C. Brown - Compromising

Nat taught Cassie how to make pineapple upside down cake and coconut cream pie. It was the first time I had seen Cassie get truly domestic, and it was quite the entertaining sight. She looked every bit as flustered as I thought she would, but Nat, ever the big mouth, whipped Cassie into shape like a hat out on the drill field. She finally settled, and actually made pretty decent dessert, but I wasn’t banking on her taking this up every year.

Riley wore some ugly fucking sweater that Nat bought for him, walking around drinking egg nog and singing Bing Crosby Christmas songs. I hated everything about him at the moment, from that hideous fucking sweater, to the songs he couldn’t seem to get enough of. I doubled the shots in my egg nog just to get through it, then finally had enough and changed that shit to something a little more tolerable.

The doorbell rang, and before I could open the door, little Abel came bounding in, jumping into my arms and yelling, “Merry Christmas, Nino.”

I laughed as I caught him and tried to steady the drink in my hand all at the same time.

“Abel, you need to be careful. Nino could have spilled.”

“He’s fine, Adriana,” I responded. “Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad, Abuelita,” I greeted my grandmother, wrapping her in my arms and kissing her cheek. She smiled and greeted back, then looked around.

“Donde esta Cassie?”

“She’s in the back changing. She’s been baking all day with Nat.”

My grandmother looked impressed, but didn’t say anything to confirm it. Adriana sat a bunch of presents down under the tree, and Cassie finally walked out, looking comfortable in a pair of yoga pants and a Victoria’s Secret sweater. She was uncomfortable most of the day because she was so sick. She’d sworn that if I bought her yoga pants all of her complaining would go away. That was a lie. She had a million fucking pairs of yoga pants, and she still complained all damn day long, but after watching her puke in the bathroom all night, I decided her complaining was warranted.

“Hola, Guadalupe. Feliz Navidad.”

Cassie had been working on her Spanish so she could try and communicate with my grandmother in the language she was most comfortable with. She walked over and wrapped my grandmother in a warm hug, drawing surprising looks from almost everyone in the room.

“Alrighty then!” Nat exclaimed, breaking the stale air swirling around us. “Let’s get to opening presents.”

We shoveled present after present to Abel, which he quickly opened, then pushed aside to open up the next one. I wasn’t sure he had actually seen what he’d gotten, but it didn’t matter because the excitement lighting up his face was all we really cared about. He’d had a bit of a rough time with my mom not around, so seeing him smile was exactly what we’d needed.

“Where’s Dalton?” Nat asked.

“He went home to be with his family and Ben. I guess they’re trying to work things out.”

“That fucker is a glutton for punishment, isn’t he?” I asked, sipping my egg nog again.

“Um, I guess you could say the same about me, couldn’t you?” Cassie sarcastically replied.

I gave her a warning look, which she shot right back at me. If our kid had half her attitude, I was going to be in trouble.

“You going to see your boy, Adriana?” Nat was on a fucking roll with her questions.

Adriana shot a look over to me. “At some point. Alex won’t allow him here.”

“You’ve got that right. I don’t want any headache on Christmas day. You are free to go to his place, Adriana.”

“Alex…” Cassie pleaded.

“End of discussion. We’ve got more presents to open up. Here, Abuelita, this one is for you.”

She opened a box with a framed picture of her, my mom, Adriana and me from Adriana’s baby shower a few years back. We were all so happy then, and I thought it was a great reminder for her of one of our good times. The tears spilled from her eyes as she kissed the picture repeatedly, thanking me over and over again for such a beautiful gift.

I handed Adriana a box and got the same reaction. Her picture was from the hospital after she’d had Abel. My mom laid in the bed with her, holding Abel in her arms and beaming like a proud grandmother. I had to admit that I thought twice about the gifts since they made me an emotional bitch just looking at them, but that reaction told me they were perfect. Keeping Imelda alive in our hearts was a necessary component to moving forward with our lives.

“Here you go, Cassie. It’s not much, but it has a lot of thought behind it.” Adriana handed Cassie a small box, then sat on her hands as she watched her open it.

Cassie tore into the box, ripping the paper to reveal a small Nike box. “Baby’s first shoes. Thanks, Adriana.”

“You’re welcome. Open them up. I thought they were the cutest little things ever, and I remember those tiny shoes on Abel. You’ll grow addicted to them.”

Cassie smiled as she pulled the top cover off the box, then her mouth dropped and her hand quickly moved to cover it. She picked the shoes up out of the box as tears fell from her eyes. I dropped to one knee directly in front of her.

“Cassie Bennett, I knew from the second I got you that you were it for me. We’ve been through so much together, and I know for certain that you are it. You are the one. I’m done looking. You mean the world to me, and there is no one else that I would rather have carry my child or my last name. So please, say yes. Say you’ll be my wife.”

I waited patiently as she continued to cry, fanning herself as the tears continued to pour from her eyes.

“The tag on the shoes says please marry my daddy before I’m old enough to walk in these, Cassie. Time is ticking!” Adriana blurted out, drawing laughter from the room.

“Yes, Alex. Yes a million times over. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

I quickly untied the laces to retrieve the ring, then slipped it on Cassie’s finger. We kissed long and hard, her tears sandwiching between our faces.

“I love you more than the fucking air I breathe, Cassie Cruz.“ I grinned. “I have to get used to saying that.”

“It has a nice ring to it,” she whispered, kissing me again.

