The Thrill Is Gone

Paulina had explicitly told her parents not to invite their relatives over. She didn’t tell them that because she was embarrassed by her family, and wanted to keep them hidden from Harry. That wasn’t the case at all. She loved her relatives with all her heart, and had missed them desperately while she was abroad in England, but she just didn’t want to introduce Harry to them on his first day in California. She didn’t want to overwhelm him with all her aunts, uncles, cousins, godparents, and family members that weren’t actually family members, but more along the lines of people that used to live in the same town in Mexico as her parents. Her extended family was massive. Whenever they had parties, the entire backyard was always filled and there were people inside the house, and out on the front yard, and there were just so many of them. Harry didn’t have a big family. His aunts and uncles only had two kids each, whereas hers had had a minimum of three, while she loved having a big family, Harry wasn’t used to that, so she wanted him to settle in with her immediate family before she brought in everyone else.

More than anything, she wanted to avoid having a My Big Fat Greek Wedding moment. She didn’t want Harry to be rushed by her relatives like Ian Miller was swarmed when he met Toula’s family for the first time. What Paulina wanted was to gradually introduce him to her family. On his first day there, they were going to settle in and have dinner with her immediate family. He was going to spend time with everyone he’d already met in England, and was going to be introduced to her niece and nephew. That was it. On the next day, she was going to take him over to visit her godmother Josephina and godfather Felix, their three kids and her grandmother Fabiola who was visiting from Mexico. Then when they got back from there, they’d have dinner with her Uncle Nandor and his family. She planned on slowly introducing him to her family so that on Saturday, when her parents had her graduation party, Harry would already know most of the people there, and they wouldn’t crowd him to make themselves known, because that was such a pain to have to deal with. When she’d first been introduced to Joaquin’s family, at his brother’s First Communion, everyone had swarmed her and she wasn’t able to relax or unwind, it was just constantly meeting people and smiling and saying how glad she was to be there, and when Joaquin met her extended family for the first time, that was how it went for him as well.

Paulina wanted to take that possibility out of the equation. That was why she told her mom not to tell her relatives to come over on the day she arrived from London. In fact, she later told her mom to tell her relatives that there was going to be a delay in her stay in Europe so as to not even let them know the exact day that she was landing, because knowing them, they’d show up at the house uninvited, carrying her favorite dishes to welcome her back. At any other time, she would’ve loved that. She would’ve loved to have been welcomed home in that warm way her family always did, but she didn’t want to stress Harry out anymore than he already was.

But despite her best efforts and her mother’s insistence that she wouldn’t let anyone known when Paulina and Harry were set to arrive, her family ended up finding out because her mother slipped up. Irmalinda accidentally told Josephina that Paulina was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday morning. The divulgement of the information happened so without thought that Irmalinda didn’t even realize that she’d told her sister-in-law. She just said it, and then went onto ask Josephina if she could bring a hazelnut gelatin on Saturday for the party. Having realized that it wasn’t information that Irmalinda intended to share, Josephina didn’t react, she simply kept quiet and when she got home, she shared the news with her sisters; Lucero, Ximena, and Guillermina.

It wasn’t long before the entire family in Southern California was made aware of the arrival date. And when it finally came around, they drove over from Bakersfield, El Monte, La Puente, Fontana, Baldwin Park, and Covina, they drove to Azusa from all over Southern California, and waited for Paulina and her güerito to arrive from the airport. They turned the occasion into a party, which was easily managed considering that most of her female relatives were housewives. They had taken care of their home, and had taken it upon themselves to bring over their younger kids for the day, along with a few dishes and deserts, and there was even a promise of a carne asada (barbeque) later on in the day when the rest of the family showed up.

To that, Paulina was ignorant. She hadn’t a clue that her relatives were at the house, waiting for her and Harry to get there. She didn’t know what her aunts and mom were hard at work with getting the backyard ready as if they were going to have a huge party. If she had known that, she would’ve told Alistair to drive her over to Raphael’s house for a little while, so that they could wait there until her relatives got fed up and went back to their own homes, but she didn’t know that. She was just excited to get home, to see her mom, and later on, see her brothers and dad when they got off work. She was excited and nervous about getting Harry there, and to get him and Kamal and Alistair and Gethin set up in their rooms. She was entirely unaware that the moment they stepped foot into her house, they were going to be descended upon.

She was unaware of that until Alistair turned onto the street where she lived, and she saw all the SUVs and minivans parked along the side that she lived on.

“No fucking way!” she cried, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. “I fucking told them not to tell anyone! ¡Les dije que no le dijeran a nadie a cual tiempo íbamos a llegar, por que luego iban a estar chingando! Pero no. ¡No! Claro que no me hicieron caso. Por que yo no se nada. Ellos son los que saben todo. Y no me tienen que poner atención. Por eso llegaron todas mis tías y mis primos, aunque les vía dicho a mis papas que no invitaran a nadie. ¿Por que nunca me poten atención? ¡Yo se como quiero hacer las cosas! (I told them not to tell anyone what time we were gonna be getting in, because then my relatives were just gonna show up and not leave you in peace. But no – no! They didn’t pay attention to what I wanted, because apparently, I don’t know anything. They’re the ones that know everything. And that’s why they don’t pay attention to me. That’s why all my aunts and cousins are here, even though I told my parents not to invite anyone. But do they ever pay attention to me? I'm the one that knows how I want things done!)” Paulina rambled angrily in Spanish.

“Darling, I’ve no problem with them being there.” Harry reassured. “I'm quite keen to meet your family, and today’s as good a day as any to do that.”

“But I wanted to introduce you in stages so it wouldn’t be too much,” she explained. “I already had it all planned out. We were just gonna hang out at home today with my family, you were gonna meet Isabel and Ronaldo. And then tomorrow we were gonna go out to visit with some family and then some of them were gonna come over. I didn’t want it to be like this.” She rambled on. “My family, well, I love them and all, but they can be a bit much. And when we’re all together we get even worse, but it’s not even that we’re bad, we’re just very vivacious and . . . uh, I just wanted to avoid having a My Big Fat Wedding scenario play out.”

“A what?” he asked. He hadn’t a clue as to what she was going on about.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” she repeated. “It’s this movie about this lady named Toula, who falls in love with Ian, and the issue with him is that he’s not Greek. So her family goes all crazy about that, because according to them only Greeks marry Greeks, but eventually it gets better and then they get engaged. And when he meets her family for the first time, they all sort of descend on him, like they just completely swarmed him when they got into the restaurant – was it a restaurant or was it at her parent’s house? I think it was the restaurant. Yeah, it was definitely the restaurant. And they end up getting separated. So the poor guy is dealing with her family on his own, and he looked so lost and overwhelmed, and the language barrier and cultural differences was just really apparent and he looked so confused, and I wanted to avoid that, because I know my family, we might not be Greek, but we get exactly like that. Whenever someone brings a new boyfriend or girlfriend over, we get swept up in it. And I don’t want to overwhelm you right off the bat.”

