Chapter 32 _ Los Niños
“Juliana it was magical! You need to go! I’ll even cover for you if you need to take the day off but I need you to see it, you’ll fall in love with Anya all over again, I promise you!” Juliana’s coworker, Andrea, insisted as she told her about the Anastasia play. The closest tour stop was in San Francisco, and they would be there through the 29th of September.
Juliana and Andrea had bonded over the Anastasia movie since they began working together. “Drea, I can’t aford $300 tickets to a play, even if it is THAT play… I have bills to pay dude. I’d love to go but I can’t.”
“Baby doll! They’re only $45 dollars!” Andrea said, “Even if they were $300 I’m sure your sugar mamma would be more than happy to take you.” Andrea finished jokingly.
Juliana let out a loud chuckle and smacked Andrea’s upper arm. “Shut up, don’t call her that!”
“So are you gonna go or what? Make it an early birthday present for yourself, J? I’ll even babysit the kids if you need me to.” Andrea said in a very serious tone.
“What kids?” Juliana asked confused causing Andrea to break into a fit of laughter.
Grabbing ahold of Juliana’s shoulders, Andrea shook her dramatically, “exactly! You don’t have any! No one is stopping you, J! Grab your girl and go, have fun. Do something for you, dude.”
Juliana laughed, she truly enjoyed Andrea’s company. She was one of the most optimistic people she had ever met. That girl had a solution to everything and she always found a positive to every negative situation.
“Okay, you’re right I’ve been dying to see it and was completely devastated when it was no longer on Broadway. It’s not that far, I’ll talk with Valentina and see if we can go this weekend. Thank you, Drea, I’ll tell her you’ll watch the kids she’ll be so happy to get away from them for a few hours.” Juliana said still playing along as she packed up her stuff.
As the girls closed up the shop Andrea nodded to herself satisfied that her work had been done. “We can fangirl about it when you get back. Because believe me when I say Tommy isn’t the type of twin to fangirl with me, he only took me because it was our birthday and he knew I wouldn’t shut up about it otherwise.”
Juliana looked up as she found her car keys to see Valentina leaning against her Mustang.
“Im gonna get going, I’ll see you tomorrow, boo.” Andrea said giving Juliana a hug as she turned to Valentina and greeted her with a happy smile and a peace sign, “Hi Valentina, bye Valentina.”
Juliana smiled as Andrea walked away. She turned to look at Valentina throwing daggers at Andrea with her eyes. “Hi Val, what are you doing here?” When she didn’t get a response she got on her tippy toes and gave Valentina a subtle peck on the cheek.
With that, Valentina looked down and smiled at Juliana. “Hi.”
“Why don’t you like her?” Juliana asked letting out a small giggle.
“I never said I didn’t like her.” Valentina said avoiding Juliana’s eye contact.
Juliana threw her head back laughing, “yeah, tell that to your face, babe.”
Valentina crossed her arms and pouted not wanting to admit she was jealous of Juliana’s coworker. “She’s just too friendly, it seems fake.”
“Drea is one of the more genuine people I know, baby. She really likes you, and she’s a really good friend.” Juliana said unlocking the passenger door.
“Are you sure it’s not you she likes?” Valentina said observing Juliana as she unlocked the car.
As the words left Valentina’s mouth, Juliana tensed a bit and she raised her eyebrow. “Valentina, we’re not doing this out here, get in the car.”
Knowing Juliana was not playing Valentina did as she was told while Juliana went around and got in the car, herself.
“I don’t know why you don’t like her Valentina but you don’t know her. For starters she’s engaged to a guy and she’s straighter than Eva. Second you might not know her but you know me. Or at least you should. I’ve never once given you a reason to doubt me. This jealousy thing is a joke and I’m not laughing. It was cute at first but if you’re seriously jealous of Andrea, what the hell Valentina?”
