Como La Flor

"Como la flor (como la flor)
Con tanto amor (con tanto amor)
Me diste tu
Se marchito
Me marcho hoy
Yo se perder
Pere ay...
Como me duele
Ay...
Como me duele
Como La Flor
Si vieras como duele
Perder tu amor
Con tu adios te llevas
Mi corazon"

English Translation 
Like the flower (like the flower)
With so much love (with so much love)
That you gave me
It withered
I leave today
I know how to lose
But, ay...
How it hurts me
Ay...
How it hurts me
Like the flower
If you could see how much it hurts
to lose your love
With you goodbye, you take
my heart" 

Como La Flor by Selena

As soon as I was sure Rocky left for work, I brought over all the decorations, food and supplies to her house to start getting ready for the fiesta. I plugged in the crock pots with the beans I started the night before and the rice Jasmine made and began boiling water for dulce de leche. After I got the canned milk simmering, I did the fun part: decorating!

The weather was nice, and I didn't want Rocky freaking out about her house, so I planned the party outside. Amber was bringing over a kid's table, a buffet table, and chairs; that combined with the patio furniture and the card tables I had, we had plenty of seating. I pushed the grill to the driveway outside the backyard to make room for everything.

I set up the tables with chairs and decorated them with festive red, green and white tablecloths. Little Mexico flags decorated the tables and I strung up a huge, 5-point piñata filled with candies and little favors. I also had bouquets of red and white tulips on every table. I had Trevor tell me what they meant. Red tulips, of course, were love and white were forgiveness. I needed them both and the red and white flowers with green leaves and stems fit the theme perfectly.

When I was done outside, I went back in and started preparing the food.

Amber arrived first with her kids around 4. I had all the food done, ribs on the grill and was adding ice into the cooler of beer.

"Hey guys!" I greeted them as I let them in. I frowned when I saw Amber carrying a bag.
"I told you not to bring anything! I know you worked last night." I scolded her after directing the kids into the living room to watch TV.

"It's just stuff for nachos. I had time to get a nap and I'm off tonight." Amber smiled at me.

"How's 3rd shift going? You look like you lost more weight-" I said, concerned. If she worked nights, slept days and took care of the kids when she wasn't doing that, when did she find the time to work out?

"It's great. I'm always there for the kids if they need me at school and I've gotten use to nights. Too used to it. I can't sleep at night on my off days. I'm usually up, creeping around the house, trying not to wake anyone up." Amber explained.

"How about a margarita with enough tequila to knock you out?" I offered.

"I wish. Will is coming over when he gets off, but I still have to drive." Amber sighed.

"I'll get you home. I'm staying sober." I said, pulling out the blender.

"If you insist." She grinned.

We then got to work on margaritas. After she had a strawberry margarita, and all the kids had Jarritos pineapple soda, I went outside and checked the grill.

Corey, Sammy and Trevor showed up around the same time that I was placing the carne asada on the grill. I gave Trevor a kiss before directing them to start making their plates inside the kitchen. I was working on pulling off the steaks when I heard EJ yell, "Hi Lily!"

I looked up to see him in the backyard with a soccer ball. "Hey EJ!" I waved back at him. "Are you hungry?"

"My mom is making me a plate."

"Ok." I nodded, taking the first round of steaks off the grill. I offered some to Amber's kid who were already outside eating, before taking them inside.

"I have carne asada!" I called, coming in the house.

"About time." Sammy joked.

"You shut the hell up!" I said, placing the meat on the counter.

"Just kidding. Everything looks great. Did you make the rice?"

"No. Jasmine did." I told her before I greeted Dave and Megan.

"Where are the non-alcoholic drinks?" Corey asked me.

"Outside. After you make your plates, come on out!" I instructed them before grabbing more uncooked steaks and heading back outside.

I had Trevor set up my playlist on the speaker when everyone joined us outside. I was flipping the second set of steaks, singing along to Becky G, when I saw Ethan's truck pull up. I bit my lip nervously. Obviously, he didn't know what was going on between Rocky and Brandon, but I couldn't not invite him. Urgh, maybe Rocky would be so surprised by all the people, she wouldn’t notice...

My concern turned into excitement when I saw Serena get out the truck with him.

“Hey you guys. Thanks for coming!” I said, smiling at them.

“Thanks for the invite.”Serena smiled, walking over to where I was standing in front of the grill. ”I would hug you but…” she said, gesturing to the grill.

“That’s ok. I'll get you later.” I teased.

"Why are you out here grilling?" Ethan asked me, in lieu of hello.

"You want something done right, do it yourself." I smiled at him, repeating what he told me almost a year ago.

