Valeria’s life feels full, the kind of comfort that settles deep in her bones. Like she’s being held byher person, even if she isn’t ready to name it that yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CAMILA
With Valeria, everything is smooth and effortless.
Camila always knew it would be easy to get lost in domesticity with her, but she hadn’t accounted forhownatural it would be. The more they slip into it, the stronger the nagging feeling in Camila’s chest about involving her mom in this beautiful chapter of her life gnaws at her.
Even if things with Valeria are progressing slowly, Camila wants to tell her mom about it—wants to share how incredibly happy she is and have her momseeit.
During her lunch break, Camila gathers every ounce of courage she can muster and calls her. It rings a few times before her mother picks up.
“Wow,” her mother says, “she remembers she has a mother.”
“Hi, Mom,” Camila replies, biting back a comment about how phones work both ways.
They’ve barely talked since Camila went camping with the girls just over a month ago, with only a few texts from her mom here and there. She should have seen asnarky comment coming, but somehow it didn’t cross her mind.
“Are you calling because something is wrong?” her mother asks, immediately suspicious.
Camila shakes her head. “Everything’s fine,” she says quickly, before worrying her mom. “I wanted to see if you and Dad were around this weekend. I have a lot I want to update you both on.”
“Oh?” her mother says, clearly surprised. “An update? What sort of update?”
“Nothing worrisome, just want to catch up.” Camila bites her bottom lip.
She could tell her momwhy, but she needs to mentally prepare for it.
“Okay, your father and I will be home on Saturday. You can come for lunch.”
“Saturday works,” Camila says. “I’ll be there.”
“Good,” her mother replies.
“Bye, Mom.”
Camila hangs up and stares at her phone, slightly proud of herself, before slipping it back into her pocket. Her lunch break is almost over, and thankfully, the rest of the day passes quickly.
When her day finally ends, she grabs her bag, says her goodbyes, and steps into the late afternoon air. The drive home is uneventful: the radio plays softly as the sky fades into early evening, and traffic is surprisingly light.
Today, Valeria is at her mom’s. Camila isn’t even home yet, and her night already feels off balance. No dinner plans, no quiet commentary from Valeria on the couch as they watch a show, no casual brush of fingers as they pass each other in the kitchen.
She lets herself into her house and is immediatelygreeted by the stillness. No shoes by the door that aren’t hers, no familiar hum of Valeria moving around in another room. Camila drops her keys onto the counter and exhales, throwing herself onto the couch, scrolling aimlessly on her phone until it pings with a message from Valeria, and immediately, Camila’s entire body comes alive.
Valeria 6:22 p.m.:
I just realized we haven’t had our first date yet.
Camila 6:22 p.m.:
JUST???
Camila laughs softly. She’s known this for weeks. She’s wanted to ask Valeria out more times than she can count, but each time, she’s held herself back. Valeria has set the pace from the beginning, and Camila is more than happy to let her lead—especially when it comes to something as important as their first date.
Valeria 6:22 p.m.:
Well, excuse ME! We need to fix this.
