Tattoo Artist | o. diaz

ochenta: legal

(we jumping to February because this shit is DRAGGING. so it's been like a month since the last chapter.)

"What flavor, hombrecito?" Oscar asked Luis, holding him up to look at all of the ice cream flavors.

"Purple! With gummy bears." Luis shouted, clapping his hands as the worker started putting the ice cream into a cone. "What you getting, papá?"

"I'm sharing with you and your mom." Oscar stated.

Venus looked up to Oscar, moving his hand that was just sitting on her head. "Since when?"

Oscar nudged Venus' shoulder with a small smile on his face and looked down to her. "Since now." He stated. "Oh, and a churro." Oscar walked away with Luis and they both went to look at all the churros the shop had.

"That doesn't look like his dad. Does he know you had a kid on him?" The cashier asked, putting the toppings on the ice cream and avoiding eye contact with Venus. "Does your son know?"

Oscar snuck up back behind Venus and threw his arm over her shoulders. "Mind your business."

Luis looked at Venus' cone, then pouted when he saw that she had crackers. "Mamá, I want yours."

"No, you eat yours." Oscar told Luis, putting the cone closer to his face. Luis pouted, again, and licked his ice cream. It wasn't bad, he just thought Venus' looked better than his. "Where are we going now?"

"Victoria's Secret." Venus said, beginning to walk and lead Oscar through the mall. Oscar stayed silent and looked down at Venus until she looked up to him. "What? I need perfume."

Oscar trailed behind Venus while she shopped, when he heard Luis laughing. Oscar looked to Luis and saw him pointing at a mannequin, so Oscar covered Luis' eyes. "Papá, can't see my ice cream." Luis mumbled.

Oscar uncovered Luis' eyes, and followed closely behind Venus. "Do this smell good?" Venus held up the spray bottle close to Oscar's nose and made him smell it.

Out if instict, Oscar backed up, but then smelled it so Venus would pull back. "That's the same one you've been wearing since we met."

"But does it smell good?" Venus asked seriously. Oscar nodded, so Venus turned back around to grab more.

"Papá, guess what."

"What?"

"You have to guess."

Luis licked his ice cream, staring at Oscar as he waited for him to answer. "You got a new toy?"

Luis shook his head as he chewed a gummy bear. He then turned away from Venus and whispered, "It's mama's birthday."

Oscar nodded his head and watched Luis turn back around. "How'd you know that?"

"It's on my iPad." Luis nodded and looked at Oscar give him a look of surprise. "I got new game."

Venus ended up buying about $100 worth of perfume and had to stop herself what time it was. "So where are we going?"

"My parents' house. They told us they made a cake."

Luis nodded his head as Venus strapped him into his carseat, then started looking around. "I don't want this." He said, holding out his half-gone ice cream cone.

Oscar sighed, then grabbed it. Luis swung his feet as Venus took out the baby wipes and started wiping his hands. "Luis, why do you always make a mess on your face?"

Luis pouted at the use of his own name and shrugged. Venus never uses his name, so he started to think he was in trouble. "I sorry."

"You're not in trouble, papito." Venus told him, grabbing his cheeks before leaning in and kissing his nose. Luis watched Venus pull out his iPad then she set it on his lap.

× × ×

Venus knocked on her parents' front door and Oscar stood behind her, basically trying to hide from Emiliano. Luis jumped up and slammed his hand on the doorbell, then went back to standing beside Venus. "Papá, hide."

"Why's he got to hide?"

"Abuelo said he hates him." Luis stated, then the front door opened.

"Ay, mis bebe- oh." Lisbet paused in the doorway when she saw Oscar, the turned her head. "Mili, ven aquí."

Lisbet turned back to the front and stared only at Oscar. Emiliano came around the corner a few seconds later and met up with his wife st the doorway. "Qué pas- what's he doing here?"

Both Emiliano and Lisbet looked at Venus, waiting for explanation as for why the Santo was in the doorway. "...Iforgavehim."

Venus stood between her parents and Oscar while Luis snuck away and went to his playroom. "You what?"

"He apologized, so we're working on it."

Lisbet looked between Venus and Oscar with her eyebrows furrowed. "You're back together?"

"Oh, no. Never that."