Another Reason to Love

chapter 3

A/N: And...two updates in one day. This will probably not happen again anytime soon so enjoy it :)

"Hey, Camz. Are you alright?" Lauren asked as they left the diner. After saying goodbye to Ally and Normani, she followed Camila back to her car. Lauren stood there watching as her wife fumbled for the keys.

When Camila finally found her keys, she looked up at Lauren. "Yeah, I'm fine. We can talk later," she assured the woman standing in front of her. She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips against Lauren's. Camila knew her wife better than she knew anyone else. They had gone through so many things together...both good and bad. She didn't know why it was turning out to be so hard to tell Lauren how she really felt about adding a baby to their family.

The hurt and confusion that Camila was feeling wasn't only from the disappointment that her wife didn't share the same feelings on the subject, but mostly because she didn't understand how her feelings could have changed so quickly. Had Lauren felt this way all along? Was she lying when she said that she wanted to have another child? The questions raced so quickly through Camila's mind that it was impossible for her to think each one through, leaving them uncomfortably unfinished. It was almost comical to think that she would be able to concentrate at work after this.

Lauren broke away and brushed her thumb against Camila's cheek soothingly. "You do know that I am fully aware that there's something wrong," she said. Camila avoided eye contact as she unlocked her car. Lauren looked at her watch and turned back to glance at her office building. "I have a meeting in a couple of minutes, but we're talking about this when we get home tonight, okay?"

She watched as Camila nodded her head and stepped inside her car. Lauren closed the door once her wife was safely inside. Camila waved goodbye, driving away with a smile on her face. Lauren was familiar with the smile. She had seen it before and she recognized it as a sad one.

*****

Camila walked down the colorful hallway of the preschool and stood in the doorway watching Brooklyn. She observed the little girl who seemed to be cooking dinner for her friends on a tiny wooden stove. Camila admired Brooklyn's intrinsic need to take care of people. It was something she saw every day in her wife.

"Hey Mila," Dinah said when she noticed Camila standing in the doorway.

She jumped a little, startled by the voice that dragged her away from her thoughts and back into reality. "Hey, Dinah," she said. "How was she today?"

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" the teacher asked.

Camila smiled and rolled her eyes. "Does it even matter?" she said, sighing. "Go ahead, surprise me with the order."

Dinah sat down at her desk and motioned for Camila to sit in the chair beside it. "The bad news is that she had to go to time out for hitting one of her classmates. The good news is she is just as sassy as your wife."

They both laughed. "Does that even count as good news?" Camila wondered out loud.

"It was pretty funny, Mila. I could hardly keep from laughing," Dinah answered.

"Do I even want to know what she said?" Camila asked hesitantly.

"After she sat down in time out, I asked her if she knew why she had to go there. She nodded her head and told me it was because she hit one of her friends. She then proceeded to cross her arms and look me straight in the eye and say 'And it was worth it!'" Dinah started to laugh.

Camila covered her mouth to stifle the laughter. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. "What are we going to do with her?" she asked.

Dinah offered a smile. "I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, this is the universe's way of repaying Lauren for all of the sassiness she exudes. Still to this day, I might add." Her laughter was cut short when she noticed Camila's face fall at the mention of her wife's name. "Whoa, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" she asked.