Trish De La Rosa comes down the stairs from doing her makeup. She glances in the mirror, making sure she still looks perfect. Her makeup looks natural, yet perfect. She is clad in a black sweater, a black and blue halter dress that reaches her ankles, black high heels, gold hoop earrings, a gold cross necklace, and her long, black hair is done in loose, fluffy waves. She can't believe it, her oldest child is having her Quinceañera tonight. She can't help but feel a strong sense of pride- she married her high school sweetheart, Jace Dillon, and they have been happily married for over thirteen years, and they had three beautiful children- Alanna, whose Quinceañera is tonight and who they had before they got married as Trish got pregnant with her at seventeen and had a few months after her eighteenth birthday, Gabe, their only son who will be twelve in two months, and Isabella, their six-year-old with a strong personality and determination. Jace and Trish raised Alanna and Gabe while working and going to college and graduate school- he is now a general contractor and she is now a health teacher at Marino High School, where Alanna attends school. They are an interracial couple, with Jace being caucasian and Trish being latina.
Raising their children, working and going to school online all at the same time was certainly a strenuous task, but they admire that they were able to achieve it, pay off previous debt that they owed and they have been debt free for years, and make money to pay rent and provide what the kids need. Jace's face lights up as he looks up from putting some of Alanna's presents on the table and he sees his wife all dressed up and hers lights up at the sight of her husband in his suit and tie, and his slicked back hair, which has a very good scent to it.
"You look very handsome,"
Trish says, beaming at her husband. He smiles at her and he says,
"Thank you, Trish. You look so beautiful."
Trish says,
"Aww, Jace, you're the sweetest thing ever. Your hair smells really nice."
"Thank you. It's the product. I got a haircut today and he applied product to it."
She says,
"It smells as good as it looks."
He says,
"Love you,"
And he kisses his wife on the cheek.
"Love you too, mi amor."
Trish asks,
"How are you doing with your first daughter growing up?"
He lightly chuckles.
"I'm coming to terms with it. It's hard but I can't change it so I just accepted it."
Trish asks,
"Me too. These past fifteen years have gone by in a blink. Are you going to cry when you do the father-daughter dance with her?"
Jace says,
"I think I might. She grew up too fast."
They companionably kiss as Jace picks up two small presents and Trish asks,
"Are those for Alanna?"
Jace says,
"Yeah. I took Gabe and Bella to Target the other night and I had them pick out something for her. I did have to remind them that they needed to pick something for her and not something for themselves, but I think they did good with picking out gifts for her."
"We've taught our kids well. What did they pick out for her?"
"Gabe got her an M&M candy bar, and Bella got her some chapstick. They bought them for her themselves. I'm so glad we encourage them to save the money they get."
"Me too. Especially because this Quinceanera is so expensive, but we have the fortune of my mom and dad helping pay for the party."
"Yeah, that helps. Remind me to invite your parents to dinner with us to thank them for that."
"That's a good idea."
With having a white father and latina mother, Alanna has had a few insecurities about her racial identity and has been somewhat confused about who she should identify closest with. She has felt "too white" to be latina and "too latina" to be white. There have been times when she has been out with Jace and people assume that she is adopted or that Trish had an affair which explains why she doesn't look much like him. She has gotten comments like, "You're only half-white/half-latina, you don't count!", "If you're latina, then why don't you ever speak spanish?" "You're pretty white for a latina!", "You're pretty for a mixed girl," and she has been called "exotic". People have even dared to ask Alanna which racial group she prefers to date. Having a Quinceañera is a big tradition in her mother's family, but Jace and Trish left the decision to have one in Alanna's hands. She chose to have a Quinceañera because she embraces her latina background that she shares with her mother, despite racially and culturally dehumanizing comments that have been made to her from time to time, and she has never let self-doubt blind her from love and kindness for other people. She has been looking forward to her Quinceañera for months and spent weeks planning it with her mother and her maternal grandmother and is looking forward to celebrating becoming an adult (at least in half her culture) with her family and friends.
Alanna's Quinceañera is probably the most expensive thing that Jace and Trish have had to pay for in a while- booking the Quinceañera, catering, buying the dress, shoes for the shoe ceremony and tiara, primping, buying Alanna's gifts, but everything is totally worth it. Trish's parents are helping them pay for the party, which helps too.
She shouts up the stairs,
"Kids! We have to leave in twenty minutes!"
