Chapter 69.2

The door closed behind everyone as they walked inside. Sofia dramatically pulled Amara into a nearby living room where the rest of the family waited. Looking around, Amara counted seven other people in total, not counting Evie and Sofia. Some sat on couches and armchairs and some leaned against walls as they waited, though all of them looked up expectantly as Amara entered the room. Her heart raced in her chest as she stepped in front of so many people, and she didn’t know where to look first.

“Um, hi everyone!” Amara muttered, sheepishly looking around the room. She waved awkwardly, then added, “I’m Amara. I mean, obviously. I, uh… I’m excited to meet you all!”

“Way to go, Soph, you scared our new cousin half to death already,” a young boy said. Originally sitting on an arm of the nearest couch, he jumped to his feet and pocketed his phone as he walked over. He wore a slightly wrinkled blue button-down and appeared to be putting a lot of effort into seeming cool and aloof. His short hair was somewhat darker than Sofia’s, but otherwise they looked remarkably similar. “I’m Máximo.”

“No, you’re Max!” Sofia said.

“My full name is Máximo!” he protested.

“Yeah, but people only call you that when you’re in trouble!” Sofia stuck out her tongue, clearly sure she’d won the argument.

Hoping to step in before a fight broke out, Amara kneeled down again. “Do you want me to call you Máximo or Max?”

“Máximo!” he said, sticking out his chest slightly. “Anyways, uh, is it true that you’re super strong? Do you think you could pick up a couch? Or maybe a car?!”

A middle-aged man, one who’d originally been sitting on the couch next to Max, hurriedly jumped to his feet. He was a slightly bigger man; he’d likely been quite muscular in years past, but time had softened him somewhat. He had short, cropped hair and wore a dark polo shirt that shared similar wrinkles to Max’s clothing. “You don’t need to answer that, Amara. Max, what did we talk about yesterday? Don’t pester her with questions about her—” His face flushed red as he stopped himself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—I’m Luis. These two little rascals are my kids, and this is my wife, Guadalupe.”

The woman standing beside Luis had jet-black hair and deep brown eyes that, while friendly, also seemed just a tiny bit hesitant. She wore a ruffled white top underneath a gray sweater, and she did a fantastic job of hiding her apprehension behind a welcoming smile.

Standing up again, Amara offered quick hugs to the married couple. “So happy to meet you, Luis, Guadalupe. They’re both adorable,” she said, gesturing to the kids.

Luis chuckled in the middle of their hug. “He just turned thirteen and he has a lot of feelings about it. I’m sorry if he pesters you about your, um… y’know. Heritage? Is that the right way to say it?”

“I think so,” Amara said with a smile.

“It’s incredible how much you look like her,” Guadalupe muttered. “I can still barely believe it, and I’m staring right at you.”

“It’s… a little weird, yeah. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this myself,” Amara said sheepishly, hoping not to unsettle Guadalupe even more. The parents seemed ready to corral their kids away from the conversation, and before they left, Amara reached down to ruffle Max’s hair. “I did catch a car once,” she added quietly.

The boy’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “Wait, caught? Did someone else—”

Stepping in before Max could ask anything else, Luis gently encouraged Max to keep to himself. “Alright, kids, how about we let Amara meet everyone else, okay?”

Both children groaned in disappointment as they walked out of the living room. With the crowd now thinned somewhat, Amara turned her attention to another middle-aged man that, until recently, had been waiting patiently on a nearby loveseat. He looked incredibly similar to Luis, sporting the same once-muscular physique, though his hair was slightly longer and he’d let his facial hair grow into a thin goatee.

Beside him was a woman of similar age. She had dark curly hair and warm brown eyes that sat above an incredibly kind smile. A deep crimson blouse draped across her shoulders, and she casually hung off the man’s arm while he approached Amara.

“Amara, I’m Luis’s brother, Gabriel. This is my wife, Carmen, and hiding in the corner back there is our daughter, Camilla.”

Doing her best to remember everyone’s names, Amara happily hugged both Gabriel and Carmen. “So happy to—Ugh, I said that already. I’m meeting so many people so quickly, I feel like I should have something better to say than some generic ‘Oh, it’s great to meet you’ nonsense. And now I’m rambling. Great. I’m sorry. It’s great to meet you both!”

“I hear you’re studying out at Aurelius? Marketing stuff?” Gabriel asked.

“I am! There’s a pretty big emphasis on social media these days, so I was thinking I might get into brand management or something. Well, assuming my life doesn’t get eclipsed by… y’know. Everything else. I don’t actually know how much my mom told you.”

Closer to the front door, Evelyn waited patiently next to Evie. “I told them very little, love. That’s your story to tell. If you want to, of course.”

