22.
From that moment on Lea never called her anything else other than mommy and truth to be told Rachel was delighted. She had always wanted to have kids and she loved Lea as her own so it couldn’t be more perfect. David was thrilled too, Rachel was a great mom and Lea seemed to be finally getting the life and love she deserved.
“I’m going away for the next week. We’re having training overseas. I was wondering if you’d want to have Lea for those days?” – David asked Rachel during one of her visits.
“Are you kidding?” - Rachel asked excited.
“If this is not a good time for you I can ask Dee, but since you’re her mom” – he said smiling – “I thought I should ask you first.”
“I’d love too!” – David had trusted her with Lea often if he had to go to work or take care of something but this would be the first time Rachel would have her over night for more than a day.
“Are you sure? Isn’t that the week that you were going to visit your parents?” – David asked.
“Yes, I totally forgot about it” – she confessed – “maybe she could come with me” – she said shyly – “I’m sure they’d love to meet her.”
“You think it’s a good idea? Will you be okay on your own? With the media and all that?” – he worried.
“They might try to take some pictures of us at the airport, but it’s pretty quiet in Wakefield I doubt it would be that bad.”
“Okay then if you think you can handle it that’s fine with me” – he agreed.
“Really? Thank you, babe, you have no idea how much this means to be” – she thanked him.
“She’s your daughter too, sweetheart” – he said tenderly – “you have all the rights to be with her.”
The visit to Wakefield didn’t exactly go as planned.
Everything started well with Rachel and Lea having a nice flight to the UK, however from the moment they arrived at Rachel’s parents’ home everything started to go wrong.
Jake and Gina had Rachel at a very young age so they were now in their late forties. You could say Gina had been Rachel’s musical career motivator, if she ever needed one. Jake on the other hand was the one who was always trying to keep her close to the ground and asking her to have a backup plan.
“Hello” – Rachel said cheerfully. She hadn’t seen her family in so long. It was always hard for her to find time to go back there and since she had started to go to Portugal often it had become even harder.
“Welcome stranger!” – her mom said. Rachel felt a tiny bit of resentment, but chose to ignore it.
“Hi darling” – Jake said kissing her.
Rachel hugged them both, she had missed them too. Holding Rachel’s hand Lea hid behind her legs.
Rachel lowered her body sitting on her heels to reach Lea’s height. She let go of her hand and using sign language told her – “This is my mom Gina and dad Jake. Do you want to say hi?”
The child looked at them shyly. Rachel picked her up and introduced her to them proudly – “This is Lea.”
Everything from there was a mess. Rachel’s nephews didn’t seem to be able to understand Lea and were giving her a hard time. Jake expressed his worries about David’s situation and how he could be just looking for someone to take care of his kid.
“Don’t you think it’s going to fast?” – he asked her – “I mean the child is already calling you mom.”
“We didn’t plan for this” – she explained.
“You didn’t at least.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” – Rachel asked irritated with the insinuation.
“Don’t get mad” – he tried to calm her down – “I’m just worried that if this doesn’t work you’ll be devastated and so will the girl. Let’s face it darling the odds of the two of you making it are not that great and…”
Rachel interrupted him before he could finish – “Please dad stop, I missed you and I came here to have a good time, please don’t make me regret.”
“You’re right” - he sighed – “let’s enjoy your visit” – he agreed.
But Rachel knew it wasn’t over. Jake might have agreed to let it go but Gina wouldn’t. She kept insisting that Rachel should give Chase another chance.
“He is a good guy, Rachel” – she tried to convince her.
“He cheated on me, mom, repeatedly!” – Rachel vented upset.
“He made a mistake, but he’s being trying to make it right ever since. You guys were so in love, I’m just saying that maybe you should give him another chance.”
“I did. I gave him another chance and he did it again. I can’t even believe we’re still discussing this” – Rachel argued. She knew her mom had always loved Chase, he had that effect on people but she was her mom, she was supposed to be on her side.
“So you think it’s just better to settle for that… gangster?” – Gina asked her.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve done some research on that neighborhood of his, it’s a ghetto!”
“What’s all this prejudice?” – Rachel asked incredulous – “That’s not how you’ve raised me!”
“We just want what’s best for you” - Gina justified.
“Really? Well, if that’s the kind of support you have to give me then I don’t want it” – Rachel told them with misty eyes.
None of them said anything else. It was Lea who broke the silent.
“You’re mean” – she yelled – “made mommy cry!”
Rachel picked her up and took her to her room where they both stayed until the next morning. At breakfast Gina and Jake apologized but Rachel was hurt and knew there was more to come.