As if on cue, Alanna walks down the stairs, in a white long-sleeved cardigan, a beautiful pink strapless dress with a jeweled top and sparkles, pale pink flats, diamond jewelry, and a diamond tiara. Her long, dark brown hair that is usually in tight curls that she has inherited from her mother, is flat with a waterfall braid and the ends of her hair are loosely curled. Her makeup looks perfect.
Jace says,
"Alanna, you look beautiful. I can't believe you're all grown up."
Alanna smiles at him and she says,
"Aww, Daddy! I might be grown up now, but I'm always going to be your little girl."
She gives him a warm hug and Jace plants a kiss on her cheek.
"You remind me so much of your mother when she had her Quinceañera. My tie matched her dress, I gave her flowers and a pair of diamond earrings and I danced with her."
Alanna coos,
"Aww."
Trish smiles at her husband and she puts her hand on his shoulder.
"Nearly twenty years later, that same girl is your wife."
The couple shares another kiss. Trish stares at her daughter in awe.
"You look beautiful, Alanna. Should I get a picture of you and your father?"
Alanna says,
"I think that would be a great idea."
Trish picks up her phone and takes a picture of her husband and her daughter, and he takes a picture of Alanna and Trish. Her mother asks,
"Are you siblings ready?"
Alanna ironically snickers.
"I made sure of it, Mom. I helped them, too."
Gabe comes down in a suit and tie and winks, clicking his tongue. Trish lightly chuckles at her eleven-year-old son and inhales through her nose.
"You're too young to flirt, but you're very charismatic. On another note, thank you for showering today, Gabriel."
Gabe rolls his eyes.
"You're welcome. You've been bugging me about it for three days."
"Hey, I can't control if you go through puberty. You need to be showering more."
"Yes, Mom."
She says to him.
"Is that a new haircut, Gabe?"
Gabe's dark brown hair is styled into a quiff on the top and the sides and back are shorter. It brings out his eyes. Trish normally cuts his hair herself and trims her daughters' hair as well or she'll take the girls to her salon, but Jace sometimes takes him to his barber, particularly because tonight is a special occasion and because he had decided to get his hair cut, he thought he might as well take Gabe with him and Trish was commenting on how he needed a haircut. Especially because Trish brought Alanna and Isabella to her salon, giving them the opportunity to get their hair and nails done and feel like princesses.
"Yeah. Dad brought me to the place where he gets his hair cut."
"You look very handsome and it smells nice, too."
"Thank you, Mom."
She says to Jace,
"He looks all grown up now."
Jace says,
"I know, doesn't he? It's incredible what my barber can do."
Gabe says,
"Thanks, Mom. Dad's haircut place is awesome. The best part of it is the complimentary hot towels. I was done with the haircut, right, and the guy was giving me the hot towel on my neck, and Dad was like, You look all grown up now, how old are you? I said, I'm eleven, and Dad was like, Are you sure? You look like you're at least sixteen."
Trish says,
"He's probably gonna be chasing off the girls with a stick."
She and Jace share yet again a cordial kiss on the lips. Jace tells Gabe,
"Come here, Gabe. Let me straighten up your tie."
Gabe comes over to Jace, and tells him,
"There you go. Much better. You're so handsome."
The eleven-year-old boy smiles.
"Thanks, Dad."
Trish calls up the stairs,
"Isabella, are you ready yet?"
Their youngest child, Isabella, comes down the stairs in a light pink sleeveless dress and a plastic Disney Princess tiara and a Jojo Siwa purse. Her long, wavy, dark brown hair is styled into a ballet bun.
Jace says to his youngest child,
"Aww, you look so precious!"
"Thank you, Daddy. I wanted to dress up like Alanna because she looks pretty."
Alanna says,
"Aww, Bella. Thank you."
Jace says,
"You know what, we have to get a picture of you kids right before your sister's big moment. Alanna and Bella, stand against the wall."
He takes his phone out from his pocket and takes a picture of his two daughters coordinating. Trish says,
"Now Gabe, you get in."
Jace snaps a picture of all three of them, standing against the wall. He puts his phone back into his pocket and Isabella reaches her arms out and he picks her up, putting her on one hip.
"You look so pretty, Alanna. I wanna have a Quinceañera, too."
Alanna says to her,
"Thank you, Bella. Maybe someday Mom will give you a Quinceañera, too."
Trish hands Alanna some of her gifts on the table.
"We have some time before Abuela and Abuelo arrive to come to get us. Alanna, why don't you open some of your presents?"
She says,
"Sure, Mom."
Jace says,
"They're from all of us, even your siblings got you something."
Isabella picks up the first gift and says,
"Open up this one!"
"OK."
