Two months has passed since Gabriella left her and Troy's apartment to stay with her father. Nothing much has changed except for the fact that her father is getting sicker everyday which made Gabriella very worried. She was glad Troy came and visits her and her father almost every day. To be honest, she really misses Troy a lot. It's kind of weird not being awakened late at night by his loud snoring.
She also grew worried about Troy. Since she's not there to be up to date to Troy most of the time, she wondered what he usually does at the apartment all by himself. She even imagined him bringing girls home. Then she thought they weren't technically married so he can do whatever he wants. But is bringing girls his benefit to their fake marriage? Troy hasn't done it before but that could be only because Gabriella was always at home.
Then again, Gabriella could tell that he might be starting to like her as she is to him. He had been showing a lot of signs. He's been trying to kiss her a couple of times before getting interrupted and the way he kissed her after feeling their baby's first kick was amazing and sweet. There's something about kissing Troy that just makes Gabriella excited but at the same time calm. Troy also showed a little bit of signs when Gabriella was getting ready to leave the apartment to stay with her father.
"Are you sure you want to do this because if you think it's inconvenient or anyway, I don't mind having your dad living with us here. My mom moved out and we have the guest room empty," Troy reasoned as he walks in to Greg Montez's apartment building's lobby. He was carrying her heavy suitcase but at the same time trying to convince her not to leave him all alone.
"Having my dad living with us will be more inconvenient Troy," Gabriella replied. "Besides, call me selfish, but I don't want him dying in our house."
"I know that but you know, it's going to be different around the house without you around," Troy said honestly.
"I thought you'd be happy without having me at home so, you know, we won't get into fights over who gets to decide what to watch on TV and stuff," Gabriella said.
"Well maybe I'm going to miss arguing with you," Troy said, sounding flirty.
"I doubt that," Gabriella replied while stepping into the elevator.
"Really, I will also miss how our baby gets to grow everyday inside you," Troy added.
"You sound like I'm leaving you for good," Gabriella said. "Plus, I thought you said you were going to visit any time you can."
"Of course but it just wouldn't be the same," Troy pointed out, smirking. Gabriella turned away, secretly blushing.
Gabriella could easily tell his flirty tone but she chose to ignore it. Troy was probably just playing with her. In fact, they have been very flirty with each other more than they do while living together. Gabriella thought it was just her pregnancy brain playing with her mind that is telling her that Troy is into her.
Today is Thanksgiving Day and Troy and Gabriella had invited the Bolton family to spend it together with Gabriella's father at his apartment. Troy thought it would be a perfect way for their parents to get to know one another since they haven't met once. Gabriella at first objected the idea because she didn't want to show the Bolton family how sick her father is. Not that she's embarrassed or anything. She just doesn't want her father to be embarrassed of his own illness. But they talked to him about it and he is more than glad to meet Troy's family.
More and more everyday Gabriella grew sadder as she counted the last few days she's going to see her father ever again. At times she'll cry to sleep at night knowing that her father won't get to see the rest of her life. He's going to miss a lot of things once he's gone. They even talked about it for the first time when Gabriella first brought her father home from the hospital.
"Here we are!" Gabriella said, while holding her father's arm while stepping out of the elevator.
"Gabriella, I'm not retarded, I know where I am," her father said sarcastically.
Troy chuckled while standing behind them. Gabriella turned her neck and sent Troy a death glare and he quickly stopped. "I knew that. I just want to break the silence. It has been very quiet since we reached here," she reasoned.
"Well I think we might have a lot more to talk about since you are living here with me. I have to ask one last time, are you sure you want to stay with me?" her father inquired.
"Absolutely, I just don't want anything to happen to you," Gabriella said.
"You worry too much but I'm glad you decided to do this. It's been a long time since I have a special father bonding time with my daughter and her 'husband'," her father said while emphasizing on the word husband to Troy.
"Right, I am so happy to be here to support my wife," Troy said while putting his arm around Gabriella. When her father saw him doing that, her father stared at him in a look that says 'hands off'. Troy quickly obeyed and took his arms away and pretended to be stretching.
"So are you going to visit a lot Troy?" her father asked.
"Sure. I'll come whenever I can. I don't mind at all," Troy answered.
"Wonderful. Maybe one day we could have your family to have dinner with us. I still haven't met your parents," her father said.
"Oh, trust me, you don't want to meet them," Troy said.
"Why not?" her father asked.
"I rather not explain it now. You might want Gabriella to divorce me," Troy joked.
Troy and Mr. Montez laughed together. Gabriella was somehow glad that her father accepted Troy. They laughed and started to talk more as Gabriella settled in the guestroom of her father's apartment. That night also, Troy and Gabriella made dinner together and the three of them all had a wonderful dinner.
During the dinner, there was never a dull moment and no awkward silence. They really got along with one another like a real family. Gabriella was happy with it. She never really had a real family moment for a long time. Since college, she could tell how distant her and her father is.
"This is a great dinner. I had never tasted a good meal cooked by Gabriella," her father joked.
"Why does everybody think my cooking isn't good? I can cook," Gabriella convinced.
"Sure you can pumpkin. But next time, try not to burn your cooking," her father joked and then sighed. "This is nice. I haven't been spending a lot time with you in years."
"Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been really there for you for the past few years. I'm your little girl. I'm not supposed to be distant from you. I should've been there with you," Gabriella said.
"Hey, come on. I'm not gone yet and you're already preparing my funeral speech?" her father joked.
