Chapter 28 _ No Voy A Pelear En Mi Cumpleaños
“Que quiere hacer hoy la princesa de la casa?” Lucia asked Valentina as they finished up their breakfast. It was her 19th birthday and she had no concrete plans yet.
“I’m not sure yet. I was thinking maybe a movie date with Juls after she gets out of church with her parents and then come back here for a swim, I’ll invite her parents and we can have a small carne asada or something. I can bring home some cake on our way back from Sac?” Valentina said shrugging.
“Nonsense mi niña, I’ll make your cake, it’ll be ready by the time you come home. How do you want it?” Chivis asked while picking up their plates.
“How about how you used to make it with mom when I was little; with lots of raspberries and strawberries in the middle. Surprise me with the outside.” Valentina said getting excited about her cake and the idea of sharing her birthday with Juliana and her family. After their snow trip all six of them had gotten much closer.
Lucia and Leon smiled at the idea of spending time with Juliana’s parents again. “Sounds good,” Leon said, “I’ll go pick up the meat and everything else we’ll need from Vicky’s. Meet up here by 1?”
Valentina got up and hugged her father and Lucia thanking them. She ran off to her room to get ready to head over to pick up Juliana. Thirty minutes later she ran down the stairs and told her father and Lucia that she’d be back soon as she headed out.
When she arrived outside the church she found a parking spot and went to buy 4 hotdogs because it was a part of the Valdes family tradition to have a hot dog after church at the nearby park. Once the mass was over and everyone was heading out she waited with a bright smile as she waited for Juliana and her parents.
As she waited she was approached by a few people and others simply stared at her.
Once the Valdes family walked out Valentina’s smile grew larger as she raised the hot dogs a bit more for emphasis causing a laugh to erupt from Juliana’s lips.
“What are you doing here, birthday girl? I thought you’d be sleeping in today?” Juliana said as she approached her girlfriend.
“I wanted to surprise you. Ta-da!” Valentina said with a cheeky grin. “Oh! I bought you guys hotdogs so you don’t have to go wait in that line.” She said handing each a hot dog. Once she was left with just hers she was able to properly greet Juliana and her parents. They each gave her a birthday hug. She and Juliana held hands as they headed towards table the family usually sat at.
“So what do you have planned for today, mija?” Lupita asked as everyone took a seat.
“Well that’s actually part of why I’m here.” Valentina said with a bright smile and turned to look at Juliana who smiled back at her instantly.
“My dad is going to grill carne asada con costillas de res por mi cumpleaños and I wanted to invite you guys. It’s not gonna be anything big just the family. My dad said he’d call Mr. Valdes but it’s at 1pm at our house.” Valentina said and finally took a bite of the hot dog Juliana always talked about.
They enjoyed their hotdogs and Valentina looked at her watch, “Oh I’m gonna steal Juls, we have a movie date!”
Juliana smiled and said, “as you wish, my love, it’s your day. We have to stop by my apartment first though, I have a few things I need to get.” To which Valentina gladly agreed to.
The couple said their goodbyes to Juliana’s parents and went on their way.
Once inside the apartment Juliana told Valentina to sit on the couch and close her eyes. She went into her room to get three gift bags. “two of these are for you to open now and the other one you can open it at your party if you want.” Juliana said leaning to give Valentina a kiss indicating she could open her eyes.
Valentina took the blue bag and opened it pulling out a cute blue summer dress with Juliana’s logo at the bottom on the left side.
“Oh my god, Juliana… you made this? It’s beautiful thank you.” Valentina said still admiring the garment.
“You always said blue was one of your favorite colors and that you wanted a dress like the one your mom wore in one of your favorite pictures. Lucia and your dad gave me a few of the pictures she’s wearing it in so I could draw inspiration from. So here’s a little something I came up with based off of that dress.” Juliana said sitting next to Valentina placing her hand on her knee knowing Valentina was processing her words and would need a minute.
“Can I wear it today?” Valentina asked still not tearing her eyes from the dress.
Juliana smiled, “it’s yours babygirl wear it whenever you want.” She said with a giggle.
Valentina turned to look at Juliana with unshed tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much Juliana, I love it. I love that you put so much thought into this. I love that you pay attention to all the little details, I love that you listen to everything I say and know what details are important to me even if I play them off as minor things. Thank you. This is the best birthday present I could’ve asked for.”
“Open the second one.” Juliana said giving Valentina’s knee a squeeze.
