Chapter Text
“The heat gets worse every year, I swear,” Penelope groaned, fanning herself with the hotel’s room service menu. “One of these days August is just going to kill me.”
Max turned over, reaching out to twist one of her curls around his finger. “Nothing’s ever gonna kill you, Penelope Alvarez. You’re too fierce for that. And after Afghanistan, I know you can handle a little heat.”
She grinned at him, stretching lazily until her toes curled. This vacation was the best idea she’d had in a while–and though they hadn’t gone far enough away to escape the California heat, at least the room had air conditioning.
Penelope’s t-shirt rode up as she moved, exposing her stomach. Max reached out to run his fingers over her bare skin. “Speaking of heat,” he murmured, leaning in closer.
She chuckled and kissed him, long and slow. With Elena off to college, and her Mami at home with Alex, all she had to do this weekend was relax.
Like he always had, Max made that easy for her. She felt so comfortable with him, so safe, that it took no effort at all to turn a hotel room into their own little oasis away from the rest of the world.
His mouth moved to her neck, trailing kisses down the curve of her shoulder, then lower, his hands sliding underneath the oversized tee she’d slept in.
Penelope was sinking into the rumpled sheets, letting her focus narrow to only the places where she could feel Max touching her, when they were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.
“Do not disturb!” She called out, annoyed, squeezing her eyes shut more tightly and willing the unwelcome intruder away.
“Mom!” she heard a voice call back.
It sounded like Alex, which didn’t make any sense. He was at home.
Home.
Penelope’s eyes flew open, adjusting to the dim light around her, which was definitely not the sun filtering through the blinds of a Hilton suite.
That’s right, she realized, dragged back to reality. It was a cool January evening and she was in her bedroom in Echo Park, where she’d fallen asleep before dinner…alone.
Sighing, she sat up and tried to smooth her hair down with her hands. “I’m coming,” she called out, listening as Alex’s footsteps retreated back toward the kitchen.
She and Max had broken up more than a year ago, Penelope thought. How long was she going to keep dreaming about him?
It got more depressing every time she woke up.
****
“There you are, Lupe. Did you have a good rest?”
Lydia set the salad bowl on the table, surveying the tableau critically. After a moment, she nodded to herself and went back into the kitchen to finish plating dinner.
“It was fine, Mami.” Penelope sat next to Alex, glancing over her shoulder when the front door opened. “Hey, Schneider.”
“Hi, Pen. Lydia,” he added, raising his voice, “that smells amazing.”
“Gracias, Schneider.”
“We’ve got a full house tonight,” Penelope warned him. “You’ll have to squeeze in.”
“Really? Who’s here?”
“Elena’s leaving in a week,” she reminded him. “Who do you think?”
“Oh, cool! I wanted to ask Syd if they’ve started the new Star Trek.” He took a seat across from Penelope and watched Lydia bring out the last of the food.
“They’re in Elena’s room. Alex, tell your sister and Syd that dinner’s ready, please.”
He leaned back in his chair, tipping it halfway off the ground before his mom smacked him lightly on the arm.
“Cut that out.”
“Sorry,” Alex said, showing no sign of remorse. Ever since he had grown three inches the previous autumn, he took full advantage of his extra height. Staying flat on the floor this time, he yelled behind him, “Elena! Syd! Food!”
“Papito! I meant get up and go tell them.”
He grinned. “Whoops. Too late, here they come.”
Elena led the way to the table, her long hair pulled back in a messy bun. She was holding Syd’s hand, and they stayed connected as they took two seats side-by-side.
A few weeks after getting it cut, Syd’s hair fell just above the neckline of the white t-shirt they were wearing. It had a wooden stake in the center with the words “I’m A Slayer, Ask Me How” printed across it in red.
“Wow, this looks great,” Syd said, letting go of Elena’s hand to reach for a napkin. “Thanks again for letting me stay for dinner.”
“Of course,” Lydia assured them. “The more, the merrier, especially before Elena’s big trip.”
“Only a week left, huh?” Schneider tucked his phone away, frowning at it before focusing on Elena across the table. “How excited are you right now?”
“God, so excited.” She grinned. “It’s gonna be weird, being away from everybody for three months. I know I’ll probably get homesick…but England! I mean, can you imagine? All that history, the culture. It’s such an amazing opportunity.”
“London’s pretty cool,” he agreed. “You’ll like the museums. Oh, when you get the chance, you’ve gotta check out the Postal Museum. You can ride in the actual tunnels under the city that they used to deliver the mail!”
Elena nodded. Her patient smile was only a little strained around the edges. “Text me the info, okay? I’ll add it to the list of one hundred and two Schneider-approved destinations you’ve already sent me.”
“I just want you to have fun. I’ve been to London a dozen times, and there’s a lot of cool stuff you won’t see on school tours.”
“I know. And I appreciate it. But I’m studying abroad, emphasis on studying. I can’t spend too much time wandering the city or I’ll miss out.”
The idea that soaking up the London atmosphere would equal ‘missing out’ seemed crazy to him, but Schneider let it go. Elena loved school in a way he never had.
