I Know I Was for a While

Quietly stirring a little milk into the mug of tea which sat ahead of her, Camila spared a nervous glance towards the café door, trying to swallow the nerves which twitched in the pit of her stomach. It hadn’t been long, after she and Lionel had run into Isabel, only a few days had passed, but after the conversation that she had had with the argentine, she had opted to give the older woman a call, inviting her out for coffee so that the two of them could talk. Lionel had made a lot of sense, when he’d explained that Isabel wasn’t Noah and that she was entitled to a chance to show Camila that she had the best interests of her grandchild at heart, Camila had known that he’d been right, but whilst she had agreed to give the older woman a chance, she still remained wary, knowing just how close Isabel and Noah had always been.

Watching the door for a couple more seconds, she let out a slightly shaky sigh before she heard her phone vibrate against the table, something which caused her to glance down at it, her expression relaxing at the sight of Lionel’s name on the screen. Feeling a faint smile spread across her lips, she unlocked the phone before she rolled her eyes, letting out a quiet laugh at the picture that Lionel had sent to her of him offering the camera a grin and a thumbs up as he wished her good luck.

Grinning to herself, she typed a quick reply to him, wishing him good luck for that afternoon’s match against Real Madrid, before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her to look up, her eyes settling on Isabel who’d stopped beside the table. “I’m not interrupting, am I?” the older woman quipped, her voice warm and playful.

Camila’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink before she shook her head. “Of course not” she replied nervously.

Isabel noticed the nervousness in her voice, but didn’t comment on it, instead slipping into the empty seat which sat opposite the brunette. “I’m sorry for being a little late” she mused, disturbing the slightly uncomfortable silence which had settled between them “Have you been here for long?” she asked.

Camila, who’d diverted her stare down towards the table, shook her head. “Ten minutes or so” she replied quietly.

Isabel nodded, allowing another slightly awkward silence to pass between the two of them, before she let out a soft sigh. “Cami...”

“It’s Camila” Camila corrected quietly “I’ve never liked being called Cami” she added, looking up at the older woman shyly.

Isabel blinked a couple of times, surprised by the interruption, before she nodded her head slowly. “Camila” she repeated softy “I’m really glad that you called. After we saw each other the other day, I was surprised to get your call, but I’m glad that you made it. I was hoping that we could talk” she enthused gently.

Camila smiled at her as best she could, something which encouraged Isabel to keep talking. “How are you feeling?” she asked “Did you suffer badly with morning sickness?” she added, trying to spark a conversation.

She could see that Camila was wary, since she’d sat down, the brunette had looked decidedly uncomfortable, but still she wanted to try and encourage her to talk to her, even if she couldn’t blame her for being unsure of her motives. She wanted her to see that all she wanted to do was talk about her pregnancy and not about her son who, to Isabel’s mind, had made a massive mistake in walking away like he had.

Camila, who’d moved to take a sip of her drink, nodded her head a little. “It was pretty bad for a few weeks” she mused “But I’ve not felt nauseous for a while now” she added.

Isabel smiled. “That’s good” she enthused “Do you know the sex?” she asked.

“I didn’t want to know” Camila replied “I’m really looking forwards to the surprise” she added, quirking a slightly more relaxed smile.

Isabel marveled at her smile. “I bet you are” she mused warmly “Everything is Ok with the baby?” she asked.

Camila nodded her head gently before she turned, fishing something out of her bag before she turned back towards Isabel, sliding her latest scan picture across the table. “It’s a few weeks old” she mused “But my midwife was pretty happy with how things are progressing. The baby kicks all of the time” she fussed warmly.

Isabel offered her a small smile, but didn’t shift her eyes away from the scan picture, allowing a couple of seconds of silence to pass before she shook her head. “I can’t make excuses for Noah” she murmured

Camila flinched at the mention of her ex-boyfriend’s name, but didn’t say anything, encouraging Isabel to keep talking. “What he has done to you, I can’t sit here and say anything that would excuse it. He’s been unbelievably selfish, Camila, and I don’t want to sit here and tell you that you ought to give him a shot at making things right because honestly, I don’t believe he deserves it. But what I can ask is that you don’t judge me or my husband in the same way as him. We’d love to be involved, even if it isn’t much at first, we’d love to be around for you and for the baby” she explained tentatively.

