KAYLA RAMIREZ-LOPEZ'S POV
She laughs, and I kiss her forehead. She wraps one of her arms around my waist and kisses my cheek with her foam covered lips.
"I got toothpaste on you," she touched my cheek
"Yeah, Missy. I have makeup on as well." She strokes my cheek.
"Don't worry, I'll do your makeup." I laugh, and she kisses my cheek again.
"Do you need my help to shower?"
"No. I'm a big girl now."
"Oh my God... my heart is breaking. " she laughs again. "Hahahaha... hahahaha..." I blow her a kiss and walk out of her bathroom and leave the bedroom.
~
~~~~~~Ring Ring Ring~~~~~~
~
I checked the caller ID and answered the call.
Kayla: ===[Hello, darling...]===, She laughs at the other end of the call, which makes me laugh as well.
Ximena: ===[How are you, my darling? How's my superstar?]===
Kayla: ===[I'm doing great, Mum, and your superstar is doing great. She's all grown up now, and she's waking up and getting ready without me now]===
Ximena: ===[Oooooo... that's sick. She's getting ready without you now]===
Kayla: ===[I know, Mum. How's dad?]===
Ximena: ===[Snoring as usual. He's asleep while I'm here trying to get this paperwork done before the exhibition next month]===
Kayla: ===[Oh, right. How's that going? I know you've been hella busy]===
Ximena: ===[Something magical happened yesterday. I'm still in shock from that]===
Kayla: ===[What happened?]===
Dylan walks into the kitchen all sweaty and only in his gym shorts. He walks around, trying to pick up things, stretching and flexing. I know what he's doing because he does that every time we argue, and I used to fall for it, but I don't really give a rat's ass today.
Ximena: ===[Are you listening to me, darling?]===
Kayla: ===[I was prepping my ingredients to make breakfast, but I'm listening now]===
Ximena: ===[Alright, then]. ===[I got a call from an Italian guy like two months ago. He spoke to me about a few art collections his boss had and wanted to sell or something. I thought he was a fraud, so I just agreed to whatever he said. He asked for those arts to be exhibited at this exhibition, and I said okay. It was a whole lot and I agreed to everything. We didn't talk about money or anything else]===
Kayla: ===[Okay...]===
Ximena: ===[They had someone bring in a whole lot of paintings yesterday. They're all from great artists as well. I was so shocked, darling]===
Kayla: ===[Wow... that's amazing. Are they original paintings, though?]===
Ximena: ===[Darling, I know my paintings like you know your fabrics and your designs. I've sent them to get them checked again, but I know they're original paintings]===
Kayla: ===[I'm so happy for you, Mum. This is going to be your biggest exhibition ever]===
Ximena: ===[I can feel it in me that this is the one. After this exhibition, I'll know that I've finally succeeded in the art world. My years of hard work will finally pay off]==
Kayla: ===[Of course, Mum]===
Ximena: ===[Darling, give me a moment. I've got a call on the other line. Let me call you back]===
Kayla: ===[Alright, Mum. Love you...]===
Ximena: ===[Love you, too, kiss my grandbaby for me...]===
Kayla: ===[Will do... kiss daddy for me, too. Byeee]===
She makes lots of kissing sounds on the phone before we both hang up.
I chop my green veggies and cut my bananas and pineapple, and i put all of them in the juicer . I squeeze lemon into it, and I blend my vegetables and fruits and pour some in my glass. I always drink vegetables and fruit smoothies in the morning. I joined a fitness club online when I was 17, and I'm still part of that club. They helped me lose weight and also helped me gain confidence in my body. I've lost a lot of weight as compared to when i was in high school, depressed, bullied, and my only comfort was eating. When I got pregnant with Brielle, I gained weight, but it was mainly in my ass and boobs. I worked out a lot.
I worked out until my ninth month. I didn't have a big bump, so I managed to do little till my ninth month when I couldn't anymore. My mum came around on my ninth month, and she helped me with everything till I gave birth. Three weeks after I had Brielle, I was back at the gym. I worked out and changed my diet until I gained this figure. I'm very pleased with my body. I love my body very much and I'm very confident now. I'm not the teenager they bullied anymore.
I leave some in the juicer for whoever wants some. They always drink the rest of them, but if they don't drink it, I'll just pour it into a flask and keep it in the fridge for tomorrow.
"Babe..." He walks up behind me and wraps his sweaty arms around my waist
"I've showered. Leave me alone." I push him back and step away from him. He frowns and just stares at me.
"What the fùck is your problem?!!" I ignore him and walk out of the kitchen. I walk back into my daughter's room, where she's getting ready.
"Oh, look at my beautiful baby..." I place the glass down, and I wrap my arms tightly around her and kiss her cheeks hard
"Ugh, Mummy..." She groans a little.
"Granny says I should kiss you for her, and she always kisses you like this." I sit on her bed, and she walks over to me. She sits beside me and snuggles against my arm.
"Why didn't she talk to me?" She pouts a little.
