Gary might have been a civilian and the son of a lawyer that had known her dad since childhood, but he was also a good man. He hadn't swooped in to steal her from Chico the moment Chico went behind bars like some men would have. They had started talking the New Years after Chico was arrested, and had kept in constant contact until finally he worked up the courage to ask her out. He took the time to show her he was real, he never blatantly judged her for her gang affiliation, brought stuff for the kids when it was a struggle to by diapers for Alejandra and pull ups for Samuel at the same time. That's the thing, he loved her children almost as much as their biological father did. Alejandra even called him Papito even before she and Gary had made anything official. Samuel, of course was a little older and didn't adapt as well. Chico was his only father, but that didn't mean he had a bad relationship with Gary. It was just clear that he preferred his parents together.
Was it true love? No, probably not. She didn't think she could feel for anyone as strongly as she did Chico. Honestly, if Chico had ended up behind bars for longer for any reason, Bela might have considered marrying Gary though. She cared greatly about him, but especially because he cared so much about the kids. He hadn't pressured her to have any more kids yet either, though they had discussed that happening once she was done with law school. He was stable, had a great career and was more than happy to be with her and the children. But Bela was bored, almost. Sure, she fit well into school and her domestic duties as a mother and a cook, but her pasty white man was as vanilla as his skin and Bela hadn't even done more than ask him to choke her.
The apartment he had moved them into was very nice indeed, four bedrooms and two bathrooms: Each kid got their own room, the Master bedroom was theirs, and the fourth bedroom had been turned into a home office for days that someone needed to be home with the kids. She had her school work, but she was also paralegaling at a law firm that Gary's father had helped her get. That meant most days were dedicated to researching laws and doing paperwork, both things that her boss was more than happy to let her do from home so she wasn't cockteasing and distracting the older partners.
When you entered, you walked into a large living room that was connected with an open floor plan into the kitchen and dining area. A hallway led back to the kids bedrooms and their shared bathroom, while the master suite and the office were right off of the living room and dining room, respectively. The living room was a sectional couch and a lazy boy chair that Gary usually sat in. There was evidence of toys and childlike amusement still left over from the morning.
The apartment smelled of pozole and fajita meat simmering on the stove while Bela finished fixing her hair and makeup. She had no doubt that Chico would show up before his party to see his children and her. Originally she had started off angry after Chico had revealed that he had knocked up Samuel's babysitter just before she announced her pregnancy with Alejandra. She refused to see him, to go up and let him know how the baby she was growing, to even answer his calls. Miranda and Viejo were more than welcome to take her son up to see his father, but she was too hurt to look him in the eyes after he had done the same shit to her two pregnancies in a row. Now though, she desperately just needed him to bend her over a table and fuck her.
That was after she fed him well though, and once he got the chance to spend time with the kids. She had even kept Alejandra and Samuel home from school. Originally she had planned it to be a surprise for Alejandra, but Samuel had known what today was and the seven-year-old couldn't keep himself from whispering it to her when she asked why she had to stay home when today was glitter glue day in kindergarten.
Alejandra had chosen her most princess-est of orange dresses, and had her little waves of blonde hair tied up in little ribbons so perfectly. Samuel, however, had thrown on his school uniform to show Papa just how grown up he looked. After all, with Bela's parents and Gary funding most of her life, she had been urged to send both kids to Catholic private schools. Miranda hadn't been opposed either, as long as someone else was paying for it, as if she didn't spend money helping buy their uniforms. A little piece of Bela hoped that Alejandra got the dyke gene from her, which would mean less headaches for the Reyes family as the girl grew into her full beauty. She was just Bela with slightly tanner skin after all.
Samuel turned out a nice balance of Chico's handsome features and a dark brown coating of hair, which was a little long and shaggy now because he refused to cut it for the last six months because he wanted his dad to take him for a haircut when he got out and settled. Though Bela had to admit the shaggy dark brown locks looked good on her son. For a boy he took good care of his hair. While she had to fight tangles and knots out of her daughter's hair every night, Samuel combed and washed his own hair, and kept it groomed back at school. It looked almost distinguished.