Valentina removed the tissue paper and found three boxes. Opening the smallest one first she found a gold necklace that held a small gold pendant with a tree along with its roots inside. There was a note under the necklace that read, “I will grow roots. Not a promise but a fact. — Emily Palermo”
Valentina turned to look at Juliana with a questioning look that received a smile from Juliana. “That’s one of my favorite quotes. You always follow through in everything your set mind to. I know one day you will have everything you desire and that’s not a promise, it’s a fact, because that’s who you are. That’s who I fell in love with. With a woman that doesn’t give up when she finds a wall or a locked door, she find a window and goes through it.”
A single tear fell from Valentina’s left cheek and she started laughing, “I wasn’t supposed to cry today Juliana! I love you.” She said as she blinked her tears away.
“Don’t worry baby that’s at cheesy as we get the other two boxes aren’t cheesy they just accompany the dress.” Juliana said bringing Valentina in for a hug and kissed her forehead.
Valentina opened the remaining two boxes and opened them finding a pair of white sandals and a blue summer hat that also had Juliana’s logo on it on the tag. “You made the hat as well? What else are they teaching you!” Valentina said excitedly. “Now I have official girlfriend merch!” Causing Juliana to throw her head back laughing.
“Okay nerd, let’s go. We’re gonna be late to see Cap.” Juliana said getting up from the couch and offering Valentina a hand.
Valentina changed into her new dress pairing it with the sandals and the hat. They headed out to Valentina’s car. After driving about 45 minutes they arrived to the Placerville theater where they were scheduled to watch Captain Marvel.
Once the movie ended they discussed the movie and decided they would watch it again the following day after class and work. Soon after, they headed to the Carvajal mansion. When they arrived Valentina tensed up seeing Mateo’s car meaning her sister was present. “Juls, how about we go out for our own adventure and just come back later?”
Juliana had also noticed the car and knew Valentina was trying to avoid her sister but it was her party. “Val. Baby. You have two options, one flee and leave everyone hanging or two go in there and face your sister. If she’s rude you can ask her to leave, it’s your birthday, your family knows how things are they’ll understand.”
“I don’t want to see her.” Valentina said as Juliana intertwined her fingers with Valentina’s as she took hold of her hand.
“I know and I get that but if we’re gonna leave, at least let your dad know.” Juliana said speaking calmly.
Valentina closed her eyes and leaned agains the steering wheel trying to decide what to do. Finally, turning to head to face Juliana as she opened her eyes, she spoke. “We’ll go in there but if she’s acting up she’s out of here. I don’t want to deal with her.”
“As you wish babygirl.” Juliana said tucking the fallen hair behind Valentina’s ear.
The two exited the car and walked towards the front door. They made their way to the backyard where the rest of the family was. As they approached Valentina’s father she saw her sister walking towards her. Valentina gripped Juliana’s hand tighter. She tapped her father’s shoulder before her sister could reach her causing him to turn around.
With a quiet gasp Leon said, “you look lovely. Juliana did a wonderful job. As you’ve aged you look more and more like your mother, in this dress you look just like her in that picture you love so much.”
“Thank you papi, Juliana made it simply because she knows how much I wish I could’ve had it so she made me my own. Do you think mom would like it?” Valentina said twirling so her father could see the dress in its entirety.
Leon gave his daughter a smile. “She would’ve loved it, baby.” Valentina gave him a tight hug and asked in a whisper, “is Eva still waiting for me to finish up to approach me?” To which he nodded.
Valentina took her place back next to Juliana with her left hand in Juliana’s right preparing herself to face her sister. She hadn’t heard from her in over two months, she honestly had not expected her to arrive today. Regardless she and Juliana turned around hand in hand ready for whatever her sister had to say.
Eva walked towards the couple. Everyone stopped what they were doing to witness what was gonna happen until Leon turned the music up and told everyone with his eyes to keep doing what they were doing and not be so obvious.
“Eva.” Valentina spoke first.
“Vale, happy birthday, hermanita. Here I brought you something.” Eva said extending her hand, that held a gift bag, towards her sister.
“Why are you here Eva, let’s not play games, you were very clear as to what you thought about my relationship with Juliana. You paid someone who I thought was a friend to lie for your convenience. You had her tell the world that I was cheating on the woman that I love and I told you I wanted nothing to do with you. So why are you here?” Valentina said going straight to the point.
Eva looked shocked that Valentina didn’t simply accept the gift as if nothing had happened. “Can we go inside and talk? Alone.”
“No whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of Juls.” Valentina said as she gave Juliana’s hand a quick squeeze.
