Serafina nods, confirming her abuela’s suspicions. Well, thanks for that. Even though she’s right. “I prefer the term logical to narrow-minded,” I tell her.
“Different word, same thing,” Maria tells me. “You need to open your mind up to my granddaughter’s beliefs. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with her; you just have to be willing to listen to her without shutting her down. You both want to help people — you, Ben, with the space stuff, and my Serafina wants to help people live a better life here on this planet. Focus on that part of her work and you’ll be fine. Her heart is in the right place, even if her ideas are a little out there.”
Serafina pulls a face while I grin. “Hey, Abuela, astrology isn’t out there, it’s been studied—”
Holding up her hand, Maria silences her granddaughter’s impending lecture. “You already told me, corazoncita. And that’s part of the problem with you. You think you have to convince the world you’re right about everything, but you’re not. You don’t know everything. No one does.”
Tell her, Maria.
“And neither do you, Ben. Nobody has all the answers, so instead of focusing on facts and fighting over things you can never prove to each other, focus on intentions. You both want to help people, but you do it in different ways. Respect each other’s reasons, and if you can’t agree on the ‘how,’ just leave it alone.”
It’s like we’re in pre-dating fondue counseling or something.
Lorenzo lets out a burp and rubs his belly. “I might have overdone it.”
If only someone could have predicted that…
It’s late in the evening, but instead of going to bed, Serafina and I are lying on two pushed-together lounge chairs on the balcony with blankets and pillows. We decided it would be safer out here because Lorenzo’s cheese addiction hit him hard when we got back. The lights are off inside, so I’m sure Serafina’s grandparents have gone to bed already. My feisty Libra suggested we sleep out here tonight. I love that she’s so spontaneous. Not to mention sexy as anything and an amazing kisser. I really want to pick up where we left off in the photo shoot, or early this morning, but after Maria’s lecture about love, this all feels very serious, and all our differences are cemented in the front of my mind.
A warm breeze blows off the ocean and even though there are lots of lights from the hotel grounds, we can still make out some of the stars over the water. “Why didn’t we do this last night?” I ask her.
“I guess we just didn’t think of it. Now that we’re out here, though, it seems painfully obvious, doesn’t it?”
“Sometimes the most obvious things are easiest to miss,” I tell her.
“Why is that?” Serafina asks, tilting her head to face me.
“Humans are weird. We don’t make much sense most of the time,” I say. “But your grandparents seem to have it all figured out. They don’t take themselves too seriously and they can laugh about … things that would likely end most relationships.”
Serafina chuckles. “That they can. I come from a long line of happily married people and now I’m wondering if that speech is one Abuela got from her abuela.”
“Could be,” I say, reflecting on how I come from a completely opposite family. “I wish someone had shown my parents how to be happy,” I say without really thinking about it. “Although, I don’t think any amount of advice would have helped as far as my father was concerned.”
“Do you remember him?”
“A little. I remember playing catch with him once in the backyard.”
“That sounds nice.”
I sigh and stare out at the night sky to avoid eye contact while I unburden my soul. “Not really. I wasn’t good at it and he wasn’t exactly patient.”
Serafina reaches over and slips her fingers through mine. “I’m sorry you had such a bad father.”
“Me too. But my mom’s amazing and she more than made up for his absence.” I offer Serafina a small smile. “I’d do anything for my mom,” I tell her, thinking about how my mom wants to try her dating app when it’s live, and how badly I don’t want her to with her rocky history with men. But if I tell Serafina that, she’ll hate me. Which means I can’t tell her how I signed up for the app just to prove that it’s a dud.
I chew on my bottom lip for a second while I contemplate my options. Gwen pops into my mind and a pang of guilt comes over me. I have the perfect woman back in Manhattan who thinks we’re dating. And here I am, falling for the last person I should be. But it’s happening, whether I like it or not.
As soon as we get back to New York, I’m going to have to cancel my account and tell Gwen I’m not able to go with her to the engagement party. It wouldn’t be fair to her or to Serafina.
“You seem far away,” Serafina says in a gentle tone. She leans over to me, then turns my face to hers with one hand and gives me a soft, slow kiss. Suddenly I forget all about my plans and my concerns and let myself disappear into this moment, right now with her.
Thirty-One
Serafina
My grandmother’s advice to me and Ben about keeping an open mind seems to have been very well received on his part. Ever since Abuela’s talk, he hasn’t disparaged my app once. He’s even asked me some questions and listened to the answers without a pained expression on his face.
We stayed up almost all night on the balcony, snogging each other senseless and talking about everything from our childhoods to our dreams to what our favorite cereals are. I’m obviously a Fruit Loops girl, and Ben eats steel cut oats every morning but wishes it was a bowl of Frosted Flakes because they’re ggrrrrreeeattt. He’s got a playful side. He hides it well, but it’s there.
Our flight back to New York was delightful. We held hands and kissed and just kept right on talking. I feel like he knows me better than my best friends do. Big things, little things, we shared it all. For instance, he told me all about his cat Mr. Spock (how adorably nerdy is that?) and I told him all about my love of circus peanuts — not actual peanuts, but the rubbery, orange candy version. SO good.
We skipped our morning segment this week on Wake Up America! because we were in Florida, so we have a reprieve before the whole country witnesses our lip-lock. I texted Waltraut to see if she could not show that part, but her response was evasive. I totally get it. I mean, what we gave the network was ratings gold, especially since so far Ben and I have done little more than fight when we’re on the air. It’s just that, with our relationship so new, I don’t want to come out to the whole country before we know if we have staying power.
Ben is coming over tonight, which gives me an entire day to visualize my apartment through his eyes. I’m more than a little nervous. It’s not that my overstuffed furniture and eclectic knickknacks aren’t perfect; they are. It’s just I imagine Ben’s apartment is sterile and totally lacking in imagination. Which leads me to believe he won’t appreciate my extensive assortment of Native American dream catchers or my decorative hookah collection. I even briefly consider taking down the beaded crystal curtain I use in lieu of a bathroom door.