Gordo went to the airport to pick up Lizzie and Miranda. They'd gone to Mexico for spring break with some of Miranda's relatives. Gordo'd been invited, but he'd gotten a chance to work on a movie, so he stayed in Los Angeles.
He was walking along the corridors, looking around for a pair of faces he'd known since he was little, and heard them before he saw them.
"Gordo!"
Almost simultaneously, Gordo was sandwiched in a three-way hug and kissed on each cheek.
"Wow! Thanks!" He'd been taken by surprise, and it caused him to stutter a bit. Still in the hug, he looked at each girl. "I'm glad you guys landed safely. I missed you."
"We missed you, too, Gordo," Lizzie said as they broke apart from the hug.
"Let's go get our bags," Miranda said. They walked towards baggage claim three abreast, Gordo in the middle.
"So how was that movie?" Miranda continued.
"It was a good experience. It was an indie film, low-budget, so people pitched in. I did a lot of gofer stuff, mostly. I was in a crowd scene or two. So what about Mexico?"
"The beach was great! We were in the coolest beach house," Lizzie said. She'd gotten a little color from the sun. Fair-skinned as she was, she never got very dark.
"And my relatives all loved Lizzie. Carlos says hi, by the way," Miranda said. Her skin was naturally darker than Lizzie's, thanks to her Mexican heritage with a Filipino ancestor in there somewhere. She was honey-golden brown after a week in Mexico.
"Really? I'm a little surprised he remembers me," Gordo said. He, Lizzie, and Miranda had teamed up with Miranda's cousin Carlos on a Spanish-language game show in 8th grade.
"Are you kidding?" Miranda said. "He was telling stories about El Oro de Montezuma all the time, especially after someone recognized Lizzie from the show."
"Someone remembered you from that show? It's been a few years," Gordo said.
"I think it's been rerun or shown on one of those TV blooper shows," Lizzie replied. "Maybe it's my blond hair. It's more conspicuous there."