“So,” he said, looking to Syd. “Are you caught up on Picard yet? I’m dying to talk about it and apparently your girlfriend doesn’t have time for fun.”
Elena rolled her eyes at him and dug into her salad.
“Yes, I’m totally caught up! Can you believe they brought back…” Syd trailed off with a glance around the table. “On second thought, I’ll text you later. Spoilers.”
“Right. Good call.”
“Speaking of fun,” they added, a smile tugging at the corners of their mouth, “I have something for you, Elena.”
She paused with her fork halfway to her mouth, staring at the envelope Syd was sliding her way. “For me? It’s a little early for a going away present.”
“I know, but this wouldn’t be a great last-minute gift.”
The long silence after Elena opened the envelope was deeply uncomfortable. Penelope knew her daughter well enough to recognize the absence of joy.
The rest of the family felt it too; everyone was collectively holding their breath through the seconds before Elena pulled out the tickets and looked back up at Syd.
“What is this?”
“A surprise.” Syd reached out and squeezed her hand. “I knew you might get homesick, and videochat won’t be the same…so I’m coming to London for two weeks! Don’t worry, it’s right in the middle of your semester so you won’t have to entertain me during finals or anything.”
“Why did you do this without talking to me first?”
“That’s kind of the definition of a surprise.” They were waiting for Elena’s surprise to turn into happiness, but she almost looked…upset.
“And you had to surprise me in front of everybody? A week before I leave?”
She cut herself off, taking a deep breath. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight at the table. “Syd, let’s go talk in my room, okay?”
“Elena, what’s wrong?”
“Please. My room.” Her knuckles were white where she was gripping the tickets, and she could feel her whole family’s eyes on her, which was not helping.
Visibly concerned, Syd went without another word. The others watched them go, Schneider fidgeting in his seat and Penelope biting her lower lip.
She had been prepared for Elena’s semester abroad to strain her daughter’s relationship, but not for things to get this tense before she left. As hard as it was to hold back now that Elena was seventeen, Penelope knew there wasn’t much she could do. Just be ready to listen, and offer advice, if Elena let her.
She sighed and faced her plate. “Back to dinner, guys. You know if we’re all gawking at them when they come back out, Elena’s gonna lecture us about respect or autonomy or human rights.”
Things were quiet for several minutes, nothing but the sounds of forks scraping plates and bowls to keep them from listening in.
A clear, loud “You still want to control everything!” definitely came from Syd, followed by Elena’s even louder “Then why are you even dating me?”
But mostly the silence was ominous and stretched on–for ten minutes, then twenty. Schneider and Lydia made small talk with Alex gamely joining in to try and cover the tension.
Penelope worried and tried not to seem like she was worried, until Elena returned. She took her seat at the table, motionless while Syd emerged from her room a few moments later.
Carrying their bag, they lifted a hand in the family’s direction. “Thanks for dinner, but I have to go. Sorry.”
The front door was barely shut behind Syd before Alex asked, “What happened?”
Elena’s eyes filled. “Syd and I broke up.”
“What!?”
The chorus from her entire family, Schneider included, was a mix of surprise, concern, and disbelief. It shattered her resolve.
Elena started crying, quiet tears falling as Penelope rushed to fold her into a hug. Lydia and Alex were only a few moments behind.
Though Schneider caught Pen’s glance in his direction, he waited until the others had circled Elena with murmured words of comfort and gentle hands trying to soothe before he followed.
Alex’s growth spurt had put him almost an inch above his older sister now, but Schneider was still so much taller than them all–he towered over the family as he wrapped his arms around Penelope and Lydia and pressed his cheek to the top of Elena’s head.
“I’m okay.” Elena sucked in a shuddering breath and tried to detangle herself from the group so she could wipe the tears off her cheeks. “I’m fine. Thank you, everybody, but I’m gonna be just fine.”
“Elena, you had a big fight with your Sydnificant Other. You don’t have to be okay. We’re all here for you, as soon as you’re ready to talk about it.”
“And I appreciate that. But there’s nothing to talk about. We didn’t just fight, Mom. We’re over. It’s over, and I for one want to go to London ready to enjoy the trip. Not moping over things that are in the past.”
“It happened like two seconds ago,” Alex pointed out with a frown.
“And I’m ready to move forward. Okay?”
She could feel all of them watching her, their worry filling the air until it was hard to breathe. She knew how she sounded, how they probably thought she looked. Crazy. Heartbroken.
But it was too much. Their loving concern was making this harder.
“Elena…”
“No. Abuelita, I just need some space.”
When she left them there, escaping to her room, nobody followed.
****
Penelope gave Elena the space she wanted until after lunch on Saturday.
Elena spent all morning in her room, skipping breakfast, slipping in and out of the bathroom before anyone had the chance to speak to her.
When she appeared at the table, pushing food around her plate without eating it, everyone talked a little too brightly, trying to ignore the dark circles under her eyes. Schneider and Alex moved to the couch after lunch while Lydia busied herself clearing the table, and Penelope followed Elena to her room.
“Time to talk.” Penelope shut the door behind her. “I understand wanting to pretend you’re not hurting–believe me, I get it. But this came from out of nowhere, and now I’m worried about you, making such a huge change in your life right before you leave.”
