Page 66 of LA Reign

She drifts off a little, sips the coffee again, and shudders, almost as though she forgotten how bad it was. “Now what, Maria?”

She meets my eyes and smiles gently. “Now, I see the mantle being passed to Alejandro. While I know it is what he wants, what needs to happen, it also breaks my heart. I never want to sit in one of these places wondering whether my son is going to make it,” she says softly.

I gulp and reach for her hand. “I know exactly what you mean. The thought of anything ever happening to Alejandro…”

I don’t need to finish my sentence. Maria knows better than anyone else the worry of being married to a Montoya.

This is the life I’m signing up for, but it doesn’t make me worry about him any less. It does, though, make me more determined to stay where I belong—at his side—and to try and support him as much as I can. No more running away to New York, or anywhere else for that matter. No. I know my place now, and it’s wherever Alejandro is. As if sensing the change in my mood, Maria turns her body so she’s facing me.

“Alejandro told me about what the fertility doctor said, cariño. I hope you do not mind me mentioning it, and telling you how sorry I am.”

“No, not at all. Thank you.”

It’s been a hectic few days, and although the news from Dr. Kelly is never far from my mind, it’s been overshadowed by more recent events. I’d never dream of harping on about my own problems when this woman’s husband came so close to death.

“Everything will work out just as it should for you and my Alejandro, though. I know it.”

She sounds so positive, so confident. Again, she reminds me of my beloved grandmother. I smile at her. “You think so?”

“I know so, cariño.”

“I hope you’re right. I was so disappointed. We had dreams of filling the house with our babies, and now I feel like I’m letting him down.”

My voice trails off a little at the end, and a fresh wave of pain punches me in the gut. I remember what Mateo said that day. About how upset Maria would be, how Alejandro should find a woman who could give her grand-babies. I will never repeat that, and I will not ever hold it against him. The past is the past. And in some ways Alejandro and I have come through it all stronger than ever. But part of me still does wonder if it’s not just Alex I’m letting down, but this wonderful woman as well.

“You are not,” she gently admonishes me. “You are letting nobody down, believe me. And there are plenty of ways to have a family, Alana. You just have to be a little more creative.” She arches one perfectly plucked eyebrow at me.

“The doctor did say there were options. We haven’t really had time to discuss it yet. But I guess you’re right.”

“I am right. Never argue with your mother-in-law,” she says firmly but with a twinkle in her eye.

“Okay. Point taken,” I agree, as I reach for my coffee and take a sip. I almost spit it back into the cup. “Oh, this really is terrible,” I say as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Told you. It should win some kind of Bad Coffee award. When all of this is over, I will be making a donation to this hospital on behalf of the Montoyas. Specifically, I shall be purchasing a proper coffee machine for the family room. This is cruel treatment indeed.”

We laugh and then sit in comfortable silence for a few more moments until Maria speaks again. “I wanted to fill my house full of children too, you know?” she says with a sigh.

“You did?” I’ve often wondered why Alex is an only child. It’s something we’ve always had in common. I also wonder if it’s one of the reasons we are so obsessed with each other. Maybe neither of us is good at sharing.

“Yes. Like you, I assumed I would be able to have a baby whenever I chose to, in all the arrogance of youth. But it took me two years to fall pregnant with Alejandro. We were thrilled it was finally happening, but it was a traumatic birth. Both he and I almost died. The doctors warned me it would be risky to have another child, so Mateo expressly forbade us from trying again.”

“And how did you feel about that?”

She looks into the distance. “I was annoyed with him at first. I think I might have considered the risk worth it. But you know how these Montoya men can be, eh?”

“Oh yes!”

“He refused to even think about it, said that I was enough, that Alejandro was enough. Eventually I agreed. It didn’t hurt that Alejandro was the most perfect, beautiful little boy I had ever seen. I had never felt such love in my life as I did for him. I realized that he was enough for me too. And the thought of leaving him without a mother was unthinkable.”

“I can understand that, and I can imagine how adorable he was. Please, tell me I can come and look at his baby photos one day?”

She laughs and pats my hand. “Of course, Alana.”

“So, you and Mateo were on the same page eventually then? You found a way through it all?”

“Yes. And we have always at least tried to be on the same page ever since. I love him as much now as the day I first met him, when I was a sixteen-year-old girl with her first crush. In fact, I think I love him even more now, because love can be like a fine wine. It improves with age. Mateo comes across as confident, loud, always in control. People see him as hard and unyielding, but with me he is different. Soft even,” she says with a smile and a tear in her eye.

“I definitely understand that.”