FAMILY SWING

Elena’s POV 

 

I always hated waking up early, but in my parent’s house, you have got to get your ass out of bed and ready by 7, breakfast time was always family time, dad wanted to catch up on our daily activities when we were younger, but because he had to leave for the office early and come back late he wasn’t able to do so, so mom decided that since my dad always had breakfast by 7am, we should join in and he won’t get to miss a thing at all and that is how breakfast time became family time.

 

I quickly run down the stairs, being fifteen minutes late for breakfast, I finally made it to the table and quietly take my sit, not to draw the attention of my ever complaining mother

“How do you keep your home together, tell me Elena, when you can’t even wake up on time, this is why all the diet plans I sent you in college never worked, you were busy sleeping and eating all day, I still wonder how you finally managed to get yourself a Man”

Here we go again, she looks at me with questioning eyes, I turn my attention to my food, ignoring her has become my key to joy

“Come on mom, you act like you don’t know that my dear sister can’t help herself, to my believe the man who was managed to be caught has realized his mistakes and abandon her here”

I look at Eloisa with a scowl on my face. What the hell is she doing here, isn’t she supposed to be in her apartment or even at work.

“You are just jealous Eloisa, I don’t see you finding a man anytime soon with all your dieting and incredible skills and beauty”

Yeah, I’m not letting her talk to me like trash.

She looks at me with anger, serves you right bitch

“Don’t talk to your sister in that way, she is concerned for you, when last did you hear from that husband of yours anyway”

Always taking her favorite side, why is dad late for breakfast, they wouldn’t dare bother me if he was sitting here, my mom is scared of my dad, maybe it is because of the fact, they didn’t fall inlove, their marriage was arranged by their parents

“No mom she should talk, at least I didn’t get a man only to be abandoned by him after a while, how long have you been here, four months right, you know if I were you, I would stay in my husband’s house and 

hide the fact that my husband is already tired of me”

Aargh, I hate her, I fucking hate her, how can this bitter bully be my own sister

“Eloisa at least I’m married, I’m not waiting on a man that will never look at me in this lifetime or the next, a little advice for you dear sister, move on before you grow old alone still hoping that one day Lorenzo will marry you, o wait he doesn’t even look at you, my bad”

I smirk at her, I wasn’t going to let her bully me like when we were kids. Her red and scowling face says that she is so angry right now and ready to explode, but before she could say a word dad walks in on us, she looks away and grumble 

“What is going on in here, I can sense some tension in the air”

My dad looks between all of us with a curious gaze, I’m not saying shit.

He takes a sit and look directly at mom for an answer, she shift uncomfortably in her sit 

“Elena was not being nice to Eloisa, she said mean things to Eloisa and she is only concerned about Elena’s marriage”

Eloisa looks at me with a grin plastered on her face, well look who is lying for her favorite, she always did that since when we were kids, blame me for everything little misunderstanding 

“If Elena said anything mean to Eloisa, it because Eloisa said something mean to her, my angel can never be mean, beside Eloisa should be concerned about finding someone for herself and leave Elena to worry about her marriage because it her private affair “

It my turn to smile, my dad always supports me, Eloisa looks away with teary eyes, before she gets up and leave

“Eloisa, Eloisa, please don’t leave, look what you did, you shouldn’t have said those words to her, she wanted to spend this morning with us, you both just have to ruin it, what is so bad about caring for her own sister”

My dad look at her with a frown, it was a clear sign for my mom to shut up and she seems to have seen the sign

“I only said the truth, Eloisa is not getting any younger, she is going to be 29 next year, she needs someone in her life and stop hoping for that Lorenzo Martinez”

My mom look at both of us with anger before she excused herself, well there goes family time, it has been happening like this since high school, it either I leave the table and dad leaves in anger or it’s mom and Eloisa, I wonder why we still try to eat together anyway. But what is surprising is how dad knows about Lorenzo, he looks at me and smile 

“Don’t look at me like that, I may not keep up with your sister in an understanding way, but I do know what she is always up to, she is my daughter after all and I love her and want her to be happy”

My dad never cease to surprise me, I shake off the surprise look and eat with my dad

 

My dad left for work and I retired to my room, I really do have to do something about my stay here, I have been here for four months.

