Chapter 11
Gage
I can hear the sounds of laughter and boisterous conversation as soon as I get out of the car.
Celeste follows me to the side of the driveway at my dad’s where we walk right in through the open back gate.
My dad is getting the grill ready on the concrete slab patio, while Wayne and Braden square off against Gina and Ava in a game of corn hole on the grass.
As soon as they see me though, the kids abandon the game and come running toward me.
I quickly put the container of cookies I’m carrying onto the nearby table.
“Uncle Gage,” Ava shrieks, and I catch her mid run to swing her around in a hug.
“Hi, sweetheart. Having fun?” I ask, putting her down as I smile at her.
She’s such a great kid. Her grades are always excellent, she is obsessed with dancing and doing theater, and has the biggest heart.
At ten years old, she’s cooler than I could ever hope to be.
Gina also basically said copy and paste me when Ava came along.
They’re twins with their long, wavy, dark hair, same eyes, same tall and lanky build, because I swear this kid has grown a foot in the couple of weeks since I last saw her.
“Dad and Braden are winning, but me and mom can still make a comeback,” she says with a little jut to her lip.
“Guess what? No matter who wins, we all get to eat together after, and Papa will sneak you extra dessert,” I tell her conspiratorially. She giggles.
“I want extra dessert, too,” Braden whispers from where he’s come to lean against my arm.
I give him a big side hug and ruffle his hair.
“How you doing, little man? Of course you’ll get extra dessert, too.
You know Papa and I spoil you guys.” Braden is a jokester who will do anything to make people laugh, but he also easily gets shy.
Where Ava is more serious and competitive, he’s a typical seven year old who just wants to mess around.
He is more of a mix of my family and Gina’s, but he has the Cabrera eyes and hair.
I look at Celeste, and she’s already watching me with a mix of amusement, and what I might call affection if I didn’t know any better.
“Celeste, this is Ava and Braden. Guys, this is my friend Celeste.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Celeste tells them with a smile.
“Oh, thank fuck there’s another adult woman here to talk to,” I hear as Gina charges toward us. I glance sidelong at Celeste as if to say, “I told ya so,” and her lips twitch.
“Swear jar, Mom,” Ava says primly.
“There’s no swear jar at Papa’s sweetie, so I get free rein here,” Gina retorts before hugging Celeste.
“It’s good to see you again,” Gina tells her warmly while rocking her back and forth in her arms.
“It’s great to see you, too,” Celeste replies, looking a little overwhelmed but pleased. Gina is known for her bear hugs, and I’m not sure Celeste is prepared.
“What am I, chopped liver? No love for your brother-in-law?” I tease her.
“Gage, please, the women are speaking,” she says, playfully shoving her palm in my face to shut me up before giving me a hug, too.
Then Wayne and my dad amble over to say their hellos.
They offer us drinks, so I grab a beer and Celeste grabs a rosé wine cooler.
The smell of grilled burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and vegetables permeates the yard, and my dad takes a headcount of who wants what.
Wayne and I go to help him flip everything and get it all onto serving platters, which he of course grumbles about.
Once we’ve all sat down with our full plates, there’s a comfortable silence while we eat our delicious dinners.
The kids squabble a little when Braden tries to steal Ava’s hot dog since now he wants one instead of his burger.
“You asked for a burger, and we’re not wasting it,” Wayne tells him firmly.
“If you finish it and are still hungry, you can have a hot dog, got it?” Braden lets out a whine but eats his burger.
My eyes constantly veer toward Celeste sitting next to me since she’s quiet.
Her face is unreadable as she eats her cheeseburger, zucchini, and bean salad, simply observing everything avidly like it’s a new TV show she can’t stop watching.
I wonder if she’s ever even had a big family cookout like this before.
She’s had to have at least once or twice, right?
Even with my mother gone, I’ve never felt a lack of family time.
Dad and Wayne have always been my anchors, and now Gina and the kids as well.
There’s also my dad’s younger sister Carmen, her husband Phillip, and my cousin Diana who come around fairly often.
I know Celeste grew up in the foster care system and is close to Tania, but did any of her foster parents take good care of her?
Did they show her love? Was she ever abused?
