“Gracias.” I offered him a shy smile as I took it from him. The rose smelled like nothing I’d experienced before. The fragrance was thick, sweet, and spicy all at the same time, with notes of honey and fruit.
“The smell is incredible,” I said.
“You should smell them when the whole bush is in bloom. You’ll never want to leave,” a voice called out from the front veranda.
All three of us took a step back, and my eyes went directly to what I gathered was the owner of the voice: a woman who looked to be in her fifties, with thick dark hair pulled back in an immaculate bun like those ballet dancers usually wear. She wore a long, flowing dress that was in a buttermilk color, complementing her olive skin. Her face looked familiar, which I couldn’t put my finger on until I sneaked a glance in Sebastian’s direction. Their features were so similar it was clear I was standing before Mrs. Rojas.
“Sebastian, you’re right on time.” She opened her arms as Sebastian helped me up the stairs, then went to hug his mom.
“For you always, Mother.” Sebastian took a small step back and smiled at his mother.
Now that they were standing side by side, their similarity was even more blatant. The eyes, the nose, the chin. I couldn’t help but stare at Mrs. Rojas. She was such a beautiful woman and Sebastian was…well, he was the most handsome guy I had ever seen. Especially, when he was relaxed as he was just then, dressed down in a button-down cotton shirt and khaki shorts. Not that I would ever admit it to him.
“And who is this?” Sebastian’s mother turned to me. I was trembling slightly. The only time I had met a partner’s parents was with my first boyfriend. And they had already known me for several years since Billy and I had attended the same drama group for years until I dropped it to focus more time on my tennis. But I had watched enough romcoms to know this could go two ways: horribly bad or exceptionally good. In movies, there are no so-sos.
Thankfully, Sebastian took charge as I stood there, awkwardly like a duck. I had completely forgotten how to speak, which is always a good first impression.
“This is Elly Hall,” Sebastian placed his arm carefully around my shoulders. He felt warm, especially in the humidity of the morning. I leaned into him. It was all a performance, I told myself. But it did feel good to have Sebastian so close when I felt so afraid of making the wrong move.
“Elly Hall?” Mrs. Rojas repeated. She raised one finger to her lips as if pondering over something. “Isn’t that the name of that young tennis player from America?”
“Yes…I mean, yes, I am that American tennis player.”Deep breaths, Elly. You’re stumbling over your words.
“Welcome to the Rojas home, Elly.” Mrs. Rojas smiled and opened her hand in the direction of the door.
“Thank you, Mrs. Rojas.”
“Please, Elly. Call me Sofia.”
“Sofia.” We smiled at each other.
“Great. I think we will get along. Now, I think I see your brother, Sebastian. Which means it’s time for the table.”
* * *
One thing I was learning about Sebastian was that he tended to minimize. He had said lunch at his parents’ place would be a small affair. “Small” turned out to be over thirty people. That meant thirty new names I had to learn, along with their relation to each other, whose husband, wife, and child belongs to whom, and vice versa.
I had always been a visual learner. One of my coaches back in high school had taught me this trick of visualizing my matches. My moves versus my opponent’s. Each corner of the court, the parts of the surface that weren’t completely even or straight. The perfect game. I still had that notebook filled with pencil sketches of so many of my games throughout high school. I won every one that I sketched out.
I wished for a notebook just then to draw Sebastian’s family tree. It would’ve made trying to make conversation with people less embarrassing, after realizing I had just repeated the same information, I had told them earlier. And it wouldn’t be so obvious that I couldn’t remember any of them.
The only good thing about the whole big family gathering was that there was no time for anyone to dig too deep into the “mystery girl Sebastian had been keeping a secret from everyone”, in the words of one of his cousins. At least, I think it was a cousin.
But the extended family didn’t stay long. By four p.m., the last few guests were saying their farewells. This was not what we had planned for—Sebastian had warned me that “lunches” organized by his mother tended to be all-day affairs.
“Which is why this is the perfect occasion for Step One,” he had explained in the car. I didn’t need to ask what Step One was. He had it all outlined clearly in the contract. What I was learning about Sebastian was that he liked having a plan. A very detailed plan.
Sebastian showed me to the tea room on a side veranda, where his mother was doing the last touches on an afternoon treat, as she called it. The aroma of the gardens was strong there. The lush greens and deep browns made for a most beautiful backdrop.
If I lived here, I would never want to leave this room, I thought.
Sofia ushered us in, and I was still holding onto Sebastian for balance when she pointed out our seats. “Please, Elly, sit. What would you like? Coffee or tea?”
“Tea, please.” Sebastian fetched the tea out of his mother’s hands as I lowered myself into my seat. I could feel the fatigue in my legs from standing, sitting, standing, sitting, and standing again for the last couple of hours.
“Cake, Elly?”
“Yes, please.” I looked over at the table and pointed out the cheesecake. It was hard to pick between chocolate cherry, banoffee, and a traditional Colombian treat.