Back at the Torres house, all Lissa wanted to do was put the boys down for a nap and take one herself. She got the boys settled, and looked reluctantly at the little cot. She needed a shower and a long nap, but it was impossible to rest comfortably in the living room. The Torres house was a constant beehive of activity. She didn’t feel comfortable putting on a night shirt even with the privacy curtain, and she didn’t want to lie down in her day clothes.
“You want me to watch them?” asked one of the aunts in her stilted English.
“Yes, please, just while I take a shower,” Lissa said.
She went upstairs, hoping to find Joan. After moving the whole gang to the Torres household, Joan’s need to be the constant nanny was diminished, and she’d started taking time off to go on outings throughout the city. There wasn’t a moment in the house where there weren’t at least two or three willing female Torres’s, aunts, or great aunts or cousins, eager to take over the baby watching duties.
Lissa and Joan had a guest room upstairs with a bath and a queen sized bed. They took shifts, one of them taking the cot downstairs while the other got a decent night sleep, and used the room to dress and bathe.
The previous night, it was Lissa’s turn to sleep on the cot next to the baby’s downstairs, and in the morning when she went up for her ablutions, she expected to find Joan, and her usually unmade bed. But, the bed looked as neat as when Lissa had made it the day before, and it was obvious Joan hadn’t slept there.
She remembered that Joan had said something about going out for drinks with one of Julio’s friends.
Worried, she found her cell phone and called her sister.
Joan answered on the first ring.
“Joan, are you okay? Where are you?”
“I’m downstairs in the kitchen having breakfast, where are you?”
Relieved, Lissa didn’t give it another thought. “I’m going to shower and take a nap, will you watch the boys?”
“Sure thing, sis.”
After showering for a long time and washing her hair, Lissa, walked around her room, her hair and body wrapped in soft towels.
She thought of Julio, of the last time they’d made love, and she missed him.
He’d been gone for three days now, and when he called, it was all about the babies, and how she was getting along. He made little effort to bring her into the work conversation, nor did he mention their relationship, or when he’d be back. It was as if he was getting her used to how it would be, she had her world, and he had his. Separate.
As her hair was dry enough for her to crawl under the covers, Lissa’s thoughts went back to the last time they’d made love. Just thinking about him being inside her, made her wet with need for him. Her fingers slipped between her folds and after she’d made herself come gently, she fell into a deep sleep.
“Lissa, wake up.”
Lissa came out of her dream and saw her sister standing over her, shaking her arm.
“What?”
“It’s almost time for dinner. I need a shower -- its your turn to watch the boys. I’m going out again with Fernando.”
“What? What time is it? Who’s Fernando? Who’s watching the boys.”
“Julio’s watching them, don’t worry. Get dressed and get down there. He’s been asking for you.”
“Julio’s back?”
Lissa’s heart skipped a beat. Part of her had wondered if she’d be sent back to the states without another chance to see him. She pulled herself out of bed, and Joan’s eye brow went up at the sight of her nakedness.
Lissa felt herself blush.
“What? I was tired, alright?”
“Sure,” Joan said.
“Whatever.”
Joan was in the shower when Lissa let herself out, locking the door behind her to make sure her sister had privacy from whoever this Fernando person was. She wasn’t too happy to learn that Joan was being wined and dined by another sexy Spaniard who thought that a woman was only there to serve at his command, his pleasure.
Her happiness at hearing he was back had quickly grown into resentment.
He had a lot of nerve, just taking off like that, shutting her out of the work that her efforts had made possible, acting as if there was nothing between them.
Her anger vanished when she saw him playing with her boys.
“Do you love your papa? Do you love your papa?” he asked, poking a finger into each of the boys stomach as they cooed and baby laughed at his attention. “Because, your papa, loves you, yes he does, papa loves his baby boys.”
Lissa sighed deeply, wistfully. He could say the love word so easily, with his children but he’d never said it to her. But, the bond between child and father would be like that. The bond between lover-you-happened-to-knock up-with-triplets offered no such mandatory bond.
“Hi, Julio,” Lissa said as she walked in, trying to sound casual.
All four of the most important men in her life looked up
at the sound of her voice.
Ryland and Hunter both raised their hands towards her, while Marco took the opportunity to climb onto his father’s lap, keeping him pinned to the floor.
“Lissa,” Julio said, “I’d get up to hug you…”
He indicated the baby on his lap, and smiled as Lissa sat down next to him as the two other boys crawled into her waiting arms.
They held their babies and looked at each other, waiting to see who would speak first.
“So, how’s the project coming?”
“It’s going well.”
“Good.”
“How have the boys been?”
“Very well.”
“And you? Are my mama and all her relatives driving you crazy yet?”
Despite herself, Lissa let out a chuckle. “No, but, if they don’t stop feeding me, I’ll have to send home for my maternity clothes.”
“I think you look absolutely perfect,” Julio said, as he rose to take Marco to his crib. “Mamacita,” he shouted, over his shoulder towards the kitchen door, “Mamacita, can you come in here?”
A moment later, his mother bustled into the living room, eyes shining. “Julio, when did you get home?”
“A few minutes ago,” he said, greeting his mama with an affectionate kiss on both cheeks.
“What a surprise, will you be staying long?”
“Not sure.”
“Mama, can you watch the boys for a bit, I need to talk to Lissa in private.”
His voice had become suddenly serious, and Lissa wondered if he was going to tell her it was time for her to go. She’d outstayed her welcome, and he needed her to return to her life so he could return to his. Or, maybe he just had issues with the job, some problems he couldn’t resolve on his own, and he was finally prepared to bring her back into the work.
“But, of course,” Senora Torres said. There was a mischievous look in her dark eyes, and a knowing smirk on her face. As Lissa got to her feet, Senora Torres shouted towards the kitchen. “Sophia!”