By now the kids were anxiously watching the kitchen to be told it was time for food. It wasn't often mom put in the work for pozole. Samuel knew she mostly made it because it was a favorite of his dad's, which just confirmed that pretty soon papa would be home for real. He had spent the last few years being the best boy he could be, praying every night that his dad would come home safely and then they could all be a family again. Alejandra just knew that any Spanish food was good food. Sure, she had gotten used to things like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, roasts and crap like that because they were things Papito enjoyed, but something about Abuelita and Mama's "real" cooking was just naturally better. It was boring if there wasn't some kick to it.
Luisa
Luisa felt like she was doing well for herself and her son. Sebastien was only a couple of months younger than Samuel, which made the situation between her and Bela awkward. After all, they had been pseudo-friends in middle and high school and now they shared a baby daddy. One that, frankly, Luisa would never touch again. She appreciated that he showed up for his kids the best he could by making sure their needs were covered, Luisa hadn't struggled much between him and her parents helping. Much like Bela, she was an only child, but unlike Bela her parents adored her. Her mother had been a little devastated when realizing that the father of her child would never marry her, but otherwise was more than happy to have a new baby in the house. Seb had been warmly loved and raised by his mother and his grandparents; Miranda took her grandkids every other weekend to give the mother's time to relax and do what they needed to do in school or for work, and Luisa's mother was apt to walk by her apartment and kidnap the boy just for a few hours to go out to lunch and the park.
Today was nerve wracking though. Unlike Bela, she didn't keep Seb home from school but also he didn't go to a private school. There wasn't the money in the budget for such things. Besides, Luisa had no idea what sort of wildfires would start around Chico once he was out. They had agreed during the prison sentence that she was done with him physically, but she'd always be there to listen to his Bela woes, and that Sebastien was his son and Chico would never be denied access to spend time with him. She had brought her boy up almost every weekend she had him and he wasn't busy or sick.
Still, knowing that Chico would be back in their lives on the regular... could she maintain her determination to stay away from him? Unlike Bela, she had never sought out another partner. Chico had been her only dick besides a few one-night stands that the world would never know about.
Maria y Miranda
Meanwhile, in the barrio,
Maria was part of the decorating and cooking committee for Chico's welcome home celebration alongside his mother. Cisco was at school so that he wouldn't be underfoot, but he knew what today was. He had only ever known his father in prison, seeing him as often as he could be brought up much like his siblings. He was closest in age to Alejandra though the two of them weren't close at all. Typical bratty princess sister-laid back little brother scenario, no real drama beyond that. If anything the three boys were closest because she and Bela had managed to look past Chico's dick and make sure that Cisco and Samuel had a good relationship with each other.
Now, Maria could consider Bela a friend of hers. Once it became clear that her heart had latched onto Chico's day one, Viejo, the two girls had actually managed to have a good laugh at the ridiculousness of Chico's baby mama situation. The baby mama's were close and were always invited and welcome at Miranda's family brunches every Sunday. Their kids had sleep overs. They had managed to band together enough to protect Chico's little family. It felt good.
Maria didn't come from a family with money like the other two did, her mother was long dead and her father broke his back to support her and her siblings. As one of the oldest two of her five siblings, she got a babysitting job the moment she could. It just happened that she got hooked up babysitting for Samuel. And then she and Chico had had their little affair.
It was rough at first, realizing she was nothing more than another notch on his belt. She had found a sort of safety in his best friend though... It took Viejo the better part of two or three years to realize she was fucking flirting with him, even with all the inviting him over for dinner and movie nights with Cisco. He always assumed she was just being friendly and keeping a male figure around for her son, and he was happy to provide that. She had even kissed him drunk once and he had just put her to bed and respected her in ways Chico would never have... The most nerve wracking moment of her life was riding up the coast with Viejo earlier in the year to ask Chico for his blessing on their carefully hidden relationship.
"Oh Maria, you really do the best job setting up the yard!" Miranda sauntered out to look at the cleared out back yard of the Reyes townhouse. There was a bigger party around the block of course, but this is where Chico would start his evening. She had planned every perfect detail the moment she had gotten the call that he had his release papers going through. "
Estella Reyes will you get off your lazy ass and help?!"
Este looked up at her mom from her place at the head of the family table, the spot that was meant for Chico today. "I did help! It's not that big of a deal, mom, it's just Chico and it's not like he got like any cool scars or anything for it!" she dove out of the chair as Miranda threw her shoe at her only daughter. She rolled her pretty brown eyes and then dusted her orange skirt off and rolled her eyes as she headed back inside. "Fine. I'll go cook or something."
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