”You can just hand that over then.” Ethan said, reaching for the tongs.

“Nope, I got this. Go away.”

“Seriously, I'll take over. Isn't there something you can do in the kitchen?” Ethan asked.

I was shocked until I saw the little smirk on his face. He was making a joke? Ethan? How weird... but nice.

“That is so sexist. You hearing this Serena?” I smiled.

“Yes, and I agree. I don’t grill, take out trash, or open doors.” She added. "But I'll gladly go to the kitchen and get you a drink Ethan."

"Water would be great." Ethan said, giving her a smile.

"Coming right up!" Serena said before leaving us.

“Thanks for setting the movement back!” I told her as she left.

"Where's Brandon? Still at work?" Ethan asked me.

"Possibly. Rocky's not even here yet. In fact, she doesn't know about the party." I said, quickly changing the subject from Brandon.

"That's not going to go over well."

"I know." I admitted.

"So I spoke to Nathaniel. He was actually disappointed. So am I." Ethan informed me.

"Why?"

"I don't call in favors. When I urged him to meet with you, he thought it was important. I thought it was too."

"It is!" I assured him.

"So why aren't making a move? He said you just wanted advice."

"Yeah, just see what option is best." I answered. It sounded lame to my own ears.

"You're suspended. What other options do you have?"

"I thought there was some kind of lawyer-client confidentiality."

"You're not his client; that was your choice."

"Well, if I take legal action, I’m going to find another lawyer.” I joked.

“If?”

“Yeah if. I don’t know if a lawsuit is worth it-“ I sighed. He gave me a look like I was speaking a foreign language.

“Lily-“

“Here you go.” Serena came back, handing Ethan a bottled water.

“I think I need a drink too. Thanks for taking over.” I smiled at Ethan, handing him the tongs before bolting. I headed to the cooler and grabbed a soda. After making sure everyone was good drink wise, I returned to Ethan to remove the steaks. I told him that was enough for now and we made our plates and joined everyone.

Dave, Megan's boyfriend, was telling Corey about the Battle of Puebla that Mexico won against the French on May 5th 1862.

"So if they eventually lost to the French, why do they celebrate that one battle?" Corey asked.

"They don't in Mexico. Maybe in Puebla, but it's an American excuse to get drunk and eat tacos." Sammy said, proving her point by holding up her margarita and taking a bite of her steak wrapped in a tortilla.

"The battle was important in America too." Dave disagreed. "It was during our civil war. Napoleon would have aided the Confederacy if he would have had an easy victory in Mexico. No telling what America would look like today if that happened."

"I didn't know that." I said, interested.

"Dave's a civil war buff." Megan smiled proudly.

"Like the south will raise again buff?" Serena dead panned. Dave shook his head.

"She's joking." Ethan assured him.

"No, I need to know." Serena smiled.  I was laughing in my drink when I saw Rocky step into the backyard.

“Hey Rocky! Happy Cinco-“

“Inside, now!” She ordered me. She didn't even give me a chance to say no. She headed inside. I contemplated not following her, but I knew she would go off on me in front of everyone. At least she had the decency to wait. It was probably more for the kids’ sake than my feelings. Trevor gave me a reassuring squeeze on my thigh before I got up and followed her.

“What possessed you do this?”

”Every fallen solider in the Battle of Puebla-“ I started.

"Does it look like I'm joking to you?!?" She exclaimed, cutting me off.

“No, Rocky. You haven't joked, smiled, nothing since you told Brandon. We just wanted to cheer you up.” I explained to her.

"Let me guess- 'We' includes Trevor right? Neither one of you thought of running it past me?”

”You would have said no.” I argued.

“You're damn right. This is the last thing I want! And Ethan! What the hell?-”

"I didn't know if he knew or not." I tried to cut her off, but she kept ranting.

“I see Trevor pulling something like this, but you know better. Are you two sharing one brain now?” She raved.

“I don't know!" I finally snapped at her. She stopped and looked at me. I knew she was gearing up for the next insult, so I quickly continued. "I just wanted to be here for you. Like you were with me for Ethan and with Jake. You’re just punishing yourself and you don't deserve that.”

“Whatever I'm doing, it's my business. I don't need you doing anything behind my back.” Rocky said, exasperated.

“I know. I'm just trying to help. I even spoke to Jake." I told her.

"What did he say?" Rocky calmed down considerably.

Before I could respond, Trevor came into the house, leading the kids in a conga line while Gloria Estefan blared from the speaker.

"C'Mon! Everyone has to Conga for dessert." Trevor announced.

I bit my lip to hide my smile.

"Get outta here Trevor." Rocky told him calmly as she shot daggers at him with her eyes.

