Last Time
The pair spent the next hour sorting out the draws. There was five drawers and four were hers. So far they had 6 bin liners full to bursting point with thongs, bras, t-shirts and pyjama's. Gabriella had carefully packed away all of Troy's clothes in a box which she left open in case she had anything else to add to it later on.
They gave in at 5pm leaving them with two hours to get ready before they were due to be picked up for their Friday night dinner.
With Troy – No one's POV
That night Troy called his parents. His mum answered the phone.
"Hey hunny did you have a good flight?" Lesley asked cheerfully. She hated that her son was gone but glad to be rid of that stick insect that she detested so much.
"Actually mum there was a slight change of plan and I'm still here. I was wondering if maybe I could come round for dinner tonight?" He wanted his parents to meet Adrienne. Gabriella had said that he could do it alone if he wanted to and they would all get together when she was back. He felt tonight was the perfect time.
"Erm…you know you can. So what time will you and Crystal be here?"
"Actually that's why I need to see you guys. I'll come round at about 7.30. See you then bye!" he hung up the phone quickly. He wanted it to be a surprise and he knew that if he stayed on the line then there was no chance of that happening.
It was 6pm and all he had to do was get ready and then get his daughter ready. There was a one hour time difference between here and New York. They were ahead which meant that Gabriella should be just getting in the car now on her way to Yenlos with Terry. He decided that he would give her a call to tell her about today but before he had chance, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey it's me" Troy finally relaxed. This was the first time that he had heard her voice since he had left her at the airport this morning.
"Well it's nice that you finally remember me missus!" Troy joked. "Have you had a good day?"
"Yeah we sorted out all your clothes and their packed and were just going for dinner now. Thank you so much Troy for the clothes and the meal and I promise I'll enjoy myself. How's Adrienne?" Gabriella asked.
"You deserve it babe and she's fine and she's going to meet her grandparents tonight, haven't told them yet though."
"I hope they're not mad at me when they find out"
"Gab's they'll take one look at how beautiful she is and she'll take their breath away. Trust me it'll be ok. I have to get her ready now so I'll text you tonight ok?" Troy was eager to get off the phone to go to his daughter who was began to whimper through the baby monitor. She had just woken up from her nap.
"Ok, I love you Troy and give Adrienne a kiss for me" she replied.
"I will, love you too bye!"
Troy out the phone down and headed upstairs. He picked Addy up while making gentle cooing noises to try and soothe the now hysterical baby. He took her downstairs and fed her the milk that he had ready made for her. But she refused to take the bottle and kept crying. Troy was panic stricken. He didn't want to call Gabriella because she would just get worried. He had no idea what was wrong with her. He suddenly remembered that he and never been alone with a baby before and had no idea about what he needed to do. There was a knock at the door and he ran to answer it with the screaming child still in his arms. He opened it and in walked Chad.
"Look's like someone's having trouble." Chad laughed. "Taylor sent me to check on you, good job she did!"
"Chad you have to help me I have no idea why she's crying!" Troy was close to crying himself. "I've tried to feed her, burp her, cuddled her, and got her toys out nothing works!"
"Have you checked in case she needs changing?" Chad asked.
"What do you me…ohh!" Troy felt foolish. "I don't know how to do THAT!" he cried.
Chad was close to tears from laughing now, "Come on man I'll give you the crash course."
Chad carried Adrienne into the living room while Troy retrieved everything that Chad had told him to get. He came back one minute later and placed them on the floor beside Chad.
"Now Troy the first sign that she needs changing is the smell which I cannot understand how you didn't notice in the first place! And the second sign is that nothing else is working."
"Ok then now you've taken the piss can we move on?"
"Fine" Chad took Troy step by step through how to change her diaper. He then showed him how to bathe her and then put on a clean one.
"Thank Chad I didn't realize there was so much to do! Would you mind feeding while I have a shower, we're going to my parents tonight."
"No problem man…but next time you're going to feed her you need the milk heating until it's luke warm." Troy took a mental note of this and then raced upstairs to get ready.
He was in the shower for five minutes and he quickly rubbed his hair dry with a towel before throwing on black skinny fit jeans and a blue pinstripe shirt. He was one hot daddy. He ran downstairs and had his daughter thrust into his arms.