“I won’t be overwhelmed.” Harry chuckled. “Honestly, love, I'm used to crowds. Remember? They come with being royalty. Wherever we go, there’s a crowd forming or already formed.”

“I know, but the thing is, those crowds can’t swarm you. There’s always a bit of space to move around in, even if it’s not much too actually speak of. My family doesn’t know personal space. Remember how my brother said that we’re a procession of kissing and hugging when we get to places?”

“I do.”

“Well, that’s what you’re gonna be dealing with. You being a prince isn’t gonna make a difference to them. My tias are gonna be pinching your cheeks and hugging you all tight, and then they’ll try to feed you even when you clearly don’t want to eat anymore, because they’re all gonna want you to eat from the food they brought. You know what? I’ve got a feeling this is gonna be a hot mess. I think we should leave before anyone sees us, and we’ll head over to Rafa’s house. We can hang out there until they get tired and leave.”

“I regret to inform you that your brother has already arrived at your parent’s home, Miss Balcázar.” Alistair spoke from his place behind the wheel. “He arrived quite early with Mrs. Balcázar and the children.”

“Did he? That asshole! The one day I need him to be late, and he’s on time.” Paulina pursed her lips together. “I’ll just call up one of my friends. Manny lives pretty close by, just a few blocks away. Ah. Shit. Forget it. Knowing his mom, she’ll end up calling mine. We’ll hang out at Essa’s place. It’ll be fine and –” her eyes went wide when she saw her mother walk out of the house.

Irmalinda was followed closely by Isabel, who was speaking quite animatedly about how much she was looking forward to meeting a real life prince. She wondered if he was anything like the ones in fairytales and Disney movies. If he was charming and honorable and chivalrous, she would’ve wondered whether or not he was handsome as well, but she’d seen pictures of him and her aunt Paulin, and didn’t think he was as cute as a prince ought to be. But despite that, she hoped he was charming and that he’d be fun, because if he was boring, she wouldn’t like him. And as Isabel continued to talk, Irmalinda moved forward, having to grab something that she’d forgotten from her SUV. She was nearly there, only four or so feet away from her red Ford Expedition, but just as she was nearing the driveway, she noticed the vehicle that Alistair had been driving around in.

Almost instantly, Irmalinda began to wave them down. She’d completely forgotten about the bag of peppers she had to fetch from the Expedition, all that mattered was that her daughter had just got home. She called out her daughter’s name as she walked toward the sidewalk, and then, in hurried words, she told Isabel that her aunt had finally arrived. Overjoyed at the news, Isabel began fidgeting. She waved her arms wildly, calling her out her aunt’s name as she did so. After nearly two years of separation, her Tia Paulin was back.

“Miss?” spoke Alistair from his place behind the wheel. “What is it you wish me to do?”

“I –” there was a part of her that wanted him to drive off. They could hide out for a few hours, just until her relatives got tired of waiting. It wouldn’t be so bad. They could say that something had been left behind at the airport, that her luggage had been misplaced. That was it! She could say one of her bags had accidentally been placed on a later flight to Los Angeles, and that it had only just gotten in. It was a decent enough lie, but in her heart, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get away with it. Her mother would be furious, Isabel would be upset, and Paulina didn’t want to hurt her niece’s feelings, not when the child was grinning so brightly at them. “– well, I think you should go ahead and park.” She turned to Harry. “Or what do you think? Do you feel like meeting them right now, right now or would you rather hold off on that for a bit? It’s up to you.”

“I reckon it’d be best not to hold off.” Harry replied. “They’ve come to see me, and I'm quite keen on putting my Spanish to use with them.”

“Okay then.” She took his hand in hers, not because she wanted to steady his nerves, but because she wanted to steady her own. “Go ahead and park in the driveway, Alistair.” She took deep breaths as Alistair pulled onto the pavement, and when the vehicle came to a halt, she turned to Harry. “Güerito, if at any point you feel the need to step aside for a moment or if you feel like you want to go get some rest, just tell me and I’ll make it happen. I know we were planning on resting a little when we got here, but, uh, apparently there’s a party now. But if you get tired, just let me know and I’ll take you to where you’re meant to sleep.”

“Don’t you think they’ll give us the grand tour first?” asked Harry.

Paulina laughed lightly. “No. I think that’s gonna be held off until later, way later. Right now, everyone’s just gonna want to meet you, but like I said, I’ll take you to your room if you need to rest.”

“Thanks love, but I’ll be fine. I slept on the flight over, so I'm quite alright.” Harry reassured.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Positive.” Harry smiled, and with his free hand, tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Don’t be so nervous, love. It’ll be alright. I speak Spanish. Remember? Might not be fluent in it, but I'm decent enough. So there won’t be a language barrier like with those Greeks in that movie.” He paused. “Now come here, give us a kiss, and don’t ya dare say ya won’t just because they’re in the car with us.”

“My mom’s coming.”

“Then you better be quick.” Harry grinned, cheekily.

“Just one kiss,” she told him, trying to keep herself from smiling so brightly.

“Only one?” he shook his head. “Not likely. I reckon this is a two kiss job. Who knows, might even need three.”

“Well that’s too bad, because you’re only getting two.” She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in, her dark brown eyes gazing intently into those beloved blue orbs of his. Their first kiss was soft, an innocent closed mouth embrace that sent their hearts fluttering, and as their hearts fluttered, their bodies craved more. As such, the second kiss was more passionate, their lips parted, and tongues became reacquainted, but before they got too far into that, Alistair announced that her mother was fast approaching. “I told you she was coming,” whispered Paulina as she rested her forehead against his. “We’d never have made it to a third kiss.”

Harry grinned brightly. “I reckon you’ll just owe me that one till later.”

“Something tells me that you might be tired of kisses after my family’s done with you.” Paulina joked, trying to feel more at ease about what was to come. “They’re gonna love you, güerito. I know it.”

“Of course they will. I'm fucking fantastic.” Harry scrunched his nose at her. “Now off we go. It’s time to parade me about. I didn’t come all this way to go unseen.” He ran a hand through his unruly hair, not to tidy it up, but to steady his nerves. This was a different culture he was about to step into, and despite having done his best to become acquainted with it, he was still an outsider, and he was nervous about doing something that might offend someone or making a poor impression on her family. “Gethin, the door please!” he ordered.

Gethin wasted no time in exiting the vehicle. When he stepped outside he took the opportunity to fix his collar, and then opened the passenger door. His hand was held out for Paulina to take, to assist in her exiting the vehicle, and it was gently taken into her possession, her touch light as she emerged from their means of transportation.

“Thank you,” she told him, and then stood off to the side to wait for her ginger.

Harry emerged shortly thereafter. He didn’t take Gethin’s hand like Paulina had. There was no need for that. That was nothing more than an act that the security details put on for women, a show of gentlemanlike manners. Harry stepped out on his own accord, shoulders pushed back, and with a debonair smile placed firmly on his lips. He was ready to charm and be charmed.

