“All right, you’re forgiven for the engagement party crack, but only because you brought cannoli. And don’t repeat the joke because that’s how rumors start and it’s the absolute last thing I need right now.”
Sammy laughed, bumped fists with Gabe, and moved on into the house.
Despite her reassurances to Gabe, Michelle had to admit that this seemed like more than just a family barbecue. Her dad and Gabe’s had removed part of the fence separating their backyards so various Rodriguez and Aguilar relatives could move between both houses with ease. Her sister and brother were both there with their spouses and kids. Gabe’s sister was there with her family, and it seemed like all of his aunts and uncles had shown up, along with some cousins. Ava and her mother were there, and Jasmine had brought Ashton and his son, Yadiel. Michelle’s Puerto Rican grandparents were there, along with her mom’s sister and her dad’s brother.
Large house parties weren’t uncommon in her family, but Sammy’s joke made Michelle wonder what exactly her mother had told everyone the occasion was. She wouldn’t put it past Valentina to claim this was a “pre-engagement” party, despite the number of times Michelle had told her she didn’t plan to ever get married.
Her suspicions grew as the night wore on and she and Gabe fielded increasingly invasive questions. The most common was “When’s the wedding?” but everyone also wanted to know if Gabe was moving back to New York. Titi Nita, Sammy and Ronnie’s mom, announced that she’d had a dream where Michelle moved to Los Angeles to take over Jasmine’s empty apartment. Jasmine made a mad dash out of the room when that one came up. And at least two people asked Michelle when she was going to get a “real job” again. She didn’t have the energy to fight back with more than “I already have a real job.”
When Michelle had quit corporate and made the decision to go freelance, no one had understood why she’d give up a secure position—with benefits!—to work from home. One of her great-aunts had even implied that Michelle—and her entire generation—were lazy, and Ava had dragged Michelle away before she told a viejita what she could do with her opinions about millennials.
After Sammy toasted Gabe with his beer and gave an elaborate speech welcoming him to the family, Ava pulled Michelle aside.
“This is getting out of hand,” Ava warned in a low voice. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Abuela’s already booked a priest.”
“I’m not getting married and even if I were, it certainly wouldn’t be in a church,” Michelle retorted. “Why do they all have to be so extra about everything?”
“Not everything,” Ava mused. “Just relationships.”
Michelle patted her cousin’s hand. A few of their relatives had acted like it wassuch a shamethat Ava had gotten divorced, like she was defective in some way. The number of times they’dheard “Ay, qué pena” that year had irritated Michelle to no end, but Ava had forbidden her from telling them off.
It was a recurring theme. Michelle wanted to curse someone out, and Ava talked her down.
Now, Ava was looking at her with unmasked concern. “How much longer are you two going to let this go on?”
It was a good question, but one Michelle didn’t have a clear answer to. Originally it had seemed like they were just going to enjoy this time together while he was here, but now, everyone else was involved too. Would they expect that she and Gabe would still be together every time he traveled here for something related to the gym? What did Gabe expect? What did he want?
Michelle knew what she wanted. She wanted more of him, however she could get him.
But it didn’t seem like he wanted that.
“He said he was going to buy his return ticket today.” Michelle worried her lower lip with her teeth. “Other than that... I don’t know.”
Since she hadn’t seen Gabe in a while, Michelle decided to go looking for him. This house party was exactly the kind of situation he’d been trying to avoid, and he’d already tried to make a run for it once. She wouldn’t put it past him to do it again.
AFTER NOT SEEINGany close relatives other than his sister for nearly a decade, Gabe was completely and totally overwhelmed.
His parents’ house was a little smaller than Michelle’s, and his mother had a fondness for oversized furniture and ceramic knickknacks. As a result, the Aguilar home was always a little tighter and more cramped than strictly necessary—probablywhy Gabe valued open space and a lack of clutter in his own habitat. Now, filled with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins who still lived in the tri-state area, the Aguilar house felt stuffed to the gills. No one had wanted to miss the return of the prodigal son, a phrase Gabe heard no less than four times over the course of the night.
Nikki drove down with Patrick and the kids, and Lucy and Oliver grabbed Gabe’s hands and dragged him up to his old bedroom as soon as they arrived. Upstairs, they peppered him with a million questions and asked if they could have his old toys, which, to Gabe’s surprise, were boxed up and still in his closet.
At the bedroom door, Nikki sent Gabe a disapproving grimace. “I can see our talk really sank in,” she murmured.
“I’m working on it,” he ground out in response, and then lost his breath when Oliver leaped onto his back and demanded a piggyback ride.
Later, after eating his fill of carne asada, Gabe was in the living room catching up with a couple of his cousins when Tío Marco barreled into the house like a freight train.
“Where is he?” Marco yelled, and when he spotted Gabe, he made a beeline for him and caught him up in a bone-crushing hug.
“Hey, Nino,” Gabe said, returning the hug.
“You finally came back, huh, Squirt?” His uncle clapped him hard on the back.
The old nickname drew a laugh from Gabe. Their bond, at least, was like no time had passed at all, but he was struck by how alike they looked. Marco could have been his older brother.
Gabe’s parents had been born in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and while most of their immediate families had also ended up in the New York–New Jersey area, Tío Marco had been Gabe’s closest adult support. He’d only been twenty-one when Gabe was born, and he’d taken his role as godfather seriously.
Marco eased back, but he kept an arm slung around Gabe’s shoulders. “Remember,” he said, leaning in so the relatives swarming the living room wouldn’t overhear, “if you need help dealing with him, just ask.”
