Page 67 of A Lot Like Adiós
“It was a widely held belief among my mom and her siblings that quinceañeras and Sweet Sixteens were a waste of money, especially since all the girl cousins were such brats at that age. Except Ava, of course. Ava was perfect.”
“Nikki had one. Our entire family was there, even people I’d never met before. Whose birthday is it?”
“My cousin Ronnie’s stepdaughter.”
He squinted, like he was trying to remember. “Have I met Ronnie?”
“A long time ago,” Michelle replied. “Ronnie’s half Jamaican, but her husband is Mexican, and this is his daughter’s fifteenthbirthday. Ronnie loves being the center of attention, and she’s starting an event planning business, so this is her chance to shine. It’ll drive her nuts if I show up with you, because everyone will be talking about us.”
“Fuck.” Gabe rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m supposed to be leaving tomorrow.”
“What did you think would happen if you told your dad we were together?” Michelle asked gently. She didn’t question why he hadn’t told his father about the gym. They could dig into that later.
“I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. Let’s get through dinner with my parents tonight. Then I’ll think about the quince and my return ticket.”
“Fair enough. We’ll consider it a dress rehearsal, and then decide if we want to go through with opening night.”
“Deal.”
Fifteen years ago
Windows Messenger Chat Transcript
Celestial Destiny: Episode 5 Planning Session
Michelle:
AHHHHHH
Gabe:
Are we famous?
Michelle:
Maybe Internet famous.
Gabe:
At least fandom famous.
Michelle:
I don’t think that counts.
Gabe:
Probably not, but for two teenagers in the Bronx, this is pretty big.
Michelle:
I can’t believe Celestial Destiny has so many views.
Gabe:
I thought we’d be lucky if a dozen people read it.
Michelle:
