Thanksgiving week. Ricardo sighs, stirring slowly as warm, spicy smells greet his nose. He groans and rolls over, squinting at his wife as Alicia too sits up, running her hands through her sleep messy hair. "What's Sofia doing?" he asks groggily.
"Smells like tamales," she says. "I think she said she wanted to try a new turkey tamale recipe last night."
"Oh," he says, collapsing back against his pillows. "Alright."
Alicia giggles and snuggles in tight against him, exhaling softly as he wraps an arm around her. "You sleep alright?"
"Mm hmm, once the twins settled," he says, lazily stroking her back. "You?"
"Not bad," she says, kissing his cheek. "Thanks for taking care of the babies for me."
"Well, it was my turn," he says, pressing his forehead to hers. "Wanna get up and see what Sofia is doing?"
"In a minute." Alicia leans in and kisses him properly, smiling down at him.
"I can give you at least a couple," Ricardo teases her, holding her close.
"Good," she murmurs, beaming as he cradles her face in his hands and continues kissing her.
Later, once they untangle themselves from bed, they wander into the kitchen, arms wrapped around their waists. "Hey, Sofia," Alicia greets her. "Food smells good, what do you have going?"
"Turkey tamales," she says, missing the small smile Alicia sends Ricardo's way. "I also tried to make sweet potato hash browns. You'll have to let me know what you think, I think they turned out alright."
"We'll judge them happily for you," Ricardo says, leaning in and kissing her on the forehead. "Good morning, madre."
Sofia smiles at him. "Good morning, mi hijo."
He's just grabbed a plate when his phone chimes. He pauses and glances apologetically at the others before finding where he'd left it in the living room the night before. "Sorry, this is about the new building for 3 Legacies," he says, quickly checking his texts and replying where needed.
"Everything alright?"
Ricardo smiles. "Everything's great." He finishes sending the text and puts his phone away, returning to his plate. "Come on, let's get into this breakfast."
As he eats, he thinks about the future- another holiday season with all of his favorite people, moving 3 Legacies to the new building, growing, getting stronger, better, smarter. 2024 looks very promising.