Elizabeth Reyes - Breaking Brandon

“Yeah, well, that little dude with them is little Alex a.k.a. The Taz.” Romero laughed. “As in Tasmanian Devil. He’s nonstop trouble. And now he has two of them little devils,” Romero shook his head. “Alex has his hands full lemme tell you.”

What Romero had just said didn’t even register until Brandon’s eyes moved up from the kids to the guy standing behind them now, holding a baby carrier in his left hand and a tray of some kind in the other—Alex Moreno—and he was as big as ever.

Brandon watched, frozen to that spot as the petite blond woman walking in behind him in heels as big as Regina’s and carrying a baby bag asked Alex to take the baby inside. Bell walked over to greet them as everyone’s talking began to buzz in Brandon’s ears: Regina and Romero talking about Alex and his siblings and their kids, Romero’s uncles talking loudly and laughing even louder, the kids laughing and squealing, chasing each other around his and Romero’s legs, and then Regina’s words that brought everything to a screeching halt.

“Oh, good, they’re all gonna be here today? I need to catch up with them. I haven’t seen any of them in years.”

Well. Fuck. Me.

“So how do you two know each other?” Regina asked, smiling as she leaned into Brandon.

“We grew up in the same neighborhood,” Romero answered first. “Izzy told me you were seeing a marine.” He turned to Brandon, his eyes still big with enthusiasm. “I knew you were in the Marines, but even when she told me Gina’s new boyfriend’s name was Brandon, I never would’ve imagined it was the same one. This is some crazy shit.” Romero turned toward the back door then back to Brandon and pointed with his thumb. “You remember the Morenos, right? That’s Alex and his brood there. Remember Valerie from high school? After all their drama . . .” He laughed. “Those two are married now. They all are, and . . .” He stopped and seemed to ponder something for a second, bringing his fist to his mouth.” Er, you guys didn’t get along the greatest back then, huh?”

Regina and Brandon exchanged glances; then Romero tapped his arm and laughed. “That was a long time ago. Some people may disagree, but I think we’ve all matured since then.”

Romero puffed his chest, making Regina laugh. “Yeah my sister would definitely disagree.”

Just as Romero began to protest, there was an outbreak of laughter, wheezing, and snorting coming from the table behind him. “No fucking lie!” His uncle was saying to Regina’s sister Patricia, pointing at the other guy at the table. “Just ask him. Tell ’er, Max. And don’t leave shit out.”

“Hey!” Romero called out loudly with a frown. His uncles both looked up at him, still laughing. “Watch the language. There’s a bunch of kids around!”

“Not to mention ladies,” her sister Patricia added with a raised brow and a smirk.”

“Where?” his uncle asked, looking around as animated as ever, and the laughter erupted once again.

Romero rolled his eyes, turning back to Regina. “Okay, maybe not everyone’s matured.”

Regina laughed, but something distracted her. “I still mix them up,” she said, looking in the direction of the driveway with the smile. “They all look so much alike. Which one is that one?”

Both Brandon and Romero turned at the same time. “That’s Angel,” Romero said, waving him over.

Again as if frozen in time, Brandon watched as Angel waved but motioned he’d be over in a bit. Both he and his wife, who Brandon remembered as Sarah, his girl from way back, were surrounded by Regina’s mom and some of her other relatives greeting them, including Valerie who’d resurfaced from within that back sliding door. This was a fucking nightmare—Brandon’s worst nightmare. For a moment, he actually considered that he might be getting punked.

“They’re gonna trip out when they find out you’re Gina’s new man.”

“Why?” Regina asked smiling—obviously oblivious as to what was unfolding before her eyes.

Brandon turned in time to catch Romero wink at her. “You gotta know the history. We all go way back.”

It had just dawned on Brandon that since he realized who Regina’s brother-in-law was and that he’d shortly be reunited with the last family on earth he ever wanted to be reunited with he hadn’t uttered a single word—he’d gone mute.

“I know that one,” Regina said. “That’s their sister, right?”

Swallowing hard, Brandon didn’t even want to look. He kept his eyes on Romero, who glanced in the same direction Regina was focused on—the driveway. “Yep, that’s Sof.” He turned back to Brandon with an evil grin. “Betcha remember her, huh, Brandon?”

Feeling his insides warm by the second, Brandon knew there was a choice to be made here. Either he turned to look at Regina, who he could feel staring at him or turn in the direction of the driveway. Still hoping this day—this whole fucking situation—could be salvaged somehow, he chose the latter and turned in the direction of the driveway.

Sofie was addressing the little girl whose hand she was holding. Eric walked up next to her, holding a sleeping baby against his shoulder and was quickly mobbed by a few women wanting a better look at the baby. The little girl had the same huge brown eyes as Sofie. Then Sofie glanced up, meeting Brandon’s eyes for a second before looking down at the little girl again. Not a second later, her head jerked up, and their eyes locked.

Regina

Betcha remember her, huh, Brandon?

It wasn’t so much Romero’s question as it was Brandon’s reaction to it that had Regina slowly coming unglued. As if watching the uncomfortably long moment he and Sofia shared when they first saw each other hadn’t been enough to make Regina’s skin crawl, what Romero had said suddenly sunk in. Brandon grew up with these people, the junkyard dog brothers who didn’t like him around their sister. Brandon had practically frozen at the sight of her then was in no way able to recover casually from what seeing her had done to him.

Sofie.

This was the girl from Brandon’s past—the only girl he’d had such heavy feelings for before Regina—the girl who’d started off the chain of events that ultimately led him to give up attachments of any sort, to stop living.

Regina wanted to think rationally. That was a long time ago. Sofia was happily married now and had been for years. Brandon was in love with Regina now, and she absolutely believed that—his feelings for her were practically tangible. But that moment he and Sofia shared had spoken volumes. There was still something there, and Regina, who’d never once been insecure, was now drowning in utter jealousy. As special as Brandon made her feel, Sofia was even more special to him. She’d been his very first real experience—the only girl to have touched him in such a way he’d never forgotten her. Evidently, no matter how many years had gone by, he was still feeling something.

Regina had always liked Sofia. She’d always liked the entire family. They were beyond pleasant to be around, and she’d even had some great conversations and good times with Sofia and her sisters-in-law at gatherings like this one. There was never anything not to like about them, until now. She knew what growing up around them had been like for Brandon, but, at that moment, Regina knew she could very easily hate Sofia.

It was irrational, she knew. Sofia had never been anything but sweet to Regina, but it killed her to know Sofia was the cause of Brandon’s first broken heart. Regina knew now that Sofia had used him to alleviate her curiosity, but if she’d been the least bit interested in him in any other way—she’d been his first choice—Sofia might be here with Brandon instead of Regina. The only reason Brandon had even noticed Regina to begin with was because she’d reminded him of Sofia.

What’s past is prologue. What’s past is prologue.

Regina closed her eyes for a moment in a desperate attempt to calm herself. She reminded herself that if things had gone differently in her life, she, too, might be here with someone else, her husband, Ryan. Regardless of why and how things had come about between Regina and Brandon, everything happened for a reason, and that’s why he was here with her now.

Brandon tugged her hand. “Your sister’s calling you, babe.”

Regina snapped out of her thoughts to turn in Pat’s direction. She was standing with her cousin Claudia and Ricardo, motioning for her to come over. Great.

Forcing a smile, she turned to Brandon, who’d now snapped out of the stupor Sofia had put him in. He smiled back at her in what felt like a hopeful smile. Hopeful of what? That she hadn’t caught the gazing exchange between him and Sofia? Or that she still hadn’t picked up on who she was? Starting toward her sister, she pulled Brandon along with her. “Come on. It’s time to meet Ricardo.”

Ironically, coming here today, she’d thought this might be the most uncomfortable moment she and Brandon would be dealing with. Pat wore a mischievous grin. Before she could say anything, Regina shook off the unnerving thoughts of Brandon and Sofia. She smiled big and hugged Claudia. “Hey, where have you been hiding? I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“I know,” Claudia said, pulling away. “I’ve been so busy trying to get my business going. It’s been crazy.” She turned to Ricardo, who was smiling nervously at Regina, and wrapped her arms around his arm. “This is my boyfriend, Ricky. Honey, this is my cousin, Gina.”

Regina had met Ricardo the year she decided to take the summer off school and came home. She spent most of her time on the beach where she met the former US Junior Surf Team member trying to go professional. He was working as a part-time surf instructor in the meantime. While he was very nice on the eyes and made for an exciting summer fling, other than trying to make the US team, he truly was a beach bum. He had no real aspirations of doing much else with his life, and her sister Pat had been the first to point that out.

Pat was probably the reason why the fling went on longer than it might have. Unlike her sister Bell when she first brought Romero around to her unimpressed older sister, nothing was more satisfying to Regina than seeing Pat’s disapproving face whenever she walked into a family gathering on the arm of her eye-candy beach-bum boyfriend. Maybe if Regina had been serious about him, it might’ve bothered her. Instead, she got a kick of annoying her sister to pieces.

She and Ricardo had both agreed neither was looking for anything serious, and Regina knew her stay in Southern California was only temporary. By the end of the summer, the fling had run its course, and Regina had the perfect excuse to end things. She was going back to New York. They agreed to keep in touch, and they had for a few months, until all communication had slowly tapered off.

Regina smiled, holding out her hand and waiting for Ricky to either come clean about knowing her already or pretend not to. She’d already decided if that was the card he wanted to play she didn’t care either way. She saw her cousin once or twice a year, and they’d never been close, so it didn’t matter to her. Not surprisingly, Ricardo cowardly chose the latter. “Nice to meet you, Gina,” he said, reaching out his hand.

Regina went along, introducing them to her boyfriend while her insides still roiled about the real elephant in the room. After some small talk, they got back to the topic of Claudia’s house cleaning and landscaping business and how she and Ricardo had met when he applied as a landscaper. Pat immediately gave Regina a knowing look.

“That was way back when I was first trying to get things going,” Claudia said.

“Yeah,” Ricardo added as if Regina really cared. “I was just looking for a job on the side, but I was still doing surf lessons at the same time.”

“Now he runs the landscaping part of the business, and I run the housekeeping side,” Claudia said proudly. “We stay real busy.”

Brandon gave Ricardo as much attention as he deserved since he was such a complete nonissue. He glanced away often, though Regina had to wonder if his indifference with Ricardo was intentional or if he truly was too distracted with other things to care much.

Glancing behind Ricardo, Regina’s eyes met with Valerie’s. Valerie, who was standing with Sarah, smiled big. She tugged Sarah as they both made their way toward her and Brandon. Regina wondered how much about Brandon and Sofia either knew. Sarah smiled as big as Valerie when she saw Regina, but there was no missing the way her mouth fell open when she saw Brandon. Both she and Valerie spoke in voices too low for Regina to hear as they approached, but the big smiles were back once they were close enough to reach out and hug her.