If It Gave Us Time

Running the vegetable peeler down the side of the carrot that she held in her hand, Isla blinked a couple of times, trying to get herself to focus on helping her mother prepare dinner. She hadn’t wanted to go, after she had gone out to breakfast with Gerard, the last thing that she had wanted to do was head over to her parents’ house for their weekly dinner, but she knew that there was no getting out of it, even if she would have preferred to find herself curled up on her bed with a warm mug of tea. She knew that there was nothing she could say to her mother that would allow her to get out of dinner without the older woman showing up at her door and asking why.

Her mind was elsewhere, after Gerard had explained what had happened between the two of them, she had found it hard to think of anything else, and she knew that it was only a matter of time before her parents, or Rodrigo who’d made the last minute decision to join them of dinner, noticed that there was something on her mind, something she wasn’t looking forwards to. She was a bad liar, she always had been, and she knew that if they asked what was bothering her, she’d end up telling them, knowing that if she lied, her nervous tells would easily give her away.

Blinking again, she attempted to refocus on the carrot that she held in her hand before the sound of an amused laugh reached her ears, causing her to roll her eyes before she looked up, settling her eyes on her brother who stood in the doorway, smirking to himself. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you’re not careful” he quipped.

Isla merely scoffed quietly, something which made Rodrigo shake his head, his grin unmoving. “Mama’s asking after you” he quipped, breaking the momentary silence which had passed between them “She said you should have been done with this ages ago. She and papa are waiting for you” he added.

Isla nodded. “I should be done in a minute” she mused “I’ll be right through” she added.

Rodrigo frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything, instead opting to nod his head slowly. “Alright” he quipped “You should bring another bottle of wine through when you eventually make it” he added before he ducked back out of the room.

Isla watched him back out of the room before she gently shook her head, moving to finish preparing the vegetables that her mother had left her with. Ensuring that they were prepped, she placed the pot down onto the stove before she moved to collect another bottle of wine, a gentle sigh falling out of her mouth as she moved to step out of the room, making her way towards the living room.

Reaching the doorway, she briefly contemplated ducking back towards the kitchen before her mother stepped out, a wide smile growing across her face. “Are you finally done hiding in the kitchen?” she teased warmly.

Isla blinked a couple of times before she dropped her head, trying, and failing, to hide the blush which had been quick to spread over her cheeks. “I...uh...I wasn’t hiding” she stumbled out.

“Are you sure?” Eva asked.

“I’m sure, mama” Isla replied “Why would I be hiding?” she added, gently pushing the frames of her glasses back up her nose.

Eva smirked, shrugging her shoulders playfully. “I don’t know” she quipped “I mean, Rodrigo did mention that you’d gone out on a date recently...” she trailed off playfully.

Isla shook her head, her eyes not shifting away from her feet. She should have guessed that Rodrigo would tell their parents “Rodrigo said that?” she mumbled.

Eva nodded. “He said that you mentioned something to Cara” she mused “You let Luna set you up on a blind date?” she added, her voice softening slightly.

She could see that Isla was uncomfortable, the messing with her glasses and staring down at her feet were tells that she had had since she was a child, but still she wanted to encourage her to talk to her, wanting to hear about the date that her daughter had been on. It’d been a while, after the breakup of her last relationship, it’d been almost a year since Isla had been out on a date, and Eva had to admit that she was curious about it.

Isla shifted her feet a little, allowing her mother’s question to hang in the air for a moment, before she gently shook her head. “I did” she confirmed “But I wouldn’t get your hopes up, mama. I don’t think we’re going to work out” she added, forcing a teasing smile up onto her face.

Eva tilted her head. “It went badly?” she asked.

Isla merely shrugged, something which made Eva step towards her, wrapping her in a soft hug. “I’m sorry” she mumbled gently.

Isla shook her head, letting out a soft laugh. “It’s fine, mama” she mused “I mean, I am no stranger to a bad date” she added.

Eva stepped back and cupped Isla’s cheeks, something which made the blonde roll her eyes. “Mama” she complained.

Eva merely offered her a grin before she leant forwards pressing a soft kiss against Isla’s forehead, something which made Isla laugh quietly before she stepped back, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Ma?” she asked quietly.

Eva, who’d moved to take the bottle of wine out of Isla’s hands, looked up at the sound of her name. “Hm?” she hummed.

“Do you...uh....do you remember Gerard?” Isla asked gently.

Eva’s face lit up with a wide smile, something which caused the blush on Isla’s cheeks to darken a shade. “How could I not?” she mused “You two were practically attached at the hip when you were younger. He used to be here all of the time, how could I forget him?” she asked.

Isla nodded her head slowly, allowing her mother’s words to hang in the air for a few long seconds, before she cleared her throat uncertainly. “Did you...uh...” she stumbled out “Do you know what? It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it” she added.

Eva frowned slightly and moved to retort, only to be cut off as Rodrigo’s voice filled the air, something which made her roll her eyes. “We should get in there before he comes out here and starts to complain” she mused “Are you sure that you’re OK?” she added, her voice softening a little.

Isla stared at her for a second, briefly contemplating shaking her head, before she fixed a small smile onto her face. “I’m fine” she mused before she took the bottle of wine back out of her mother’s hand, moving to step into the living room. Eva watched her walk past her before she shook her head, knowing that there was something that she was missing.