"Sorry Troy I've got to go Taylor's having another moan about something…good luck tonight!" Troy laughed at his friend. It was strange to see him to be so affectionate to his wife when he had been so different in high school. He had always been very flirtatious, Taylor had changed him and Troy was happy to admit that the new Chad was just as cool as the old one. Troy took the changed and fed Adrienne upstairs to get her ready. He put her into a pink skirt with cream tights, and a cream jumper with a teddy bear on it. He put on the coat that Gabriella insisted she wore whenever she was out in the chilly spring air. He added some small pink booties to her feet before wrapping her head in a cram hat. He few and thin curls tucked gently inside of it. He placed her in a car seat, put on his own jacket and shoes and then grabbed the 'baby bag' and car keys before heading outside with his daughter. He got her buckled into the back of Gabriella's car before getting into the front seat and setting off to his parents house.
With GabriellaThe car pulled up outside the restaurant. Terry got out before helping Gabriella out. The pair walked in and gave their names before being shown to the best table in the house. They sat and looked at the menu. However, Gabriella felt slightly uncomfortable and she wasn't sure why.
"Terry is it just me or do you feel like we're being watched?" Gabriella asked.
"No not really, why? Do you?" he asked.
"Yeah. I don't know what it is. It just feels like someone's keeping an eye on me from somewhere but I don't know where."
"Well if there is someone watching us then it's just because we're both so gorgeous!" terry joked.
"Speak for yourself! I still have a baby belly to get rid of!"
"Well your yummy for a mummy" Terry replied in a baby voice. "Come on let's just have a good time tonight. You're probably just nervous being back here"
They both continued with their night. They decided that this weekend they were going to have fun and not worry about work, diets, or home. They enjoyed a huge meal with a huge slab of chocolate fudge cake with hot sauce each. Gabriella paid with Troy's credit card. Terry offered Gabriella his arm as they prepared to walk out to Charley who was waiting in the car. They walked out the door and were suddenly blinded by flashing lights.
"Gabriella! Gabriella!"
"Over here Gabriella!"
"Whose your friend?!"
"Where's Troy?"
"Is it true that you've had a baby together!"
Photographers and reporters shouted questions at her. All Gabriella could do was here them, she was blinded by the lights and she only made it into the car because she and Terry suddenly had body guards either side of them. She was quickly pushed into the car. She turned to Terry and looked at him. He was so shocked he for once, had nothing to say.
"I told you someone was watching us" Gabriella pointed out.
"I know! Ohh my god your like Jay-Z and Beyoncé!" Gabriella began laughing loudly.
"Terry your kind of mad. What do you say we stay away from this craziness tonight and go home and watch a DVD?"
Terry agreed. He had always wanted the celebrity lifestyle but he had suddenly had a glimpse at it and he wasn't sure whether he really liked it now. They arrived back at the apartment and were met with more paparazzi.
"Has Troy left basketball for family?"
"Where is he?"
"What happened to Crystal?"
"Gabriella!"
More body guards were there to help them both back in to the apartment. Gabriella suddenly felt homesick. She left New York because this was the life that she didn't belong with. And she knew that. She went her own way and now it was all suddenly coming back to her and she wasn't sure how long she could handle it.
With TroyTroy pulled into his parent's driveway in Gabriella's car. Once he stopped the car, Adrienne started to become fussy. He got out, leaving her in the car as he headed over to the front door. He rang the door bell and his mum answered. She must have been stood behind the door because his hand had barely been removed from the doorbell before it swung open.
"Troy sweetie it's so good to see you here!"
"It's good to see you too mum!" Troy said as he tried to release the grip that his mother had on him.
"I thought you were bringing someone dear?" His mum asked.
"I have she's in the car." Troy smirked at his mother's confusion. Troy walked over to car and stopped at the back door, covering his window with his body. "Mum I would like you to meet Adrienne" he opened the door, "My daughter."
Lesley Bolton stood on the spot staring at the angel of a baby that sat before her.
"Troy is she really yours?" His mum asked shocked.
"Yes mum she is 100 my daughter." Troy grinned proudly as he picked his daughter out the car.
"Jack! Come here now!" Lesley shouted to her husband.
"What is it Les…well then who's this little cutie?" Jack cooed over the baby who was sat in the car seat that Lesley was now holding.
"She's our grand daughter Jack!" Mrs. Bolton said excitedly. The two new grandparents stood excitedly around their new grand daughter. Troy took in her beanbag and 'baby bag' before coming out and ushering his parents into the house. Once inside the house he managed to get the car seat off his mother and take out his 3 week old daughter and took off her hat, coot and boots. He then passed her back to his mum who watched in amazement.
