Eliana and Rebecca were still outside with Chenoa and Goldie when they heard a woman calling out to Chenoa.
"Chenoa, hermana, I'm here to take you back home. Miles and Mato are waiting for you to come back home." The woman said as Rebecca recognized the African-American Mexican woman as one of the women who came to her house to see Alyssa before.
"Oh, can't she stay a little longer? I miss seeing my pregnant girl so much when she's not here." Goldie asked sweetly.
"Come on now Goldie, you see Chenoa plenty. You know as well as I do that it's not even her due date yet." Miranda said putting her hand on her hips.
"Well, maybe before you go you can have a nice chat with our guests?" Goldie suggested as Miranda now recognized Rebecca and her mother.
"Oh, hello there. You're Alyssa's friend, right?" Miranda asked.
"Rebecca, or Becca, yes. This is my mom, and you're one of those ladies who can become a solar guardian, right?" Becca asked Miranda.
"Miranda, yes, and I'm the leader of the guardians. Whenever we get together that is. Which reminds me, sorry about the house, it was a little unavoidable with Dark Garden there." Miranda apologized.
Rebecca then gave the woman a good look over and really was astounded at what a beautiful woman Miranda was.
"You know, you're very beautiful, I bet you were really popular in school." Becca guessed as Chenoa and Miranda gave a little laugh at that guess.
"On that assumption, you would be very wrong, I was of the most shy girls you would ever meet. I may have looked pretty at your age, but I certainly didn't see it. I usually kept my hair down in front of my face so no one would pay much attention to me." Miranda explained.
"So....what changed then?"
"Simply put: my friends. It was thanks to them that I even gained the most confidence in myself. Nat, Rei, Spark, are some of my best friends and Amara, mi amor, is the most maravillosa esposa, I ever met in my life." Miranda said with a loving sigh as she gently touched her wedding ring.
"So, do you remember the first time you gained your confidence?" Rebecca asked.
"Hmm, if I had to guess, I think it was back during my last year of high school when I auditioned and surprisingly got the lead as Dorothy in 'The Wiz'." Miranda recalled.
"The Wiz?" Rebecca asked confused.
"Basically the African-American version of 'The Wizard of Oz'. You wouldn't believe how nervous I was." Miranda admitted.
***********************************************
High school senior Miranda Desoto was pacing back and forth behind the stage of her high school auditorium. She was dressed up as Dorothy Gale in an outfit her mother had picked out for her that was a mix of African-American and Mexican heritage.
"Contrólate a ti mismo Miranda, you're just performing in front of your friends, your school, and your family." Miranda said to herself nervously as she rubbed her hands together.
Miranda looked out into the crowd to see her friends in the seats, along with Miles sitting next to Chenoa, her parents, and another face she didn't expect to see.
"Abuela?!" Miranda exclaimed silently seeing her paternal grandmother sitting there with a smile on her face.
"Miranda, you okay?" Miranda heard her girlfriend Amara ask coming up from behind her.
"Amara, what are you doing here? Actually never mind that, what's my abuela doing here?" Miranda asked shocked.
"Your mom invited her, she thought she would like seeing her granddaughter in a lead role." Amara explained.
"Oh, mamá, ¿por qué tienes que hacer mi gran noche mucho más difícil?" Miranda said to herself aloud putting her hands on her face.
"Hey," Amara gently grabbed her girlfriend's hands and looked into her eyes. "We're all here for you you know. All of us are out there to support you." Amara said kissing her girlfriend on the lips.
"You know how to take me over the rainbow." Miranda said.
"Wrong version, but still sweet. I better go sit down. Remember, we're here for you." Amara assured her.
Amara left and Miranda took a deep breath. "I can do this, I know I can." Miranda said to herself as she went onto the stage.
*******************************************************
"So, what happened? How did the play go?" Becca asked Miranda interested in how the story ended.
"It went pretty well actually. After that, a lot more of the kids at school complimented me and began talking to me more. It was nice to get to know some more of those guys before the end of the school year." Miranda finished.
"I wish I had your confidence. I'm still a little shy about meeting people outside of my small family." Rebecca said.
"Oh, don't let it get to you. Confidence, like a lot of things comes with patience. One day you'll get there and have a good deal of friends." Miranda said.
"Alright, let's get you on home now Rebecca." Eliana said as she looked at a text she got from Lilith and was a little confused.
"Huh, looks like Lilith is getting in touch with an old friend of hers, Rebecca, do you know anyone by the name of Bomb-Pop?" Eliana asked as Rebecca's face suddenly went into a large grin and she squealed.
"Bomb-Pop? Ally and I get to meet Bomb-Pop?!" Becca squealed as her mother put her hand on her daughter's mouth.
"It's late, you and Alyssa can get excited about this during the day, okay? Not while we're driving home in the car." Eliana said as Rebecca nodded as the mother and daughter pair now headed back to their car with the women giving them both a fond wave goodbye.