It is what it is

13.

"Okay, will you fucking tell me why we just left the event so abruptly? You're worrying me, D." Anna said softly as she tried holding Danielle who was pacing around their living room.
"Danielle stop." Anna said, sternly this time as she held her and made her sit on the couch.

"It was her, Anna. I saw Stefania." Danielle whispered. Anna's face dropped. She knew everything about Stefania and Danielle. Danielle had told her everything, they were married and she didn't want to hide any part of her.

"Okay. Okay, baby, look at me. It's okay. It's vaild, how you feel right now is valid, babe. Just keep breathing and you will be okay. Yeah?" Anna said calmly. Danielle just looked at her and smiled. "Ugh, I'm sorry. I-I don't want you to think that I still feel things and oh god shit, I didn't even think how you'd feel-" Danielle went on untill Anna stopped her and said, "hey shh, baby. It's fine. I know, it's okay. I'm okay. We're okay." And she pulled her into a hug.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful for them, Anna just held her wife, knowing she needed to be held.

Back at the wine tasting, Stefania was shocked. She knew coming back would increase her chances of seeing Danielle, but she wasn't prepared still. And to see her with another woman. To see her be consoled by another woman, it was stinging.

"I don't even know what to say to you. What are you doing here?" Jaina asked Stefania. Carlos just stood there, his face was red because of the anger that he was feeling.

"Look, I get that you guys have your questions. I just- I work with my brother now. He has his wine business, I quit my job a long time ago and I work with him now." Stefania said under one breath.  "I don't care about your fucking job, do you understand that?" Jaina shouted as Carlos held her, whispered in her ear, telling her to calm down and not make a scene. "Do you even know what you did to her? Do you know that I lost my best friend because of you? That woman you saw? That is not Dani. I lost Dani three years ago. Because of you." Jania said calmly this time, but bitterly.

"J, she's not worth it. Let's just please get out of here. I'll call Anna and ask how Danielle is." Carlos said as he pulled Jaina out of Stefania's sight.

Stefania stood there expressionless. She had stopped feeling. The only time she felt anything was when she actually saw Danielle again. Nothing else mattered. She had lost the love of her life. She let her go. She made mistakes. She lost her chance. Danielle was now married to another woman, she was not her bambina anymore.

Meanwhile, Stefania's brother stood there, watching everything go down, wondering what Stefania was thinking in that moment. It was hard to figure out. Stefania had become numb since the passing of their father. She didn't say much, she didn't express much. And he felt guilty, he had asked her to stay all those years ago, and she did, out of pity. Out of love. Out of guilt. She did, and somewhere he blamed himself.

But right now, all he wanted was to know what Stefania was thinking. He knew she wasn't okay. That was obvious. But he wanted her to speak to him. He was pulled out of his trance when he saw Stefania coming back to the wine station.

"Come stai?" He asked hesitantly. "Bene.  non chiedermi niente per favore" (im okay. Don't ask me anything please) Stefania said and started packing up as they were nearing the end of the event.

"non puoi spegnere ogni volta, you need to talk to me. Or anyone for that matter." (You can't shut down everytime.) He said as he started helping Stefania pack everything. "Tutto bene. Please drop it." She said as she stormed off.

Back at Maya and Anna's apartment, Jaina and Carlos had just arrived to check on Maya.
"Is she sleeping?" Jaina asked. "Yes. Finally. It was so hard to get her to sleep. She wouldn't stop panicking. But it's okay. She's asleep now." Anna said. Jaina sighed as Carlos poured the three of them some wine. "What is she doing back here?" Anna asked with slight frustration in her voice.

Jaina just sighed and said "I wish I knew. We have no idea. Well according to her she works with her brother now. So that's why she was here." Anna just sighed and sipped on her wine.
"Are you okay though, this has gotta be affecting you as well." Carlos asked Anna. "I'm okay. I'm just worried about her. That's all."

In the bedroom, Danielle was asleep for about forty minutes. But then she woke up. She was restless, even in her sleep. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about what had just happened today. She picked up her phone in frustration, thinking social media could save her from this mental dilemma, instead she opened her phone to the inevitable text.

Stefania: hey! Sorry about our awkward encounter today. I know there are things that need to be said, and Im willing to say it all, if you're willing to meet that is. I really hope you're doing good though. Let me know what you think. Ciao.

Danielle read it over and over again. She didn't know if she wanted to go. She didn't know if that would even make sense. She didn't want to disrespect herself by going, but she also wanted answers. She needed those answers she had been waiting for. It had been three years, she had lived without any explanation for three years
And if she were to go, what would she tell Anna. Anna her wife, who saved her. She met her at her worst and loved her for all her imperfections. Anna didn't deserve that.

She was going crazy. She didn't know what to do. So she just threw her phone on the table and got out of bed. She knew Carlos, Jaina and Anna were outside, she had heard them all along.

While the three friends continued to sip on their wine, Danielle walked out of the bedroom. "Hey." Danielle said softly as she poured herself some water. "Hey baby, I thought you were sleeping." Anna said cautiously. "I was. But I was quite restless." She said and looked at the three of them. She could see everything on their faces. She could feel the sympathy. She could feel they had their questions, and that was frustrating.
"Please, I don't want to talk about Stefania. Don't say anything related to her." Danielle said while looking down, unable to maintain eye contact because of what she said.

They all agreed to that and asked if she wanted to join them. She refused. Because even though she didn't want to speak about her, in her mind, in her heart, she wanted to speak to her. It was all about making a decision now.

a/n

Hola! I know it has been very long. I got into an accident, broke 3 bones. So I'm so so sorry about the delay, especially now that we were getting to the actual plot of the story, it's frustrating to not come out with frequent updates. I'll do better, I promise

Having said that, this is the plot I always intended to have for this story. The first ten or so chapters were to introduce the characters and give them some sort of chemistry. I have always wanted to write about people and their imperfections, and how that's a part of life, and how people deal with general emotions. I hope that comes across.

Also So proud of Director Danielle.