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They all shout their excitement at the same time, and I laugh my first genuine laugh of the day. “Okay, everyone, put your bowls and cups in the sink, get to the bathroom to pee and wash hands, shoes on, and meet me back here and we’ll head out.”
They all start to take their dishes, but Marco doesn’t move. I lean over and reach for his bowl.
“Are you done?” I ask quietly.
“Yeah, thanks,” he mumbles and pushes the bowl gently in my direction so I nod my head and grab it.
After placing it in the sink, I turn around to try to talk to him.“Marco —”
“Now’s not the right time, Ellie. We should get going.” I bite my bottom lip and nod as he stands and gets the keys. “I’ll be in the van.”
Even sicker to my stomach now, I load the dishes into the dishwasher as I wreck my brain for a way to make this all better.
When the kids run back into the kitchen, I muster up as much enthusiasm as I can and smile. “Let’s get to the carnival!”
After we park at the school, I hear Marco’s phone ping.
“It’s my mom. I’m going to find her and then we’ll meet you at the entrance.”
I look at him and nod, but he doesn’t hold my eyes.
The kids and I all walk to the entrance and see my parents waiting for us.
“Papa! Nana! You’re here!” Camden shouts as he runs into my dad’s arms. My dad immediately picks him up and swings him around while they both laugh.
Jonathan walks up to my mom for a hug, and she squeezes him tightly and kisses him on the forehead. “Hi, my handsome boy. How are you today?”
He beams up at her. “I’m good.”
The girls forcefully push their way in for hugs and my parents both laugh.
“Papa always has hugs for you too, cutie,” my dad says down at Liliana while Olivia and my mom exchange a warm greeting next to them.
After the kids have had their fill of grandparent love, my mom opens her arms to me for a hug and kisses me on the cheek.
My body relaxes into her, and I sigh. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, darling. How are you today?”
“I’m good. Ready to get inside and have fun with the kids.”I force a smile and she narrows her eyes at me and then parts her lips to speak. Thankfully decides to let it go.
My dad squeezes me in a side hug before planting a kiss on my forehead. “Hi, Sugar.”
“Hi, Dad.”
My spine stiffens and my stomach falls when I hear Mommy Dearest’s syrupy sweet voice behind me.
Once she joins our group, she addresses the girls first. Her blatant favoritism is obvious not only to me, so my boys stand a little taller and scoot closer to my mom and dad.
She leans down and opens her arms to the girls. “Olivia, Liliana, come to Mama Rosalita.” I cringe at the name she assigned herself when Jonathan was born,Mama Rosalita.She said thatgrandmamakes her sound “too old.”
I turn my focus to my boys. Camden rolls his eyes and Jonathan grabs my dad’s hand, used to playing second fiddle in this production. We’ve told them more times than I can count that they are wonderful and perfect and any issue she has is completely on her. I can sense it still hurts them though.
The girls stand in their place, and they look up at me with unsure eyes.
I offer them a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to hug your grandmother if you don’t want to. It’s your body.”
Rosalita waits on bended knee with a hopeful look on her face for a few more seconds, but when they don’t offer her a hug she stands with a huff and reaches her hand out to me. Unable to hide the annoyance in her voice, she says, “Can I have my ticketplease?”