"I'm serious dad. You're going to miss a lot of things when you're gone," Gabriella said.
"I know that but God knows my time here is up. But don't worry; I'll still be here with you. You can't just see me, that's all," her father said.
"Gabriella?" Gabriella quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she heard her name. She turned around from the dining table which she has been arranging and found Troy and his parents.
"Oh hi," Gabriella greeted. "I'm sorry; I didn't hear you come in. It's so nice to see you again."
Lucille quickly gave her daughter-in-law a hug, "It's so nice to see you too. I haven't been seeing much of you lately."
"Yeah, I've been super busy but it was worth it," Gabriella answered. She then turned to Troy's father and shook his hand.
"I can see baby Bolton is growing healthily," Jack pointed out.
Gabriella looked down at her 5 month growing baby bump. More recently, Gabriella had hard times getting up from the couch and bed. But the doctor said she was lucky. Some women have bigger baby bump than her. "Yeah, it is," Gabriella agreed.
"Um, mom, dad, why don't you get seated here while I'll get the food out," Troy said.
"And I'll be right back. I just need to get my dad so you can meet him," Gabriella said before making her way to her father's room.
"Daddy? Troy's parents are here. Do you want to meet them now?" she asked her father who is sitting on a wheelchair while staring out of the window.
"Sure. I've been looking forward to this since you mention this to me," her father answered.
Recently, Gabriella's father is getting sicker. He is at the stage where he can't move much anymore or eat any solid food. It breaks Gabriella's heart knowing that her father's condition is getting worse. Her father's doctor said that she'll have to prepare for his departure any time soon.
Gabriella then helped to push her father's wheelchair to the dining room where Lucille, Jack and Troy were and having a conversation. As soon as they saw her father, they stood up to greet him.
"Hi, I'm Jack and this is my wife, Lucille," Jack introduced. "Troy has told us so much about you."
"He has mentioned a lot about the two of you too. I apologised for my disability to stand up to greet you properly," her father said.
"It's no harm at all. Let's dig in," Lucille said.
During dinner, all of them started to have conversations and they were all getting along. There was teasing and a whole lot of laughter. To sum it all, they were having one of the most unforgettable dinners they will never forget.
"Jack, Lucille, I need to bring your attention toward something," Len started.
"What is it?" Lucille asked.
"Well, since I didn't make it to Troy and Gabriella's real wedding, I have been actually planning a second wedding for them," Len announced.
Troy's mother's face lit up immediately when she heard: second wedding. Troy's father also lit up a little bit but Troy and Gabriella's face didn't light up a bit.
"Daddy, I thought you forgot everything about it right after we told you about that," Gabriella said.
"I never forget something this important Gabriella," Len pointed out then faced Lucille. "I was thinking about having it at this country club just outside New York called Season Springs. It's this country club Gabriella just loves when she was a teenager. My friend owns that country club and Gabriella practically goes there every day because they have this private beach for members only. Gabriella even told me how she would love to be married at the beach."
"When I was twelve," Gabriella reminded him.
"I've heard of Season Springs' beach. We've been there with Troy when he was a little boy. The dining room there is simply magnificent," Lucille commented.
Troy faced his mother, "We have?"
"Don't you remember Troy? It's the same place where you first lost your bathing suit while you were swimming," Jack reminded him and got Gabriella laughing hard. Troy immediately remembered the most embarrassing summer in his life. He was swimming in the pool with his brother but after a while his then 18 year old brother was already out of the pool and flirting with other girls. He was so angry at his brother that he immediately got out of the pool without realising his bathing suit was in the water, floating.
"Oh my god, that was you! You're the kid that lost his pants while swimming in the pool. I heard of you. One of the friends in the country club said you didn't know you didn't have your pants on until when your mother pointed it out to you," Gabriella said.
"I can't believe you manage to remember that. I forced myself to forget it until now," Troy said.
"How can't I? Although I wasn't there I can tell how embarrassing it might have been," Gabriella said, still giggling.
"Ok, back to the wedding discussion. Anyways, I think they should have the wedding until after the baby is born. That way, the baby will be a part of the wedding," Len said.
"But you wouldn't," Gabriella added.
"I know that but I want you to do this. For me," Len convinced.
"But you won't be there. What's the point of you planning the wedding when you're not going to be there? Can we just forget it?" Gabriella pleaded.
"No, I will not just forget it. I did something unacceptable and this is something to show you how sorry and supportive I am to you. Please Gabriella. It will make me happy. It will you mom happy," Len said.
Gabriella rolled her eyes when Len played the 'mom' card on her. He usually does that whenever Gabriella does something bad or whenever he wants Gabriella to do something for him. Gabriella thought about it for a moment and sighed, "Fine. We'll do a second wedding for you, dad," Gabriella said.
"Excellent! The best part is, since we have more time to plan, it will be the biggest wedding in Bolton-Montez history!" Lucille announced.
"That's great," Troy said while faking a smile. He then looked over at Gabriella who's was facing to her plate, playing with her food. Troy could tell she was thinking that this was a very bad idea.
Sorry for the delay for this chapter. I wanted to post it yesterday but never got to finish it. I am so happy with all of your reviews that I have decided that in the end of almost every chapter, I will write a sneak peek of the some of the upcoming chapters. Does that sound good? Well, here's sneak peek number 1:
"We're not really married. Only by license..."
Please take note that this line is not coming out for the next chapter but for FUTURE ones. Hope that's not confusing.
Well, PLEASE REVIEW because I am working on the next chapter now!