She rips off the wrapping paper and finds a six pack of Cold Stone creamery flavored lip smackers.
"Aww, Bella, thank you."
"You're welcome."
She holds out her arms for a hug and she picks her little sister up and gives her a kiss on her temple. Gabe hands her his, and she unwraps it and finds an M&M Milk Chocolate candy bar.
"Thank you, Gabe."
Alanna and Gabe hug each other.
"Anytime. It was a way for me to apologize to you because I stole half the candy in your Christmas stocking last year and I ate it."
She chuckles at her brother ironically.
"That was totally uncool, but I'll forgive you for it because we're family."
Jace smirks and he hands her a pink watercolor bag and he says,
"This is one from Mom and I."
"I'm saving the bag because it's so pretty."
Alanna opens the bag, removing the pink tissue paper. In it is a white stuffed Llama wearing a flower crown, a plush Minnie Mouse, a 2 in 1 flat iron and curling iron, a naked eyeshadow palette, a pink lipstick, a red lipstick, a mascara, a watermelon bath bomb, a birthday cake bath bomb, a set of twelve face masks, a box of strawberry body yogurt, strawberry shower gel and strawberry face mist, Mandarin scented body wash, a bag of mini Ghirardelli chocolate with sea salt caramel, dark chocolate and milk chocolate caramel, and a bag of dark chocolate M&M's.
"Thank you, Mom and Dad,"
Alanna says, wiping a tear from her eye and beaming at her parents.
"Happy birthday, Princess Alanna,"
Jace says and she hugs him and she gets a kiss on her cheek from each of them.
"You and Dad are the best parents a girl could ever ask for."
Trish says,
"You're our daughter and we love you more than you could ever imagine."
Jace pipes in.
"We're so proud of the woman that you've become. You're beautiful on the outside, and even more on the inside. You're always putting other people first, you're always willing to help out with your siblings and around the house and you do academically fantastic in school."
Trish says,
"Another thing we love about you is that you're fifteen now, but you're still a little girl at heart."
Alanna says,
"Well, I have two younger siblings. It comes with the package."
Trish says,
"You still have a few more presents to open. Like this one from your Uncle Easton."
Jace hands her an envelope and a box covered in red polka dot wrapping paper. She opens the envelope, revealing a very pretty birthday card.
"The card is so pretty."
Jace asks,
"Can I see it?"
She shows him the card and Alanna reads,
"Dear Alanna, happy birthday. I can't believe you're fifteen now. It seems like only yesterday you were in your high chair throwing your Cheerios on the floor. You are beautiful on the outside and on the inside and I love you to the moon and back. Aunt Lily and I feel bad that we can't go to your birthday party but we will be there in spirit. We hope you have a fantastic Quinceañera.
Love, Uncle Easton, and Aunt Lily."
Jace grew up with three brothers, two older and one younger. Eric is the oldest, then there's Ryder, then Jace and the youngest one is Easton. Easton and his wife Lily are unfortunately unable to attend the Quinceañera due to that they have to visit Lily's father who is sick with kidney cancer. Jace hands her the box and a pair of safety scissors, opening the box to find a sweet spun sugar candle, rose scented bubble bath and five boxes of stress relieving tea.
"Aww, all my family knows what I love,"
she coos.
"You're going to be getting a lot more presents at your party. Trust me,"
Jace says. Trish hands her another box and envelope.
"This one's from Deja and Emily."
Deja used to babysit Alanna and Gabe when they were little. When Alanna was eight and Gabe was five, she got married and moved to Chicago, but her and her wife, Emily, still keep in touch with the family. Alanna has known Deja since she was eight months old and they have had a strong bond ever since. She opens the card and reads,
"Dear Alanna, Happy birthday. I seriously can't believe you are fifteen now. It seems like only yesterday you were that little cabbage of a baby with your big eyes and chubby cheeks. Emily and I miss you and need to come down to see you and your family sometime soon. We love you.
Love,
Deja and Emily."
and she opens the box and finds an ivory bathrobe from Victoria's Secret, a package of Pure Seduction fragrance mist and lotion from Victoria's Secret, a Pacifica Stress Rehab coconut face mask and a Pacifica Mattify Prep Pineapple and Hyaluronic Facial Mask.
Trish says,
"Wow, you're sure going to smell good and have flawless skin."
Alanna says,
"I'm a girl. I love skin care."
The doorbell rings and Trish goes to answer it and comes back with corsages for her and her daughters and boutonnieres for her husband and her son. Later on, the family is at the banquet hall, along with many of the other guests and Alanna is waiting backstage, while Trish and Jace are on the platform. Jace says,
"We want to thank every single one of our friends and family for attending Alanna's Quinceañera."
