Watermelon

Buzzkill

"I didn't get approved," he hiccuped through tears. "I can't adopt Maggie."

"What the fuck?" Camila asked, genuinely in shock. "Why the hell would they do that? There's literally no better place for her to be at this point. She literally calls you dad; you'd have to be fucked in the head to think it would be better to take her away from you and give her to a different family." Camila was angry. She took a few calming breaths to level herself before speaking up again. "Did they at least give you a reason why?"

"They don't think I'm financially stable enough," he said quietly. "With her being a foster right now, I get money from the government to help take care of her — same with Jace. If I were to officially adopt her I wouldn't be getting that money anymore. And while I do make a fair amount of money for what I do, I also have loans and college tuition that I'm still working to pay off. They don't think I'd be able to take care of her if I wasn't getting financial help from the foster system."

"That's fucked," Camila scoffed. Shawn nodded sadly. 

"I'm so responsible with my money. I always have been. Even when I was in high school and working minimum wage I wasn't spending it recklessly — I was saving it. And now that I'm on my own and independent I'm even more careful with my spending. Why? Because I have two fucking kids that I've taken in and have committed to providing for no matter what. How the fuck is that not good enough?"

His sadness was morphing into anger too and Camila couldn't blame him. It was ridiculous that he had been denied the ability to adopt Maggie. You'd have to be blind to not see that he was meant to be Maggie's dad.

"There's gotta be something else that I don't know. I'm not rolling in cash but I'm not completely broke. Either they're just being unreasonable assholes or there's another reason they feel like I wouldn't be fit to be a parent."

"Nothing on your criminal record?" Camila asked nervously.

"I got pulled over for speeding once when I was seventeen." He shrugged. "Nothing that I should get denied for."

"I'm so sorry, Shawn."

"I don't think I can go back down there," he sniffled. "I'm sorry. I know you were really looking forward to tonight."

"Don't be sorry. I don't blame you for not wanting to be social right now." Camila rubbed her hand comfortingly across her boyfriend's broad back. "I'm gonna go back down and let Shelby and my family know we're turning in for the night and then I'll be back up, okay?"

"You don't have to come back up. It's your best friend's wedding. I want you to enjoy it."

"I was there for all of the important parts," she shrugged. "Now it's more important to me that I'm here with you." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, letting her lips linger on his face for a beat longer than she normally would. "I'll be right back."

She stepped out of their bedroom and made her way back down the stairs and over to the table her family had been seated at.

"Everything okay?" Sinu asked with concern when she saw her daughter's somber expression.

"Um, not really," Camila replied with a hushed tone. "Everyone's okay but some things came up back at home. Shawn's not taking it very well. I think I need to just be with him tonight."

"Love is all about being there for each other when you need it," Alejandro said. "Go take care of him."

"And give him our love," Sinu added. "Poor thing. Are you sure everything is okay?"

"It will be," she nodded. "Thanks guys. I love you." She hugged each of her family members and told them goodnight before making her way over to Shelby.