I chuckled, unconsciously smiling at her. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it. It’s not a family tradition to name the kids with an ‘E’ letter. I guess my sister kept the tradition with Biblical names with Ruth, but I’m not sure. It’ll depend on whatever my wife feels, honestly. I mean, she’s going to be doing all the work growing our child, I think she can have the final say in the name. Well, provided it's not something too strange.”
I pulled onto the familiar street, recognizing several cars that were parked along our destination. I pulled into the nearest available spot on the road. After I put the car in park, we both chuckled softly at the snores Jae was releasing.
He sleeps like a bear in hibernation.
With my seatbelt undone and my body turned towards Shiloh’s, I spent a moment studying her face.
The arch of her brows, and the way part of one was missing. Her lashes, and how some of them were so fair they almost looked translucent. The light spatter of freckles that sat across her nose and beneath her eyes and randomly speckled the rest of her skin. Her hazel eyes, the burning orange, deep yellow and green that popped against her still red eyelids from crying. Her braid, that swooped neatly over her shoulder, ending just above her waist. I could just make out a couple of pink scars on her neck, and I wondered where she had gotten them,howshe’d gotten them.
“Ah, fridge nuggets!” I screamed at the same time Jae jumped and screamed in the back seat. I held a hand over my chest, rolling down my window that Eden had just knocked on. She juggled Ruthie in her arms and gave us a curious expression.
“You gonna come in or what?”
I nodded, and turned to see Shiloh smiling animatedly at Ruthie, waving back at her.
I rolled up my window before shutting off the car and we followed my sister inside. I placed my hand on Shy’s lower back, ushering her inside the house ahead of me and shut the door behind us.
We made the rounds, working our way through the house, until we reached the kitchen. Sebastian’s parents were here, and I was an idiot when I went to introduce them, completely forgetting the fact that his mom would know who Shiloh was.
Rosa gasped, her eyes going wide as Shiloh stood in front of her.
“Ay, mija. ¡Que linda!”
Pretty? I think that means pretty.
She pulled Shiloh into a bone crushing hug that forced me to drop Shiloh’s hand. I chuckled as Shiloh gave me a‘save me’expression when she pressed her against her breasts and rocked back and forth. Rosa started murmuring in Spanish and I was left clueless. I glanced at Greg, Rosa’s husband, and he chuckled, gesturing with his thumb towards his wife.
“Don’t look at me,” he said with a smile. “Woman’s been speaking Spanish to me for years and I still can’t understand a damn word.”
I laughed and shook his hand. “Good to see you too, Greg.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded. He scratched at his greying beard and glanced back at Shiloh. “So, you two?”
I nearly grinned like a maniac. “Yeah.”
Greg smiled, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “Good for you, kid.”
Rosa finally released Shiloh, and she returned her hand to mine, squeezing tightly. I discreetly checked to see if she was getting teary-eyed and was relieved to see that she wasn’t. We managed to escape to a corner of the room for a moment of peace and quiet.
“You okay?” I asked, holding her waist as I studied her eyes.
“Yeah,” she nodded. But I could feel the tension in her body. “Rosa looks amazing. She was…a bag of bones the last time I saw her.”
I nodded, glancing over at Rosa who was fussing over the countertop filled with food. My sister suddenly approached.
“Hey, can you run to the gas station and get a lighter? We don’t have anything to light the trick candles for the cake and their going to be here any minute.”
“Yeah, of course,” I nodded, releasing Shiloh’s waist. I turned to look down at her. “You gonna stay here?”
Shiloh hesitated for a moment before nodding and stepping back. I stifled the urge to kiss her and walked away.
My phone was blowing up with texts the second I left the house, telling me to hurry because Dad and Sebastian were justdown the street from the house. I swore it was the fastest trip to the Chevron I’d ever made.
My parking spot had been taken by the time I had arrived at the house, and I had to circle the block to find a space several houses away. I did a double take at the sight of my dad’s car and found my dad and Sebastian both walking towards the house. I shook my head because there was no way Sebastian was going to be surprised with all the cars parked outside. We should’ve told people to park a block or two over, but I smiled nonetheless because it was the thought that counted.
I slowed my pace to not be seen before they reached the house but froze and ducked behind a parked car when they abruptly stopped in front of a neighbor’s house. Their conversation drifted over to me now that I was within earshot, and I peered around the corner of the car to watch them.
“No, I understand that she’s still a minor, but what can I do until she’s eighteen?” Sebastian asked.
