Our Little Loves

Chapter 25

Benny and Matty were running around their front yard when the little brunette noticed their new neighbors outside. He asked, "Mama, can we go and play next door with Jordan?" Carina was busy cleaning the Cheerios, Gold Fish, and crumbs of a dozen other snacks from the floor of her Porsche when she heard her son's request.

The Italian turned her head to see Jordan playing tag with his mom in the front yard. She contemplated for a second, but ultimately decided that she didn't want to let her jealous feelings about Laura get in the way of her children's happiness. "Si, bambino, I will walk you two  over there." She grabbed both of her boys' hands and trounced through their connected front yards until she was face to face with the tall dirty blonde.

"Hi, Jordan," Benny said, enthusiastically. "Do you wanna play with us?" he asked.

"Yeah, we have a soccer net in the backyard!" Matty added. Jordan looked up at his mom for approval and she nodded in agreement. She shooed the boys off to the back and stood cross armed in front of Carina.

"Seems like they get along well," Carina said in an attempt to break the tension.

"Mhm," she mumbled in return. Carina looked over her shoulder to ensure that the boys were getting along in the backyard. "Sooo," Laura said, "has Maya told you everything?"

The doctor returned her attention to Laura and nodded. "Yes, we talked about it after she saw you for the first time yesterday."

"What did she tell you?"

Carina huffed at the woman's audacity. She partly felt like Laura was insinuating that Maya did not tell her the full truth. "She told me the truth."

"Sure, she did."

"Okay, I'm sorry, what's the issue here?" Carina asked. She was not in the mood to deal with Laura questioning her wife's every move.

Laura scoffed at Carina and lied, "There's no issue. I'm just sure there's much more to the story than what she's told you."

"I trust that what Maya told me was everything that there was to know."

Laura looked down at her feet and kicked her tennis shoes around. Carina waited in silence while the blonde mustered up a response. By the time Laura looked back up, her bright green eyes were coated with tears. "Did she tell you that about six years ago she showed up at my doorstep and begged for me back?"

Carina's eyes grew wide with rage. No, Maya had not told her that, but she wasn't going to tell Laura that. "Si, she did." Carina's sell wasn't strong and she knew that it was likely that Laura didn't believe her.

"Yeah, okay," Laura said.

Ultimately, Carina decided to try her best and be cordial so the conversation would end. "Look, we are neighbors whether we like it or not. Our kids are friends. We just need to be able to slap on a smile and play nice so they can continue to have fun with one another."

"Fine by me," Laura added. Finally, Carina thought, something they could agree on.

"Well, I will keep an eye on the boys out back. Don't worry about Jordan," Carina said as she walked away back towards their house. She kept it together until she got back into their garage. Tears immediately streamed down her face as she realized the massive lie that Maya had kept hidden from her. Unfortunately for Carina, but luckily for Maya, the captain was in the middle of a 24 hour shift. She wouldn't be home until tomorrow morning, but Carina wasn't sure she could wait that long to ask her about it.

–

"Mama, what's wrong?' Jojo asked an hour later. She had woken up from her mid-afternoon nap and stumbled outside to join her mama on the sun lounger in the backyard. The boys were still playing but had moved onto the swing-set.