Crash

Ten

"Tell us, Charles," Mirabel said as she handed Penelope's brother Nick a bowl of green beans. Once again, it was family dinner night, and this time the entire family was in attendance. Penelope and Charles sat together, Mirabel was at the head of the table, Nick and Frankie to her left. Next to them sat Kevin and Danielle, Penelope's nieces Alena and Valentina, sandwiched between them. Finally, at the far end opposite abuela sat the happy couple, Joe and Sophie. "When do you next race in the U.S.? We could come to watch you, no?"

"Abuela," Penelope reminded, "please don't scare my boyfriend away."

Beside her, Charles laughed like it was the funniest concept in the world. "Don't be silly. I'd love you all to come. I race in Miami in a few weeks."

"Nice," Joe said, reaching for the pepper. Every so often he'd sneak a smile at Sophie, like the two of them were living in their own private world. It was nice for Penelope, to see her big brother so truly happy. "Just after the wedding then."

"And the same weekend as Nationals," Frankie chimed in. "Which I've already booked my flight for, by the way."

Penelope's gaze softened. "You have?"

"Course. Wouldn't pass up a trip to New York." Frankie seemed to sense her mood shift, because he quickly cleared his throat. "Or miss an opportunity to see you dancing, of course Nell."

"Nice save," she grumbled, though in her heart she was just happy to have him there. She always felt better about performing if her family were in the stands to support her.

"Mommy," Alena said, tugging on Danielle's sleeve. "Can we watch Auntie Nellie at her competition?"

"We are, baby," Danielle told her, tucking her daughter's hair back behind her ear. She was such a natural mother that it hurt. Penelope could never see herself taking to motherhood the way that her sister-in-law had managed to. "From home, though. We're going to make Daddy a big sign to take with him."

"Alena, Valentina," Charles asked, "You think Auntie Nellie is going to win?"

"Yeah!" the girls chorused as the table laughed. Watching Charles with them, how patient he was and how he put in so much effort to make them feel heard, made her heart swell. It had been a big thing for her to introduce him to them, and despite both Danielle and Kevin saying it was more than okay, she'd still felt uneasy. Her nieces were her world, and it was so important to her that they got along. But instead of it being a deal breaker, their relationship had just proven to be another green flag.

Valentina gave Charles a big cheesy grin as she held her picture out for him to see. It was nothing more than a messy blue scribble that vaguely resembled some kind of animal, but Charles regarded it as if it were the Mona Lisa. "That is amazing! Did you draw that?"

"For you," Valentina nodded, passing Charles the paper like it was worth a million dollars. 

"Oh my! Thank you. I will cherish it."

Valentina beamed again as Alena wandered over to sit with Penelope. Penelope put her arms around her holding her tightly as Charles began to help Valentina with her next masterpiece. However, he didn't get very far before Alena reached over and tapped his arm. 

"Are you going to watch Auntie Nellie dance?" she asked innocently. 

"I am," he answered, but Penelope shook her head. They'd discussed this, at length, and despite that they still couldn't agree. 

"Charles has to work," Penelope interjected, Alena tugging on her fingers as she asked her to braid her hair. "He has a race that weekend, that's more important than Nationals."