“Tia Polen!” Isabel cried out in delight. “Tia!” she shouted as she sprinted towards her aunt.

“Mi florecita (my little flower)!” exclaimed Paulina with glee. “¡Ven acá! Y dame un abrazo. (Get over here and give me a hug.)”

Isabel leapt into her aunts open arms, and wrapped her legs tightly around her waist as she buried her face in her aunt’s dark curls. The last time that Isabel had been held by her aunt was two years earlier when she was six years old. A lot had changed since then, she’d taken up tap dancing and had developed a crush on an actor from a novela her mom watched on Telemundo, she’d even cut her hair for the first time in nearly five years, but one of the things that hadn’t changed was the love she felt for her aunt.

“I missed you so much, Isa,” said Paulina softly, her eyes tearing up from the emotion welling within her chest. “Life wasn’t the same without my florecita.”

“Missed you to, Tia,” Isabel lifted her head. “Aldito and I wanted you to come back so you could take us to the zoo, because no one else knows the stories for the animals like you do. They just say to look at them and mira que bonitos están, pero ellos no saben que los tigres están separados de los leones por que la princesa de los tigres se enamoro con el rey león, pero a su gente no les callo bien y se pelearon y ya no pueden estar juntos. (look at how beautiful they are, but they don’t know that the tigers are separated from the lions because the tiger princess fell in love with the king of the lions, but their people didn’t like that and they got into a really big fight and now they can’t ever be together again.)”

“They don’t know that story? But it’s a classic!” It wasn’t. It was a quick story that Paulina had made up when Isabel asked why tigers and lions weren’t allowed to hang out in the same enclosure. She’d toyed with telling the four year old the truth, but a story seemed like more fun, and from then on, she’d made up background stories for every animal in the zoo. “That’s unacceptable! I can’t believe no one was telling you those stories, but don’t worry, I promise I’ll take you and Aldito to the zoo on Sunday. Okay? But first, there’s someone really special that I want to introduce you to.”

“Your güerito?” asked a bright eyed Isabel.

Paulina nodded, “Yeah, mi güerito.”

“Okay, but you have to put me down, because I need to do something.” Isabel was then placed on the ground where she quickly fixed her rose colored dress. “You can do it now, Tia.”

Paulina looked over to her mom to see if she had any clue what Isabel was planning, but Irmalinda didn’t say anything, she only smiled coyly.

“Isa, this is my boyfriend, Harry. He’s gonna spend the summer with us, so you’re gonna get to know him really well and I want you to treat him like you would me. Okay?” she turned to Harry. “And Henry, this is my niece, Isabel. She’s a massive sweetheart, but, uh, she can be a little diva at times, so just a heads up on that.”

“She’s every right to be a diva.” Harry smiled, warmly. “Miss Isabel, I do hope you won’t mind my saying that you are a very pretty girl, and it is an absolute honor to make your acquaintance.” Harry smiled kindly. He knew how much Paulina adored her niece and nephew, and wanted to have them adore him as much as they did their aunt. “I’ve a feeling we’re going to be the absolute best of friends. Don’t you?”

“I do!” said Isabel, excitedly. “We’re gonna go with my Tia to the zoo and she’s gonna tell you the stories of the animals and then we’re gonna get kettle corn. My mami doesn’t like it because she says popcorn isn’t supposed to be sweet. It’s supposed to be salty, but I like it sweet and I think you’re gonna like it too. And then I’ll tell my mami to make us barbacoa and a pastel de tres leches. It’s so good! You’re gonna like it a lot, and you can watch the novela with us if you want. Aldito’s probably gonna ask you to watch futbol with him, but you don’t have to because I don’t really like futbol all that much. I like it when el tri (Mexican national team) plays because my abuelitos (grandparents) always have a carne asada on those days.” She took in a deep breath, and was just getting ready to ramble on when she realized that she’d forgotten to do the curtsey that she’d been practicing so hard on. And quick as she could, she curtseyed. It wasn’t much of a curtsey, the form was way off, and her posture wasn’t correct, but nonetheless, it was a sweet gesture.

“Darling,” said Harry, crouching down in front of her. “There’s no need for that. Not with me. I'm not a prince.”

“But you are.” Isabel stated. “That’s why my Tia comes out in magazines, and why my abuelito (grandpa) turned on the sprinklers when the people were around the house.”

Harry chuckled lightly. “What I meant to say is that I'm not a prince when I'm with your Tia. I'm only a bloke.”

“What’s a bloke?” asked Isabel.

“It’s a man.” Harry answered. “I'm quite a normal man when I'm around your Tia. That’s what I am. Though, I must admit that was a very nice curtsey.”

“Really?” her eyes widened in delight. “Because I’ve been practicing on it, everyone said I didn’t have to do it, but I wanted to so you’d feel like you were at home, because I know how scary it can be when you’re not home.”

“That was very sweet of you, Isabel.” Harry was touched by the little girl’s effort. “And I thank you, only you don’t have to do it anymore. Once was enough to make me feel at home.”

Isabel grinned. “I like you.”

“Do you? I'm pleased to hear it. I'm quite keen on you as well.”

As Harry conversed with Isabel, Paulina turned to her mom. She knew that a hug and kiss was the appropriate way to go about things, but she was annoyed beyond belief that her mom hadn’t called to give her a heads up.

“Entonces mis tías supieron que hora íbamos a llegar. (I take it my aunts knew that we were showing up today).” Paulina commented, trying her best to not seem confrontational.

“Ni me has dado un abrazo o un beso y ya andas chingando. Mejor dame un besito y luego me regañas. Y ni tienes por que regañarme por que yo no les dije. Pues, si les dije pero no fue adrede. Fue accidente. (You haven’t even given me a hug or a kiss and you’re already complaining. I think you should give me a kiss first and then complain, even though you don’t really have anything to complain about. Wait. On second thought, I did tell them but it wasn’t on purpose. It was an accident.).”

“¿Como que accidente? (What do you mean accident?)” Paulina stared at her mother with curious eyes.

“Pues yo ni se cuando fue que le dije, pero dice tu madrina que yo le dije cuando estábamos hablando sobre la fiesta del sábado. Y yo no supe. Entonces hora llegaron todos, y se trajeron los niños y comida, y pues no les pude decir que se fueran. De cual quier manera el los iba a conocer. Entonces no pasa nada. (Well truth be told, I don’t even know when it was that I told her, but your godmother Josephina says that I accidentally told her when we were talking about the party that we’re going to have on Saturday. And I didn’t even realize it. And then today they all showed up and they brought the kids and food, and obviously, I couldn’t tell them to leave. Anyways, there’s not really a point in being annoyed. He was going to meet them either way. So nothing even happened.)” Irmalinda explained.

“Mom, usted sabe como somos. Su familia de el no es como la de nosotros. (Mom, you know how we are. His family isn’t like ours.)” Paulina couldn’t believe her mom was acting like it wasn’t’ a huge deal that so many of their relatives were there.

