“Would they think you’re rude?” she sco ed. “No way.
Would they want to meet you even after a long trip when you haven’t had a chance to shower or anything? Definitely. But don’t worry, I wouldn’t make you meet them like this. I can’t promise my mom won’t send me back with a ton of food, though.”
Carmela laughed. “Good thing I love eating Cuban,” she joked before kissing Rhiannon again and jumping out of the car to get all their things from the trunk.
When Rhiannon noticed she was taking her luggage too, she got out and helped.
“I’m going to do some laundry while you’re gone,”
Carmela explained when Rhiannon looked confused. “I might as well wash your stu too.”
Rhiannon’s smile was contagious. “Well, now you’ve really sealed the deal. When I don’t hand over my clothes for her to wash against my wishes, she’ll definitely send you dinner. And dessert too.”
“Please thank them for me, okay?” Carmela said with a kiss to her lips before sending her o .
Once Rhiannon was out of view, Carmela slipped inside her house. As soon as she turned her phone back on to stop the forwarding to Brandy’s phone, she was bombarded with dozens of texts and voicemails. Her emails numbered in the hundreds, though at first glance, Brandy had apparently responded to all of them.
Attending to only time-sensitive matters, Carmela set her phone down and set only to make a sound if Rhiannon or Liz reached out. Free from the worry of pending work for the first time in years, she started a load of laundry and then the shower.
THE NEXT MORNING, Carmela made co ee while Rhiannon took a shower. Rhiannon had tried talking her into getting in with her, but she couldn’t give in to temptation. Not if they wanted to preserve any hope of leaving the house before noon.
As it brewed, Carmela washed the containers
Rhiannon’s mom had sent the night before. True to Rhiannon’s prediction, she had not only sent over dinner, but flan for dessert and an entirely di erent meal for lunch today. The home-cooked feast was exactly what she needed at the end of an incredible trip, which is what she wrote on the note she would put in the bag returning the Tupperware.
“Ready to go?” Rhiannon asked as she popped into the kitchen, her wet hair hanging around her shoulders.
“Are you going to dry your hair?” Carmela asked as she let Rhiannon pull her into her arms.
“Why? Isn’t that the benefit of having a convertible?”
Rhiannon replied before kissing a trail down her exposed neck.
“Smartass,” she muttered as she drowned in the scent of her perfume.
An hour later, Carmela parked in her usual spot in the o ce parking lot with Rhiannon holding her hand. “Can you grab the bag of souvenirs?”
Rhiannon nodded before jumping out of the car and retrieving a small du e bag full of gifts from the trunk.
“Let me give Brandy hers. I put something extra in it for having gone above and beyond for me while we were in Puerto Rico,” Carmela said as they climbed the steps to the second floor.
“Like I didn’t see you tuck a check in that tiny replica conga drum,” Rhiannon replied with a laugh before holding the door open for her.
Inside, they handed out gifts to whoever was in the o ce and left the others on empty desks with little post-it notes.
Carmela went into Liz’s o ce last while Rhiannon regaled Brandy with tales from their trips.
“Welcome back,” Liz said as she pulled o her reading glasses and turned away from the computer. “I didn’t know
if I’d ever see you again.”
“Very funny,” she replied, handing Liz a bottle of aged rum in an ornate bottle before bending down to hug her.
“You still smell like suntan lotion,” Liz joked. “I was starting to get worried you two had run o somewhere after the wedding. Did you elope?”
“Not quite,” she replied, unable to stop the grin that curled her lips.
“So it really went that well, huh?” Liz shot a glance at Rhiannon, her hands animated as she told a story, before looking back at Carmela. “It’s almost like I’ve been telling you to give her a chance all along.”