Forever

Chapter 27 _ A La Cuenta de Tres

"I've never been on a plane, let alone a helicopter." Lupe said nervously as they got comfortable on the helicopter. It was the day after Valentine's Day. They were on their first family trip to a cabin near Loon Lake. The girls along with their parents.

The cabin was on a small island they could usually reach by boat but given the weather, the lakes were frozen over leaving Leon to pick the helicopter ride instead. The Valdes family had never seen snow in person leading Lucia and Valentina to plan a snow trip. Lucia and Lupe got along very well and Lucia thought this trip would be a good idea to get their husband's to bond a bit more.

"Don't be nervous, Lupita, Leon is a great pilot. We'll be there in no time." Lucia said reassuringly taking Lupe's hand in hers.

The trip was a 20 minute flight from the Carvajal mansion to the cabin. The scenery was beautiful. Thousands upon thousands of tress. They flew over the three frozen lakes until they arrived to the property's helicopter landing pad. A couple that stayed in the cabin taking care of it made sure to clear the pad so the helicopter could land safely.

"Hector, Mari, this is the Valdes family, they'll be staying with us this weekend." Leon said turning to Juliana and her family as he continued, "Anything you need let Hector and Mari know."

Valentina hugged the couple before dragged Juliana to show her the rest of the house and showing her where everyone would be staying.

After getting everything settled and put away, they gathered round the table for breakfast.

"So how was Valentine's Day? Did everything work out how you planned, Val?" Lucia said wanting to know if Juliana enjoyed their date.

A blush grew across both girls' faces and Juliana took Valentina's hand in hers as she spoke. "It was lovely Lucia. She's crazy for renting out the museum just for us to watch my favorite movie but it was amazing and really sweet." Juliana said as she brought Valentina's hand to her mouth and kissed her knuckles.

"She did what!" Lupe and Chino said simultaneously.

"I didn't get a chance to give you guys details this morning but yeah she rented out a museum in downtown for six hours just for us..." Juliana said knowing her parents would definitely oppose to Valentina spending so much money on dates.

"It was nothing really. I promise. I know Juls doesn't want anything too expensive or fancy but it was Valentine's Day and I wanted to do something special for her, something quiet and relaxing yet romantic." Valentina said trying to defend herself before Juliana's parents had a chance to say anything else.

Chino sighed in resignation knowing that they were from very different worlds but Valentina loved his daughter with everything she was. "I know you're not trying to buy my daughter or any of us, we're just not used to any of this." He said motioning to the house with his hands but referring to everything that's happened since the girls met. "It's simply overwhelming knowing you can do that for Juliana and think of it as something small... like I said, we aren't used to it but thank you for taking care of my daughter and giving her pieces of the world."

"Macario I hope you know we all genuinely love your daughter, she's gained all of our respect and love and she's made my Valentina happier than I've ever seen her since her mother passed. I know my daughter, she not only wants to show your daughter the world, she wants to empower her to go after anything she wants. That's what Estella, her mother, always instilled in our daughters, to uplift other women and I'm really proud of the woman Valentina's become. She's always known how to manage her money well so if she can do these things for Juliana it's because she's thought about it and knows when and on what she can invest her money. Think of it as a movie date but on a much bigger budget." Leon said causing the women at the table to break into laughter at his final comment.