"Mrs. Purcell?" Lance asked, stuttered. There was no confusion that could match that on his face. Confusion, not a shock. Elena was already petrified and shocked altogether. She took some steps back so that she stood beside Lance. Macarena approached the older woman by the door and they looked like they were whispering to each other, from what Lance and Elena could see.
"What a surprise," Elena said as she stared deeply into Layla's eyes. She gulped. She then looked at Lance and his friend Emilio for a while before she took the suitcase from Lance's helping hand and started heading for the door.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked Layla as she approached the two. She knew Layla's main reason, of course, she was just trying to be calm.
"Are you sure you want me to speak it out, this loud? In front of him?" Layla asked as she trained her eyes at Lance who was talking to Emilio by the gate. After a few gestures and a friendly guy hug, the driver was gone. Lance started heading for the house again. Elena turned back to her and shook her head as Lance approached. She could notice the calmness in her aunt's eyes. Did she know too? This soon already?
"Good." Layla's eyebrows shot up as she nodded calmly. "We are going to have a long talk, Elena." She finished with a small smile in the end. Elena closed her eyes as she deciphered that the statement felt like a threat rather than a welcome home.
"Oh, come in." Macarena ushered the two who were now standing in tow, outside the house. Layla had already gotten in. So Elena Stenfield took her suitcase and dragged it up the concrete steps by the porch to the door. It wasn't easy for her. Lance just looked on as she struggled climbing those steps. Elena however ignored his soft laughter that seemed to annoy her. When they were finally in, Lance held the small of her back and she turned to face him.
"Hey... how are you?" Lance asked. Elena managed a shrug, muffling her lips. There was sadness on her face. He then grabbed her arms. "Elena, I'm sorry that I shouted at you..." He said, with a hint of regret in his voice.
"Come on Lance," She told him. "First we have to know why Ethan's mom is here."
"Are you pushing that conversation away?" Lance asked, confused.
"I just don't wanna talk about it right now... okay?" She answered as she pulled away from him. She went over to the corridor that led to the living room and left her suitcase there, and Lance followed her from behind.
Elena and Lance slouched themselves on one of the couches as Layla sat by their adjacent. Macarena was in the kitchen preparing some tea for her guests. Lance's mind was occupied with Macarena's words. What she had told him earlier on baffled him, and he wasn't sure what she was trying to say. He hoped that he would talk to her in person, Layla having shushed her earlier on. Whatever was on her mouth, Layla didn't want him to find out.
"Lance, what are you doing way down here?" Layla asked, as she crossed her arms and gave him a blinding glare.
"I'm on a state expedition... I think the real question here is... what are you doing down here?" Lance threw one at her. Layla raised a brow and looked at Elena, and Lance saw this. He looked at the woman next to him, and she was fidgeting uneasily.
"Business trip," Layla told him, a grin following afterward. She was hiding Elena's truth and Elena felt calmer knowing that she was on her side. "You say a state expedition. An expedition of what, if I may ask."
"Trust me, I do not want to bore you with biology stuff," Lance repeated what he had told Elena, a few hours earlier. Just then, Macarena came in with tea and served for her humble guests. Elena made a pass, again.
"Elena is everything okay between you two?" Layla asked after she had noticed the distress between the two.
"We're perfectly fine," Elena answered as she placed her hands between her laps in uneasiness. Layla's presence really worried her if anything.
"Don't mind about us." Lance cohered. "We're just normal couples with normal problems."
"Couples?" Layla asked intently. "You two are now together?"
"I think we have better things to discuss here than our relationship," Lance told her.
"Wait, so you all know each other?" Macarena asked stuttered. "I'm confused."
"Yes," Elena answered. "She's the mother of a friend that we used to study with back at home. And this one's my boyfriend. I'm your niece and all the formalities I guess are up to date."
"How was the road, Elena... I saw how the journey was uncomfortable down here." Macarena pitched in.
"It was awesome really," Lance answered. "Beautiful country you people have. Beautiful and mysterious people too." His blue eyes were well fixed on Macarena's face. He took a sip of his tea, eyes still fixed on the alien woman.
There was a sudden silence in the room, as all parties just looked at each other.
"I... um, how's everything here?" Elena asked. She toured her eyes around the large living room. Family portraits of Macarena and her children hang from the walls. Alia Stenfield Macarena was married to Rico Rodriguez Macarena and together they had two girls and one boy. Her husband died five years after Elena had returned to the United States. Her children were all grown up now, taking on different jobs in the vast Mexican country. One was a doctor, another a civil engineer, and the other a high school teacher. She used to live alone nowadays, and the fact that Elena was here, blossomed her happiness. She took Elena as one of her children, as she had when she was still a little girl.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here for his funeral, aunt." Elena apologized.
"Dear child..." Macarena warmly told her. "It's okay. What happened, happened. I'm sure that your father brought your prayers for him along. He's in a better place now."
Layla sighed as she listened at the two. Her eyes were fixed on Lance, keenly scouring his face. Lance's attention was on Macarena. His teeth danced beneath his skin, in an episode of desperation for answers.
"Well," Lance spoke up later, feeling now strange to be surrounded by the three women. "I was supposed to bring Elena here, and now that she's safe in your arms... I guess I can bid you all farewell."
"You're going now? Already?" Macarena asked.
"Sadly he has to go," Layla answered as she took another sip of her tea. Lance scoffed slightly. He looked at Layla with cold eyes. The hate for him having testified against her son in court was still fresh in her mind. A mother's pain... only a mother knew.
"I was hoping that we could talk further," Macarena said.
"Don't worry aunt. You will have another opportunity to talk to him." Elena spoke getting up on her feet. Lance also stood up. "I will see you out."
"No," Layla told Elena. "I'll see him out." Lance seemed confused.
"Really?" Elena asked.
"Yeah." She got up from her seat and smiled at the two.
"Okay..." Elena mumbled. She turned to Lance. "I guess this is a goodbye."
"For now... it is for now." Lance agreed. He looked at her parted lips, and then back at the two older women. He then turned to Elena lastly with a warm smile. He hugged her. "Take good care of yourself now." Elena never bothered to answer. She just nodded. Lance finished by saying, "Okay... bye."
With him walking in tow, Layla led Lance to the gates of the premises. Elena looked at the two for a while before she entered inside and looked at her aunt.
"Is it true?" Macarena asked. Her eyes drifted to Elena's belly. "Is it true?"