Isabel
Knowing Romero wasn’t into fancy shit and knowing if she left it up to Pat, that’s exactly the kind of place they’d be having dinner, Isabel chose a trendy Italian chain restaurant at the mall. She almost suggested Frisco’s, but with the possibility of this not going too well, she hated to tarnish that memory of their first dinner there, especially if they ever wanted to go back.
They reached a stoplight and Romero squeezed her hand. “What are you smiling about?”
She was glad she’d begun to stop blushing about every little thing, or her face would be warm right about now. “I was just thinking about when we just so happened to run into each other at the mall.”
He smiled. “Aren’t you glad we did?”
“Yes, very glad.” She squeezed his hand back.
Before the whole Lawrence incident, Isabel thought she might give Romero a heads up about her mom and sister, but even though he’d calmed down since, he still seemed a little tense. She didn’t want him thinking she needed to tell him how to behave or that she didn’t want him to be himself. Still, for his own sake, she decided to let him in on one thing.
They pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and got out of the car. “Just so you know,” she said as she came around to meet him. He reached out for her hand. “My mom does not have a problem with cussing, not too much anyway, but,” Romero peered at her, “she has this thing about cussing at the dinner table. Don’t ask me why. She’s always made a big deal about it. I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t. Just consider yourself warned.”
He flashed that smirk she was now in love with, and he patted his chest with his fist. “I got this.”
Isabel smiled, taking a deep breath, hoping he didn’t see the nerves behind the smile. No matter what her family’s opinion of Romero was, there was nothing they could do or say to change the way she felt about him now. She just wasn’t looking forward to any kind of unpleasantness from either side.
Pat and her mom were already there, looking through their menus. Her sister was completely engaged in it as Romero and Isabel approached.
“Do you see anything that sounds even remotely appetizing?” Pat asked her mother without looking up. “I don’t know why Isabel likes this place so much.”
“Try the swordfish,” Romero said.
Both her mom and Pat looked up at the same time. Her mom smiled at the sight of Isabel. “Hi, honey.” Isabel leaned in, hugging and kissing her. Then she turned to Romero. “Romero, this is my mother. Mom, this is my friend, Romero.”
“Her boyfriend.” Romero said, reaching out and shaking her mother’s hand.
Her mom smiled. “Yes, I heard. Nice to meet you, Romero. I haven’t heard too much else about you, but I look forward to getting to know you better.”
Just what she needed, a reminder to Romero that she hadn’t told her family much about him.
“I look forward to it too.”
Isabel glanced at him but couldn’t get a feel for what he might be thinking, only that his usually easy going smile appeared a bit forced. She turned to her sister, and they walked around to her side of the table. “And this is my sister Pat.”
Suddenly, the smirk reappeared and for some reason that made Isabel more nervous. “I’ve heard about you, Pat.” He reached out to shake her hand.
Pat glanced at Isabel then back at Romero and shook his hand. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
Romero smiled and nodded but didn’t say anything else. They walked around and took their seats at the table. Isabel sat next to Pat, Romero directly across from her, next to her mom.
“So you said the swordfish is good here?” Her sister glanced over the menu at Romero.
“Yeah, it’s what I always have.” He didn’t even bother to open his menu, instead reached across the table for Isabel’s hand. “It’s the best.”
Her mom put her menu down. “Well, I think I’ll try it then.”
Romero smiled. “You won’t be sorry.”
“I don’t really care for seafood,” Pat said, looking back at her menu.
After finally deciding and the waiter taking their orders, her sister got right to business. “So Isabel said something about you being in the security business, are you a security guard?”
When Isabel called her to ask Pat to leave the evening open for dinner with her and Romero, she’d specifically told Pat that he owned his own security firm. She glanced at Romero, who smiled as he took a drink from his beer bottle. The waitress brought a glass for him to pour it in, but apparently he wasn’t going to use it. “I was for years,” he said, “until I opened up my own firm. I’m branching out now—also doing a little private investigating.”
“Oh, really?” Her mother’s eyebrows lifted. “Do tell. You mean like tracking down criminals?”