Trish says,
"Before our first daughter makes her big entrance, we'd like you all to see this slideshow that we put together of her."
They both take a seat with the guests, watching the slideshow, of pictures of Trish during her pregnancy with Alanna and pictures of her from when she was a newborn baby all the way until her teenage years to songs by Steven Curtis Chapman, one of Jace's favorite singers. Jace grew up as a Christian, so he always had a soft spot for contemporary Christian music. He was always the type of Christian who believed in unconditional love and acceptance. Honestly, it's emotional for both Trish and Jace to see, because it seemed like only yesterday, they were in the hospital, holding their baby girl for the first time and the very next day, she's a fifteen-year-old girl. They have loved watching her grow and develop and see her personality and her beautiful qualities emerge. When the slideshow ends, Jace says,
"Thank you, everybody. I hope you guys liked that slideshow. Now, introducing, our daughter, and the birthday girl, Alanna Mariela Faith Dillon!"
Alanna comes out through the wings, everyone in the audience clapping and Jace hands her the microphone. He whispers in her ear,
"Can I do the honors of the shoe ceremony?"
Alanna says,
"I'd love that."
She sits in the chair on the platform and lifts up the puffy skirt of her dress, revealing her flat shoes. Trish hands Jace a pair of pink high heels and he takes off the flats and puts on the high heels on her. She stands up from the chair, lifts up the skirt and spins in a circle, letting everyone see the high heels she is wearing as a symbol of womanhood. Her father asks her,
"Is there anything you'd like to say?"
"Oh yeah."
Jace hands her the microphone and says,
"Good evening, everyone, and thank you for attending my Quinceañera. I chose to have a Quinceañera because it helps me embrace the Mexican side of me. All of you know that I'm biracial. I'm white on my dad's side and latina on my mom's side. Growing up, I had a difficult time knowing who I was and where I belonged. I felt lost and insecure about myself because I felt too latina to be white and too white to be Latina. I had people make degrading comments, asking me ridiculous questions pertaining to Latino stereotypes and if I was alone with my dad, they would ask me if I was adopted because I don't look much like him. Putting on this pink Quinceañera dress for the first time made me gain a lot of confidence and made me feel beautiful. I have two middle names, one of them being Faith, that my dad gave me, which is what I have gained in myself. Having a Quinceañera is the best opportunity that I have ever been given because I'm Latina and I'm proud of it!"
Everyone watching is clapping and Trish says,
"That was beautiful, Lani."
Alanna embraces both her parents and hands the microphone back to Trish. Trish says,
"That speech was beautiful. Now it's time for the traditional father-daughter dance, feel free to join Alanna and her dad on the dance floor."
The DJ starts to play the song Rewrite the stars from The Greatest Showman, Alanna's favorite movie, and Jace offers Alanna his hand and asks her,
"Can I have this dance?"
She says,
"Of course."
Jace says,
"I picked this song for you. Like I picked a song for Mom at her Quinceañera."
Alanna puts one hand on Jace's shoulder and he holds her other hand and the two start slow dancing together.
"This is my favorite part. I always imagined dancing with you as I danced with your mother at her Quince. You look just like she did."
He twirls her around and she says,
"Aw, Daddy."
Alanna looks out of the corner of her eye to find her mother standing with her younger siblings and at either side of her, recording the dance with her phone. She looks back at her father, beaming at his daughter with tears in his eyes. She has some of her own, looking at him.
Alanna asks Jace,
"Aww, are you crying?"
He smiles and uses his dominant hand to wipe the tears from his eyes and he says,
"It's hard to maintain my composure when you've grown up this fast and are now a young woman. One thing that hasn't changed and never will change is how much I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you, too, Daddy."
Jace spins Alanna again and the two stand side by side, the two continue to dance and the song ends with him dipping her. He remembers Trish's Quinceañera so vividly, and one thing he never imagined was that he'd end up marrying his high school girlfriend and having children with her, especially having children when they were young. Jace is now thirty-four years of age and Trish is thirty-three, and the two are still going strong.
Alanna gives her father a tight bear hug and he gives her a kiss on her cheek. The two walk off of the dance floor, holding hands. Alanna goes to find her siblings and a few of her friends and Jace and Trish share another sweet kiss and Jace says,
"I was going to get a drink. Do you want anything?"
Trish says,
"I would love a mimosa."
