kids grinned and hugged each other. Rico high-fived their guitarist, Diego, before stepping over to share a fist bump with Señor Pérez.
Eventually the clapping subsided and Ben reached for his microphone. “I think you’ll all agree that these kids definitely have talent and personality.”
Laughter and chuckles tittered through the crowd.
“We’d like to thank each of you for your generosity this evening, but before we close the show with our final carol, the organizing committee and I wanted to bring up one special person.”
Julia turned to Laura, thinking perhaps her mentor, as the committee chair, had asked Ben for a few minutes at the mic.
Laura gave her a smile of encouragement, but didn’t make a move toward the stage.
“Julia Fernandez is the visionary who brought the rest of us along for this culturally rich and magnificent ride. Thanks to her creativity, enthusiasm, and expertise, we’ve enjoyed what I think you’d agree has been an amazing evening.”
Once again applause thundered through the room.
“So, Julia, the kids and I are hoping you’ll come up here with us as we wrap things up with ‘Silent Night, Noche de Paz.’ Everyone, please join in. Lyrics are on the back of your program.”
“¡Vete, nena!” Mami elbowed her as she encouraged Julia to go.
Bernardo hopped off the riser and hurried to the stairs on the right side of the stage. He held out a hand, his chubby cheeks rounding bigger with his wide grin.
Moments later, as she stood in the midst of all the kids, Ben at her side, with the cacophony of voices both on stage and off singing the well-known Christmas carol, Julia’s heart swelled with joy.
Mami sat at their table in the front row, eyes glistening with tears, hands clasped in prayer at her chest as she sang.
They had a frank conversation ahead of them. One Julia had been dreading. No matter what though, Julia knew she’d remember this moment.
Remember and cherish it for years to come.
Chapter Eleven
“How come you never told me, nena?”
Julia’s shoulders sagged at her mami’s simple question.
They sat in the backseat of a private limo Ben had ordered for them after everything had finally wound down and Rico, Bernardo, and the rest of the kids had piled back into their vans.
Once the kids had left, Laura had shooed her off, telling her the event planner could handle the post-event wrap-up. “Your mother mentioned how anxious she is to see Rosa and the rest of the family. Don’t worry about a thing here. You and I can chat in the next couple of days about where you’d like to go from here.”
Moments later, Julia and Ben had stood in the shadow of a large Christmas fir in the grand hall, partially hidden from others bustling about in cleanup mode. “Let me order a car for you and your mom. You two need some quiet time together, before the hoopla of the parranda when you get to Rosa’s.”
“Are you still planning to come?” Julia had asked.
“Is the invitation still open?”
That he cared enough to ask, to not push like she’d accused him of earlier, made her even more hopeful that they might have something worth pursuing.
“Of course,” she had answered, brushing his cheek with a kiss.
Then she and Mami had left, with Ben promising to follow shortly.
“I was worried about disappointing you and Papi,” she admitted now as the limo sped down the highway. “El nego-cio means so much to you.”
“Sí, but it is just that, a business, and we are familia,” Mami answered matter-of-factly.
Julia stared at the blurry city lights in the distance, wondering if somehow she’d lost clarity. Or if Mami simply didn’t recognize the pressure she’d put on Julia.
Ben had been right. She owed it to herself and her familia to be honest with them. If not, nothing would change.
Scooting sideways on the leather seat, Julia faced her mother. “You’ve been grooming me to take over for years. Earning my business degree ‘would benefit us,’ you said, remember? And yes, the knowledge will help me run the company, but not once did you ask if that is what I wanted.”
“And why would you not want to own your own business? To have a successful company handed down to you?” Mami scowled at her, the same disapproving look she’d given all her kids when she was unhappy with their behavior.
“Because catering isn’t all I want to do,” Julia answered.
“The company I have built up is not enough for you? Is that it?”
The hurt lacing her mami’s voice pierced Julia’s heart.