11. Clara

CHAPTER 11

CLARA

E ver since her travels ended and she found herself moving from one short-term, dead-end job to another, Clara had avoided bringing any date home to meet her family. To her, that made it serious, and she never felt like any of the men she met were more than casual dates. They just didn't measure up. Even if she liked them enough to take them home, she was never proud enough to introduce them to her family. But Luis was different. Mostly because he was her fiancé now, but also because she really did feel proud to be with him.

Maybe it wasn't a romantic relationship exactly, but non-romantic marriages had been the norm all over the world for most of human civilization, she reasoned. When her parents finally opened the door, she watched as their eyes drifted from her to the man standing behind her.

"This must be the man!" her mother said, scooping Clara into her arms and squeezing her tight. "Congratulations to you both." For a moment, Clara panicked that someone might have already told her family she was pregnant, but then she remembered she had just gotten engaged and congratulations would be in order either way. She and Luis had decided not to share the news just yet. She'd heard somewhere it was better to wait until after the first trimester, and especially considering she was an older mother, she thought it wise not to count her chickens before they hatched.

"Thank you," Luis said from behind her.

Clara's mother welcomed them both inside and into the living room where her father and sister were already chatting away. Her parents' living room was comfortable with overstuffed, pink couches and maroon carpet. Having just come from Luis's penthouse, Clara felt a touch of shame at the underwhelming home she grew up in. Luis didn't seem to mind it, though.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you all," he said. He went around the room, shaking everyone's hand and exchanging introductions despite the fact that everyone there obviously already knew who he was.

Her father put on his casual-dad voice and said, "So how's that beer business coming along?" Clara prepared herself for a barrage of beer puns, but to her surprise, none came. It was a straightforward question.

"It's doing quite well, Mr. Ashford?—"

"Oh, you can call me Dad if you like. After all, you're going to be part of the family very soon."

Luis smiled, but Clara could tell he was uncomfortable. She had to wonder why. Was it because he felt like he was lying? Having a husband who was uncomfortable with lies was never a bad thing, she decided. "Thank you… Dad," Luis said. "We recently had what I consider an advantageous acquisition. It won't necessarily be profitable right off the bat, but it will aid in changing the culture of my own breweries."

Clara's mom took Luis's coat without ceremony. "Have a seat, Luis. Make yourself at home. We don't bite here…" She chuckled and added, "much," which caused Dawn to roll her eyes.

Luis seemed to take it all in stride. "Thank you." He sat beside Dawn, who gave him a suspicious side-eye.

"What do you mean by ‘change the culture'?" Dawn asked as though she were a detective interrogating a suspect.

"Well…" Luis thought a moment and then nodded to himself. "Since you're going to be family, I suppose I'll have to get used to telling you everything." He laughed nervously. "For a while now, I've felt like the brands I've built were not quite true to my father's values. I was advised by people who supposedly knew the business that I should try to emulate the most popular American brands in order to have major success. They were right, but I'm not happy with it. My father had such an appreciation for the craft. He could bring you a flight and tell you every note you could expect to taste as well as that specific beer's journey from harvest to tap. He cared so much about diversity of flavor and creating a favorite for everyone."

"Sounds like a good man," Clara's father said.

"He is," Luis confirmed without hesitation. "But he's not in the business anymore. He wanted me to take over for him because he wanted to see me flourish while he could still enjoy it. At least, that's what he said. Maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on me." Luis gave Cara's family a half smile. "Anyway, I spend most of my time wondering whether what I'm doing with his business is making him proud, and lately, I haven't been able to confidently answer that with a yes."

Dawn crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Well, this little brewery reminded me of my father, of what he created and what he cared about. I thought bringing them into the fold and giving them free rein might be a good start to getting back to my roots."

He watched as Dawn narrowed her eyes. Clara could tell her twin was messing with him, but Luis probably wasn't accustomed to being messed with like that. Dawn gave him her harshest look and then broke character and grinned at him. "I like it," she concluded. "Sounds like a good plan."

Luis visibly relaxed.

Anyone would be forgiven for assuming Dawn had finished her interrogation, but the conversation at the dinner table proved otherwise. "So, how long did you know my sister before you proposed?" Dawn asked.

Luis's face colored as he considered how to answer. "I haven't known her long, it's true," he admitted. "But I like to think I know her well."

"You do, do you?" Dawn crossed her arms and refused to start eating the meal her mother had placed in front of her until she was satisfied with Luis's answer. "Okay, let's play a game."

"Dawn," Clara said.

But Dawn would not be deterred. "When we were kids, Clara had a stuffed animal she carried with her everywhere. She never set that thing down. So what kind of animal was it, and what was its name?"

Luis's eyes went wide. He looked like prey, afraid for his life. Clara looked around at both her parents to see how they were feeling. She wasn't surprised to find them both amused. Dawn could do no wrong, and her protectiveness of Clara was more endearing to them than annoying. It always had been. Poor Luis, though. Clara decided to make it a little easier on him. While everyone's eyes were focused on Luis, she formed one hand into the shape of a cat's claw and took a subtle swipe at the air. Then she nodded meaningfully across the table to Luis.

"A cat?" he guessed.

Dawn pursed her lips at him. "Its name?"

"This was not at all the sort of thing anyone discusses on their first dates." Clara did her best to defend her new fiancé, but Dawn would not be dissuaded.

"Name?" she asked.

Clara tapped Luis's shin under the table with her foot, and he glanced across to her. She held up her handbag and pointed to it.