He makes her a mimosa and grabs himself a bottle of Heineken and the two go out of the room to the Esplanade, looking at the view of the beautiful Miami Beach. Trish takes a sip of her mimosa and says,
"I thought it was so sweet how excited you were to dance with our daughter."
Jace says,
"Trish, I've been picturing it since she was born."
Trish takes another sip of her drink.
"You proved that a man doesn't have to be Latino to dance with his daughter on her Quinceañera."
He lightly chuckles.
"Because he doesn't."
*FLASHBACK- TRISH'S QUINCEANERA, 2001*
Jace is at Trish's Quinceañera, the two slow dancing with her arms on his shoulders and his hands on her hips to "I want it that way" by Backstreet Boys, her favorite music group. Jace picked it for her because he knows she loves Backstreet Boys. Trish crushes very hard on Jace and she can tell he likes her right back. He asked her in advance what color her dress was so he could match with her when he bought his suit and tie. If it's one thing that Jace was always taught by his parents, it's that girls love a gentleman.
"You look beautiful,"
He tells her.
"Thank you, you're so sweet. If you think I look beautiful, I think you look handsome,"
she says to him.
"Thank you."
"I'm so happy you came."
"I wouldn't miss your Quinceañera for the world."
"You're so sweet."
The slow song ends and Jace says to Trish,
"I'm going to get what I have for you."
He crosses to the DJ's turntable, with a bouquet of flowers and he takes the microphone asking Trish,
"Patricia Maria De La Rosa, will you be my girlfriend? I really like you and I think you're beautiful."
Trish takes the flowers from him and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, says,
"I thought you'd never ask, Jason Xavier Dillon!"
The two share a sweet kiss in front of Trish's entire family and friends. Later after the Quinceañera ends, Trish's mom says to her,
"What handsome gentleman Jace is."
Trish says,
"He really is. We've been hanging out for a few months now and I had been waiting what seemed like forever for him to ask me to be his girlfriend."
*FLASHBACK ENDS*
Trish puts her glass down and Jace puts his beer down and she says to him,
"I love you so much, Jace."
Jace says to her,
"I loved you then, I love you now and I'll love you even during the end of time. Because you and the kids were God's gifts to me."
They share a sweet, tender kiss.
Trish says,
"I'm not going to lie; I teared up at Alanna's speech after the shoe ceremony."
Jace smiles.
"I didn't make her middle name Faith by accident."
Alanna comes out with Gabe and Isabella, and Trish says,
"Hey, kids. Alanna, how are you enjoying your party?"
Alanna says,
"It's more than I hoped for. Mom, Dad, I don't know how to thank you guys for putting it all together."
She gives her parents each a hug. Isabella asks,
"Mommy, will I have a Quinceañera one day, too?"
Trish says,
"You want a Quinceañera, Bella? You'll get one, too."
She looks at Jace.
"Daddy, if I have a Quinceañera, will you dance with me?"
He says,
"Of course."
The six-year-old then asks,
"Daddy, can I go up?"
"Sure."
Jace bends down to Isabella's height and he picks her up, putting her on one hip.
"Another reason why I came out was because I think a family picture is in order."
Trish says,
"I love the idea of that."
Jace asks,
"Who's going to take it, though?"
Dez Wade, a close friend of Jace and Trish's says,
"I'll do it."
He picks out his phone from his pocket and says,
"OK, everyone get together. On three- one, two, three!"
He then smiles and starts to sniffle and wipe his eyes and Trish asks,
"Are you crying, you big ole softie?"
Dez says,
"You guys are just such a beautiful family."
Jace says,
"Aww, Dez!"
Dez says,
"If Alanna gets a boyfriend, Jace, make sure you keep an eye on him!"
Jace laughs.
"I'm sure I'll like him, though I hope he treats my first daughter well."
Isabella laughs.
"I have a boyfriend."
Jace says,
"What? You have a boyfriend already? You're only six!"
Isabella laughs.
"I'm kidding. I wanted to see the look on Daddy's face when I said that."
Alanna smiles in spite of her little sister and says,
"She's such a savage."
Gabe says,
"Bella, they got a full buffet. Let's go inside and eat!"
Bella says,
"OK."
They go back inside, Gabe holding Bella's hand. Dez gets another shot of Alanna with Jace and Trish, one with her and her mother, and another with her and her father. The couple can't even describe how proud they are of their oldest daughter.
So what did you guys think of that little one shot? I know Austin and Ally are the biggest ship on A&A but I just had to write a Trish/Jace one shot because I have been obsessed with them lately. If you like the story, make sure you favorite, follow and review! Love you, my readers!