“El nos trato muy bien cuando estábamos en Inglaterra, entonces va a estar bien. (He’ll be fine. He got along very well with us when we were in England.)” Irmalinda reminded.

“Pero me viera hablado. (But you should’ve called me.)”

“Y luego te vieras perdido para que el no se estresara. Pero el no se va a estresar. El esta acostumbrado a estas cosas. Y ya no vallas a estar chingando por que te hice unos chilaquiles que quedaron bien pero bien rico. ¡Isabel! Ya deja el muchacho en paz que se tiene que pasar a comer y a descansar. (And then you wouldn’t have showed up so he wouldn’t stress out. He’s not even going to stress about this. He’s used to this sort of thing. And stop complaining about this because I made chilaquiles and they came out delicious. Isabel! Leave the young man alone so he can go inside the house to eat and relax.)” Irmalinda wanted to get her guests inside so she could feed them.

“No me esta enfadando. Estamos, uh, bien. (She’s not bothering me. We’re fine.)” Harry assured Irmalinda.

“Pero tienes que comer y descansar por que tuvieron un viaje muy largo. Y no me as saludado. No te mires tan asustado mijo, estaba jugando. Me da mucho gusto verte de nuevo y tenerte en nuestro hogar. (But you have to eat and rest because you had a very long trip. And you didn’t even say hello to me! Don’t look so scared, my dear, I was only teasing. I'm so happy to see you again and to have you in our home.)” Irmalinda took him into a warm embrace and placed two kisses on his cheeks.

“Muchas gracias por dejarme venir. (Thank you so much for letting me stay.)” Harry said.

“Nos da gusto tenerte aquí. Y también tener aquí a tus amigos. (There’s no need to thank us. We’re glad to have you here. And also to have your friends.)”

“¿Amigos? (Friends?)” Harry didn’t understand who she was referring to as friends.

“Si, los señores que te acompañan. Nos da mucho gusto tenerlos a todos. ¿Dime, ellos hablan español? (Yes, the gentlemen that are accompanying you. We’re so glad to have them here. Tell me, do they speak Spanish?)” Irmalinda was eager to know whether she’d be able to converse easily in Spanish or have to use her English.

“Solamente Ingles, Señora Balcázar. (Only English, Mrs. Balcázar.)” Harry informed her.

“No problem. I speak English. And I tell you before you call me, Irma.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Balcázar, but I feel more comfortable addressing you as I currently do.” Harry wanted to keep the formality because he felt that showing that respect to Paulina’s parents would reflect well on him.

“One day you call me, Irma.” Irmalinda smiled brightly and then turned to Paulina. “Where your friends?” she asked, referring to the security details. “I want to meet.”

“Okay, mom,” replied Paulina. She walked to the back of the vehicle where the three men were unloading the luggage. “Um, excuse me, could you guys please stop for a moment?”

“Is something the matter, Miss?” Alistair inquired.

“No, nothing at all,” reassured Paulina. “It’s just that my mom wants to meet Kamal and Gethin, but if you’re busy, then –”

“We’re not busy, Miss.” Kamal stated. “It would be an honor to meet your mother.”

“Then please come this way.” Paulina led them back to where her mother stood beside Harry and Isabel, and from her new position, she could see that some of her relatives were peeking from behind the drapes. “Mama, these are my friends and Harry’s security details. This is Kamal. Kamal this is my mother, Irmalinda,” she introduced them.

“Mrs. Balcázar it is a true honor to –” Kamal was cut off when Irmalinda pulled him into a hug and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“No call me, Mrs. Balcázar. Call me, Irma.” Irmalinda told him, hoping that if she couldn’t get Harry to call her that, that at least the security details would. “Welcome to my home. It now your home too,” she said.

“Thank you, Ma’am. That’s very kind of you.” Kamal bowed his head politely and then resumed his place at Alistair’s side.

“Mom, this is Gethin. Gethin this is my mother.” Paulina said.

“You take care of my baby in Paris. Yes?” Irmalinda remembered her daughter having said that she’d had a personal security detail.

“Yes, Ma’am, I did indeed have that honor.” Gethin replied, respectfully.

“Good. Good. You and Kamal very good men, very brave,” Irmalinda complimented them, and then moved in so that she could hug Gethin and place a kiss on his cheek. “I thank you for taking care of my baby, both my babies.” She said with a smile. “My home is your home now. Please feel comfortable and if you want anything you all tell me. Okay? Let me go get boys to take bags inside.”

“We thank you, Ma’am, but that won’t be necessary.” Alistair spoke on their behalf. “Please do not trouble yourself or inconvenience your family members, I can show them where they are to sleep.”

“Alistair, don’t say that!” Irmalinda said sternly. “I tell you yesterday. You guest! You no carry bags. You go inside and eat and relax. Haya se visto que uno tenga invitados y los haga cargar sus cosas. Yo no se como le hacen en Inglaterra pero aquí los invitados se cuidan y se tratan muy bien. Entonces se meten a la casa horita mismo y mis muchachos les llevan sus maletas para adentro. (As if I am going to have guests over and then make them carry their own bags. I don’t know how things are done in England, but here, we take care of our guests and treat them well. So you better get inside the house right now, and my sons will take the luggage into the house.)”

“Ellos no hablan español. (They don’t speak Spanish.)” Paulina reminded her mother.

“Entonces me les dices lo que les acabe de decir. Voy a pasar para dentro para hablarles a Rafa y a Luis. (Then tell them what I just finished saying. I'm going to go inside to call Rafa and Luis.)”

“¿Esta Luis también aquí? (Luis is at the house?)” Paulina had thought he was at work.

“Claro que si. Llego a las dos de la mañana a noche, entonces ya si esta despierto. El quería ir a recogerte a ti y a Harry, pero dijo el muchacho que no podía ir, por casos de seguridad. Pero horita va a salir, espérate hasta que ellos salgan para que los introduzcas a los muchachos y luego se pasan para adentre. Vente Isabel, tenemos trabajo que hacer. (Of course he is. He got home at two in the morning last night, and by now he’s slept enough so he’s up. He wanted to go to the airport to pick you and Harry up, but Alistair said that he couldn’t go because of security. But he’s gonna come out right now, wait until they come out so you can introduce them to the boys and then you can all come in. Come on Isabel, we have work to do).” Isabel motioned for Isabel to follow her in, and after saying a quick goodbye to everyone, she followed her grandmother in.
“Sorry about that.” Paulina apologized to the security details. “I’ve been warning Henry about all the hugs and kisses he’s going to be getting, and I completely forgot to inform you of that as well. My family is very affectionate. We hug and kiss when we meet people. And, uh, the ladies are going to do that, and the men in my family will shake your hands since they don’t give kisses on the cheeks to grown men, well, if they’re nephews or godchildren then they do, but yeah. I am so sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I hope it won’t be so bad, because everyone’s really nice and friendly, and –”

“Its fine, Miss,” Alistair said. “These are your family’s customs and we will respect them.”

