Keep To The Script (Complete)

~ Chapter 18 ~

“I didn’t see Lupita’s car,” Angel said as he followed the ladies into the kitchen.

“She’s coming late. I guess Tony couldn’t get off early enough. But believe me, when I told her who was coming, she promised she would be here.” Angel rolled his eyes.

“She’s my oldest sister, a riot and her twin daughters are adorable! But Lupita wouldn’t miss the chance to pick on me over you,” Angel told Judith as he grabbed the wine to stick in the refrigerator.

“You make it sound like all we want to do is pick on you, mijo,” Rosie said as she started setting the large table.

“Isn’t it?” Angel questioned but his mom just shook her head.

“Is there anything I can do, Rosie?” Judith asked, looking around the rather large kitchen. Angel could remember what it was like when they first got it, it was a lot smaller. But over time and with some help, they expanded it to fit their ever-growing family. Angel lost count of how many times he sat around that table talking with his siblings or his parents over anything and everything.

“I’m okay but thank you! Go join the guys if you like.”

“She’s a stubborn woman, JD, she won’t let you help. My sisters-in-law also try and always get shooed out of the question.” His mom spun around and smacked him with the ever-present towel that was over her shoulder, causing him to laugh. “Besides, it’s better to meet my other family members away from the kitchen table. They won’t be so prone to tease you now,” he told her as he took her out of the room and into the living room. At least that’s what he was hoping, that some sporting event was on and would take their attention away from her. But the moment they stepped into the room and the TV was off, he knew that wasn’t the case.

“Hi,” Judith offered with a wave, all the men watching her.

“Uh, this is my dad, Carlos,” Angel started and then pointed to the man that was to the left, “my brother Dante, you know Jesus, the short one is Sergio with his wife Lily, and last is Richie,” he paused and looked around, “I don’t see his wife.”

“She’s at home, couldn’t make it. Trust me, she’s bummed,” Richie told him, putting his hand out for Judith to take. “She loved your book, but we got a little one that’s sick, so she had to stay home. However, she’s told me to tease this man even more for her,” he joked, and Judith tossed a look at him.

“Something tells me you do it without needing a reason.”

“You might be right,” Lily told her as she stepped up. “But in this case, Angel’s done a lot of talking about you. Hasn’t shut up too much so we have all the reason to tease him.” Judith cast another look at the man who was starting to turn red, and she loved it. It was nice to see a family that was close, and she could tell they were.

“Okay, okay, lay off,” Jesus came over, wrapping his arm around her as if they were long-time buddies. “Has anything improved with you two? Have you shown him a thing or two?” This time, it was her turn to red, and that made Jesus laugh. “What’s the hold-up?”

“Jesus, stop being you, please,” Angel pleaded, which only caused the room to laugh. “I knew this was a mistake. I’m taking her outside.” Judith waved at the crowd as Angel pushed Jesus’ arm away and then took her hand, leading her outside. “I should have known everyone would be here and in fine form,” he mumbled, leading her to the back patio.

“Don’t be a grump. They’re family. What family doesn’t give each other a hard time? You heard mine briefly.”

“But still,” he said, shaking his head. “They can be pains in the asses.” She shrugged as she looked around. The backyard was lit up, the pool on full display and she nodded to it.

“How many times did you and your siblings shove each other in there?”

“Enough times to give my mom a heart attack. The only good thing is that we got that when we were all older, and we all knew how to swim. I swear that’s a requirement of being a kid out in California, especially this close to the ocean. The house didn’t come with it, it’s something my parents invested in. My mom loves water but hates dealing with the crowds at the beach, so they saved hard to get this. You could probably find my mom out here any night when she doesn’t have some type of family gathering.”

“She didn’t have to go all this work for me.”

“Oh trust me, JD, she likes you, but she didn’t. Sunday evenings are family times anyway. The fact that we’re here just makes mom happier as I don’t come nearly as much as I should, and she often reminds me of that fact.” Judith kept her eyes on the man for a few moments before looking out at the backyard. She found it odd that a man who was so family orientated, didn’t come up often enough to have meals. Then again, given what an actor’s job was like and how demanding it was, she couldn’t fault him much.

She would have guessed that being some upcoming star meant he had a lot more films to take on which meant some grueling times. And that was just one set, what if he took on two at once? It wasn’t a common thing for actors to do, but she knew she had heard of some doing it. Usually, it wasn’t big parts, and working around each other wasn’t impossible, but she would gather it was busy.

“Are you going to hide away the whole night?” Her head turned and she took in the younger-looking woman who stood in the doorway.

“Tio Angel,” a little girl said as she ran outside and plopped in her uncle’s lap.

“Hey munchkin,” he said, kissing the little girl’s plump cheek. “Lupita, this is Judith, Judith, my last sister.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Judith,” Lupita said, walking over and holding her hand out. Judith took and offered the woman a kind smile.

“Same here.”

“You don’t have to lie; I know we’re a rowdy bunch to take in. Have the guys given you a hard time?”

“Yeah, I think that’s why Angel thought an escape out here would be best,” Judith answered, causing Lupita to laugh as she pulled out another chair at the table.

“I’m not surprised. Angel loves to give his brothers s**t, but very rarely does he take it. One time,” Lupita started but Angel cut her off.

“No, no stories. It is not time to go all there with her.” Lupita tilted her head and gave her younger brother a very serious look.

“Then why did you bring her if not for her to get the gossip on you?” Judith covered her laugh and made it a point to ignore the glare that Angel shot at her. Oh, she was quite looking forward to getting a*********s that she could.

“Give me all you got,” Judith told Lupita, who grinned.

“So, this one time, the guys were out here horsing around and Angel thought it would be a grand idea to start shoving his much older and bigger brothers into the pool. He managed to get Jesus and Dante in, but when he went to shove Richie, the man grabbed him and yanked him. He got out of the water so fast and went in crying to mom, begging her to tell his brothers to leave him alone, that he didn’t want to play with them like that.” Judith busted out laughing, earning another sharp look from Angel. “He tends to dish out, but I swear, not sure why he can’t take it.”

“Enough, Lupita. Come on guys, the food is getting cold,” their mom called. Judith followed Lupita in and over to the huge table that was beautifully set and overly filled with loads of food.

“Enjoy,” Angel whispered in her ear as they sat down. She wasn’t sure what to try first, but by the delicious smell that kept wafting to her, she was sure everything would be so amazing.

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Three hours later, Judith was stuffed to the gills, and her belly ached from the laughter that she couldn’t seem to stop. Being with his family reminded her of her own, they all were the same way, picking on each other, teasing each other, and enjoying each other’s company, even if it seemed like it was in question half the time. She hated to see the night draw close, but she knew that they had an early day on set and knew they needed to get on the road before it got too late for him.

She hugged his siblings, and his mom, thanking her for such a generous and quite yummy meal. The older woman just shrugged and said she enjoyed the company and made a mention of hopefully seeing Judith later on. Judith wasn’t sure why, but she hope she saw the woman again too. In fact, she could picture quite a few scenes and trips with this family.

“Let’s get going,” Angel told her, walking out to his car. He opened her door and she turned to him, a smile on her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and he wrinkled his brows.

“For what?”

“For bringing me. I had a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed your family; you have a great bunch in there and I really hope you never lose sight of that.” She paused another second, not wanting to get in the car yet. “I’d also like to see them again.” She wasn’t sure what part of what she said caused the grin on his face, but something did. And before she had time to react, his hands were cupping her cheeks, and his lips were brushing against hers before settling on them. Her hands flew to his waist, holding on as that kiss seemed to cause her to float and she knew she needed to be grounded.