The party was coming to an end by late afternoon. Most of the guests had left after hanging around a bit longer and offering a final congratulations. My parents were saying a final goodbye to the last of the guests. They let out a relieved sigh as they shut the door behind them.

Dad blew out a raspberry, leaning against the door. I'm ready to just drop on the couch and dream about having three new grandkids to spoil."

Mom handed him a garbage bag. "Not yet, you aren't. You may sit and dream after you help return the house to its original state."

Dad pouted, giving Mom sad puppy dog eyes. "Can't we just hire someone to take care of it?"

Mom gave Dad a sneaky smile. "You know, Honey, that's a wonderful idea. In fact, you're hired."

We chuckled as Mom handed Dad all the cleaning supplies. "Don't forget to take all the bags out front when you're done," She reminded him with a wink.

Javier shook his head, dropping his head over Dad's shoulders. "Dad, I'll lend you a hand."

Dad smiled, "Thanks."

Javier clapped his hands. "Yeah, Dad, let's go. No one cleans like you," He cheered.

We doubled over in laughter.

Antonio was still chuckling when he approached Dad, offering to help. "Come on, Dad. Let's start in the yard. I'm sure with all of us pitching in, we can relax in no time."

Dad sighed with a nod, "Fine, but if we're all pitching in, then Babe, I believe this is yours."

Mom pretended to think briefly and took the broom Dad handed her. "Fine, I guess the usual then. The winning team chooses what we watch, and the losing team chooses snacks."

Dad stepped forward, stretching his arm out. "You're on."

"Prepare to lose," Mom challenged, shaking his hand. "My team, let's go."

We shrugged, glad that was settled. Miguel, Maya, Isabella, Lukas, Esmerelda, Matthew, Teagan, and I followed after Mom. Antonio, Bridgette, Sharon, Javier, Rowan, Cruz, Blakely, and Amen went with Dad.

The advantage of coming from a large family was all the pairs of helping hands around. It made the most daunting tasks that much easier and so much more fun.

"Incoming," Miguel cried, tossing aside another full trash bag, causing the girls to laugh. He turned to Summer and Olyvya as he dusted his hands off. "OK, inspectors, did we miss any trash here?"

The girls scanned the yard. "Nope, we're good."

"Are we sure," I asked the girls.

They looked around the yard again. "We're sure."

"Alright, ladies, can you show me your muscles," Lukas asked them. "We need super strong muscles to help us move all these bags."

The girls giggled, showing their muscles. "We got muscles."

Miguel nodded, taking a small bag from the pile. "Alright, mighty girls, let's see if you can handle this large bag.

The girls happily took the bag and started making their way out front. Miguel and Lukas were right behind them with two bags each. I was right behind them when Mom stopped me.


She nodded towards the kiddy picnic bench we used for a kid's craft center. "Lend me a hand?"

I nodded, marching over with her, and she asked me, "Are you OK?"

"Why wouldn't I be," I answered her question with my question.

"Zeke and your other friends never showed; neither did Troy and his family," She pointed out.

I stopped across the picnic table for her. "I did what I could. I can't force them if they don't want to listen."

"Doesn't mean you can't feel hurt or disappointed."

Sighing, I took a seat on the picnic table. "I wouldn't say I'm hurt or even disappointed."

She walked around to my side and sat down. "But," She prompted me.

I dropped my head with a half-shrug. "Maybe I do feel very slightly bummed."

She narrowed her brows at me like she knew there were more. "And," She asked when I remained quiet.

I swear Mom had some mind-reading superpower when it came to Dad, my siblings, and me. It was impressive and maddening at the same time. It had to be something that came from years of being the best wife and Mom. I could only hope I was half as great as my mom was at her job. That is, if I ever even find someone who loves me as much as my Dad loves my Mom.

I picked my head up and looked at my Mom. "When I saw Troy on the floor in Tony's office, I was so scared. I had so many thoughts and emotions running through me it was impossible to process at that moment."

Mom placed her hand on my lap. "Our thoughts and emotions can be funny and annoying that way."

We both giggled and let out a huge breath. "Oh, Mom, what if Troy never remembers the last six years or that we loved each other?"

Mom pulled me into a hug. She gave me an encouraging smile when we pulled apart and some hair from my face. "Do you still love him?"

I opened my mouth, ready to deny it, but instead nodded. "I thought I was over him, and we were friends. But last week proved to me he is so much more. And that terrifies me. The realization that we're no longer just in our safe little bubble like high school or even college. We're full-fledged adults now with so much more at stake—all the possibilities and knowns.

"And what you're most terrified about is all those feelings he can cause just by being himself because sometimes they are so intense or sudden you can't process them no matter how much you try," She supplied knowingly.

I nodded slowly, trying to figure her out. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I was young once, too. When I was in high school, I got so scared of all the feelings I had for your Dad and what our future would look like I actually pushed him away."

My mouth dropped slightly, and I was sure I had shock all over my face. I knew my parents were high school sweethearts who grew up together. They never mentioned to us they broke up, though. It was weird thinking my parents weren't together.

"You and Dad broke up," I asked, still in disbelief. "You and Dad never mentioned anything before."

She frowned, looking away. I figured it was something that she didn't want to talk about too much.

Mom nodded and continued to explain. "We were sixteen, and I had just found out I was pregnant. Yes, I was scared. But I was also feeling many other emotions, including love for your Dad. So, I did the one thing I thought would protect and make him happy in the long run. Yeah, not my best idea and definitely not my proudest moment."

"But things still worked out in the end," I noted. "And now you're both happier and more in love than ever."

She smiled, watching Dad and everyone else through the window. "Things did work out, and I wouldn't change a second I had with your Dad for anything in the world. He's not only my soulmate but, without a doubt, my best friend."