“Thank you.” She shot Alistair, Kamal and Gethin grateful smiles. “Also, my mom said that you have to let her treat you as guests, because she won’t have you carrying in your own luggage. I know that might not make since considering that you’re working right now, but please humor her.” She paused. “We’ll go inside in a little bit. My mom’s just sending my brother’s out to take in the stuff and if you want you can go with them to see your room’s right away, but I would recommend having something to eat first, and then you can go see the room’s after. But like I said, it’s up to you.”

“They’ll eat first.” Harry stated. “The bags will be properly looked after by her brother’s, and it’s best to not keep the food waiting. And do allow yourselves to be treated as guests. We must not refuse the hospitality of Paulina’s family.”

“Yes, Sir,” said the security details in unison.

It wasn’t long before her brother’s came out. She heard them before she even saw them. Their loud, boisterous voices were carried out the front door, and when they stepped out, her eyes twinkled in delight. Raphael looked the same as ever, hair neatly combed and his clothes were without the slightest wrinkle. Luis, on the other hand, had changed. He had been letting his hair grow out, wanting to get it to the length he’d had it in high school when his parents bribed him with a guitar to cut if off, but he’d only made it three-quarters of the way before he grew tired of it. And shortly after having returned from England, he had it copped off, and reverted to his hassle free hairstyle.

At the sight of their sister, the two men broke into matching grins. They picked up their pace and when Luis reached Paulina, he took her into a tight hug that led to her being picked up a few inches off the ground. She relished in the attention her brother’s gave her, because as much as she complained about them teasing her, she loved it. She loved being with them, even if they ended up quarreling sometimes. There was nothing like being teased at home by her brothers.

When the siblings finished talking amongst each other, they welcomed Harry. Luis gave him a one armed hug, treating him as he would an old friend. Raphael was more restrained. He shook his hand and said a few polite words followed by an awkward smile, but that was still better than when they’d first met. After having greeted Harry, they were introduced to the new security details. And just as Paulina had said, her brothers welcomed the men with a handshake and words of welcome. They reiterated their mother’s statements, reassured them that this was now their home and that if they needed anything at all, to not be afraid to ask.

The men were taken aback by the attention they were receiving. Whenever they accompanied Harry, they were always just told where it as that the staff was to be, and were then ignored, but with the Balcázars, they were being treated like welcomed guests who had to be tended to. It was strange and a little unnerving, but despite feeling like they ought to have been the one’s carrying in their luggage, the allowed the Balcázar men to do so.

“Your Royal Highness,” spoke Alistair.

“Yes?” Harry looked over at him.

“While I am aware that you stated your desire for us to dine directly, I was wondering if you might perhaps allow us to do a security check.” Alistair had already checked in the morning, but he wanted to make sure everything was still up to par.

“Haven’t you done so already?” asked Harry.

“Yes, Sir, I did indeed check the perimeters this morning. I only wish to check again. Not that I believe you are in any danger at the Balcázar residence, it is only protocol.”

“Then do it.” Harry stated.

“But don’t you want to eat?” Paulina asked.

“We do indeed, Miss. And we will. This is merely standard procedure, and it won’t take long. Five or so minutes should suffice.”

“Okay then. Well, when you’re ready just let yourselves into the dining room. I'm sure Alistair already knows where that’s at. We’ll be in there.” She paused and then took Harry’s hand in hers. “I guess it’s time, mi güerito lindo (my lovely güerito).”

“Right then . . .” Without even realizing it, his grip on her hand tightened.

She could sense his unease, there was something in his eyes that made his nerves apparent to her, and knowing very well how he always said that her kisses had a calming effect on him, she placed a delicate kiss on his lips, which was filled with so much tender affection that he felt a load lifted from his shoulders. His nerves weren’t completely gone, but they were tolerably manageable.

“Bloody hell,” he whispered.

“After all this time, I still make you say that,” she smiled lovingly as she caressed his face with her free hand.

“I reckon I’ll always be saying that with you.”

“Good,” she stated, “Because I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now come on, let’s head in.” She began to lead him up the path to her house. “So I guess it’s finally my turn to give you a tour. Um, I'm not really sure what to say out here, but this is my parent’s house, and I grew up here. Well, here and our house in Mexico, but mostly here, we only really went over there in the summer.”

“They’ve a lovely home.” Harry complimented. “I'm quite keen on the Spanish style, and I can’t help but think of my father when I see how neat the garden’s kept. He’d be fond of it, I know.”

“You should wait until you see the backyard.” She told him as they walked up the steps that led under the archway and to the front door. “We’ve got a lot of fruit trees and vegetables. And flowers! There are so many flowers. Mostly roses, because my mom’s obsessed with them, but I’ve got a sunflower patch going that I'm really proud of. And through here is the interior and next to the door is the window where my family was spying on us from, though they moved back when they saw we were coming in closer.”

Harry chuckled. “They truly are like you say, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, I'm not just making it up to make it up. They really are excited to meet you and my family’s just very close and, it’ll be rad, I promise. I just can’t promise that I'm gonna be able to be at your side when we get in because knowing them, I'm gonna be pushed aside.”

“Like hell you are.”

“I'm being serious. When Rafa brought home Teresa for the first time, he was literally forgotten for a really long time and the same thing happened when Adrian introduced Thomas, but don’t worry, everyone’s really nice, you might just get your butt pinched at some point.”

“What? Why?”

“My abuelito Fabiola sort of has a thing for butts. I think she’s actually where I got my thing from, so yeah, if you see a really old lady in a wheelchair and she pinches your butt, take it as a compliment.”

“Your Gran is mental. I can’t believe she’s going about grabbing bums.” Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of an old woman in a wheel chair doing such a thing.

“Well she is my abuelito,” Paulina smiled brightly. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Inside the house, only a few feet from the door, stood her family crowded together. The moment Irmalinda had stepped inside, she had started telling everyone to go to the living room because the güerito was here and they had to welcome him. So everyone went in, the children required a little convincing since they were playing outside, but eventually everyone made their way into the living room. And by the time Paulina finally opened the door, they were all there waiting for them.

Harry was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t expected them all to be there, standing around the living room, and while none of her uncles or older male family members were there to glare at him, he couldn’t help but suddenly feel out of place. That must have been what Paulina felt like whenever she met someone in his family.

Needing to take control of the situation, Paulina greeted her family members in Spanish. She told them that it was great to see them all there, and that she was excited for them to meet her güerito. Harry took that as his own cue to say good morning in Spanish, and when he did, the women in the room exchange happy smiles, and then, much to Paulina’s horror, they swarmed him.

Poor Harry didn’t even realize what was happening until they’d completely crowded around him, forcing Paulina from his side. She ended up near the wall where her mom had all the family portraits hung up. All she could do was watch in horror as her family members proceeded to hug and place kisses on Harry’s cheeks. They weren’t even giving him space to move, everyone was talking, everyone was trying to welcome home, and even if he hadn’t been a prince that would’ve been the exact reaction he would’ve elicited from them.