“Okay well can the three of us go inside then? Everyone is watching.” Eva said hoping her sister would agree, to which Valentina rolled her eyes at but gave her a single affirming nod.
Once inside the house Eva began to pace trying to find her words.
“Look, Evangelina, if you have nothing to say, I’d rather you not be here today. I’m not going to argue with you on my birthday. Juliana —” Valentina was cut off by her sister.
“I do have something say and I guess it has to do with her.” Eva said motioning to Juliana. “I need to apologize because I’ve been blinded by prejudice and hate and didn’t take into account your feelings, little sister. I thought she was only after the family’s money and was only using you. I thought I was protecting you. I see now that I was wrong. I may not understand what you two have but I’m willing to try. If dad trusts her, I will too. So to the both of you, I’m sorry.” Eva said.
Valentina replied instantly, “why can’t you just trust her because I trust her? Why do you still treat me like a child, like I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m feeling? I understand trying to protect those you love ‘a capa y espada’ but going to the lengths you have to keep us apart without even giving her a chance, I won’t allow it. This is not a simple fix. You went after me like I was one of your enemies, what kind of sister does that? What kind of sister puts ‘el que diran’ before her blood?”
“Valentina, you’re only 19 how do you not want me to see you as a child? You have no real life experience. We are public figures, how do you want me to not worry about what other people say or do in regards to the family? I’m the next in line, the weight of this family falls on my shoulders. What you do with your life falls on all of us, you’re the black sheep of the family because we let you be. Dad didn’t force the company on you like he did with Guillermo and I, he lets you do whatever the hell you want because you were a child when mom died. You may think you’re grown but you don’t know what it’s like to have to answer for things the rest of the family does. You think I wanted to help dad run the company? No, I wanted to study art in Paris. I wanted the freedom you have. You think Guille wanted to be a lawyer, let alone the company’s lawyer? He wanted to be an architect since I can remember but now he’s the best lawyer in the state and while he loves it I know that’s not what he originally wanted. Dad told us to think bigger, to think of our legacy. You are a part of the legacy, what you do affects all of us. So while you’re out there planning extravagant outings with Juliana we have to face the questions of your relationship. While you’re giving Juliana serenatas on the bridge we have to come up with a response as to why the princess of the house caused traffic for closing down Tower Bridge on a busy night. So yes, I was wrong for hating your relationship with a woman and I’m sorry for not understanding that you’re going to love whoever you want to love because you can’t stop that but I also need you get in all of our shoes and grow up a bit. I’m sure Juliana doesn’t feel too comfortable with the grand romantic gestures anyway but at least let us know when you’re going to do something that affects all of us so we’re not blindsided by morning when we’re bombarded by questions. I love you and I’m sorry for getting in between you two. I will never do it again because you and your happiness are more important than my initial feelings towards your relationship. You told me something that has stuck with me. You said, I couldn’t keep Lucia and Renata from marrying into the family and that I couldn’t stop Juliana either and you’re right, I can’t. At the end of the day a job is a job and we’re human, if dad could build an empire from the ground up who’s to say Juliana won’t either? So if Juliana is who you want to be with, I’ll support you because as your sister that is my responsibility.” Eva finished letting her little sister process everything she said.
Valentina had no idea her siblings hadn’t wanted their professions. She assumed they each wanted to be a part of the family business from childhood and she couldn’t possibly imagine her sister, the toughest businesswoman she knows, as a painter. She finally understood where her sister was coming from and it was refreshing to know all of this new information. She didn’t know how to respond but she knew one thing, she loved her sister and no matter how angry she got she always would.
“I just need you know that I love you okay, kiddo? You can be as old and as wise as you want but you’ll always be my little sister and I will always look out for you even if my approach is wrong you have to know that it comes from a place of love. Now I don’t want this day to end on a bad note for you so I’m gonna leave but I would like for you to at least open my gift before completely discarding it, okay. It was mom’s and dad gave it to me because he knew I loved it but I want you to have it because I know you’ll find a better use for it. Happy birthday, Vale, I love you.” Eva said placing the gift bag on the counter before making her way to the door.
All the while Juliana was observing both sisters and she knew Valentina wanted to say something, anything, but didn’t know how so she simply squeezed her hand as Eva was walking away and whispered, “go after her,” causing Valentina to finally react and smile at her before running after her sister.
