"The plan is to focus on the positive. I'm in love with Luc Martín and that's that. My PR team is armed and ready for the relationship to go public. We're hoping to wait until some of the press has died down so we can do it on our own terms and not in response to a scandal. Either way, we will not engage with any questions or conversations regarding the leaked tapes."
"America's sweetheart and the consummate bad boy? It's a love story for the ages."
"I'd like to believe so. I just have to hope he doesn't get chased away before we can find the happily ever after."
"Just be patient with him, give him time to process when things start heating up. He's never gone this far outside of his comfort zone before. You've met his dad now, I'm sure you can see where he gets some of his stoicism from."
"Yeah, that man does not like me."
"If it helps, I don't think he expressly dislikes you. If that were the case, you wouldn't be in his house. That man does not fuck around when it comes to his kids."
"I suppose I should feel lucky he's shooting eye lasers at me rather than a shotgun, then?"
Shawna laughs. "Mr. Martín is intense, but Luc can be too. They're alike in that way. And there's the stubbornness, can't forget that."
"I was going to make a joke about Luc's teen years, but I have a feeling he was a model son that rarely talked back or got in trouble."
"You're pretty well on the nose, although his mama used to credit me for his good behavior back in those days."
"How so?"
"He was so busy trying to keep me out of trouble, that he rarely had time to find his own," she snickers.
"That doesn't surprise me," I laugh.
"Come to think of it, I think the only time Luc went against his father's wishes was when he joined the NFL."
That takes me by surprise. "What? Really? Did he not approve?"
"Oh no, definitely not. Football was meant to be a tool to pay for college and nothing more. Luc only pursued it because the Martín's were having some troubles with the house and were at risk of losing it."
I look back at the modest but gorgeous home with white-washed siding and pale green shutters. Luc mentioned once that the house has been in his family for something like three generations. I can't imagine that his dad could have been upset with him for doing what he needed.
"He wasn't mad about it, though. Was he?"
She shakes her head. "How could he be? He's a proud man, but he's not an idiot. It's not like he could turn down Luc's help when the alternative was losing their home. The girls were still young, and Mrs. Martín had just gone through her first round of chemo. Times were hard. But I think that's part of the reason Luc worked so hard to stay out of the public eye, and old habits die hard, you know?"
"I suppose that makes sense." I think quietly for a few long moments, tilting my face towards the warm afternoon Sun. "Luc cares a lot about his father's opinion."
"Right or wrong, he always has. And yeah, he has some backwards-ass ideas, but Mr. Martín is a good dad. Hell, he stepped up for me more than a time or two when I needed a father figure. I think very highly of him, even if I like to give him shit for being a surly old grouch," she says, twisting her lips into a grin as she looks back at the house and shakes her head."When it really comes down to it, what he cares about most is that you're going to do right by his son. The rest is just a matter of getting used to new ideas. He'll come around."
We sit outside, chatting and laughing, until the fire has died down too much. Mr. Martín walks out to join us while Shawna and I shovel more leaves into the flames. He hugs Shawna and wishes her a Merry Christmas, asks about her mother and the store. It's the most I've heard him talk at once since I've been here. I perk up when he mentions he's making gumbo with the leftovers from last night's turkey.
"You like gumbo?" Mr. Martín asks me. Shit, this might be the first time he's addressed me directly. Why are my palms sweaty?
"Uh, yes sir. Luc made some when he came to visit me and my mom a few weeks back."
Mr. Martín makes ahmphsound. "Did he make you real gumbo or did he make you some of his health food nonsense?"
I chuckle nervously. "I honestly have no idea. It tasted good, though."
"He use lard or some avocado oil bullshit?"
"Definitely the avocado bullshit."
"Hmph," he says again. "Figures."
"I bet Jesse would like to learn how the real stuff is made," Shawna says, nudging me in the ribs. "I don't think we can let him leave here thinking that's how we do things."