I shudder at the thought, and Celeste notices, looking at me questioningly.
I give her a reassuring smile and bump her shoulder.
“So how long have you two been seeing each other?” Gina asks with a delighted grin as her eyes dart between us.
We’ve come prepared to tell a little of our back story, texting back and forth over the past couple of days.
Coming as close to the truth as possible is the game plan so that things don’t get confused.
“It’s been a casual thing for almost two months now, but we’ve become very serious recently,” I say, which is semi-true.
It has been almost two months now since she first walked into the bar and made me trip over myself.
To drive the point home, I wrap an arm around her and look at her adoringly.
It’s not exactly a hardship with her sun-kissed freckles, shiny hair, and bright smile beaming back at me.
We’re naturals at faking this relationship, I can’t help but think smugly.
“Are you going to become our Auntie, Celeste?” Ava’s question has Gina, Celeste, and me almost choking.
“Baby, I always appreciate you asking questions, but it’s a little soon to ask that, ok?
Celeste has barely had time to breathe here, let alone think about becoming your Auntie.
That means getting married like me and dad are.
It’s a big deal,” Gina gently explains to her with a kiss to the top of her head.
“Fine,” Ava huffs. “I’m sorry if I was too nosy, Celeste,” she goes on, looking at the woman next to me with big, worried eyes.
“No worries, angel. Who knows what’ll happen, right?” We exchange a look, because this is the perfect opening. Having dinner with everyone tonight gives us the opportunity to lay the foundation of us getting married soon.
“We have actually talked about getting married soon,” I say casually. “We want something super simple in a couple of weeks, just a few people at the courthouse. Then maybe down the road, we’ll have a big party to properly celebrate. You all know I’m not big into weddings, and neither is Celeste.”
It’s that record scratching moment when everything freezes. Then my family all starts to talk over each other at once. Braden makes a face and says girls are gross, making his sister glare at him.
“Girls are not gross, Braden,” she says with the fiercest scowl that sweet girl is capable of.
Gina is clapping with her huge smile and saying congratulations.
Wayne’s flabbers are gasted, looking at me with a mix of shock and careful happiness as he releases a drawn out, “wow,” before corralling the kids so they don’t start brawling.
Meanwhile, my dad is looking between us with an appraising, shrewd gaze while he murmurs how great it is that we’re getting that serious.
It’s the same look I’ve seen hundreds of times when he’s assessing whether something new is going to be good for the bar.
He doesn’t say a word that this conveniently comes on the heels of his requirement, but I am far from believing that he’s not at all suspicious.
We’ll cross that bridge if or when we need to, and I focus on Celeste.
My hand moves from around her shoulders to idly play with her ponytail.
The silky strands cascade through my fingers like a waterfall, and I’m momentarily transfixed.
I’m watching her closely enough, wanting to make sure what I’m doing is ok, that I notice her breath hitch, but her smile never wavers.
She leans in a little closer to me, patting my thigh.
“It might be fast, but Gage has made me so happy in such a short amount of time,” Celeste says to the group at large.
Oh, she’s good. She’s really good. I’m a little sold, and I know she’s acting.
Both Gina and Ava are now sporting twin heart eyes, Wayne is smiling, and even my dad’s face goes completely soft at her declaration.
Braden still looks disgusted, but what can I expect of a seven year old.
“I’m happy for you both,” my dad says genuinely.
“Thanks, Dad,” I say earnestly. “We’ll keep you all posted on when the wedding will be and all of the details.
” Everyone murmurs their assent and we keep on eating.
My family has learned to roll with the punches over the years, I knew sharing a big life event like this would go over without any drama or big fuss.
I reach down and squeeze Celeste’s hand that’s still on my thigh and shoot her a reassuring, thankful smile.
She squeezes back, and my heart imitates it with a pinch of its own in my chest. We already feel like partners in this, and it’s effortless.
I just hope I can get her on my insurance quickly and hold up my end of the bargain.
After dessert, my dad sits and relaxes with the kids watching cartoons while us adults quickly clean up.
It’s not long before we take forever to say goodbye, do three rounds of hugs, and promise to have family dinner again as soon as possible.
Gina and Celeste exchange numbers so that they can text.