“Eva! Wait. Please. Don’t go, stay. I never knew this wasn’t what you wanted, I always thought you wanted to run the company after dad, not that dad forced you to make his dream your own. I’m sorry for that. I won’t apologize for the grand gestures but I will apologize for not thinking about the rest of you beforehand. I promise to seek guidance or give you a heads up next time. I love you Eva, you’re my sister, I always will but you have to give me the benefit of the doubt. I’m not a little girl anymore, I haven’t been since mom died. We were forced to grow up from that day onward and neither of us was ever the same. I know you don’t like Lucia because you think she wants to replace mom but no one ever could and she knows that. I think if you’re gonna give Juls and I the benefit of the doubt you have to give her and Natty a chance too. They’re incredible women if you just let them in. Lucia was the first person I came out to. She’s the first person I told about Juliana because I trust her. She’s the maternal figure I’m sure mom would be happy to know I have in her absence. She’s been with dad for years and not once has she disrespected me or mom’s things, she knows what mom means to us and she respects that. She also knows she’s not here to replace anyone, she has her place in this home and in my heart because she’s earned it not because she slithered her way in like you like to think. I promise you she’s a good woman.” Valentina said taking hold of her sister’s hand and pulling her in for a hug.
Eva gave Valentina a tight embrace and told her she’d give Juliana, Renata, and Lucia a chance. In the meantime, Juliana watched the sister’s quietly from afar. She was surprised when Eva looked her way and smiled but returned the smile nonetheless. The sisters finished their talk and made their way to Juliana. Evangelina offered her hand and formally apologized to Juliana, an apology which Juliana accepted.
Valentina opened her sister’s gift to find an old polaroid camera that, according to her sister, belonged to her mother.
“She used to take it everywhere. I remember using it to take a picture of you at the hospital the day after you were born. I’ve had that picture with me ever since. You were my baby sister and I promised to protect you at all cost. So you’re right you’re not a child anymore but you’ll always be my baby sister.” Eva said giving her sister a side hug before being engulfed in a full hug.
“Thank you, Eva. I’ll keep it safe.” Valentina whispered into her shoulder as they continued to hug.
Eva wiped a rouge tear away as she laughed and said, “okay enough feelings for the day, go enjoy your party. I’m gonna head out with Mateo. I just wanted to stop by and give you your birthday hug. Mateo and I are flying to Rome tonight for our anniversary so we have to make sure everything is ready. I love you.” She turned to Juliana who was simply standing off to the side not really knowing what to do with herself so she just shrugged and stood there. “And you, keep taking care of her please. She’s a good kid and if she says you are too, then so are you.”
Juliana smiled at Eva as Valentina reached for her hand, “always. I love your sister and I will take care of her for as long as she’ll allow me.”
Eva nodded, “nice dress by the way, you did a really good job. Renata was right about your talent.” Juliana appreciated the comment and thanked Eva.
They walked to the backyard where everyone was waiting, talking animatedly. Everyone greeted the birthday girl and exchanged hugs with her. She said her farewell to her brother-in-law and sister wishing them a safe trip.
She sat with her family in a circle talking while her father and Juliana’s father finished cooking the meat and hamburgers.
Someone stood behind her covering her eyes. Valentina recognized the scent instantly as a huge grin came across her face. “Hope!”
“C’est moi!” Her best friend said as she removed her hands and went in for a tight hug. “Happy birthday nerd!”
“What are you doing here? I thought London had you for another month?” Valentina asked.
Hope smiled, “You didn’t think I’d actually miss your birthday did you? Plus I was getting tired of missing my main squeeze and only seeing those beautiful blue eyes of yours through a screen.”
Valentina laughed and turned to Juliana offering her a hand to stand up. “Juls, this is my best friend, Hope, we’ve known each other since birth. Hope, this is the beautiful and talented Juliana I’ve told you so much about.”
“So you’re the one who stole this loser’s heart. I see why,” Hope said looking Juliana up and down playfully, “pleasure to meet you. I’d give you the usual best friend speech but with the sister-in-law you have and what she’s put you through, I don’t think you need it. Welcome to the family.” Hope said pulling Juliana into a hug.
They spent the rest of the day enjoying the company and the food. The girls went for a swim and Juliana got to bond with Hope. By the time they cut the cake and Valentina opened the gifts the sun had begun to set. Juliana’s parents were the first to head out. Then went Guille and Renata. Hope offered Juliana and Valentina a ride back to Sacramento since she would be staying at her city loft with Lizzie tonight. The girls agreed and off they went.
When they arrived to Juliana’s apartment they said their goodbyes to Hope and the couple ended their night with hot chocolate and Mexican bread from La Esperanza.