Camren Imagines

Meeting The Family

Camila's POV

I was sitting in the car, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were turning white. My palms were sweaty and I was a nervous wreck. Lauren was sitting next to me happily humming along to the radio, tapping her foot to the beat of the song without a care in the world. We were on our to Lauren's parents house, where her family was having a big welcome back barbecue for her, to celebrate her return home after months of touring. This will be the first time I meet Lauren's family and I was freaking out. I know how important her family is to her and I really want them to like me. If they don't, I have no idea what will happen. As we pulled onto her street, cars were lining the road up to her house. "Lo, I thought you said this was a family barbecue?" I questioned her, looking at the row of cars outside her house as I parked the car. "Did I forget to mention that by family, I meant my entire extended family?" She asked me sheepishly. "Lauren! I was nervous enough just to meet your parents and siblings, now I have to meet your entire family at the same time!" I shouted. As if I wasn't nervous enough before, now I'm on the verge of turning the car around and speeding off the way I came. "Hey, baby look at me." She ordered, grabbing my face between her hands to connect our eyes. "There is nothing to be nervous about. My family will love you! Just be yourself and try to have fun. Ok?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. "Ok, I'm ready." I breathed out. Lauren gave me a quick peck on the lips before exiting her car. I took another deep breath before following her lead. We walked hand in hand to her front door. Latin music, and loud laughter and conversation could be heard from the other side of the street, and my nerves just kept on growing. Lauren gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before walking through the door, pulling me along behind her. She placed her bag on the kitchen counter top before dragging me out the back door with her, where the rest of her family were waiting. As soon as we stepped through the door, Lauren was greeted with a chorus of cheers and "hello's" from her family members, as her dad pulled her in for a big bear hug. "LoLo! I'm glad you could make it baby girl." Her dad said happily, as her mom stood up and hugged her as well. After they had greeted their daughter, their attention turned to me. "You must be Camila! I'm Mike and this is my wife Clara." He greeted, extending his hand for me to shake, which I gladly did. "It's a pleasure to meet you two." I said as I was about to shake Clara's hand too but got pulled into a hug instead. "Sorry," she said pulling away from the hug, "it's just Lauren never shuts up about you. You make her very happy and seeing our daughter with a smile on her face is all we could ever ask for, so thank you for that." She said genuinely. I couldn't help but smile back, touched by her kind words. Lauren was soon dragged away to greet the rest of her family and I stood in the corner awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Luckily, a young girl who I recognised as Taylor came up to me and offered me to join her at her table. I made my way over to the table and sat down in the seat next to her, as Taylor introduced me to everybody. The table was filled with Lauren's aunts and uncles, who were chattering away in Spanish. I had been with Lauren for a little over 6 months and over that time she had taught me a little bit of Spanish but at the speed they were talking. I had no clue what was going on. I had never been to something like this, where they were little children happily running around on the grass, generations of family members sitting together and catching up with each other. Latin music blasting from the speakers and the smell of Cuban food wafting around the yard. As I was looking around, taking in my surroundings, I was brought out of my thoughts by Lauren's uncle asking me how my schooling was going. I smiled at his attempt to include me in the conversation and happily talked to him about my studies. The rest of the afternoon was filled with simply conversation, delicious food and lots of laughter. I got to know Lauren's family and discovered that they were in fact very nice people. They all went out of there way to make me feel comfortable and include me in their conversations. Her granddad took a particular liking to me since I shared his joy of soccer. He sat beside me the entire afternoon talking my ear off about when he played soccer as a younger boy and I couldn't help but smile at the passion he showed when he spoke, it reminded me of Lauren and now I know where she gets it from. The entire Jauregui family was passionate, caring and very welcoming. It was also nice to see how happy Lauren was when she was with her family. I knew she missed them when she was away, so I'm glad I got to share this experience with her. The night came to an end, and we made our way back to the car. As we were driving back to my apartment, Lauren turned to me with a smile on her face. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?" She asked teasingly. "No, your family are great. I had nothing to be nervous about." I told her, smiling at the thought of how her family being so welcoming. "I told you! My family really loved you by the way. Especially my Abuelito, he wouldn't shut up about you when I said goodbye to him. He thinks you're a keeper." She laughed, causing me to smile. "For the record, I think your a keeper as well." She said kissing my cheek before sitting back in her seat and humming along to the radio. This turned out to be a great day.