"Purse?" Luis looked unsure.

Clara aggressively shook her head, pointed to her handbag again, and then tugged at the cardigan hanging off the back of her chair.

"Black?" Luis said.

"Close," Dawn conceded. "But no cigar. It was Blackie. Okay, so the stuffed animal wasn't your most memorable conversation. Surely you talked about first crushes, right? I mean that's what my husband and I talked about on our first date. So who was Clara's first crush?"

Clara broke in. "This is so stupid, Dawn. You're only doing it to make him feel like he's not the king of the world , when you know as well as I do he practically is. I mean what's he done to you anyway? Nothing. There's nothing he could do to someone like you. You're practically unsinkable ."

Luis's eyes lit up. "Leonardo DiCaprio!"

Dawn turned her glare to Clara. "That's cheating, you know."

"A nudge in the right direction isn't cheating," Clara said. "Anyway, how's he supposed to remember all this stuff about me? It's inconsequential."

"Not if he loves you, it isn't." She had a point, so Clara bowed her head in defeat. "Favorite flower?" Dawn said, turning back to Luis.

Their mother gripped Clara by the shoulder quickly. "Clara, can you help me in the kitchen for a moment?"

Clara had to wonder whether her mother was leaving Luis to the wolves — well, wolf — on purpose, but did she really have a choice? "Sure, Mom. Let me know what I can do to assist you." She looked back at Luis meaningfully on her way to the kitchen. "I'm always happy to give you aid ." She saw Luis quickly pull his phone out under the table and start texting frantically. Good. He got the message. His assistants, who were with her when she chose her wedding bouquet would be able to answer that question.

In the kitchen, Clara helped her mother stack dinner dishes and plate dessert, which turned out to be her absolutely delicious rhubarb pie. "He seems nice," her mother said, and Clara got the impression that talking about Luis privately was the real reason she'd been called into the kitchen.

"He is nice."

Her mother carefully placed another slice of pie on her good china. "Tell me you're happy. This is all so sudden, and I'm pleased for you. I am. But I need to know you're not just marrying him for the money. Your father and I can help you out with anything you need. You don't have to give up your chance to find love."

"I'm not," Clara lied, but she didn't sound convincing. So she went back in her head to the first time she'd met him in the bar. She thought about the man who made her laugh, who made her respect him, who took her home and made her feel things she never thought she'd feel before. Then she looked her mother dead in the eyes and said, "I'm so happy, Mom. He's everything I ever wanted."

She must have been convincing this time because her mother took her in her arms and squeezed her tight. "I'm so glad, honey. We were all hoping you'd find someone nice to start a family with."

A week ago, that would have hurt. She never had told her mother about the bad news she'd gotten. But now that bad news seemed so far in her past, she could barely remember what it felt like to get it. She was pregnant. Right now. And knowing that made everything she was sacrificing worth it. Was it even really a sacrifice? It's not like her husband wasn't handsome and rich and nice, too. Obviously, it would have been best if she'd fallen madly in love with him, but as long as he knew where they stood, everything would be okay. She'd always wanted to be a mother. The whole being a wife part was incidental to her.

They brought the slices of pie out to the rest of the family. Dawn seemed to have finished her interrogation. Her smirk definitely indicated that not only had she won, she'd had a good time doing so and was beginning to warm to Clara's surprise fiancé. Luis was deep in conversation with their father, who seemed to be asking him about his family.

"Six," Luis answered a question Clara hadn't heard.

"No kidding!" her father responded. "Six siblings is a pretty big family. I bet you all kept your mother busy, eh?"

Luis laughed a warm laugh. "We did, but she did have help. The elder kids helped bring up the younger ones. It's traditional, you know. I was the eldest, so I have a lot of experience raising kids." He turned to Clara and winked.

With that, Clara nearly dropped the plate she was carrying. He wasn't about to tell them, was he? Not after they'd agreed not to. But he continued talking about his own family, and Clara breathed a sigh of relief.

"The truth is, I'm here for them," Luis admitted. "That's why I originally came to America. Every day was a struggle for my family with so many mouths to feed. Both my parents worked hard, but it never seemed to be enough. So when I took over my father's business, I decided to make it so my family never had to worry about money again." His face fell, and Clara realized he was allowing himself to be vulnerable in front of her family. "I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, but to do so, I had to subtract myself from the equation. I rarely see them anymore. All my time is spent in meetings, traveling, inspecting. I have so many people who work for me, but they all need instruction and supervision. Sometimes, more assistants just means more work."

Clara's father swallowed a bite of his pie and washed it down with wine. "Well, I'll tell you something — if it were me in your shoes, I'd say it wasn't worth it. I'd say walk away and spend some time with your family."

"Easier said than done, unfortunately." Luis frowned. He looked so dejected, Clara instinctively wanted to go over and give him a hug. But it would have been a display of genuine affection, and they both knew that was not allowed. "There are shareholders to worry about. It isn't just my own wealth on the line anymore. And if I break their trust, everything could fall apart."

"I didn't say it would be easy," Clara's father said. "It's never easy, but balance is balance. And if everything you've just told us is true, I'd say your next big challenge should be finding the right balance for yourself and your family. Especially now that my daughter is going to be part of it." His smile was warm, but there was a harshness in his tone, too.

Luis didn't seem too bothered by it. In fact, he appeared to be considering her father's words carefully. "I think you may be right," he said quietly. "That's very good advice." Then he smiled back at Clara's father. "Thank you, Dad."