“Not exactly.” Isabel squeezed his hand. She was very proud of him. “More like background checks for employers, maybe investigating someone they suspect is doing something shady. I’ve had a few instances of spouses wanting their better half followed around because they suspected infidelity. That kind of stuff.”
“Sounds really interesting,” her mom said.
“What kind of degree did you obtain for this line of work, Romero?” Pat chimed in.
Isabel stiffened. Pat already knew this. It was the first thing she asked Isabel when she called to tell her about tonight.
“A diploma from the school of real life,” Romero smiled. “High school diploma. After that I got all the necessary credentials required by the state to run this kind of business.”
Isabel smiled at him, taking a sip of her wine. He smiled back.
“So you didn’t attend college at all?”
“No, he didn’t,” Isabel said sharply. “Did you forget already? I told you yesterday when you asked me then.”
Pat cleared her throat, obviously surprised at Isabel’s reaction.
“Who cares about that?” Her mother interceded. “I wanna know about this private investigating. You know,” she turned to Pat, “maybe this is something Charles’s sister-in-law could use.”
“Mother!” Pat loved digging in other people’s business, but she hated when her and Charles’ personal stuff was brought out.
“What?” Her mother arched her brow at Pat. “He talked about it openly at the barbeque a few weeks ago.” Her mother waved her sister’s protests away, and Isabel couldn’t have been happier that she’d turned the tables on Pat. She always had a way of keeping the conversation under control. “You see,” her mom turned back to Romero, “Charles’ sister-in-law owns a small gift shop over on the pier, and he says she’s been having issues with the register coming up short a few times and a few other things have gone missing. She suspects one of her employees, but without any proof, there’s really nothing she can do.”
“Does she have a security camera?” Romero asked.
Isabel noticed her sister pretending to be completely engrossed in the menu and not at all interested in the conversation.
“She does,” her mother said, stirring her martini and turned to Pat. “He said it’s come up clean every time, right?” Pat nodded but continued reading her menu.
The waitress stopped by to drop off breadsticks and ask if anyone needed another drink. Romero held his bottle up, making her sister lift an eyebrow but then her mother asked for another martini. “Another one, mother?”
“Yes, Patricia. Maybe you should have a shot.”
Isabel’s eyes met Romero’s. She almost giggled. God, did she love her mom at that moment. Romero’s eyes were as amused as hers. She was so glad he wasn’t upset about her sister’s obvious attempts to rattle him.
“Try the Patrón,” Romero added.
Isabel nudged his knee under the table. Pat ignored him. Instead, she turned to Isabel. “Have you talked to Daddy lately?”
“I did last week.” Isabel had a feeling where Pat was going with this.
“Did he tell you he’s thinking about running for mayor next year?”
“Yeah, he did.” Isabel glanced at Romero whose smile was now gone.
“Mayor, huh?” Isabel could see Romero was trying to sound nonchalant, but there was a definite change in his overall demeanor. She should’ve mentioned it to him. This wasn’t an insignificant little tidbit you forget to tell someone. “Of La Jolla?”
Pat smirked. “Oh, no, he’d never consider anything smaller than San Diego.” She turned back to Isabel, done acknowledging Romero. “I think he has a very good chance. I told him I’d help him campaign. Gina said she’d take a few months off and come home to help out too.”
The waitress dropped off the salad. Isabel was happy for the interruption. She was also glad she’d put her foot down when she did; otherwise, Pat might’ve continued with her interrogation of Romero, and things could’ve gone south real fast. By the time dinner was over, although the tension between Romero and her sister was still there, it was such a relief to have gotten their first meeting out of the way.
Pat wasn’t done, not by a long shot. Isabel knew this, but at least Pat knew now that Isabel wouldn’t be just sitting there, letting her do and say what she pleased.
When they were back at Isabel’s apartment, Romero sat on her sofa and opened his arms out for her. She sat down at his side and leaned into him. “Your sister isn’t that bad.”
“Yeah, she is,” Isabel smirked.
Romero stared at her for a moment before smirking himself. “Yeah, she is.”
Isabel laughed. “Don’t worry. I think she gets it now that she’s not going to have freedom she thought she would to interrogate you like it’s any of her business.”
“I don’t mind an interrogation as long as she can take it as well as she can dish it.”