“Be nice!” Paulina tried to shout over her family. “Don’t smother him!”

“No one’s gonna listen to you, fea (ugly).” Rodolfo spoke from beside her. “They’re all crazy over your güerito.”

“Rudy!” exclaimed Paulina, momentarily forgetting what was going on. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she hugged him.

“What do ya mean what am I doing here? I'm here to see your ugly ass. Why? Do ya want me to leave?”

“Don’t be stupid. Of course not,” she told him. “I just thought you were gonna be at work or something.”

“Nah, I don’t go in until one so I decided to kick it here while you guys showed up. I didn’t want to miss out on that.” With his head he motioned to Harry. His smile was still intact and he was trying his best to speak to everyone who spoke to him. “You know, I can’t even imagine what must be going through his head right now. We’re used to that kind of shit with how our families are, pero el (but him), this must be a straight up culture shock. Just watch, he’s gonna fucking take off right now.”

“Don’t say that!” She punched him in the arm.

Rodolfo cocked his brow. “Calm your ass down. He’s not gonna take off on you. His ass came out all the way to Azusa to be with you, so don’t worry.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t know how crazy it was. I mean I tried to tell him that it would be like My Big Fat Greek Wedding but he wouldn’t believe me.”

“That’s what this is like!” Rodolfo grinned. “Man, I knew this reminded me of something, but now that you say it, it is that movie. Pobresito (poor guy), I wouldn’t want to be him right now. But hey, at least you know how this is gonna turn out. You’ll have yourself a British Mexican baby. Hopefully it doesn’t turn out all freckle faced. That shit would look weird.”

“Not even! Freckles are cute!”

“Mis nalgas (my ass), they are!” Rodolfo tilted his head back and let out a booming laugh. “Don’t worry. Your kids will turn out alright. Not as attractive as mine when I get around to it, but not everyone can have baby Rudy’s.”

“And thank god for that.” Paulina countered. “You should go in there and give him a hug. I'm sure he’d love to see a familiar face.”

“I’ll go in, but not right now.” Rodolfo stated. “The viejitas (old ladies) are on him right now. And I'm not gonna get between las viejitas (the old ladies) and someone. Fuck that. And don’t even trip. He’s fine. Mira (look), he’s used to this sort of thing. He’s always in crowds over there in England.”

“Yeah, but those are British crowds. They don’t get all like this.”

“That’s on him then. He should’ve known that when he dates a Mexican. He dates the family. You got to be hitting up the baptisms with her, the first communions, the birthdays, the quinceañeras and those random ass parties that families always have. Pero (but) like I said, it’s no big deal, look at him, he’s over there smiling at your tias, he knows how to work it.”

And he really did. Harry knew exactly how to smile, how to appear engaged when people spoke to him. It was an art he’d been perfecting ever since he could remember, and he did his best to be attentive to Paulina’s family members, to speak to them in Spanish, to return their kisses and their hugs. He was surprised by how many people were there, and was even more surprised to know that that wasn’t her entire family, there were a lot of people missing. Some aunts and uncles that were at work, her father, Adrian and Thomas. There were still more family members to come, and he couldn’t believe that she had so many relatives.

After a few minutes, Paulina decided that her relatives had had him long enough, and began to maneuver her way through the living room. She knew that her family was expecting to talk with him a little more, to do a bit of interrogating, though their form of interrogation wouldn’t be done with harsh words and glares. It would be carried out with kind words and smiles, a different tactic than the one used by her brother and father, but despite that, Paulina wanted to spare Harry that so early on. She didn’t want him overwhelmed. So she announced that it was time they had breakfast since they were hungry from the flight over, and when Irmalinda voiced her agreement with Paulina’s, the others stopped crowding Harry.

Harry shot Paulina a grateful smile when she reached him. He’d only been on his own for a few minutes, but it felt much longer than that. Everyone had swarmed him, everyone had started talking all at once, giving him hugs and kisses. It was a lot to take in. Especially since their voices were all jumbled together, making it harder on him to process what it was they were saying. He was used to people speaking Spanish slowly to him. That was how his instructor did things, Paulina as well, and her parents had slowed down their words in order to make things easier on him, but when her relatives descended on him, they didn’t bother speaking at a slow or even a normal pace. They spoke quickly, much faster than he’d ever heard Paulina speak, and that was counting whenever she got mad at him and started rambling on in Spanish.

“Muchas gracias por ser tan amables con mi güerito, pero por favor ya déjenlo en paz. Tiene hambre y le tengo que ir a dar de comer. (Thank you so much for being so friendly to my güerito, but please leave him alone for a little bit. He’s hungry and I have to go feed him).”

“Pues si le vas a dar de comer, yo les caliento las tortillas para que tu también te puedes sentar a almorzar (Well if you’re going to feed him then I’ll heat up the tortillas that way you can also sit down to eat).” Irmalinda spoke up. “Entonces ya váyanse a sentar y nosotros vamos a servirles. Y donde están los muchachos? (So go sit down and we’ll go to the kitchen right now. And where are the boys?)”

“Están asegurando la casa, horita vienen. (They’re checking out the house right now. They’ll be back in a little bit.)” Paulina responded and then turned to Harry. “Come on, Henry. Let’s go eat.”

“Alright then,” he said. “Fue mucho gusto conocerlos. Uh, voy a comer. Con permiso. (It was a pleasure meeting you all. Uh, I'm gonna go eat now. Excuse me.” Harry excused himself from and then allowed for Paulina to lead him into the dining room, where they were welcomed by a large spread on the table.

There was an assortment of fresh pan dulce (sweet bread) that had been procured from Paulina’s favorite panaderia (bakery). There was sliced papaya, cantaloupe, jicama and oranges. There were various sauces in glass containers, some that were simply for flavor, others that packed a spicy kick, and another that left one’s mouth burning in an exquisite pain. There was rice, there were beans, there were eggs with chorizo, nopales con huevo (cactus with eggs), cesina, and chilaquiles covered with melted Monterey jack cheese.

“This smells fantastic,” commented Harry as his eyes darted about the table.

“It does!” she agreed. “And it tastes even better. I can’t believe she made nopales. Those are so good. I kept craving them in England, but it’s not like I could just go to the market to buy cactus.”
“Wait. You mean to say those things are cactus? Like the ones in the desert?” Harry couldn’t believe people would eat that.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I know it sounds weird, but they’re really good. I love it when my mom gets them straight from the backyard, and she peels them, then throws them on the grill and then we have them just like that with a pinch of salt and salsa (sauce). And sometimes, I don’t even wait until she cooks them, I just have them raw. It’s fucking delicious.”

“I think I’ll take your word for it.” Harry wasn’t keen on trying that food.

Paulina was tempted to tease him. To convince him to try the food like he’d convinced her to try fish and chips, but as much as she wanted to do that, she decided that there was other food that he was going to think off, and that she should hold off on trying to convince him to try new food until the tacos de lengua (cow tongue tacos) were brought out.

