For The Longest Time

Chapter Seventeen: Christmas Eve

Jorge chuckled as he hugged Peyton, he loved his granddaughter and was thrilled that his son had invited him to spend Christmas with them; Celia had been invited but she had declined because of her dislike for Rosalie.

Lionel hadn’t been able to see his siblings yet but he knew that they planned to come and visit him soon in Barcelona; they were a little miffed about what they had missed but were thrilled for their brother and were willing to put the past behind them.

Jorge raised an eyebrow at Peyton’s haircut and looked at Lionel, he had heard about the incident at school and had spent a lot of time calming his son knowing that he was furious that someone had cut his daughter’s hair like that even if they were her age.

“How has school been?” Jorge asked sitting down with his granddaughter, he cuddled her close as they talked while Lionel moved about the home; he knew that the family were preparing for Christmas and he was glad to be a part of it.

“Jorge it’s nice to see you again,” Rosalie greeted walking into the living room, she glanced at Lionel who was putting up the stockings and rolled her eyes as he grinned to himself as he went about making sure that everything was in perfect order.

Jorge smiled at his daughter-in-law, he was surprised how fast her pregnancy seemed to be passing and he knew that he would soon have another grandchild; it saddened him slightly that it would also be another one that Celia would reject, she just wasn’t coming round to the fact that Rosalie was a part of their family.

“Gracias for having me, are your parents coming?” Jorge asked curiously, they had all talked about it at Thiago’s birthday but there was no sign of them now; Lionel glanced at his wife as he headed into the kitchen as she took a seat.

“My padre is spending time with my baby brother… but my Madre is flying in later tonight,” Rosalie replied with a small smile, she was twenty-six weeks pregnant and she knew the next time that the family would gather together was for the birth of her baby girl in April.

Jorge nodded his head as he turned his attention to Peyton, he wished that his wife could see that she wasn’t going to separate the couple; Lionel and Rosalie were very happy with their marriage and that there was nothing that was going to change that anytime soon.

“Padre would you like a drink?” Lionel asked stepping back into the living room, he smiled as he looked at his father getting a little excited that they were preparing to celebrate Christmas; he didn’t care what happened now as long as they had a good Christmas together.

***

Claudia looked at Jorge as she took a seat next to him, Rosalie had gone to put Thiago to bed and Lionel was off with Peyton leaving the two of them alone; she was curious about how he was coping with all of this.

“So how are you doing?” Claudia asked watching him curiously, she was aware that this couldn’t be easy especially since Celia was being completely unreasonable about her feelings about the marriage.

“It’s been difficult… not that I’m not happy with having Leo back in my life but Celia is making things difficult and it worries me,” Jorge admitted sipping on his drink, he was glad that he had someone to talk to.

Celia wasn’t listening to reason and since none of his other children had seen their brother yet they had yet to make a decision on how they felt about their brother’s marriage and family.

Claudia nodded her head, she knew that it hadn’t been easy for any of them but Celia’s refusal to come around was only causing hurt and she knew it was going to end badly for someone.

“I don’t want to choose between my youngest son and wife but I know that it’s coming to that,” Jorge said running a hand through his greying hair, he had already missed seven years of his son’s life and he didn’t want to miss anymore; he had grandchildren that he was starting to bond with and he didn’t want to miss watching them grow up.

“I know… Celia’s just upset, she might not like it right now but this is a big adjustment for all of us; Rosalie’s right when she said we’d have never let them get married but we have to deal with it now,” Claudia said softly as she looked at Jorge, she wasn’t happy about her daughter’s marriage but she wasn’t going to say anything since it was Rosalie’s choice and she was happy for now.

Jorge looked at Claudia for a moment before he realised that she also wasn’t happy that their children were married; he wondered if he was the only one happy for their children since he doubted that Diego was truly happy since he had never really liked Lionel dating Rosalie.

“Am I the only one happy for them?” Jorge asked making sure that no one could hear them, of course he had been upset at first but since they had come back into the couple’s life he couldn’t help but be happy that Lionel had Rosalie and that he loved her.

“Diego thinks it’ll end the same way that our marriage did and I think it will as well… Lionel is a lovely boy but Rosalie isn’t built for this life,” Claudia said shaking her head, she hadn’t told her daughter how she felt and she knew that if she did then she’d lose her again.

Jorge shook his head, he couldn’t understand why no one but him seemed happy for Lionel and Rosalie; they were a lot stronger than Claudia and Diego had been.

***

Rosalie smiled as Lionel set up the last of the Christmas presents while she finished the cookies that had been left out for Santa; she knew that the children would be up early and it made her curious about the next day would hold.

“Leo is everything okay?” Rosalie asked looking at him, she knew that something had upset him; he hadn’t been the same since before Peyton had gone to bed and now that their parents had retired to their rooms, they were alone.

“It’s fine… just something I heard,” Lionel said shaking his head as he moved to sit next to his wife; he didn’t want to tell her what he had heard her mother say to his father, it upset him that no one but Jorge was really happy with their marriage.

“Leo?” Rosalie said concerned taking his hands, she could see that something had upset him and she hated that he wasn’t telling her what it was because he didn’t want to upset her as well.

“It’s nothing…” Lionel said shaking his head, the last thing that he wanted to do was cause trouble especially on Christmas; he would tell her later on when he knew that she wouldn’t overreact to what he had overheard her mother say.

“Okay,” Rosalie said not completely believing him, she kissed him softly hoping that it wouldn’t ruin his Christmas; he had been so excited earlier that it upset her that he wasn’t now.

Lionel sighed as he watched Rosalie leave the room, his thoughts turning back to what he had heard; it had been months since their families had come back into their lives and if they weren’t going to accept his marriage to Rosalie then he didn’t want them in his life at all.