"Troy how the heck do you have a daughter?" His dad asked him.
"Well I don't think you really need me to explain that one," Troy joked.
"Ha ha very funny. Whose her mother?" Jack asked.
"Well I went to Chad's wedding and met up with an old friend and we got talking, got close and nine months later here she is." He looked at his parents whose look was egging him on to say more. "Her mum is Gabriella Montez, remember my old high school girlfriend."
"Ohh my! No wonder she's so beautiful. Those curls looked so familiar, and these beautiful blue eyes! There's no mistaking that she's yours my darling boy!"
"Hey quit hogging the baby I want a go!" Jack pouted. Troy laughed as his parents switched.
The three adults sat for a long time talking about Adrienne and Gabriella. His mum insisted that she comes round as soon as possible. Troy allowed his mum to feed and change his little girl and let his father coo at her until he was blue in the face. By nine o'clock she was fast asleep. Mrs. Bolton hadn't had time to prepare a meal so instead they ordered a Chinese and wondered how Gabriella was doing in New York.
Mrs. Bolton's POVI couldn't believe it when Troy told me I was a grandmother. Well I hadn't believed him the first time but then again technically I wasn't. But now I had the most beautiful granddaughter in the entire world, and her mother was a lovely young woman who I had gotten on well with tremendously in the past. I couldn't wait to see her again and I was surprised that we hadn't bumped into each other considering the amount of time she had actually been living and working less than a twenty minute drive away. I had a feeling Troy wanted to tell us something else but knowing him he would leave it until the last minute then avoid us for weeks! I really hoped that his girls would bring out the best in him and hopefully they would be his life from now on. All a mother really wants is for her child to be happy and with Gabriella and Addy that was almost definitely going to happen.
Later that day – No one's POVAfter Troy and his parents had consumed their take away and cleaned up, Troy decided it was time to go. However, he had one final thing that he needed to say and it would be directed more towards his father then his mother.
"Erm dad? There's something else that I need to tell you." Troy started.
"What is it son?" his mother said gently. But with a undertone which Troy thought meant that she knew what he was going to say, because she had been expecting it for a very long time.
"Since now there's Gabriella and Adrienne I don't want them to have to have bodyguards to go shopping and stuff like that so we're staying here in Albuquerque for good." Troy looked up and met his father's gaze. "Which means I've quit playing professional basketball…for good."
Jack sat slowly down in the armchair and clasped his hands between his legs. "Troy…you've finally grown up m'boy. I am so proud of you." He stood up and hugged his son.
Troy expected yelling, cursing, even being disowned by his father. Because Jack Bolton had dedicated his entire life into getting his son into professional basketball by making sure that he was the best that he could possibly be at all times. And giving it all up now would appear that all those practice sessions were a waste of time.
"So are you getting another job anytime soon?" His mother asked. She didn't like the idea of him living off Gabriella's earnings.
"Actually I've been offered a coaching job at East High to start in April after the Easter break. But don't tell Gabi! I'm going to surprise her because that's her first day back at work as well." Troy beamed as both parents congratulated him again. He finally managed to break free from his mothers grasp and get the two of them buckled into the car. The drive home was peaceful and the sounds that could be heard was the humming of the engine and the gentle snoring coming from the sleeping infant in the back seat.
The Next Day with Gabriella – No one's POV
The pair woke early that morning and got ready as fast as possible. Today was the shopping day that they had both been up late talking about. The car would be arriving in less than three hours and Gabriella wanted to do some more packing before it got there. She got ready in her favorite light blue skinny fit jeans and a red silk kimono that was tight around the bottom, which rested on her waist. She let her short and sassy curls roam freely around her face and added minimal make up. She even decided that today was a heel day and got her gold heels ready next to her bag to put on. She went into the living room with some boxes and started packing up things that she knew Troy would want. She packed all the CD's and DVD's and then managed to get all of his family pictures into one big box. She found his photo albums and laid them at the bottom of the next box. She found a draw in the kitchen that had a lot of strange things in it such as receipts, an old wallet, bouncy balls, a duck that squeaked…and then something at the back caught her eye. It was a blue velvet box. It looked so familiar but she couldn't seem to work out where it was from. She opened it gently revealing the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen in her whole entire life. (Picture in Profile)
She picked it out of the box and admired it. It was the ring that Troy had given her all those years ago when they had been engaged. He couldn't believe that he still had it. She put it her purse for safekeeping. This ring obviously meant a lot to Troy and he would more that likely want it back. But she couldn't stop thinking about whether or not it would once again sit upon her ring finger someday.
