"Are you nervous?"
Camila looks up, meeting Lauren's eyes. They're seated at a table in some restaurant that Lauren picked. The lighting is low and they have a booth in a private corner. Somewhere in New York, Camila's mother is on her way to them, right now.
"Maybe a little..." Camila says, "But you'll be here. Right?"
"Of course. The whole night."
"I bought ice cream and stuck it in your freezer in case this whole thing goes south," Camila says, "Will you share it with me?"
"Flavor?"
"Banana."
"Count me in."
Camila smiles.
Camila was shocked when she opened her email and found that she had received something from a new address that belonged to her mother. At first, she was so angry that she didn't know what to do. Lauren had been with her when she realized what she was reading. She calmed Camila down, and together they weighed her options.
In the end, Camila emailed back and said that she was willing to meet her for dinner here, in New York. So her mom booked a plane and got a room at a nearby hotel, and now here they are, nearly two weeks after the initial email, waiting patiently for her mother to arrive.
Camila hadn't stopped thinking about the way her mother spoke of Lauren towards the end of her email. She'd used the word lovely. Could it be that her mother had somehow changed overnight? She'd made no effort to understand Camila in such a way before. Had she?
"Is that her?" Lauren asks. Camila follows Lauren's gaze to see her mother approaching, following closely behind the same hostess at the door that had led them to their table. Camila's heart speeds up the closer they get.
She uses this opportunity to take in her mother. Almost four years had passed since she last saw her mother in person, on the day she sat her parents down and came out to the both of them. There's more grey hairs than Camila remembers. More wrinkles. But she still looks beautiful. She had chosen a plain black turtleneck that Camila recognizes from many of their family outings when she was younger.
She feels Lauren's hand squeeze hers under the table. And she remembers to breathe.
"Hola, mija," Camila's mother says as she goes to sit across from the two of them. Camila's mother offers a kind smile to her, then to Lauren, "You must be Lauren. I am Sinuhe, Camila's mother."
"It's nice to meet you," Lauren puts on that smile that Camila recognizes as Lauren's professional smile.
"I liked your movie, uh... Wiseguy, correcto?"
Lauren lets out a breathy laugh and nods, "Sí, gracias."
It's quiet for a few minutes. Lauren and Camila have already had time to look over the menu, but Camila's mother takes a moment to look over it as she gets settled in. She doesn't say anything until after the waiter comes by to place their order.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, mija," Sinu starts, leaning forward and placing her hands in front of her on the table, "You didn't have to."
"You said you wanted to talk?"
"Sí," Sinu nods, "There are a few things I need to tell you. Sobre tu padre y yo." Camila nods, urging her to keep going. Her mother takes a breath before explaining that her and Camila's father are getting a divorce, as quickly as possible. She moved out a month ago.
She found out about Camila's most recent email when Sofi came over. Apparently she had run across it when she went onto the desktop computer at their father's place. Her mother had meant to contact her the second she was moved out, but things had been hectic with the lawyers and her move.