“Why don’t you go ahead and sit down.” Paulina proposed. “I’ll grab us some plates.”

“There’s already some there.” Harry pointed to the neat stack of plates on the table. The cutlery was there as well.

“Right then, well, I guess you should just sit down and I’ll serve us. Don’t worry. I'm not gonna try to force feed you the cactus. Luis really hates them, so it’s alright to not want to have them. A lot of my cousins are iffy about them too.”

“That’s a relief.” It really was for him. “I was worried I might offend your mum by not having at them.”

“She doesn’t expect you to eat everything,” she reassured him. “She just expects you to eat.”

A plate was taken from the stack in the middle of the table, and was loaded with chilaquiles, rice, and beans. That was the food she knew Harry liked, it was also the food that she knew for a fact wouldn’t upset his stomach, considering the difference in ingredients that her mother used. Once he finished that, she’s serve him some eggs and chorizo. Although to be honest, she wasn’t sure if the chorizo would agree with him. She knew the flavor was one he’d enjoy, but she wasn’t sure if the spices would do him well, because they were spices and peppers that she hadn’t been able to cook with while she was in England. For her own part, Paulina loaded her plate with chilaquiles and nopales, and as soon as she sat herself down, she made herself a burrito of nopales. It had been years since she’d eaten them. In fact, the last time she’d tasted them was the day before she left for England, and to be sitting at the table, to be inhaling the smell of her mother’s cooking and eating nopales was a true treat for her. She relished in the taste, in how juicy and tender the nopales were and how they’d picked up the flavor of the peppers and spices that they’d been cooked with.

Paulina watched in delight as Harry devoured the plate set before him. He had forkful after forkful, and when his plate was empty, he looked up at Paulina with a shy smile and asked if she’d serve him another. She did so gladly, relieved that he was enjoying her mother’s cooking as much as she was.

Their mutual enjoyment of the food led to their spending the morning feasting. They ate more than they should have, way more than they would’ve normally eaten, but all the food they’d had on the flight over wasn’t enough to keep them full, and it was impossible for them to be placed before such a banquet without eating until they couldn’t take another bite. Harry had the chorizo, and he loved it, it was a little too spicy for him, but he didn’t complain about it because despite it burning his mouth a little, it was just too good to not eat. He had his way with the pan dulce, eating two conchas, and had piled on some papaya with lemon and chili powder. He ate without measure, as did the security details.

They had entered the house shortly after Paulina and Harry sat down to eat. Not wanting to attract attention to themselves, they tried to be discreet, but the moment they were spotted by her family, they were swarmed. The three of them were taken aback by the attention being paid to them. They were hugged, they were kissed, and they were ushered into the dining room and told to sit down, that they just had to wait while they fixed them a plate. Needless to say, they momentarily hesitated when they were told to sit at the same table as Harry, because if they were to sit down, that would be the first time that any of them shared a meal at the same table as Prince Harry or any members of the British Royal Family.

Their hesitation came to an end when Harry motioned for them to take a seat. As soon as they processed that they’d been given the go ahead, they sat down at the table and waited for their plates to be set before them. It was off to be in that situation. The only people that are ever really served them were their mother’s and their respective partner’s, but there they were, in a stranger’s home and they were being treated like family. It was as if they’d always been in those people’s lives. It was refreshing, and they were truly looking forward to getting at the food. Alistair and Kamal were somewhat familiar with Mexican food. They were well acquainted with some dishes that Paulina had prepared for them. During holidays, she always took them over some food or when they were in England, she’d packed them a meal that they could heat up later on. Gethin on the other hand, had no experience whatsoever, so he didn’t dig into the food right away. He placed a modest amount of the chilaquiles on his fork and then slowly lifted it to his lips, the entire time contemplating just what it was going to taste like. It didn’t look like the most attractive thing in the world, but after the first bite, he realized that it was actually quite good, and began to eat as heartily as the others.

When they finished having breakfast, Harry and Paulina moved into the backyard while Alistair escorted Kamal and Gethin to the bedroom they would be sharing. They were to stay at Raphael and Adrian’s old room. The room was midsized, and there were two twin size beds since that was where Isabel and Ronaldo slept whenever they spent the night. Alistair gave them the tour that he’d been given the day before. He showed them where the bathrooms were located, the linen closet, and then he took them downstairs to the bedroom he was to stay at. He was staying in the bedroom that had been added to the house when Irmalinda asked her mother to move in after her father’s death in 1991. It was a cozy room that had been used as a guest bedroom ever since Irmalinda’s mom passed away in 2003.

As Alistair and the others settled in and discussed what was to happen in the coming days, Paulina formally introduced her family to Harry. She introduced her cousins, her aunts, and relatives that weren’t actually relatives. The introductions took much longer than Paulina had anticipated, but at the end of it, she at least felt comfortable knowing that Harry knew who was who, even if he might have trouble remembering all their names. It was just a relief to know that a little over half of her family had been introduced to Harry, and it was an even bigger relief when they started to leave. Paulina had thought that they were going to stay there until the evening. Her relatives had initially planned on staying that long, but they decided to head home to give the güerito and his security time to settle in without having them all running around. But her relatives did promise that they would see them at the graduation party on Saturday, and the ones that had invited them over to eat on Thursday and Friday, reiterated their invitations.

By 4 o’clock, most of her relatives had left. The only ones that remained at the house were her brothers, her niece and nephew, her mom and Teresa. They were waiting for Ricardo and Adrian to show up at the house. Thomas had also intended to be there, but a big meeting had come up, and since he was one of the most senior accountants there, he had to stay until the issue was settled, which disappointed Harry. He was looking forward to having Thomas there. Thomas was the one male in the family other than Luis that accepted him. And he was the only person who gave him tips about how the family worked so to not have him there was definitely a let down.

“My dad should be getting home any moment.” Paulina told Harry as they walked around the backyard. “He doesn’t work too far from here, but sometimes traffic gets really bad so he takes a little longer.”

“Is traffic usually bad at this hour?” inquired Harry.

“Not usually. He leaves work at 3:30 so he misses out on the evening rush hour. Of course, sometimes there’s an accident or the rush hour moves up a little, but he’s usually home at a quarter after four, sometimes sooner.” She stopped walking when they reached the hammock that was held up by the avocado tree and the lime tree. “Want to lie down for a bit?”

“You sure your brother’s won’t have a go at me for lying with you?” asked Harry, he was half joking, but there was a paranoid side of him that was afraid they might actually complain about it.

She shook her head. “We’re outside and they’re keeping an eye on us from over there. So we’re good. That is unless you don’t want to lie down.”

“What are you mad? Of course I do.” Harry stifled a yawn. “I'm in need of a good lie down.”

“You are,” she agreed. “You’ve had quite the day.”

“I have. Haven’t I?” He climbed onto the hammock, and moved over so she could get in beside him. “Bloody hell, I still can’t believe how many relatives you’ve got. And that’s not even the lot of them!”

“I did tell you that I come from a big family.”