I got tired of staying at Diego and my house, since I was alone.

After our marriage, me and Diego were together for a year and three months before his business trips started, he never came home and even if he did, he only stayed for a day or two before going on another trip.

 

I know Diego can’t cheat on me, he loves me and respect me, but his business trips are messing with our marriage and our lives, I got here four months ago after I stayed in our house for a month. We have only been married for two years and I only got my husband to myself for a year and three months, Eloisa is right, I should try to pull strings, I know a lot of women are after my husband, I can’t let them have their hands on him, I just can’t.

 

I pick up my phone and dial Diego’s number, after calling for four times, the fifth time he picks

“Hello my love, I’m so sorry I didn’t take your calls all this while, my trip has been very stressful”

He does sound stress, maybe I shouldn’t disturb him

“It’s okay love, I was worried about you and missed you a lot that why I was calling, skip that, when are you coming home”

He sighs, I can tell he isn’t going to tell me anything good 

“Elena, I won’t lie to you love, I don’t know, I’m stuck here in California as of right now, my business here is not going so well and investors are not really helping matters”

My poor baby is going through a lot

“I’m so sorry baby, I miss you and want to see you so badly, I haven’t seen you for a very long time and we just got married Diego, can’t you at least try and visit me, even if you will only stay two days, no problem, I will love it if you come”

He remains silent like he is thinking about it, please agree

“Baby, why don’t we schedule this meeting next month, I will come home during the second week of next month and even stay a whole week, please agree, I can’t leave here now, a lot is going on Elena, I need you to understand me”

No, that is what he said last month, I have to think of a way, I can’t agree with this decision, I must fight, think Elena, right I have got the perfect idea

“Diego, why don’t I come to California my love, I mean I’m not doing anything right now and I don’t even go to the company with dad, I can come and stay with you over there and we can both get rid of your stress together and also my problems, it is a great idea my love, no one is ever going to miss out on the other this way”

I am so smart, why didn’t i think of this any sooner 

“I don’t think so Elena, what if I bore you with my work and keep you unhappy, I don’t want you to ever be unhappy and our living situation, we can’t stay in a hotel for a month”

Bore me, never

“Listen babe, I love you so much to the extent that you can never bore me, I’m always happy whenever I’m with you and my dad has an apartment in California, we can stay there, I will book my ticket right away, see you tonight baby, bye”

I cut the call before he comes up with another excuse and that is how you hook a man.

California here I come. I quickly rush downstairs to ask dad for the keys to his apartment in California, I see him sitting with mom and Eloisa in the garden

“Dad, I need your apartment in California, I’m going to meet Diego and we might be staying there up to two months”

He looks at me surprise, my mother looks at me with shock and so does Eloisa, why is everyone so surprised 

“You are going to meet up with Diego in California, he invited you”

Dad ask me in shock

“Well I got tired of you guys and I called him and got our living conditions fixed”

My dad looks at me with surprise before smiling at me

“Well my darling I will send you the number of the caretaker once you board your plane, she is the one with the keys. I told you my baby can get it going “

I look at all of them, who share a look among themselves, my dad is the only one who seems to be happy for me

“Anyway, I have to pack my bags and book my flight right away, thanks dad “

I don’t want to know what they were talking about, it might only anger me. I quickly jog upstairs to get ready.

   

I finally pack all my bags and book my flight from Los Angeles to California, I take a quick shower and got ready in my walk-in closet.

I step into my room to see Eloisa sitting on my bed, staring at me with a thin smile, that’s creepy, what does she want

“What do you want, I don’t have the time and strength to argue right now”

I quickly pass her and carry my bag from my table, I really don’t want to be pissed off before I get on the plane

“I don’t want to argue okay, I just want to ask if Lorenzo is with Diego, I haven’t seen him for months, I went to his house, but I keep getting the he is out speech”

I should have known, she is only nice to me when she wants to know about Lorenzo, since he is Diego’s bestfriend 

“I don’t know Eloisa, I didn’t ask, why do you even still go after that man, he doesn’t even look at you”

She looks at me and look away

“I don’t owe you any explanation, I did not ask you what you saw in Diego when you decided to marry him, so don’t get me pissed”

Here we go again, I quickly get out of my room and she follows after me, now what does she want

“What do you want Eloisa”

I turn to look at her smiling at me, why is it creepy when she smiles at me

“What!, I just want to wish you a safe trip and if Lorenzo is in California, please give me a call, I will love to join you on your little trip”

I smile at her and nod. I quickly jog down the stairs to see mom waiting for me at the door. God!, What is happening to this women, let get this over with

“Hey mom, you are being spooky standing there waiting for me with a smile, it’s creepy”

She look at me and frown

“Don’t talk like that Elena, I know I’m hard on you sometimes, but I just want the best for you and I want to make sure this time you come back happy, here I got a new diet plan for you”

A new what!, what is this woman up to again, aargh!