"It's very late in Tennessee, and she was tired, but we'll call her tonight when it's day there." I brush my fingers through her hair and kiss her forehead.
"Okay." She whispers softly
"Do you want waffles?" I hold her cute little face in my palm, and she smiles.
"Yes!!" she screams out a little, and I laugh.
"Alright. Grab your coat, I'm taking you on a waffles breakfast date."
"Aaaahhhh!!!... I love you so much!!" she wraps her arms tightly around my neck that she starts choking me a little.
"Ugh... you're killing me, Teacup. " she smiles, and let's go off me. She jumps out of bed and runs into her closet.
I always make breakfast. I do all the cooking in this house but not today. I'm taking my daughter out for breakfast. Barbara can cook for her kids, or they can eat the leftovers from yesterday since Brielle and I didn't eat anything last night.
"I'm ready!!" she screams, put excitedly. She twirls, and I laugh. She's wearing a stylish and layered brown shirt paired with a black puffer vest, which adds a cool and edgy touch to her overall look. Her lower half is dressed in brown shorts, complemented by black boots that add a rugged element to her attire. A black Nike cap sits atop her head, while a black bag is slung over her shoulder, completing her casual yet fashionable ensemble. The combination of these pieces creates a relaxed yet put-together appearance, perfect for a day out or a casual outing. My daughter is the most fashionable six year old in the whole world. I work my ass off to make her look like this. What's the use of being able to sew and design when you can't dress your daughter?
"Oh, look at my little fashion icon." She laughs.
"Come on..." I hold her hand, and we walk out of her room. I grab my purse and coat from our room.
"Hey, Princess..." He takes a sip of the smoothie I made this morning.
"Hi, Dad..." She doesn't run to her dad like she always does. She just holds onto my hand tightly. Dylan places his glass down and looks at her.
"Not a hug?" She shakes her head.
"You're sweaty"
"When has that ever been a problem?" Dylan looks at me, but I don't even look at him. I just check my purse to make sure I've got everything inside.
"I'm going out with mummy and I don't want to be sweaty"
"Ugh... I scored two goals yesterday"
"Yeah. That was great."
This shocks me, and I even look at her. She'd usually jump with so much joy, but for the first time, she's emotionless. She doesn't care.
"Brielle, what's wrong?" Dylan walks over and kneels in front of her.
"Have I done something?"
"No." I frown at her more
"Brielle?"
"He hasn't done anything wrong. I'm hungry and I want to eat waffles."
"We'll get you some on our way." Dylan looks at me again and I shrug because even I don't know what's going on.
"Ummm... okay..." Dylan frowns more.
"Bye..." She waves at him, and she basically pulls me along. Even I'm surprised at what just happened. There are times when she's mad at him, and she reacts, but this is different. It's like she just didn't care. Just like, she didn't care yesterday that he used Luca as his mascot and not her.
We walk outside and I unlock the door for her.
She gets in the backseat and fastens herself in her car seat. I check and make sure she's fastened properly.
"Brielle, is something wrong?" I look at her through the review mirror.
"Daddy doesn't love me so I don't care anymore." I frown and turn my head. I look at her actual face and she doesn't even look sad or anything. Just a plain beautiful face.
"What?"
"Your daddy loves you very much. Who told you that he doesn't love you?" She shrugs
"He behaves like it. He loves Luca more than me, and I'm his daughter. Luca is his nephew, but he always gets his attention while he doesn't care about me." my heart skips a beat as I listen to her speak. How can my daughter have this mindset? she's only six.
"Brie, that's not true. Your daddy loves you very much, and he proves it every day. He's only closer to Luca because he's a baby, and his daddy is not here to help Aunty Priscilla. That's why he's always with him. You're his world. He loves you very much." She doesn't say anything.
"You love me, right?" I smile and push my seat backwards so I'm closer to her.
"Heck yeah!!"
"You're my whole universe. You're the air that I breath, you're the water that I drink. You're my everything" she smiles
"The sugar in your dessert?" we both laugh
"Hahahaha... hahahaha..."
"Exactly, cupcake."
"You're the sugar in my dessert, salt in my food. Everything in my life. You're the main component"
"Hahahaha... haha. ..hahahaha. .. I love you so much, Mummy"
"I love you so much, Mummy"
"I love you more, Cupcake" She wraps her arms tightly around me and I kiss her cheek.
I hate that my daughter feels this way about her father. I don't blame her. Dylan behaves like that at times. He just doesn't hide his disappointment in us having a girl first. He always wanted his firstborn to be a boy, and he was fully prepared for his baby boy till that pink colour filled the atmosphere and everything changed. It got worse when his sister opened her closet and it was blue clothes for her baby boy. He finally got his boy because his dad wasn't here.
It hurts me a lot when I see him behave like that with Luca while my baby is locked in her room playing with her dolls. I always join her, and we either play together or she helps me design in my sketchbook. Sometimes, I draw the outfit and I leave it for her to colour. She's so great with colouring. She loves that, so I always involve her when I draw.
