I Know I Was for a While

Gently rocking Oscar from side to side, Camila rested her weight against the counter, a tired yawn slipping out of her mouth as she listened to Oscar’s soft cries settle into little whimpers. It was early, without Lionel around to wake up with the little boy, Camila found herself out of bed a little earlier than she was used to, and whilst she found herself a little more tired than usual, she had to admit that she loved waking up to Oscar’s face. Seeing the little boy first thing in the morning was something which easily brightened her day.

Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she listened to the soft sound Oscar’s snuffles before the sound of someone lightly clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her to quirk a tired smile, her dark eyes briefly looking up towards Lucille who stood in the doorway, a soft look on her face. “What’s with the look?” she quipped sheepishly, her fingertips gently smoothing out Oscar’s dark hair.

Lucille, who’d moved to place a bag of food down onto the counter, rolled her eyes before she shrugged. “I just like seeing the two of you together” she mused “Is that a bad thing?” she quipped, moving to collect a couple of plates from a nearby cupboard.

Camila, who’d diverted her stare back down towards Oscar, quirked a shy smile before she shook her head, something which made Lucille smile before she padded towards the table, setting two places. Stepping back towards the counter, she moved to collect the bag that she’d left there before she started to lay out food, something which made Camila shake her head, her smile brightening a little. Watching her mother for a second, she shook her head to herself once more before she padded towards the table, taking a seat in the chair which was closest to her.

Lucille mimicked her action, sitting down beside the table, before she cleared her throat, disturbing the comfortable silence which had settled over the three of them. “So” she mused “When does Leo play his first match?” she asked.

Camila, who’d been ensuring that Oscar was still comfortable in her arms, looked up at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Huh?” she asked.

“Leo’s first match” Lucille repeated “When is it?” she asked.

Camila’s expression lit up a little at the mention of the argentine before she shook her head, trying, and failing, to hide the hint of a smile that appeared on her face. “They play on Saturday” she mused.

Lucille glanced at her, marveling at the small smile that twitched the corner of her mouth, before she nodded. “Is he looking forwards to it?” she asked.

Camila, who’d moved to take a bite of the plate of food ahead of her, shrugged. “I don’t know” she mused “I mean, we’ve spoken a couple of times since he left, but I’ve not really asked about the tournament. I figure he has enough people asking about that. When we talk, we tend to just talk about the little things. How Oscar is, how he’s liking his hotel, things like that” she explained.

It had been a few days, after Lionel had left to meet up with the rest of his national team, a little over a week had passed, and whilst they had spoken a few times, Camila tended to avoid talking about the tournament, wanting their phone calls to be an opportunity for Lionel to relax. There was no denying that there was pressure on the team, with them having reached the final in the previous tournament, a lot of people were looking at them to go far, and she wanted their phone calls to be something he looked forwards to. She wanted him to enjoy speaking to her.

“How is he liking his hotel?” Lucille quipped, taking a sip from her glass of orange juice.

“He says its fine” Camila replied “But he tends to follow that up with some comment about how it’s got nothing on being here, so...” she trailed off, a soft flush spreading over her cheeks.

Lucille watched the blush spread over her cheeks before she shook her head, a gentle smile spreading across her lips, something Camila caught out of the corner of her eye. Rolling her eyes gently, she shyly pushed a few strands of dark hair off of her face before she looked down, watching Oscar stir gently in her arms for a few seconds before she let out a quiet sigh. “Leo invited me to meet his parents” she revealed quietly.

Lucille, who’d turned back to her food, started a little at the sound of her daughter’s voice before she tilted her head. “Huh?” she asked.

“Leo asked me if I wanted to go back to Argentina with him once the tournament is over” Camila clarified gently “He wants me to meet his parents” she added, her fingers fiddling with the ends of her hair timidly.

Lucille watched her fingers for a second, not missing the slightly nervous expression on her face, before she reached her hand across the table, gently capturing hold of her daughter’s. “You don’t look so happy about that” she mused “I mean, surely it’s a good thing, no?” she asked.

Camila chewed on her lip for a moment, mulling over her mother’s question, before she gently shrugged, something which made Lucille squeeze her hand. “Mila...”

“I know I’m just being stupid” Camila mumbled “I mean, I’m crazy about him, mama, and I know that he’s crazy about me too, I just...what if they don’t like me? I want them to, mama, I want them to think that I am good for him, but what if they don’t?” she babbled, her dark eyes meeting her mother’s hesitantly.

Lucille shook her head gently, squeezing Camila’s hand tightly. “You’ve never been this nervous about this sort of thing, sweetheart” she mused “I mean, when you met Noah’s parents, you were so relaxed, why is this different?” she asked.

“Because it’s Leo” Camila replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world “I really don’t want to mess things up with him, mama” she added, shaking her head a little.

Lucille’s lips quirked upwards slightly, but she quickly stifled the grin, instead offering her daughter’s hand another soft squeeze. “They’ll love you, sweetheart” she murmured.

“You can’t know that” Camila muttered “Mama...”

“You make him happy, Camila” Lucille interrupted “You just need to look at him when he’s around you or Oscar to see that, and I have no doubt that his parents will see it. He’s happy, and that ought to be enough for his parents, because it’s enough for me. I love him, sweetheart, because in the last few months, he’s done wonders for you. He’s been the best friend you could have asked for, the most adorable boyfriend, and I love him for it, and his parents will love you it too. I am sure of it” she insisted warmly.

She wasn’t surprised by the nerves, whenever it came to Lionel, Camila seemed more uncertain of herself than Lucille had ever seen her, but whilst she wasn’t surprised that she was apprehensive about the prospect of meeting his parents, she wanted to assure her that there was no need to be, sure that seeing their son happy with her would be more than enough for Lionel’s parents to warm to her.

Camila looked at her doubtfully, mulling her words over for a few seconds, before she gently shook her head. “You think I ought to go?” she asked.

Lucille didn’t hesitate in nodding. “I do” she mused “I mean, he’s met me...” she trailed off with a playful shrug.

Camila rolled her eyes. “That’s not the same” she pointed out.

“No” Lucille conceded “But it is true. I think you ought to give it a shot, Mila” she added.

Camila offered her another doubtful look before she slowly nodded her head, something which caused Lucille to offer her hand another squeeze, wordlessly reassuring her that it would be fine.