The Anatomy of a Broken Heart //Completed//

68. Santana

Crowded around me, I saw happy parents and giddy kids looking out of place in their stage makeup and modern clothes. Caleb's parents were congratulating Ansel, whose hand was wrapped around Maria's. Mrs. Rosethorn was looking at Maria like she had seen her before but couldn't quite place her. Once she found out who she was, that look of curiosity would turn into disgust.

Despite her insistence, I snuck out to catch most of Maria's scenes, and not just to hide from Caleb, either. She had been radiant on that stage. Even Dad had come out to see her, though I knew it was a challenge for him. Right now, he sat with his eyes closed on one of the benches that lined the lobby walls. I needed to get him home soon, but if I went to get Maria, I'd run into Caleb, something I was adamant about avoiding.

My conversation with Farrah was the last thing I ever expected to have. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little afraid she'd go ballistic on me and drag me to a set of stairs just to push me down all over again. Instead, she surprised me and I couldn't help the pity I felt for her. I couldn't imagine being forced into something like that, much less by my parents. But, I couldn't imagine it must have been too hard for her to fall for Caleb anyway, eventually. It seemed like an inevitability.

Maria and Ansel broke away from the Rosethorn caravan and came over to where Dad and I sat.

"Hi, Papi," she said nervously. This was her first time introducing Ansel to Dad. She looked at me for reassurance, like she always did when she was going to ask Dad for something, which was hardly ever, and I gave her a quick wink and smiled.

"There's my little Oscar winner," he said heavily but smiling. Though he was in pain, he couldn't hide the radiating glow of pride as he set his eyes upon her. My heart swelled at the sight. "You were both great." He looked at Ansel who was trying to hide behind Maria, despite still holding onto her hand like a lifeline.

"Papi, this is Ansel. My boyfriend?" She posed it as a question, asking  if he remembered that they'd already talked about him. I was sure they had, they must have because Maria was meticulous about such things as were important to her. They had to matter to Dad for her to allow them to matter to her, no matter how important they were, he had the last word. But in his condition, Dad tended to forget a lot of things. His eyes showed recognition, though, and I could see the relief on Maria's face.

"Ah, si. I remember. It's nice to meet you, Ansel." Dad extended his arm out and shook Ansel's hand. He smiled pleasantly at him, and they began chatting mildly like people tend to do. It wasn't very interesting, but Maria was rapt entirely. I was just waiting, with fingers crossed, for Ansel to say something stupid. I still wasn't sure how much I liked him being with my baby sister, but Dad would never deny her any sort of happiness, or the opportunity to make a "good mistake." It's what he liked to call situations that had the potential to be life lessons. He wanted us to grow from them, thought they'd make us stronger. Whenever he talked about this, he always looked to Maria, warning her to be careful, but to not restrict herself out of fear. He stopped looking at me like that a long time ago. I guess I'd already filled my quota of mistakes.

"Anyway, Ansel's family invited me to dinner," Maria said, pointing to Ansel's parents. "I hope you guys don't mind." She looked at me. My eyes flicked to the Rosethorns and my stomach did a flip flop when I saw Caleb among the group. He was talking to his dad, his back to us.

"That's great, bonita. Don't be out too late, though," Dad said. "Isn't that your boyfriend over there, Santana? Caleb?"

"That's my cousin," Ansel answered before I could. "You're more than welcome to come too, Santana."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ansel," I said through gritted teeth. Maria gave Ansel's hand a hard squeeze, which Dad didn't miss. He didn't push the subject, but the expression on my face must have been telling because he only nodded knowingly.