“It didn’t come out of nowhere. I'll be graduating this summer, and the trip was just part of the problem. But you’re right, I am leaving soon, which is why I can’t get distracted. Academics has to come first.”
“You were together almost two years, Elena. That’s a big deal.”
“It’s over now. And no, I don’t want to talk about it. Especially since my flight is in six days, which barely gives us enough time.”
“Enough time to…what, exactly?”
“To go through the house and put together boxes to take to Goodwill.”
As Elena went to her closet, Penelope stared after her, confused by the abrupt subject change.
“You promised we would last month, remember? To reduce the amount of stuff we all keep but never use anymore. And since I’m gonna be gone for so long–and we all know this household is going to be way less green without me–it’s the perfect time.”
“Mija, reorganizing the apartment isn’t going to fix what happened with Syd. Or make it hurt less.”
“Mom.” Elena handed her an empty box. “I’m not trying to fix anything except the amount of waste we generate. When we forget what we own because we never look at it, it’s really easy to buy extra copies of things we already have. This will save you money too!”
There was an obvious edge to Elena’s words that screamed avoidance to Penelope, and it was that–her daughter, in pain–more than the logical argument that made her agree.
“Fine. I will give you two hours today, and I’ll help get Alex on board. But that’s it. This is my weekend too.”
“Awesome. Okay.” Elena looked around her room with a critical eye. “I’m going to start in here, and then I’ll deal with Abuelita.”
“You do that. I’ll go see what I have to bribe your brother with,” Penelope replied. “Afterwards, maybe we could all go out to eat. Somewhere fun.” Somewhere that will distract you for a minute, she added silently. The only real cure for heartbreak was time, but until then, distraction was the best she could offer.
“That sounds nice,” Elena agreed before snapping back into project mode. She was already pulling clothes out of her closet to lay on her bed as Penelope left.
****
“You’ve got your boarding pass?”
“It’s on my phone,” Elena told Penelope for the third time.
“Passport?” Schneider chimed in.
“In my bag,” she confirmed.
“Lipstick?” Lydia ventured hopefully.
“Very funny.” Elena hugged her, holding on for a long time. One semester hadn’t seemed like forever until now, with them all at the airport while she was imagining what might happen in her absence. “Please take care of yourself while I’m gone, Abuelita. No dancing, okay? And leave your heels on the shelf.”
“Ah, si, si, of course.” She winked at Alex, without even trying to hide it from her granddaughter. “I will be very careful.”
“You better. I’m gonna worry.”
Elena turned to Alex, whose hands were shoved in his pockets watching her. “Come here, would you?” She pulled him into a hug. “I’ll miss you.”
“You too,” he said as she stepped back. “Do something not nerdy while you’re there in honor of me. Something European and cool.”
“I’ll try,” Elena agreed with a smile.
“Oh, come on,” she protested, when she looked to Schneider next and realized he was sniffling. “I’m not going to be gone that long! Pull yourself together.”
“The family won’t be the same without you,” he told her, ignoring her eyeroll. “Speaking of the family, how about we go grab you some snacks for the flight? I’ve heard that the food in coach is…not great.”
Schneider led Alex and Lydia off to give Penelope a few minutes alone with Elena, and Penelope forced herself to take a steady breath. The panic setting in was normal–she was allowed to be nervous. This was Elena’s first trip to another continent. Just breathe, and keep it together.
She wasn’t sure how Schneider knew she needed the time, but Penelope was grateful.
“Be careful over there, you hear me? Listen to what they tell you at orientation, and stick with any group you’re in when they take you on tours. If you go out at night alone–well, I want to say don’t go out at night alone, but I know you will, so just be really careful! And I know you’re going to be focused on your classes, which is important, but make sure you take some time to explore. You’re not just there to study–this is a chance to experience things you couldn’t do by staying home, so take advantage of it.”
She squeezed Elena hard, kissing her cheek and then wiping away the hint of lipstick she left behind.
“Mom!”
“What? It’s a long way, baby. You’re going so far away.”
“I know. But it’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
“Me?” Blinking through sentimental tears, Penelope scoffed. “Of course I’ll be fine. Your Mami is a badass. I’m just going to miss you.”
“Yeah.” Elena reached out impulsively for a second hug. “I get that. Don’t spend the whole semester missing me, though, okay? Go be a badass.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know, Mom, you seem lonely sometimes.” Elena looked like she wanted to say more, but she saw the rest of the family returning and left it at that.
They were carrying too many snacks, as well as two books and a sweatshirt, “because the UK gets cold,” Schneider told her helpfully.
Penelope tried to pay him back for the trove of gifts, but he waved her off. “She deserves to travel in style, don’t you think?” Schneider put his arm around Penelope as they all watched Elena go through the security line.
Her daughter’s squared shoulders and steady gait were a comfort to Penelope as Elena disappeared around the corner–as was Schneider’s presence next to her.
Elena was ready for adventure, and even if Penelope didn’t feel totally ready to see her take the leap, at least she wasn’t alone in watching her go.