I drive us to the breakfast restaurant, Brielle and I sing the entire ride over there. I park the car at the parking lot and we get out of the car. We walk into our favourite restaurant. It's got a flowery, pink interior and the place always smells like waffled and syrup. Brielle loves this place. We used to come here as a family before Barbara got her claws on him and he became too busy to bring us here.
We sit at our regular table and we place our orders and we wait for them to bring our food. This is her favourite breakfast place aside from my cooking. Whenever I take her out for breakfast, we always come here. We didn't leave the house much when we first lived in Liverpool. She was still little, so I always kept her indoors, and whenever we left the house, it was to quiet and private places. Because of Dylan, we had paparazzi following us all around, and she was little to understand why.
Now she knows that her daddy is a famous footballer or soccer player so we'll have them around sometimes. This place is quite private, we don't always worry except when Dylan is with us. We always get them on our tails when he's with us.
A waiter brings our waffles and two glasses of juice. Brielle orders a chocolate waffles with strawberry toppings and syrup while I order plain waffles with strawberries and blueberry toppings. We both take bites of the waffles. Brielle dances a little in her chair and I smile.
"Do you love it?" She nods and continues dancing. We eat till she stops eating and starts tossing the food around the plate with her fork. I stop eating and drop my fork. I take her small hand into mine and I kiss the back of her hand.
"What's wrong, honey?" She was dancing and stuffing her face a few seconds ago so what could be the problem now?
"I miss Granny and Papa." I frown and kiss the back of her hand again.
We haven't seen my parents in a long time. We went to Tennessee after last season, and now that the season is about to end. It's been almost a year. We video chat all the time, but it's never the same. I miss my parents as well but my daughter... she always makes me sad because she's got Barbara around when the grandparents who love and adore her are in another country all together, and she hardly sees them.
"We'll go to Granny's art exhibition next month.." My mum is having her annual exhibition next month and I'm definitely going to this with or without Dylan.
"Okay..." She looks at me with somber eyes.
"Brielle, come on, honey. We started this morning very well. Now, you're breaking my heart." Tears well up in her eyes and I get up and walk over to her. I squat beside her chair, and I wipe her tears with my thumb.
"I don't want to stay here anymore." Her tears flow more and her sobs get louder.
"I don't have friends here. I don't like Grandma Barbara because she's always so mean to me. Aunty Priscilla is always focused on Luca, just like daddy." She shakes a little from all the crying.
"I want to go to Granny and Papa." I also start crying, and I hug her. She starts sobbing, which makes me cry harder.
"I'm so sorry, cupcake."
"I'm so sorry you feel this way..." I cup her face in my palm and I wipe her tears.
"It's okay... we'll go and see them next week."
"We'll go back to Tennessee next week so you can see Granny and Papa." She nods.
"Stop crying, my love..." I kiss her forehead and hug her tightly. She continues sobbing. People around us just start staring. Some even take out their phones and pretend to be doing something on it, but they're just taking pictures of videos of us.
I pick her up, and I check my wallet and take a hundred pound note, and place it on the table. They can keep whatever change there is because I just want to get my daughter away from these vultures. I walk out of the shop with my daughter crying in my arms. Tears are running down my cheeks as well. I place her in the car, and I fasten her in her car seat, and I get behind the wheels. I start the car and drive off.
"Stop crying, Brie. We'll go and see them next week. I promise." I kiss the side of her face.
I take my phone out of my purse and call my mum on facetime as I walk to the car with Brielle holding on me tightly. It rings for a while before she finally answers.
~
~~~~~~~~Beep Beep~~~~~~~~
~
Ximena: ===[Hey, darling...]===
Kayla: ===[H... hi... Mum...]===
Ximena: ===[Oh mon Dieu ... qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? Pourquoi pleurez-vous?]===
Translation: [Oh my God ... What's wrong? Why are you crying?]===
"Lopez, wake up, your daughter is crying." Dad just shoots out of the bed and stands behind mum who has now turned on their lights.
Kayla: ===[It's Brielle. She wants to come home and she has been crying. We went to breakfast at her favourite breakfast restaurant and she didn't even eat anything. I don't know what to do]===
Antonio: ===[Let us talk to her. Sweetheart, stop crying and drive safely home. We'll handle Brielle]===
I nod and hand the phone to Brielle at the back.
Brielle: ===[Granny... Papa...]=== She starts sobbing harder and loudly.
She starts sobbing harder and I park the car by the roadside. I lean my head against the steering wheel while she's still crying even though she's talking to them.
Brielle: ===[I... I... I... m... miss... y... you... so... so... much...]===
I hear my mum also crying at the other end of the line. I've never seen my baby cry like this. She doesn't cry at all. When she broke her arms last year, she didn't even cry, but today... it's like my heart is breaking over and over again. Like I said earlier, I can take anything but my daughter... I can't take it. I can't see my baby cry this much. We're going to see my parents next week, and I don't care what Dylan thinks or even says. I'm taking my baby to Tennessee to see my parents.