Page 93 of The Apparent Trap

But these aren’t my questions to ask. Every story has two sides, and it’s not my business or place to seek justifications.

I inhale a deep breath and decide on taking the easiest conversational route: food.

“So does this mean you’re going to make Carmen your pozole?”

Luciana laughs. “That’s the first question she asked me when she saw me! Word certainly gets around.”

“Nah,” Carmen waves off. “I just missed our traditions this year, and Ezzie was kind enough to indulge me.”

“Pleasure was all mine,” I chime in. “If Carmen’s soup is anywhere near yours, I can understand why it would be on her mind.”

“Well, I missed our traditions too,” Luciana says, her hand automatically grazing Carmen’s cheek. “And I wanted to see my girl in action.”

She is full of questions about different segments we’ve worked on. She can recite every one of her daughter’s accomplishments over the last few months. It’s harder to dislike her when she’s a real flesh-and-blood person in front of me, beaming over Carmen.

The biggest relief, though, is it seems clear that Luciana doesn’t have any clue about the drama in Carmen’s personal life. I’m not sure I could’ve dealt with that today.

“Mom,” Carmen says eventually. “Ezzie knows everything about my work because she’s always right next to me doing it.”

The sentiment warms me, considering I’m not sure Carmen would’ve even thought to say it a couple of months ago.

“Right, right, I know,” Luciana replies, her eyes affectionate on her daughter. “I’m just so proud of you.”

“Hey, Carm—” a familiar voice butts in. Everyone turns to look, and of course, because timing can never be our friend, it’s Lee who’s just walked in. “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says finally, his eyes bouncing between the three women in front of him before settling on Luciana with a wary gaze.

“I thought it would be fun to surprise Carmen,” she preempts. There’s so much unsaid as the two take each other in. Luciana doesn’t call their daughter “my girl” here the way she just did. She certainly doesn’t mention any traditions—traditions that Lee would’ve missed out on for years of his daughter’s life due to Luciana’s unilateral decision.

He shifts in place, uncomfortable, so much the opposite of his usual composed self. I wonder if he’s deciding between reactions. I bet he hasn’t seen her since those early trips when Carmen was a teenager and he would’ve had to walk on eggshells in order not to piss her off and complicate his ability to visit. He’s had a decade and a half to let his anger toward her fester, and he would have every right to be cold to Luciana. Hell, I’ve only known about this a few weeks, and my first instinct was to drag her outside and ask her a million pointed questions. If I were Lee, I would barely be able to look at her.

But when I see Carmen’s expression, I know there’s no world where he’s doing anything but being polite. There’s a hopefulness embedded in her eyes. And as much as Carmen talks about a two-way street, she’s still a child who was raised by her mother. Of course she has her loyalties.

“That’s a lovely surprise,” Lee finally says, taking the highest possible road. “I hope you guys have a really nice time.” He turns to me. “I was looking for you and thought I might find you in here.”

I want so badly to reach out to him, give him some tactile comfort. But I don’t want to make this situation any weirder. So instead I say, “I am, but I’m done, so we can chat outside if you want.”

Both Carmen and Lee look relieved that I’m finding a way to end this unexpected family reunion.

“Okay great,” he says before turning back to Carmen. “See you soon.”

“I’ll see you Friday, actually,” she replies, her smile gentle, knowing.

“Oh you’re not off for New Year’s?” he asks.

She shakes her head. “No, I’m filling in for Georgia this whole week. And I asked your producer if I could be the anchor on your cooking segment this time.”

My heart squeezes, seeing the surprise and then gratitude in his expression.

He clears his throat. “That’ll be really fun,” he says quietly, before giving Luciana a nod and walking out the door.

Chapter 31

The next day I’m late to work again. So sue me.

I float through the show. We’re still in slow news mode and filling the airtime with so much taped content that it’s a perfectly fine day to be completely distracted.

I’m at my desk, catching up on research notes, when I get a Slack message from Sarah, my senior producer, asking if I have a free moment.

What does Sarah need to talk about on a random slow day when we’ve already got the weekly meetings scheduled? An errant thought springs up that maybe Georgia and Lee’s little stunt has gotten notice, and I’m about to be the one chastised. At least it would burst the bubble of this unsustainable fantasy I’m living in—after all, I’m not the girl who gets the guy and comes out bright and shiny. I’m the one setting up the girl who gets the guy and then goes and eats a slice of cake on the side. Maybe I should accept that things don’t change as much as we want to believe they will.