hair, teeth and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Sonia finally joined her family at the table. Her mothers kind plump face radiating a smile that would lower anyone's defences if they saw her. Not Sonia’s, she just leveled a ‘i know what you’re doing’ look at her and took a seat.
Resigning herself to the inevitable conversation, she breathed a sigh. May as well rip the bandage off and get it over with.
The conversation went about as well as she expected. Her fathers deep frown added several more wrinkles to his face while her mother tried to guilt her into staying home. But the comment that finally won her the argument was to the effect of, “I lived alone before the accident happened. I can’t spend the rest of my life living at home, scared of the what if and wondering if someone will be there to save me when something else happens. That’s why I’ve been looking at having a roommate instead of being by myself.”
Yes, she worded it correctly; when not if. Reed was not just some young man who only had one job, a school teacher, then spent the rest of his day grading papers and partaking in various hobbies. He had another job, one in which she was expected to partake in. Dangerous as it was, unfortunately, it was part of the package; a compromise she couldn’t say no to.
“I only just started looking a few days ago and this was the first place I visited.” A lie she’d have to fix, make sure there are a few search history key words in case someone got on her laptop and checked where else she had been considering. “This one is only about forty-five minutes away. It’s in a safe area; hell they have a HOA which means they likely have a neighborhood watch or something.
Would have been more responsive than her brother had been last night.
It was her father who carefully considered her arguments and the first to see reason. Didn’t mean he liked the conclusion but he accepted that it was, in the end, her choice to make.
“Papá, Mamá. I’m not trying to get away from either of you. Anton’s another story.” She shot her brother a glance that accused him of being a traitor last night. He smiled and took a bite of his toast; not really offering an opinion on the matter which meant he was likely already making plans for her room once she was gone.
“As long as there’s still a bed for me to sleep in, I’ll be home often.” That earned her a glare and it was now her turn to smile.
“Can always just get a sofa bed,” the s**t head suggested. However, their mother was quick to respond and whaped him upside the back of his head. Sonia tried excruciatingly hard not to laugh lest she be next.
“Anyway, if I decide to go with this option, I already mentioned to Reed that I’d like him to at least meet the two of you before anything is finalized and he seemed ok with that.” Oh, he was most definitely not ok. Damn near had an aneurysm at the mere suggestion of it, acting more like he was convincing himself that he could go through with it. In hind-sight it was quite comical to witness, but at the time his reaction gave her reason for concern.
“Mamá, whatever you’re planning, stop.” Any idea the matriarch of this family could come up with had already been considered then tossed out by Sonia herself. “You can’t go scaring him away by setting his mouth on fire with spicy food.” Would be funny to see him sweat or that handsome face of his turn red from the heat of a well placed pepper in the enchiladas.
Her mother made a ‘tsk’ sound.
Sonia shrugged then turned to her father and smiled. “You, however, can have some fun.” This caused the older, well built gruff looking man to finally lift his head and grin almost wickedly. For as stern as he was at the office, Mateo Del La Cruz love comedy, and while he loved watching Fluffly on Netflix, he too had a unique sense of humor.
Almost made her feel bad for Reed… Almost but not quite.
The rest of the meal went as per usual for a Saturday morning. Once they were done eating Sonia took care of the dishes then excused herself from the dining room. Work was in about six more hours and she fully intended to nap for the next two so she could keep up with the children in her beginners class.
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