"If you don't join, no ice cream. For anyone." Trevor threatened.

"C'mon Racqelle!" EJ shouted.

"Yeah, Miss Racqelle!" Krista added.

"Please Miss Racqelle?" April pleaded.

"Please." Robbie joined in too. It was adorable. Even Rocky softened.

"Y'all are getting ice cream, whether I join or not." Rocky said.

"Are you sure?" I said, walking to the freezer. I pulled out a nearly empty container of Breyer's ice cream. I used it already to make fried ice-cream, but Rocky didn't know that. I walked towards the trash can, raising an eyebrow at Rocky.

"You better not." She challenged me.

"Are you going to join the conga or not?" I asked her.

"Not." She challenged me. I tossed the ice cream away.

"No!!!" All the kids cried.

"Rocky!" Trevor cried, dramatically too. We made eye contact. He knew dessert was safe. He approved the idea of fried ice cream.

"Alright, fine." Rocky relented, joining the conga line. "You go get more ice cream."

"There's plenty of ice cream. Fried ice cream and fruit bars." I told her, removing them from the freezer.

"You A-S-S-H-O-L-E-S!" Rocky spelled out quickly, but at least a hint of a smile was breaking through her face.

"That's what happens when you share a brain." I called to her as they conga-ed outside. Rocky kicked me on the way out the door.

"Ouch! Puta!" I yelped at her.

She smiled at my pain.

I fixed multiple bowls of fried ice cream topped with homemade whipped cream and dulce de leche. I finished them all with a cherry. While I was making the desserts, Will, Peyton and Chris showed up. They made their plates while I served desserts. Rocky went back inside to change out of her work clothes. When everyone had food or dessert, I joined Trevor, sitting on his lap in a patio chair.

"Good work. I think you found your calling." He said, wrapping his arms around me.

"What? Party planner?"

"Nope, my housewife." He teased.

I laughed at him.

"I thought you said your wife would have to work because you want to freelance one day." Sammy commented.

I looked at Trevor. When did he say that?

"I said that years ago." Trevor answered, reading my mind. "I'll make an exception for you- and fried ice cream. How did you fry it?" He asked, amazed.

"I actually didn't. You can, but I was lazy and just rolled them in corn flakes." I confessed.

Rocky sat down with us with a plate of food. I apologized to her sincerely for the party and not telling her.

"I was just shocked that you would have the audacity to do this. When Jackie told me earlier today she wasn't coming, I didn't think you would actually do it. I had to go off on you a little. It's been too long." Rocky said, between bites.

"What? You knew?" I said, surprised.

"Jackie called me this morning and said she wasn't coming. She said she wanted nothing to do with you after you questioned her mothering." She said, looking at me quizzically.

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't question her mothering." I said before I explained what really happened.

"Did I hear my name?" Serena looked up from the conversation she was having with Will, Amber, and Ethan.

"I'm telling her about Jackie." I replied.

She twisted up her face. That said it all.

Rocky smiled pleasantly when I told her what happened. "Now I get to go off on her."

"Why? I took care of it."

"I told her not to say anything. I don't appreciate her not listening and lying to me."

I shrugged. "Do what you have to."

Trevor chuckled against my shoulder. "You're awful Lily. Stirring up trouble."

"I thought that's what you wanted: a housewife." I did a little dance, pretending I was stirring a pot. Rocky and Peyton laughed at me.

"Never mind. I want a trophy wife." Trevor laughed too.



The party was a success. We ate, drank, and listened to music. We even played a game of kickball after everyone ate. The winners, my team with EJ of course, got to take a swing at the piñata first. Robbie, with Will's help, broke it. When the sun started setting, everyone with kids started to head out.

Will headed out first with the kids after I made arrangements to drive Amber home. Corey promised EJ he would make it to one of his soccer games while Megan and Dave gathered their things. I went to the kitchen to make them a plate of food to go. Ethan followed me.

"I'll make you and Serena a plate." I told him.

"Thanks, but I wanted to finish our talk. What's going on with you?" He asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"The Lily I knew would barricade herself in her room studying for an exam. Your focus was your license and career. You want to be a housewife? Is that why the lawsuit is not worth it? " Ethan asked, confused.

"Just because I don't want to sue anyone doesn't mean I'm not focused on my career." I sighed, frustrated.

"Then what does it mean? Why isn't it worth it?" Ethan asked.

"I know I didn't do anything. My name will be cleared. My license is safe; whether I wait it out or file a lawsuit. What I don't know is if I want to go back to that clinic." I admitted, to him and myself.

"Why?"

