Page 47 of Counting the Stars
“What?”
“I’m not giving up on you.”
24
Alex
“Okay, we’ve got Twizzlers, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Blow Pops, three different flavors of potato chips, trail mix, mini donuts, Snoballs…” Gabby giddily pokes through a large reusable shopping bag. Today, we’re driving out to my parents’ anniversary dinner. I told her to grab some snacks for the road while I got gas for our trip, but I think she may have gone overboard.
“Snoballs?”
“What? You’ve never heard of them? They’re little chocolate cakes that have some sort of cream in the middle. Then they’re topped with marshmallow and covered in coconut.”
“Holy sugar rush! You’re going to put us in diabetic comas before we hit the interstate!”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” She brushes me off. “We’ll spread this out over the course of the trip going there and then stock up again on the way back.”
“You sound like you have this all planned out.” I’m happy she’s excited about this little adventureof ours. It feels like we’ve been getting even closer ever since that epic kiss at The Local. We’ve run into each other several times this week and she has kissed me every single time. This whole letting-her-call-the-shots thing has turned out to be pretty sexy. It wasn’t that I had planned it that way, but all in all, I love watching her confidence grow. I have no doubt that the drive will be the best part of this trip. Hopefully, the family dynamic will go smoothly, but typically that’s never the case. One thing is for sure. Having Gabby with me will definitely make it more manageable.
“That’s because I do. Seriously, Alex, you’re acting like you’ve never been on a road trip before.” I pull out of the gas station while she rummages around in her bag of goodies.
“I’ve been on road trips before, and I’ve bought snacks for the occasion. But I didn’t expect you to buy out the entire convenience store.”
“Then you shouldn’t have left me unsupervised,” she says with a piece of licorice dangling from her mouth. Chuckling, I pull it out and start snacking on it.
“Okay, now give me the rundown on your family.” She settles back in her seat with a bag of trail mix.
I let out a loud sigh. I’ve been putting off telling Gabby about my family, but there’s no time like the present. While she knows some generic information, I’ve purposely left out the nitty-gritty details—the stuff I tell no one. But since she’ll be there with me, meeting everyone, she needs to be prepared. “Well, you’re already aware of who my mom and dad are. My mom’s name is Elena and she’s from a town right outside of Mexico City, and my dad, Bob, is from Vancouver. The British Columbia Vancouver, not the one in Washington.”
“Gee. You don’t say,” she deadpans.
“You’d be amazed at how many people confuse the two. Anyway, you know about their job backgrounds,so I’ll skip to my siblings. The oldest is Victoria. She’s a production assistant at the news station where my parents work. She’s married to Seamus, who’s from Ireland. They have five kids. Next comes Roberto.”
“As in the Spanish version of your dad’s name?” Gabby laughs. “It’s still hilarious to think that your dad’s name is Bob Jones.”
“It’s the closest my dad could come to getting a junior.” I shrug. “Roberto does the lighting for the TV station. He’s married to Roberta and they have one son…Robert.”
“Stop!” Gabby giggles, nearly choking on her trail mix. “You’re making this up.”
“Oh, trust me. I wish I were.” I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead. I know if I turn to look at her, I’ll start laughing too. What’s even worse is that my family doesn’t understand why their names are so funny. Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only family member with a sense of humor, which is another reason why I feel like an outsider.
“Okay. Okay.” She tries to take a few calming breaths. “Who’s next?”
“Lilliana.” I can’t help but smile at her name. She is, by far, my favorite sibling and I am so eager to introduce her to Gabby. “She’s the one who’s the psychologist. She’s single and doesn’t have any kids.”
“Aww,” Gabby coos. “I guess you’re close to her?”
“Yeah. I mean, if there’s any sibling I wish I lived near, it’s Lilli. We share the same birthday, only ten years apart.”
“Wow! Was she mad to share her birthday with her little brother?”
“Not at all. According to my parents, she was so excited for me to be born. She called me her birthday gift. It was like I was her baby. She carried me all over the place, fed me, and playedwith me. She was the only one who could get me to finish my green beans.” I shudder.
“You hate green beans.”
“I did back then and I still do, but for some reason, if Lilli asked me to eat them, I’d gobble them up like they were candy. I swear, my sister had some sort of magical powers.”
“Is Lilli the reason you always go back home for your birthday?”