Midnight Rain; Cordell Walker

iii. celisa

Later that night, Celisa lets out a long breath with her hands still wrapped around the wheel. It was comforting in her car. The 2015 Malibu that she's had since... well, 2015. It was the first car she bought for herself that she actually liked and was proudly driving around Austin in.

The first car she bought for herself and made the payment with part of her inheritance from when her father died was the 2005 Suzuki Verona that she got herself as a graduation present from "him." Until the day the old thing broke down and didn't wanna get fixed that she had to trade it in for her current.

He was always telling her how excited he was for the day that she got herself a good, new car instead of the ugly car from the '80s she would be driving around all throughout her senior year of high school through her college years. When he died during her first year in middle school, that's the first thing she saved her birthday money for. Proudly naming her car after him.

When Celisa looked up, she frowned when she saw that her mother's car was most definitely there and not a figment of her imagination. From her seat, she can already hear the irritating comments on whether Celisa made her rent on time or not (she did) or if she was tired of teaching and ready to get a real job (absolutely not).

Dammit, Celisa, just get on with it. You've dealt with her for 36 years, you can deal with her for a few more hours.

Celisa gives herself an encouraging nod and opens the door to her car before her inner monologue can argue. Though, as she got out of the car, her anxiety continued to grow as she made her way to the front door of the Walker residence. Before she can take another breath, she can already hear Lourdes Martinez yapping away from inside like she did.

Celisa is surprised to hear that from her tone and just overall what she was saying, she seemed to be in a good mood. But if she knew anything about her mother, it wouldn't last long. Before she can even ring the doorbell, the door swings open and her mother, lo and behold, stood on the other side with the "mom look" where she was clearly mad but trying to hide it because they were in public.

A look Celisa knew all too well.

"Hi mom," Celisa mumbles, looking down at her shoes.

"Por díos, Celisa, stand up straight and speak up. You know I hate the mumbling," her mother speaks, already making adjustments to Celisa's posture.

The girl winces, but allows her mother to do what she needed for the moment to be over. Even though Celisa was 36, she became a child all over again when her mother was around.

"Sorry I'm late," Celisa continues once her mother's hands fell at her sides. "Conferences went on longer than I thought they would."

Lourdes gave Celisa a look of skepticism as she looked her up and down, almost looking for the lie as if it was physically on her. "Longer than expected, huh?"

The adult came back in a flash, almost surprising her just as much as her mother. "Yes, you know the parent-teacher conferences I told you were happening this week?" She's about to tremble under Lourdes's hard stare, but the adult in her stood tall and was glad it came out the way it did. If Lourdes Martinez needed anything out of life, it was to be significantly humbled.

Instead of a comeback or a comment, Lourdes rolls her eyes, shaking her head disapprovingly. Celisa knew where this was going, though. She's seen every version of her mother and this little shake of the head meant that she was getting aggravated with Celisa.

"Ya se, ya se," her mother says. "¿Pero cómo me vas a decir que las conferencias duraron tanto?" Celisa lets out an impatient grunt. All Spanish meant she was really pissed, but her tone said she was trying to hide her anger from Abeline Walker.

Still, Celisa held her head in her hands and let her chin tuck into her chest. "Mom, I'm tired. Can we just get through this dinner so I can go home, please?"

Lourdes gives Celisa a look, wanting to say something but knowing that this wasn't the time or place to have an argument over Celisa's tardiness. "Está bien," Lourdes says. "Let's go have dinner, then you can go home."

"Thank you," Celisa sighs in relief, walking past her and going into the familiar home that she loved spending her days in, despite her relationship with Cordell. It was a second home to her. The atmosphere was always welcoming and always welcomed Celisa in with a warm hug. To her, even though she'd be beaten if she spoke her thoughts aloud, this was more of a home than her mother's home.

It could be because Abeline did nothing but support Celisa and her dreams of becoming an educator. It could also be because of the amount of time that she's spent here. But, she thinks it was mostly because after her father's passing, Lourdes went mental and paid all her loving attention on Celisa's younger sister, Catalina, and saved her anger and frustrations for Celisa. Whatever the reason behind her mother's outburst was, it affected Celisa's relationship greatly with both her mom and sister.

But when she sees Abeline in the kitchen, a wave of comfort washes over Celisa. She was what Celisa needed right now after such a long day that never seemed to end. "Hi, Abeline," Celisa speaks up, announcing her arrival.

The woman turns her head to look at Celisa, brightening up immediately. She hugged Celisa tightly and it seemed like the day's stress and frustration was let go right then and there. "Hi, darling," Abeline tells her lovingly, rubbing her back. Something Celisa loved greatly. "I'm so glad you were able to make it."

"Ah, me too," Celisa agrees, parting just enough to look Abeline in the eyes. "Conferences went on for ages. Sorry I was late."

"Oh, don't you apologize. You're not late," Abeline reassures. "How were the parents today?" She asks, pulling away from the hug and going back to what she was doing while still paying close attention to what Celisa said. It was obvious, even to Celisa, how proud Abeline was of her. And she was clearly very interested in Celisa's work. It gave Celisa a giddy feeling to be able to talk about something she was so passionate about instead of being judged because of it.

"Ironically enough, Cordell was the calmest parent I had all week," Celisa says, leaning her back against the counter beside Abeline. "I'm just so glad the week's over."

Celisa saw the smirk cross Abeline's face when she mentioned Cordell. No matter how many times she denied it, Abeline was never convinced that there weren't some sort of feelings for Cordell.

"Oh really?" Abeline went on to say. "I would have bet on him being the worst for you," she teases, still looking down at her meal prepping.

"I thought he was gonna give me hell," Celisa scoffs, looking off for a beat before looking back down at the food Abeline was chopping. "Need any help? Smells delicious."

Abeline shakes her head at Celisa, moving the hand holding the knife a bit as she speaks. "Don't you worry yourself. Everything is already handled. You just go sit down with Cordi." When Celisa is about to protest, Abeline continues with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure he'd love to see you. Go on."