"When I took the job, I was excited to be back in Dallas. It's been a year and I'm just... stuck. I wouldn't have quit, but now I really don't want to go back."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'm not like you. My only goal was to prove myself to my parents. Now that I know that's impossible, I have to figure out what I want. It's scary to think about, so I don't. How can I file a lawsuit when I don't even know if it's what I want?" I finished.

"Regardless of whether you want the job or not, you have to defend yourself. If you leave, it should be on your own terms." Ethan lectured me.

"I know." I agreed.

"As far as what you want, scary to me would be not having options. The fact that you have options is proof enough to anyone. Figure out what you want; while you clear your name." He finished, emphasizing his point by patting my shoulder.

I nodded.

"Hey-" Megan started coming into the kitchen. She cleared her throat and we both turned to look at her. "Just seeing if the food was ready."

"It is." I said, turning towards the freezer. "I'm going to give you a box of fruit bars too."

When she had everything together, they left. Serena and Ethan left too. I was thinking over what Ethan said as I started making everyone to go plates.

I went outside to gather drinks too and saw Trevor, Amber, Peyton, Chris and Corey dancing the Macarena.

"Look what you started! Why is this on your phone." Sammy looked at me as she shook her head.

"Don't act like you didn't do the Macarena!" I laughed at her, gathering trash.

"C'mon Lily!" Trevor smiled at me.

"I would, but I have sooo much cleaning to do." I smiled.

"You need to go help your boyfriend out." Rocky said, snarkily. I laughed. Trevor was a little stiff, but he had the moves down!

"I don't know him."  I teased, playfully while everyone laughed.

"That's not what you said last night!" Trevor called back at me.

"Shut up stranger!" I called back.

"She was calling me God." Trevor winked.

"Whatever moves you used on Lily last night, incorporate them into your dancing." Rocky commented.

"I don't know him!" I yelled, turning to head inside. Trevor called out, "I'll be your stranger tonight." I closed the door on the laughter that followed his remark. I started bagging everything when I heard the front door open. I head footsteps approaching and wondered if Ethan left something. I was stunned when I saw Brandon enter the kitchen.

"Lily." He said, coolly. I was too shocked to respond. He swallowed and looked around. "Is Rocky here?"

"Yeah." I said, finally finding my voice. "Yeah, she's outside." I said.

Brandon nodded and I followed him to the patio door. When we were outside, I saw Sammy and Rocky joined them in the Macarena. Brandon stood on the patio and watched, his eyes glued on Rocky. Their backs were to us during the rotating dance, but I could see Rocky had her hands on Trevor's hips, instructing him.

"More rhythm!" She laughed.

"I'm trying." Trevor laughed too before they turned in the dance.

They were facing the side, but Rocky must have saw us in her peripheral vision, because she stopped and turned to us.

"Brandon?" She said, her face brightening up as she walked towards us. "Brandon." She said again, quietly as she stood in front of us.

"I want my ring back." He demanded, holding out his hand.

Rocky's face dropped. "You came here... for the ring?" She said, slowly.

"What else would I be here for? Give it back and you can get back to your party." He said, harshly.

"No." She said, firmly.

"No?"

"No." She repeated.

"You don't get to cheat on me and keep the ring. It's over. Give it back." Brandon ordered.

I heard Amber gasped, but I couldn't turn away from Brandon and Rocky.

"If you want to end things, that's fine, but not until we talk. " Rocky said, determined. I could hear the slight quiver in her voice, but she stayed strong.

"I don't have time for this. Keep it. It doesn't mean anything anyway." Brandon said, before he stormed out.

"Rocky-" I started.

"I'm fine. Just go, please." Rocky finished. A tear escaped from her eye before she went inside too.

"What the fuck?" Sammy exclaimed, walking over to me. I shook my head.

"Not right now. Let's just go." I said sadly.

"But Rocky-" Peyton started.

"Wants to be left alone." I finished.

Everyone left, with Corey and Sammy driving Amber home. I stayed, finishing cleaning up. I threw away all the decorations, but the flowers. I brought them in the house and placed them in the kitchen, living room, and den. I then joined Rocky in her room. I was prepared for her to throw me out, but she didn't. I put the last bouquet of flowers on her night stand.

I laid beside her as she stared at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry Rocky. This is all my fault." I started.

"No, it's not." Rocky said. "I spent so much time worrying about how I was going to fix it. Now I might not even have a chance."

"You will. Don't give up."

 "It's over. I should have just gave him back the ring." Rocky said, defeated.

"No, it's not over. He's scared." I disagreed. "That's what Jake said."

"Scared?" Rocky repeated.

"Yes. He doesn't want to know what happened because he's afraid of what the truth might be. Keep the ring until he hears you out." I counseled her.

Rocky nodded and curled up on her side