"¿Un bebé? Voy a ser abuela?" Mrs. Fernandez exclaimed, throwing her hands up, eyes wide. Leona nodded, and her mother screamed out in delight. Excitedly, all of Leona's girl relatives rushed forward to hug and congratulate her. Her uncles and guy cousins went and congratulated James, patting his back. Mrs. Fernandez looked up to the sky. "¡Gracias Dios! ¡El día finalmente ha llegado!"
Mr. Fernandez was sitting in the shade next to a frowning Rafael. He didn't look happy or unhappy. She sought him out when Leona finally got away from her doting family members.
"Did you hear?" She asked. She looked at him with big, hopeful eyes, eyes he remembered loving when she was a little girl. "I'm going to have a baby. You'll be an Abuelo."
Mr. Fernandez didn't say anything. Instead, he got up from his chair and walked back into the house, leaving Leona alone and hurt. Immediately, her mother and James went to her side. "I..." she started, but she couldn't continue. Instead, she turned and cried into James' shoulder.
"Oh, Mija..." Mrs. Fernandez said softly. She rubbed her daughter's back. The rest of the family just watched, somber.
Then, James' face lit up, and he pulled away from his wife. "Look," he said. He pointed towards the door, where Mr. Fernandez was standing. In his hands was a little white blanket sewed near the bottom with a bit of rose design. It was Leona's baby blanket.
"Para mi Nieto," Mr. Fernandez said, voice cracking at the end.
Leona's eyes filled with tears. "Pa!" she cried, running to him.
That gave James everything he needed to know. Rafael called him a particular "c" word venomously as they left later.
Leona punched him square in the face.
YOU ARE READING
James + Leona
Short Story🌊 On a busy day at the beach in California, James Yang meets Leona Fernandez. 🌊 They fall in love and decide to start a life together, despite their family's lack of approval. 🌊 Will they make it together, or fall apart? ▪️▪️▪️ 🌊 Inspired by...
