Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!!!!
January 4th, 2028 2:00 pm Albuquerque
I walked into the semi crowded restaurant and sat down at the bar. My eyes wandered around the restaurant, trying to burn me a memory of my past. I smiled as I heard a familiar laugh from beside me.
"You make me laugh, Tess Alexis." I heard Kelsi tell me as I turned and looked at her.
"And why do I make you laugh?" I asked her grinning my father's smile.
"You just do. You have eagerness just like Troy did. You are curious and want to know everything you possibly can." Kelsi pointed out to me.
"I'll take that as a compliment." I said shaking my head a little.
"It was supposed to be. When are you leaving?" Kelsi asked me as I smiled at her.
"Tomorrow afternoon. My plane takes off at 4." I replied as I looked around the place.
"We're all sad you're going home. You'll keep in touch won't you?" Kelsi asked me.
"If you want me to, then I will. I promised my parents I would come back no matter what I found out. I'm still theirs for a little while." I told her.
"Even if you don't have all the answers?" Kelsi asked me as I cocked my head at her.
"What do you mean?" I asked her as her eyes went wide.
"I'm sure everyone has told you stories about your parents. Some were probably good ones others were scary. But your parents were average people. There was nothing special about them. They just wanted to be an average boy and girl who found their soul mates early in life and were madly in love with each other." Kelsi told me.
"That's what everyone has been telling me. So what don't I know about my parents?" I asked my parents' good friend, wondering what could have been wrong with my parents.
"Your parents were having money problems. When you were born, they were still in college. Troy wanted to be a Pediatrician while Gabi wanted to be a teacher. It was getting so bad that they both wanted to drop out of college, move back to Albuquerque to raise you." Kelsi told me.
"Another reason why they gave me up?" I asked her as she smiled sympathy at me.
"One of many. Troy's illness was the main one but they wanted you to have every opportunity possible. They both knew they couldn't give you the life you deserved. They both had great lives with great parents yet they were poor college students who had a child." Kelsi told me.
"Every time someone tells me something about my parents, I end up learning something new. I think I know my parents but then it ends up surprising me." I told her.
"Humans are complicated people; you think you know someone until you talk to several people and you get several different stories." Kelsi told me.
"Thanks Kelsi. I appreciate everything you've told me." I told her as she smiled at me.
"It's not a problem, Tess. You'll be a joy to have around this old town. I forgot how much fun it was to have Troy and Gabi around." Kelsi told me.
"Can you tell me some things about Gabi? You all have been talking about Troy and not too much about Gabi." I told her.
"We figured you would be more interested in Troy since he's not around anymore. What can I say about Gabi? She lost her soul mate when Troy died. She was heartbroken and stayed that way for 10 years after Troy died. She lost you and Troy within a month of each other. In her eyes, her life was over." Kelsi told me.
"The guys told me that you all tried to get me back. Didn't Gabi want me back?" I asked Kelsi.
"She couldn't stand looking at you because you had Troy's smile and his eyes. She told us after your adoptive parents denied your return that she couldn't stand looking at you because of those two features. Gabi would spend time getting lost in your dad's eyes. His eyes held hope, love, and desire; everything Gabi wanted in life." Kelsi told me.
"I just wished that I got to spend time with the two of them." I told her as she smiled.
"I wished you did too. They were a lot of fun to be around and they always had a smile on their faces. They made you believe that true love was out there." Kelsi told me as I heard the bell on the door ring.
"Hey Jas what's in your hands?" Kelsi asked noticing her husband's full hands.
"I got something that Tess requested." Jason said coming over to stand next to us.
"What did I request?" I asked looking into the small box that Jason carried in.
I lifted the flap and peered inside. There were about 10 DVD cases with various writing on each.
"What are these?" I said picking up a couple and looking at the writing.
"They are tapes that we taped of Troy back in high school and early college. Kristin told me that you asked about them." Jason told me.
"Thanks. I'll have to watch these." I told him as he smiled at me.
"Actually these you can take back with you. I had copies made for you." Jason told me.
"Thank you. It's going to take time before I watch these." I admitted to him.
"I figured making copies for you would be better. So what are the two of you talking about?" Jason told me smiling.