Camila shifted a little in her seat, mulling the older woman’s words over for a few moments, before she gently nodded her head. “I’d like that” she murmured.

“You would?” Isabel squeaked, her tone obviously surprised.

“You’re my baby’s grandparents” Camila mused gently “Regardless of what Noah has done, you’re still that, and I don’t want to keep you out of your grandchild’s life. If you want to be involved, then I’d like that too” she added, offering the older woman a small smile.

Isabel stared at her for a couple of seconds before she grinned, quickly moving to pull Camila into a hug. Camila flinched, surprised by the hug, before she hesitantly returned it, hoping that Isabel and her husband were more reliable than Noah had proven to be.

~#~
Gently pushing the front door closed behind himself, Lionel quirked a small smile, his ears filled with the distant sound of Camila’s singing. He had gotten home earlier than he’d expected, after Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid, they’d gotten an earlier flight back to the city, and he couldn’t help but think that the sound of Camila’s singing was a good sign. He knew that she had been nervous, even before he had left the night before, she had been apprehensive about the prospect of meeting Isabel to talk, and he was hopeful that it’d gone well for her, knowing that having more people around to support her could only be a good thing.

Grinning to himself, he toed off his shoes before he padded through the house, stopping into the doorway of the kitchen where Camila stood, singing along happily to a song which emanated away from her phone on the counter. Shaking his head, he watched her for a couple of seconds before he cleared his throat, something which caused Camila to flinch before she turned to look at him, a blush quickly spreading over her cheeks. “You’re back early” she spluttered.

Lionel nodded. “We found an earlier flight” he quipped “Am I interrupting something?” he added, grinning boyishly.

Camila rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her blush, something which made Lionel’s grin widen a fraction as he stepped past her, moving to collect a bottle of water. “So” he quipped, taking a sip of his drink “How did it go with Isabel?” he asked, his voice softening slightly.

Camila, who’d moved to sit down beside the counter, was quiet for a couple of seconds before she shrugged. “I think it went well” she noted “I mean, she didn’t try and make excuses for Noah and she said that she and her husband wanted to be involved with the baby, which is a good thing, isn’t it?” she asked, looking up at him softly.

Lionel didn’t hesitate in nodding. “I think so” he replied “I mean, the more people who are around to support you and the baby, the better, no?” he asked.

Camila nodded, but didn’t say anything, something which caused Lionel to step towards her, his hands gently taking a hold of hers. “Are you OK?” he asked gently.

Camila spared a glance down towards their hands before she nodded her head, offering him a gentle smile. “I’m fine” she mused “And you’re right, the more people I have around me, the better, I guess I am just a still a little wary about Isabel and her husband. Don’t get me wrong, I want them to be involved, even if Noah isn’t, they’re still baby’s grandparents and they deserve a chance to be in baby’s life, I just...I worry about them changing their minds. Is that stupid?” she asked, her dark eyes mirroring his for a second.

She knew that it wasn’t straight forwards, with Noah not wanting to be involved, the relationship between Camila and his parents was always likely to be complicated, and she worried that they could change their minds about being around for the baby, especially if she was to start seeing someone new. The last thing she wanted was for the baby’s grandparents to duck in and out of their life.

Lionel held her stare for a second before he shook his head, gently squeezing her hands. “It’s not stupid” he mumbled “But, even if they do change their minds, you’ve got to remember that you’ve got a whole load of people who are going to be there for you. You’ve got a lot of great friends, and a mother who is nothing short of loving and supportive. You’ve got a lot of support, Mila” he insisted, his voice warm and reassuring.

“What about you?” Camila quipped.

“That goes without saying” Lionel replied “You can’t get rid of me for anything” he added, flashing her an impish grin.

Camila admired his smile, feeling one of her own spread across her cheeks, before she dipped her head forwards shyly.

Lionel gently lifted one of his hands and brushed her hair behind her ear, something which caused Camila to lift her head, her dark eyes mirroring his. “You know that I’m really glad that you’re around, don’t you?” she asked quietly “I mean, I know all of this came out of the blue, but I am just...you’ve been so...”

Camila’s voice trailed off as Lionel leant into her slightly, brushing the lightest of kisses over her lips before he ducked back, grinning shyly to himself.

Camila blinked a couple of times, caught off guard by the gentle kiss, before she gently tugged him a little closer, pressing her forehead to his as they quietly enjoyed the moment.