I chuckled, watching our family through the window. Feelings of warmth, safety, and love washed over me. "I'm glad you and Dad were able to work things out. You two really are perfect together."

Mom turned to me and slipped her hand into mine. "There's no such thing as the perfect couple. Even your Dad and I have our disagreements."

I tilted my head to the side, confused by my Mom's words. My parents are the ideal couple. They never had problems. At least I've never seen my parents disagree about anything. They agree about everything.

"No way, Mom, you and Dad are the ideal couple. You two agree on everything."

Mom laughed, shaking her head. "I'm glad you feel that way because one of the things that your Dad always agrees on is if we ever have any disagreements, it can't be sorted out in front of you or your siblings."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

Mom shrugged. "Your dad and I figured it would be better for you guys to grow up in a safe and loving environment. That meant not worrying about your parents disagreeing and arguing about anything."

I smiled. "Well, whatever you guys did, it definitely worked because I can't remember ever seeing you and Dad argue about anything."

"But that's not to say we didn't have our disagreements. We just never brawled it out in front of you or your siblings. It took work and absolute trust on both our parts, and we're still working at it every day.

I let Mom's words sink in. Her words kept playing over and over in my mind. I knew she was telling me that if I wanted things to work with Troy, it wasn't as impossible as it might feel. It would take constant work from both of us, though.

But that wasn't all. Mom's advice wasn't only for romantic relationships. She was also talking about my friendships.

"It's not just about my relationship with Troy, is it?"

I wasn't sure if I was stating or asking her.

Mom nodded with a smile. "It's about being honest and trusting your friends too. And not just Teagan and Blakely."

"I do trust them; that's why I invited them to the party," I reminded her.

"And Kelsie."

I shut my eyes, feeling sad and hurt again. I had made a mistake, and now Kelsie wasn't my friend. Since she wasn't my friend anymore, I never invited her today. I had told Jason he could bring Kelsie as a date if he wanted. But it wasn't a formal invitation like all my other friends got. It was more of me putting up with her because Jason is still my friend. And whether I admit it or not, there was a difference.

I frowned. "What can I do if Kelsie no longer wants to be my friend?"

"You can still be her friend," Mom advised, nodding towards the door. "But who knows? There may be hope yet.

I turned to see what my mom was looking at. My heart stopped for a brief second as my mind tried to register the sight before me. I couldn't believe it. When none of my friends showed up for the party, I briefly thought for sure none of them cared anymore. That they weren't really my friends like Blakely and Teagan were. But, there standing in front of me were seven of my eight friends.

Blinking, my lips started curving into a huge smile as reality started setting in.

Mom stood, pointing in the house. "Alright, I'm going to see how your Dad and everyone else is doing. You can stay here and talk."


I watched Mom disappear inside the house before giving my friends my undivided attention. Frowning, I stood approaching them.

My eyes narrowed when I spoke. "What are you doing here?"

They exchanged confused looks, trying to find the right words. I folded my arms across my chest, giving them all impatient death glares. It was pretty funny watching them squirm, partly in fear and partly in confusion. I had to work to hide my amusement and my happiness seeing them there.

Taylor finally broke the silence. "You invited us over, and this really nice guy told us we could find you out here after letting us in."

I knew they were probably talking about one of my brothers or brother-in-laws.

I shot daggers at all of them and demanded with as much anger as I could muster. "What guy?"

It came out colder than I had thought, and my friends all flinched. In that second, I thought maybe I'd taken the joke a little too far.

"We don't know," Ryan told me, looking more confused than ever. "We didn't ask."

Kelsie pushed her glasses into place, stepping forward. "I get I'm not welcome here, but Jason said you said it was OK to bring a date. You don't have to take your anger out on everyone. I'll just call a cab and wait outside. So you can stop barking at everyone."

I stepped in front of her, still flaring with pretending anger. "I wasn't barking; I can show you real barking."

Kelsie scoffed, pulling out her phone. "Could have fooled me. If this is you happy, I hate to see you if you're angry."

I took her phone from her, and she exclaimed. Putting my number in, I handed it back to her with a grin. " My friends are always welcome here."

Kelsie stared at my number in her phone as everyone else realized I was pulling a prank. They all chuckled and laughed, praising me for my performance.

Zeke was still chuckling when he praised my acting. "Nice going; you really had us all believing you are angry."

I smiled and shrugged. "Well, I learned from the two most amazingly talented performers I know."

I winked at Sharpay and Ryan, and they chuckled. "Well, clearly, we taught you well," Ryan stated.

We laughed again, and I somehow felt like we were back in college. My body relaxed, and I felt really hopeful that we'd all be OK. We were still joking with each other when Kelsie grabbed my attention.

She fiddled with her phone as she spoke in a low whisper I could barely hear. "Thanks for being my friend."

It took me a moment to realize she finally said we were friends. After last week, I was ready to admit defeat, trying to prove to Kelsie we were friends. But now, I had all my friends back. I wasn't sure why. I hadn't talked to Kelsie since last week in Antonio's office. Why the sudden change?

"Why now," I wondered, "You were still furious with me last week. What changed?"

Kelsie looked around at everyone, and they nodded. "My friends told me how you helped them, even when we were being so mean to you. Jason also told me what you did to help Troy's family and how you went all out to make sure we could have our dream wedding. You didn't have to do any of it, but you did because you're our friend. So, thank you for being our friend-especially mine."

I smiled brighter than ever, hugging her. "Thank you for being my friend after how I treated you."

We were both beaming when we pulled apart. This had to be the best day ever. I couldn't think of how this day could get any better.

"So, when did the nine of us become such great friends?"