“Mom I don’t need a diet plan, Diego loves my size and he doesn’t want me to lose weight”

She looks at me and shrugs

“You have added a few pounds over these months and you need to lose weight in order for you to get pregnant easily Elena, trust me I know, your dad use to have all those other women but after you two were born, he focused on me and our family, the key to holding your man down darling isn’t a marriage certificate, because he can decide to divorce you anytime, the key is children”

Okay, I’m seriously shocked right now, is my mom trying to act all up, this is getting more creepy with everything she is saying 

“Mom, I have not been married for a 

long while and I haven’t had my husband to myself for a while, I’m not going to try and get pregnant, I don’t want kids now and Diego can still divorce me even when we have kids, I trust him mom and love him and he loves me too, why can’t you believe that!”

I raise my voice slightly at her, she is becoming more annoying. She look at me with that serious strict face of hers, that she used to threaten me with when I was a kid

“Don’t raise your voice at me Elena, whenever I try to show you my affection and care you always react badly and then you go saying I love Eloisa more than I love you. I am trying to cope with this your bad attitude, I don’t understand how your father can handle your childish tantrums. Children makes a marriage stronger and if you and Diego have a kid, it will be hard for him to think of leaving you or going on all those his trips, now take it and be a good girl and try hard to come back pregnant”

Is she really my mom, like how did I end up being her daughter 

“Why don’t you believe in me, do you think I need a child or a leverage to hold down my husband, what even made you think that Diego will leave me in the first place, is it because of my size, you alway ridicule me and put me down every time, why mom, aren’t you supposed to be my mother, can’t you just love and support me just the way I am”

This hurt so much, she always look down on me. She looks at me with sad eyes, I quickly wipe away the tears that were about to drop and walk out on her

“Elena, don’t be like this, I’m only caring for you, Let call a spade a spade, I’m showing my concern for you, you really do need to lose weight and try to fix your marriage”

She never stops talking, I hate her, I so hate her

“My marriage has no problem mom!, your daughter seems to have some problems of her own, she can’t get a man to notice her and she is still running after him like a fucking dog, so deal with your favorite first before you try to fix my marriage”

She looks at me with a frown, I get into the car, I don’t want to hear anything she has to say to me. Don’t cry Elena, she is just a bad and sad person, i am perfect just the way I am.

My phone rings, I pick it up to see dad calling 

“Baby are you so excited about your trip that you didn’t say goodbye to me before you left, I knew I shouldn’t have let you marry that man, he is taking you away from me”

I can’t help the giggles that slips out my mouth, my dad always lightens up my mood

“I’m so sorry dad, no one can take me away from you, I will always be your little baby, I am going to miss you so much dad”

He sighs, I can tell he is smiling right now, cunning old man

“Elena darling, your mother may say things that hurt you and she might also step out of line most of the time, maybe all the time, but I hope you know that she loves you and only want the best for you my dear”

That’s dad for you, always trying to keep the peace between the family, I’m sure he apologize to Eloisa before she came back home this morning.

“I know dad and I love her too, just that she always annoys me and sometimes cross her boundary”

I do love my mom, but she is unbearable 

“I will miss you too my love, I already called the caretaker on your behalf, she will be there tomorrow morning to welcome you, so spend the night with Diego at the hotel. Don’t forget to call me twice a day or you will come back home right away “

I let out a laugh, what will I do without my father 

“Yes dad, I will call you even thrice a day, so you don’t have to worry about anything, I love you “

“I love you too my baby”

I cut the call, I look outside to see we have arrived at the airport, well here I go, I can’t wait to see Diego, I quickly get my bags out of the trunk, California here I come.