When Amara turned back to Gabriel, she saw him gesturing at his daughter to come closer. “Camilla, get over here! It’s not every day you get new family members out of the blue like this!”

In a back corner of the room, partially hidden in a hallway leading to the kitchen, Camilla pushed off the wall she’d been leaning against. Amara nervously fiddled with the straps of her camera bag as she took a deep breath; she was particularly excited for this introduction. Camilla appeared to be almost exactly Amara’s age, if perhaps a bit younger. Would they get along? Would they have anything in common?

Camilla wore high-waisted jeans and a slimming red top that perfectly flattered her dark complexion. Elegant curls danced through her long brown hair, beneath which Amara saw warm hazel eyes that glimmered with attitude, if perhaps a touch of suspicion.

“Hi, Camilla,” Amara said nervously.

“Good to meet you,” Camilla said, her tone somewhat flatter than Amara expected. They hugged, but it didn’t carry the same warmth Amara had felt with the rest of the family. After they broke off their embrace, they stared awkwardly at each other for several moments before Camilla said, “So… what, you’re like a superhero or something?”

“What? No! I’m just… I dunno, me. We’ve had a few scares at my school recently, but it’s not like I’m running around town beating up muggers or whatever.”

“You said you caught a car.”

“Well, that wasn’t— It’s not like I had a choice. There was an evil witch, and she—”

“Camilla, don’t harass the poor girl!” Gabriel chided.

“No, it’s okay, honest!” Amara protested. She wanted to keep talking with Camilla, but lost the opportunity as the other young woman scoffed at her dad and walked away.

“She’ll warm up to you, Amara,” Carmen said, reaching out to comfort her. “I’m sure you know how girls her age are.”

Amara thought back to her last few months and chuckled. “We’re a bit emotional sometimes, aren’t we?”

Gabriel laughed this time. “Good to know you’re self-aware about it! Now come on, you haven’t met my dad yet!” He reached for Amara’s arm and politely walked her to the back corner of the room, where a slightly older gentleman sat in a plush reclining armchair. As they walked closer, Evie reappeared and sat on the armrest, leaning in to happily kiss his cheek.

“This is my wonderful husband, Rafael,” Evie said.

Rafael wore a thick green sweater that seemed a little too warm compared to the temperature of the house. Much like his two sons, he had a stockier build, though he was much more rotund. He smiled at Amara as she approached, his mouth partially hidden behind a thick gray mustache. Instead of getting up to offer a hug, Rafael extended a hand that Amara happily accepted.

“Amara! Welcome to the family. The more the merrier, I always say!” Rafael’s accent was thicker than everyone else’s, but his voice was equally comforting.

“There’s certainly a lot of people here today,” Amara muttered sheepishly. “It’s almost a little overwhelming.”

“This isn’t even everyone, love,” Evie said. “This is just my side of the family. My brother, Mateo, has a wife and kids and grandkids of his own! You’ll meet them sometime soon, probably sometime in the summer. We like to put together big parties every year, though outside of that we don’t always have time to get everyone together.”

Amara’s heart warmed as she realized just how massive her family was. She smiled at Evie, then looked around at the myriad pictures framed on the wall. Senior headshots, family portraits, wedding photos, and countless other treasured family memories. As she looked around, however, Amara quickly realized that she’d now met everyone in the room, which didn’t make sense. Wasn’t there supposed to be one more person?

“Um, Evie… I hate to sound rude, or anything, but where’s Rosie?” Amara asked nervously.

Evie smiled deviously. “Don’t you worry, love. She’s just napping in the other room.”

“Napping?”

Why would she be napping at a time like this?

“The thing is, Amara, I’ve been listening to stories about your mother for well over sixty years. I’m sure you heard that, up until last week, I thought it was all a bunch of baloney. Now that I know otherwise, well… I couldn’t resist taking the chance to get back at her a little bit. For the first time in our lives, I know more than she does.”

“Evie, did you not—?” Evelyn started.

“Rosie has no idea you two are here,” Evie said, her voice giddy with excitement. “Care to go surprise her?”

Amara gasped, then looked over at Evelyn. Her mother was just as excited as Evie was, and nodded quickly before blinking away hints of tears. “Oh, you’re just like her,” Evelyn said quietly.

A flock of butterflies began fluttering around Amara’s stomach as she waited for Evie to lead the way. The older woman kissed her husband one last time, then stood up to head deeper into the house. She passed Amara and Evelyn, leading them through a narrow hallway that passed by several doors. As they walked, Amara grabbed her mother’s hand and squeezed as hard as she could, barely able to restrain her excitement as she prepared to meet her real-life, actual sister.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Evie held up a hand to silently ask them to wait here.