"We're just shooting the breeze." Kelsi told her husband as I smiled at the two.
"So if you don't mind me asking, how long have you two been married?" I asked looking between Kelsi and Jason.
"We've been married for 19 years; we married December 7th, 2009 just before Troy died. Your mom was pregnant with you when we married." Jason told me.
"That's cool. What about everyone else?" I asked looking between the two.
"They've been married between 15 and 17 years. Kelsi and I were the only ones that your dad got to see marry." Jason told me.
"If Troy didn't die, how long would they have been married for?" I asked the two.
"Well we graduated in 2007 and they got married June 21st, 2007. So they would have been married for 21 years." Kelsi said doing the math.
"Wow that's pretty cool. So Gabi's moved on?" I asked the two.
"She's been married for 8 years to a new guy. She's got three kids and they seem happy." Kelsi told me.
"I just hope I don't ruin that for her." I said looking down at my hands.
"I don't think you can do that, Tess. Gabi always said she wanted to get to know you and this is both of your chances to do that." Jason pointed out to me.
"Thank you two. I don't know what I would do if you guys weren't around." I told them grinning.
"You've just gained another set of grandparents, a couple more aunts and uncles." Kelsi said as we all laughed.
"What about your kids? I've heard you guys talk about them." I asked looking at them.
"Kelsi and I have three. Emily is our oldest. She's a sophomore in high school. She loves soccer and theatre; she's a piano player just like her mom. Nick is our second child; he's an 8th grader. He loves basketball just like I do; he's our out going child. And Lily is our youngest; she's 4th grade. She loves sports in general and doesn't care for piano. She's our wild child." Jason said shaking his head.
"Wow; you guys got your hands full. They sound really cool." I told them.
"Thanks. Do you have any siblings at home?" Kelsi asked me as I quickly shook my head.
"Nope I'm an only child in both senses. My adoptive parents paid all kind of attention to me when I was little." I told them smiling.
"I guess we don't know what that is like. Jason and I both grew up with a houseful of kids." Kelsi told me.
"I've had the same group of friends since kindergarten; they're like my brothers and sisters. My best friends, Meghan and Chelsea had brothers and sisters growing up so they kind of adopted me into their families." I told them smiling.
"That's cool. That's how our parents were; they adopted all of us into their little families." Jason told me.
"It's been that way forever with me." I told them picking up my cell phone to look at the time.
"Have you had a lot of people calling you trying to figure out where you are?" Kelsi asked me.
"What?" I asked her as she smiled at me.
"I'm assuming you didn't tell any of your close friends you were coming here, right?" Kelsi asked me as I looked at her in shock.
"How did you know that? And you're right." I told her smiling.
"Troy and Gabi decided one summer to take a road trip but they just told their parents where they were going. They didn't call any of us so we hounded them for days; calling their cell phones and leaving messages until they gave up and told us." Jason said laughing at the memory.
"It was such a last minute decision that I totally forgot to tell anyone. Meghan and Chelsea each called me and asked me where I was. I told them and they made me promise that the next time I come back I would bring them with me." I told them grinning.
"Make sure you tell them where you are. You don't want them to worry too much." Kelsi told me.
"Thanks for the advice." I told them shaking my head a little.
"So we heard you have a big month next month but no one will tell us why." Jason started.
"At my high school, February 7th, or around then, is signing day for all the seniors. We all get together and we all watch each other sign our lives away to the schools we're going to play for." I told them grinning.
"Have you figured out where you're going?" Kelsi asked me.
"I've got it narrowed down to two but I have no idea. I've got until the end of January to figure it out." I told the two of them.
"Good luck with that and you'll make the right choice." Jason told me as I quickly shook my head.
"I don't know about that." I told him as the three of us laughed.
Little did I know another person was in that restaurant that day listening to mine, Kelsi, and Jason's conversation. I would run into her sooner rather than later.
I'm adding another person into the mix!! Any ideas who that could be??? Hm . . . I'll finish up the next chapter and you'll be able to find out for yourselves. Feedback would be a huge sprinkling at the top of my cake!!! Thank you to everyone who have reviewed!!!