My grandmother stood and walked over to us, looking at me and then to Cassie. Her face showed no emotion, her body language just as dull. I really hoped she wasn’t about to turn a beautiful moment into shit because with the high that I was on, I wouldn’t allow anyone to ruin it.

She took Cassie’s hand and looked long and hard at the ring, then looked to me. “Good job, Alejandro.” She hugged me then pinched my cheek. “He love you so much, Cassie. And I am okay with it. I love you, too,” she said, wrapping Cassie in her arms.

“Let me have a look at that ring, Cassie!” Nat shouted, strolling over to where we stood. She took Cassie’s hand in hers, staring at the ring from all angles before again shouting, “Damn, Alex! You went all out, didn’t you? You see this shit, Chris? I want something equivalent.”

Riley’s eyebrows furrowed, but he said nothing as he took a glass of champagne from the tray that Nat had earlier sat down. He walked it over to me, then handed out the others, giving Cassie a glass of sparkling cider in lieu of the alcohol.

“So tell us about this ring, Alex. I’m intrigued.”

“I went to a jeweler and had this ring made because I knew I’d never find what I wanted. It’s a one carat, princess cut stone on top with emerald butterflies around the band. Cassie understands the significance.”

She held her hand up and stared at the ring, smiling as tears slid down her cheek. I kissed her tears away, tasting every bit of love cooped up inside of her. I saw everything I had ever wanted in life in Cassie, and couldn’t help the silly fucking grin that seemed to take over my own face.

“Well, I’m starving,” Adriana announced. “Who cooked?”

“Riley and I cooked the birds, Nat cooked the sides. Cassie kind of helped.”

“I’m sure it’s still edible,” she joked.

We took our seats at the table, then Riley led us in a Christmas prayer before we dug in. I didn’t say much as I looked around the table and saw the people who meant the most to me all in one room, enjoying one another. I missed my mom tremendously, and the fact that she wasn’t there left a hole in my heart.

There was a loud couple of knocks on the door, followed by a pause and then a couple more.

“Who’s knocking like they’re the police?” Riley joked, then laughed as if he were hysterically funny.

“I don’t fucking know, but whoever it is better step away quickly,” I angrily replied. I looked to Adriana. If she’d invited Jensen over, I was going to kick her ass out right along with his.

I marched over to the door, forcefully swinging it open to find a young blonde girl standing there that I didn’t recognize. Our eyes met, but she didn’t give off any emotion.

“Are you Alex?”

“Who the fuck wants to know?” I replied, ready to throw this chick off of my property.

“I want to know. Where’s Cassie?”

“Alex who is it?” Cassie asked, walking up behind me. “Oh my gosh, Taylor! What are you doing here?” she asked, bypassing me and engulfing the girl in a hug.

“Cassie! You look great.”

Then, in the blink of an eye, the un-fucking-thinkable happened, and I immediately went into defense mode.

“There you are, Cassie. I thought you’d fallen off the face of the earth.”

Emmalyn Bennett walked up, looking stoned out of her mind as she sneered in a way that made my skin crawl. Cassie’s joy and excitement immediately faded away, and she recoiled from Taylor’s grasp.

What the fuck was her sinister mother doing on our doorstep on Christmas Day?

The Christmas joy was gone.

My mother, the one remaining thorn in my side, was standing before me, looking like she’d seen much better days, and smiling in her sinister way.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice laced with malice.

I looked Taylor in the eye, wondering what had gotten into her. She, unlike so many others, was privy to the tortuous relationship I’d had with my mother, so it was a bit baffling as to why she would bring her to me. A minute before I was enjoying the best Christmas that I could remember, and now the mere sight of my mother threatened to take that all away.

“Well, you act like you don’t know how to answer a phone. I had no choice but to come.”

“You could have fucking stayed away. That was always a choice,” Alex grumbled. “You’re not welcome here.”

“This is my daughter—”

“A daughter you never fucking wanted!” Alex yelled. All of his pent-up aggression with my mom was exploding, and there was no containing it. “A daughter who was fucking cannon fodder to you. A daughter who you’ve belittled for years, called a whore, and told would never amount to anything. She’s your daughter in fucking blood only. You don’t fucking matter in any way that truly counts.” Thickly defined veins protruded from his neck, accompanying the deadly and icy glare of golden eyes.

“Alex…” I couldn’t blame him for his reaction to her surprise visit, but I also didn’t want him to lose it and open himself up to unnecessary consequences.

“Wow, he’s everything your mom told me he was, Cass,” Taylor quipped, igniting the fire inside of Alex once again.

“Who the fuck are you, and why are you on my fucking property?”

“I’m Taylor, Cassie’s friend. What more do you want to know?”

“Why the fuck you showed up here unannounced, and why you brought her piece of shit mom with you?”

“Wow, Cass, this is who you made a baby with and plan to marry? Just, wow!”

Adriana joined the party, her eyes trained on Taylor with the same intensity that Alex had in his. She was small but deadly, and fear flashed through me as I pictured Adriana brawling with Taylor.

“Who the hell are you talking about my brother like that?”

“Adriana it’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t, Cassie. Alex is going to be your husband and is the father of your baby. Don’t let any bitch talk to him like that.”

“I had no idea my coming would cause all of this…” Emmalyn croaked, feigning innocence.

“Yes, you did. That’s why you came. You hate your own fucking daughter so much that you wanted to spoil her Christmas. Did you really think she’d jump up and down at the sight of you?” With every word, Alex’s voice grew deeper and harsher.

“Taylor, why did you bring my mom here?”