Gabriella and Terry arrived back at the apartment late last night. They had gone shopping all day and then had even had the chance to go and see Hairspray on Broadway. After they grabbed a Chinese and brought it back with them to eat in their pajamas. Terry had bought himself some clothes; new shoes and he even decided to spoil himself with some Chanel sunglasses that he had been scouring for on ebay for weeks on end. Gabriella had been told to enjoy herself and spoil herself so she did just that. She bought herself some bootleg jeans and a puffy white shirt that tucked in and still looked good. She also got some skinny fit jeans, a long grey cardigan, gold pointed pumps and then topped off her new outfit with some stylish gold costume jewellery. She also bought some new lingerie, however that gift was more for Troy than her self. She paid out $60 for some brown boots as well, just because. She then went on to buy baby things. She got her daughter some teddy bears, some little baby shoes, and some cute little day outfits, sleep suits, and she also found two adorable party dresses an decided that they could come in handy at family barbeques that the guys had always thrown. Then it was Troy's turn. She didn't want to leave the city without having something to bring back to him. She ended up with some shirts, t-shirts and jeans for Troy; they all came to $120. But it didn't seem like enough to her. Then she remembered something. The car. Troy had a brand new Audi sitting in the garage below the apartment. He had never said what he wanted doing with it and as far as she knew the apartment was now up for sale. She got on the phone with the shipping company and by the time they arrived home that night, the car was gone, along with everything else on its way home to Troy.
The next day Terry and Gabriella woke with just enough time to throw on some old clothes and head out for their final hours in the city. Their flight was at seven o'clock that night which meant that they needed to be at the airport by four. It was now eight in the morning and they were heading for one of the best spas in the US. They got massages, facials, body scrubs, got to lounge about in hot tubs and saunas. It was heaven. They came out at one in the afternoon feeling refreshed, relaxed and ready for home. They were on their way back to get changed and pack when Terry saw it. Gucci. It was right across the road and before she could refuse a frantic Terry was dragging Gabriella through traffic as quickly as possible. They walked through the double doors panting like bull mastiffs.
The pair looked around and then he saw it. The perfect Gucci shirt that he had admired some many times on his favourite celebrities. He took it to the till.
"Hi, can you tell me how much this shirt is please?" he asked politely.
"That particular style costs $565." The woman was pleasant enough on the outside but seemed snobbish and rude on the inside. Gabriella's guess was that the man behind her was probably her boss. Terry went to return the shirt, Gabriella felt sorry for him.
"Here Terry, consider it a gift from me and Troy." Gabriella said taking the shirt from him and fishing around in her purse for Troy's credit card.
"You would do that for me Gab's?" He looked like he was about to cry. "Oh my gosh I love you soo much!" he hugged her tightly as she handed over the credit card.
The man stood at the back seemed to have suddenly come to life as he edged closer to the till. "Excuse me Miss? You wouldn't happen to be Gabriella Montez by any chance?" he asked her hopefully?
"Yeah that's me…why ?"
"Mr. Bolton had something pre ordered and it's here now for you to collect. It's all been paid for, allow me to go and get it." He wandered off while the sales assistant finished the transaction. "Here you are Miss. Please send out regards to Mr. Bolton, his customer loyalty is highly valued in this company."
Gabriella thanked the man as she took the package with her and got some salads to go with Terry. They got back and she threw down all her things and ripped open the white box. Inside was a grey Gucci travel bag. It was like an oversized purse except it also had handles. Inside was another note.
Gabi,
Will be waiting for you at the airport tonight.
All my love,
Troy
X
Gabriella sat back and smiled to herself. Maybe she could get used to this new Troy. After all, he had good taste in handbags!
It was 8.45pm, local time in Albuquerque when Gabriella and Terry were heading out of the arrivals gate. Terry had to say goodbye and run because he had a meeting to go to and couldn't be late. Gabriella came out of the door with a swarm of other people. She looked around and saw no familiar faces. She scanned again before her eyes met a pink bundle that she recognized as her own. The bundle saw Gabriella and the electric blue eyes lit up. But the arms that were holding Adrienne were not those of Troy. It was a woman. Gabriella couldn't make out who she was and she didn't know whether to panic or be thankful that someone was here to meet her. The woman turned and their eyes met. She couldn't believe who she saw.
"Ohh my god!!"