“I didn’t reckon it’d be so big though.”

“Well that’s what happens when you have fourteen aunts and uncles.”

“Fourteen?”

She nodded as she climbed in next to him. “My mom’s parents had five kids, and my dad’s had nine. And then all of them had a bunch of kids, and then those kids are having a bunch of kids, so yeah. We’re a big family, a big loud family. I'm honestly never gonna get over them swarming you. I'm not even kidding, I wanted to cry.”

“Why?” he chuckled. “What’d you have to cry about?”

“Because it was so embarrassing,” she replied. “It was exactly like it happened in that movie I was telling you about. And then Rudy was making fun of me about it, and then I saw that you look kind of scared.”

“Bullocks to that,” said Harry. “I wasn’t looking scared.”

“Maybe not to everyone else, but I saw that look in your eye. It was the one you get when you’re feeling off about something. That’s why I stepped in.” She nestled into him, resting her head on the crook of his neck. “Did you think it was gonna be as hectic as it was?”

“Honestly? No. I thought you were teasing me when you say they’d do that. I reckoned you wanted to scare me a bit.”

“Why would I want to scare you?” she asked in disbelief.

“Don’t know. Maybe you would’ve thought it’d be a laugh to have me fussing about.”

“As much fun as it is to make you freak out sometimes, I wasn’t trying to do that. I really wanted to give you a heads up about how my family is. We’re very vivacious. I mean, not all of us are. There’s quite a few people that are just whatever and very chill and some are introverts, but for the most part, my family is just very lively, and what you saw today is just how we are. And, as embarrassing as it is to say, I’ve participated in the swarming as well.”

“You have?” He watched as she nodded. “Why would ya put someone through that?”

“We don’t do it to freak them out. That’s acceptance for us. That’s us welcoming them into the family. I think we just get really excited that a family member found love and that’s they’re happy. That’s why I get all bubbly, because you can see it on their faces that they’re nervous and excited and that they love each other, and that’s really sweet. At least, I think it is.”

“It is, but it’s not all that sweet when you’re the one being swarmed.”

“I know.” She gazed up into his eyes. “I’ve been in that situation before.”

“Have you?” For some reason he didn’t like hearing that some other bloke’s family had swarmed her like that.

“Well, yeah, with my ex. I told you about him. But whatever it’s not relevant. All I'm saying is that you’re amazing. And that I love you so much, güerito!” she placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “All my aunts adored you. My Lucero kept raving about your Spanish.”

“Lucero . . . was she the one who told me I ought to be eating more because I'm nothing but bones?”

“That would be her.” She chuckled at the absurdity of her aunt’s statement.

“Why ya laughing?” asked Harry. “That came out of nowhere, it did. One moment, she’s talking to me about the flight over, the next she’s saying I need to eat more. I'm not one of those blokes that are all twig looking.”

“You’re not.”

“I’ve got a proper man’s figure I do.”

“That you do.” Paulina agreed. “But my aunt just wants to feed everyone. Like all of her kids are in their healthy weight range, but she swears that they’re not eating right.”

“You’re joking!”

“Not even. I'm telling you that’s just how she is.”

“Well I'm pleased to hear she tells everyone that. Makes me not feel like I’ve been singled out,” he stifled a yawn. “She was nice though, very friendly. They all were, really. Except your Gran didn’t grab my bum, so I'm taking that as her not approving,” joked Harry.

“Not everyone can appreciate a fine ass. It’s like wine, some people enjoy a certain type, and others don’t.”

“I'm like wine then?”

“Oh yes,” Paulina smiled. “And people have to have a particular palate in order to really appreciate the complexity and full flavor of such a wine.” She ran her fingers across his chest, and despite the fabric keeping them apart, he still felt himself growing warm. “But on a serious note, she forgot her glasses at home so I think that was why she didn’t grab it. I'm pretty sure she will on Saturday for the party, especially when she gets a few drinks in her. You’re gonna crack up when you see her. She drinks her tequila like a champ and then she leaves her wheelchair and starts dancing. “

“But she’s in a wheelchair!” exclaimed Harry.

“She’s perfectly capable of walking,” she informed him. “She just gets tired is all so she prefers to wheel around. And just you wait, she might be old, but she gets down.”

“Will it only be her dancing about?”

“No, everyone is.” Paulina couldn’t imagine having a family party without dancing. “My cousin, Francisco, is a DJ so he’s gonna be doing the music for most of the night, and then my parents got a mariachi for the first two hours, so there’s that.”

“A mariachi for graduation party?” asked Harry. “I thought those were only for weddings, that sort of thing.”

“In my family, graduations are as important as weddings. Most of my dad’s family, they didn’t get a formal education. None of them finished high school.”

“Why not?” asked Harry.

“Because they didn’t have that option,” she answered, simply. “Things in Mexico were never really good for them. They were pretty much poor, so everyone had to work. That was how it was with his family. For my mom it was different. Her dad was a doctor in the big town so he made good money, and she was able to be educated. So for us to be able to get a formal education is a huge thing for him. Well for my mom as well, since she didn’t get to go to college, but you know, for them it’s not just me or my brothers that graduates, it’s them.” She felt herself growing emotional. “There’s this saying they have, its veo el mundo por tus ojos (I see the world through your eyes). So whatever me and my brother’s see, they see. They’ve graduated from Oxford and Stanford and UCLA and Berkeley and Cal State Los Angeles. And whenever they do, they get a mariachi to celebrate, because it’s the realization that their American dream came true, that risking their lives traveling through the desert was worth it.”

“You’d never told me any of that before,” said Harry, softly.

“I thought it was a given.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because if they’d been well off in Mexico, I’d be in Mexico right now,” she replied. “No one risks their lives to get into the US just because they feel like it. They do it because they don’t have another option. Enough of that though, that’s some heavy stuff to be talking about, and we’re meant to be talking about dancing.”

“No.” Harry groaned.

“Why are you complaining? You’re a great dancer.”

“Yeah, but not the sort of dancing your family’s keen on. I'm gonna look like an arse.”

“No you won’t.” Paulina peered up at him. “Trust me; no one’s as bad a dancer as Luis.”

“He’s Mexican. I reckon he can manage a dance.”

“He’s got two left feet.” Paulina told him, and she wasn’t lying. “And I’ve got a lot of cousins that can’t dance worth a damn. So trust me, you’re gonna be set, and if you want, I can teach you to dance. There’s nothing much to it. And to be perfectly honest, you simply going out there is going to make everyone think you’re a great dancer.”

“I reckon that’s a lie.”

“It’s not.” She smiled. “Not everyone is brave enough to do what you’ve done.”

“I’ve not done a thing.”

“You walked into a house filled with people who the majority of don’t speak English, you talked with them in their native language, you ate the food that was put before you, and you charmed them, that’s what you’ve done.”

“Well I reckon you do the same thing. You’re always at events, even though I can tell you’re massively nervous all the time. That’s just the sort of thing you do when you love someone.”