Isabel kissed him. “Well, that’s what I don’t want—you two starting a war. My brother and her hardly speak ever since he told her off. She’s never approved of his fiancée. I don’t want that happening between her and me, but if it has to be that way, then so be it.”
Romero smiled. “I think I’d like to meet your brother.” His hand crept up her back, under her blouse.
“You will,” she smiled, kissing him, “next time he’s in town. So when do I get to meet your uncles?”
“Soon. I’ll set something up. Neither will be making mayor of anything anytime soon. In fact, I’m not even sure they’re registered to vote.” He laughed. “But I think you’ll like them.”
“I’m sure I will.” She felt him unclasp her bra. It sort of bothered her how good he was at doing that.
“Why does your sister care so much about who you and your brother date?”
Isabel frowned. “She’s always been that way. Image is everything to her. So even though she won’t admit it, it’s about her. She loves nothing more than to brag to all her other snobby friends about her family, so who we’re dating, or, in my brother’s case, who he’ll soon be marrying, is just another thing she can brag about.”
“What’s wrong with your brother’s fiancée?” Romero rubbed her back. It felt good.
It was so petty she was almost embarrassed to tell him, but she did. “She lives in a trailer park. Her family is not the classiest, I guess. She’s also putting herself through school, so it’s taking her a lot longer than it did all of us who had the luxury of going full time.”
She felt him stiffen, and his expression changed. “So it’s not just about her education; it’s about how classy you are or aren’t? Wow. Your sister is a piece of work.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She straightened out so that she faced him better now and kissed him again. “I’ll deal with her.”
He brought his hands around the front and cupped her breasts, smiling. “And I’ll deal with you.”
She lay back on the sofa, and he moved over her, kissing her. Thoughts of them messing the sofa didn’t even cross her mind this time.
***
The next morning, Isabel got the call she was expecting, and she was ready for it.
“I just don’t think he’s right for you, Bell. Don’t get all defensive about it.”
Isabel was on her way to work and didn’t need Pat to ruin her day before it started, but she wasn’t backing down for the sake of not arguing like she had so many times in the past. “I’m not getting defensive. You’re entitled to your opinion, but I like him, and he’s gonna be around a lot now, so get used to it.”
Her sister exhaled. “Daddy’s not gonna like him either.”
Isabel gripped the wheel. She dreaded her father meeting Romero. Though he wasn’t as judgmental as her sister, appearance and image were a pretty big thing for him, especially now that he was considering running for mayor. She hated to have to ask Romero to change anything about himself, but her father—who dealt with low class criminals all day—always said, “Only the less intelligent resort to foul language to color their conversation.” Romero had quite a mouth on him. “Well, he’ll just have to deal with him too. It’s my life—my choice.”
“Okay, okay. Change of subject.”
This was a first. Had Isabel actually won an argument with Pat?
“Guess who I ran into a few days ago?”
“Who?”
“Jacob.”
“Jacob who?”
“Your ex, silly. Your first love—high school sweetheart.”
Isabel thought about it for a moment. She hadn’t been sure before, but now she was certain. She’d never been in love with Jacob. What she felt for Romero was a first. No one, not even Jacob, came close to making her feel like Romero did. “Oh, really?” She sounded as unenthused at the news as she felt. “Where?”
“Charles and I had dinner with a few of his friends and their wives on the base, and he was there, having dinner with a few buddies. Did you know he’s on his way to make Lieutenant Commander?”
Isabel rolled her eyes. “I haven’t talked to him in years, Pat. So, no, I didn’t know.”
“He’s still single, you know.”
“Well, I’m sure now that he’s making Lieutenant Commander, he won’t be for long.” Isabel pulled into the teacher parking lot at the school.
“He asked about you.”
Isabel didn’t say anything as she gathered up her things.
“I told him we should all get together and catch up. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Isabel almost laughed. Her sister was too much. “Oh, yeah. I’ll bring Romero. I’m sure it’ll be just lovely.” She heard her sister huff. “Don’t even think about it, Pat. I gotta go. I’m at work now. I’ll talk to you later.”
Isabel hung up before Pat could protest much. She should’ve known her sister wouldn’t give up that easily.