Valentina didn’t know how to respond to that. It was the first time Juliana got upset with her over something like this and she didn’t know what to do. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just don’t like the idea of someone else having you. She get’s under my skin with how annoyingly attached she thinks she can be with you.”
“Valentina, what are you talking about? We’re friends, Andrea is only my friend. I’m allowed to have friends, as are you. I’m yours and I’ve never given you a reason to think I’d run off with someone else. I’m not liking jealous you. You need to chill.” Juliana said running a hand threw her hair, irritated with Valentina’s jealousy. “Why are you here anyway? If you just came para hacerme una escena de celos, you should go because I don’t wanna argue with you but I’m not gonna feed your little celos either.”
“Juls, you’re right, I messed up, I’m sorry. That’s not what I came for.” Valentina said looking up from her lap. She turned her body towards Juliana. “Juliana, I’m sorry. I was actually here to invite you to the loft, Guille is having a little dinner to celebrate the baby news and I came to see if you were in the mood to go but now…”
Juliana observed Valentina’s face. It was full of regret and those big blue orbs were looking straight into her eyes.
Drawing in a sign, Juliana brought her hand up towards Valentina’s cheek, “Val, I’m sorry if I overreacted but I’m just not okay with this attitude. You have no reason to be jealous, especially of Andrea of all people. You don’t have to like it her but don’t villainize her either, please. She’s not after your girl. She’s not even gay for crying out loud.” Juliana caressed Valentina’s cheek as she spoke. “Imagine if I went off and was crazy jealous over Hope when she first got back from Europe. She’s super touchy with you but I know what we have and I know that the end of the day, she’s your best friend but I’m your girlfriend. And I know you wouldn’t be dumb enough to mess up what we’ve fought so hard for. So I need you to do the same. I need you to trust me.”
Valentina nodded closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. “Okay. I trust you, I might not trust the world but I trust you.”
“That’s all I ask.” Juliana said as she brought Valentina in for a kiss.
After their conversation they headed over to loft with the rest of the Carvajal family. Eva, who Valentina truly thought wouldn’t show, was there happy to celebrate with her brother. She was really making the effort of trying to get closer to Renata and Lusia. The two were more than welcoming but still kept their distance before fully trusting the eldest Carvajal sibling.
On their way to Juliana’s apartment from the dinner Juliana told Valentina all about the Anastasia play. She told her they could leave Sunday morning to make it in time for the 2pm show. It was 2 and a half hours and Valentina was on board. She knew how much that story meant to Juliana and if she wanted to attend she wouldn’t stop her or turn her invitation down.
When Sunday came around the two made the drive. She knew Juliana had never been to San Francisco so Valentina offered to drive. The whole ride there they talked animatedly and listened to music from their favorite artists.
Upon arrival the girls went straight to their seats. They were in the second row and thankfully there were two empty seats in front of them, giving them a clear view of the stage.
Once the play was over, Juliana had shed many tears and was grateful that Valentina would agree to see the play with her. On the ride back they talked about the different scenes they loved and Juliana emphasized her love for the costumes and backdrops. She had never been to the theatre or seen a play and she was glad Anastasia was her first.
Juliana spoke about how Demitri’s character grew on her. The entire drive home they listened the play's soundtrack. They sang along to most of them but especial Once Upon A December. That was one of the only songs Valentina knew by heart and she loved to see Juliana’s face light up when she sang along to it so she made sure to sing it every single time it came on.
“Thank you for coming with me, Val. This was the only play I would’ve paid to watch in New York but I’m so glad it was here and not as expensive as it would’ve been in NYC.” Juliana said as she scrolled through her music.
“Anytime, baby. This is what you love so why wouldn’t I come. Plus since I finished the images from the trip on Friday, I had the weekend free to do anything. It was a good show and I’m happy you asked me to come with you. Remind me to thank Andrea for watching the kids.” Valentina said playfully at the end. She had spent Friday and Saturday’s lunch break with the girls at the boutique trying to get to know Andrea a little better, for Juliana’s sake.