Jace arrives home from a job of installing a septic tank for an apartment, parking his car in the garage, and enters the apartment, sweating like a barn animal and thirsty beyond belief. He goes to the fridge to grab a bottle of water when he hears the Aiphone ringing on the wall and goes to answer it.
"This is Jace."
The doorman says,
"Hi, Jace. Your mom's here to see you."
"Send her up. Thanks."
Jace's mother, Agnes Dillon, is up at his door in less than a minute, and Jace instantly gives her a warm hug and she kisses his cheek. She says to him,
"Oh, honey. You're sweating."
"Sorry, Mom. I just got home from installing a septic tank. I had to get up at 6:00 AM and it took me six hours to finish."
His mom says,
"I hope you're staying hydrated and I hope you always have your inhaler on you."
As a young child, Jace was diagnosed with asthma. He still has some of his triggers, including one of them being hard exercise, and he is a blue-collar worker. He always carries an inhaler with him because he has to do a lot of manual labor and he never knows when he is going to have to puff. He playfully rolls his eyes at her.
"Don't worry, Mom. I have both."
Agnes gently touches his arms.
"Good. You're gaining a lot of muscle, though."
Jace chuckles quietly.
"Trish says the same thing. You want me to make you some coffee, tea, something to eat?"
Agnes says,
"I'm fine, thank you. Speaking of Trish, have you asked her yet?"
"I did. She said yes."
Agnes tells him,
"Yay! From the second I met her, I was always rooting for you to date each other."
Jace blushes.
"Aww, Mom."
Agnes went with Jace to the jewelry store to help him pick out Trish's engagement ring. She was one of the few people he told that he was ready to ask her for her hand in marriage and jumped at the opportunity to go with him to pick out her ring. His mom absolutely adores Trish. Jace has brothers, ergo Agnes never had a daughter and so, she looks at her sons' girlfriends or wives as her daughters. She claims to love her daughters-in-law the same, but Jace can tell that Trish is her favorite. If Trish would come over to Jace's parents' house as a teenager, she would always greet her with a warm embrace and shower her with compliments.
"She just moved in."
"Your father and I would like a list of your friends, with their emails and/or phone numbers."
"I can do that."
What are Mom and Dad planning? Are they trying to help with the wedding so soon? Jace wonders. Jace then decides to call Trish on FaceTime as her lunch hour is right now.
"Hi, handsome. Hi, Agnes."
Trish answers with the bright smile that he adores.
"Hi, Trish. I'm so happy you're marrying my son."
"Me too. There's no one else I'd rather spend my life with than him."
"I wanted to know if I could get in contact with your parents and if I could get some guest emails and phone numbers."
Trish is confused, but she doesn't dare question her mother-in-law-to-be, who adored her from the start.
"Sure. What's it for?"
Agnes laughs.
"That's for John and I to know and for you and Jace to find out."
Trish giggles.
"Alright. I trust you."
Later that night, Trish has a notebook and a pen, while she and Jace are both sitting at their kitchen table.
"Mi amor, do you have any ideas on a theme for a wedding?"
"A Star Wars-themed wedding?"
Jace snickers. Trish rolls her eyes.
"Really? You can do better."
He says,
"Nah, I'm kidding. I just wanted to see you side-eye me because it's attractive as hell. I'm a Christian, marriage has always been sacred in my family and my religion. I'm thinking mostly traditional wedding stuff, with some romantic undertones here and there."
Trish smiles.
"I love it."
Jace holds her hand with her ring on it.
"Come on, Trish. It's your wedding, too. I want to hear your ideas."
"I'm Mexican, and I'm catholic. We have wedding cookies, tres leches cake, tacos, enchiladas, tamales, tapas, freshwaters, fruit juices, bilingual vows, sangria, tequila, padrinos, and madrinas."
"I have to ask, what's the history behind padrinos and madrinas?"
"Sponsors. They pay for the bibles, coins, and the rings. The ring part is already taken care of, though."
"We're an interracial couple. We can combine both our upbringings, cultures, and traditions."
Trish takes a sip of her water.
"Jace, how did you come up with all of these ideas for our wedding?"
Jace's eyes shift.
"I may or may not have started talking to a wedding planner. I wanted to surprise you, mi amor."
Trish lightly laughs.
"Jace! What do you do, pull your surprises out of your sleeve?"
"Something like that. I should have asked you first, though."
"It's OK, it doesn't matter. You're honoring and respecting my roots and not just having white people stuff, it's OK. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Trish puts her hand gently on his hand and the two look into each other's eyes. Jace whispers,
"Your eyes are beautiful."
She giggles.
"You're sweet."
*FOUR WEEKS LATER*
Austin is shaving his face, to get ready for Jace and Trish's engagement party, when he hears Ally let out an ear-piercing scream.
"OW. OW. OW. OW. OW. AUSTIN!"
Austin comes running in, to find Ally in the kitchen with a shattered Jack Daniels bottle, next to a puddle of whiskey, and her hand bleeding.
"Oh my god, Ally. What happened?"
"I shattered the bottle of whiskey and I cut my hand. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? Don't be. We gotta take you to Urgent Care. It's OK, you're OK."
While at the Instant Care, Ally forcefully holds the towel Austin gave her to help suppress the bleeding of her hand.
"Again, Austin, I'm sorry I broke that whiskey bottle. I know how expensive it was."
He places a kiss on her temple.
"Ally, stop apologizing. There are billions of bottles of Jack, but there's only one of Ally Dawson."
Ally says,
"Love you."
Austin asks,
"Love you, too. Do you still want to go to Jace and Trish's party?"
She says,
"Yes, I do. Trish and Jace are our friends, I don't want to bail on them."
Austin says,
"You're a great friend to them."
A female doctor exits with a warm smile.
"Good news, Miss Dawson. There were no shards of the bottle in your hand, and it's a lot more shallow than it looks. You don't need stitches. You just need to keep it clean and dry and change your dressing every six to eight hours."
The doctor cleans it with antiseptic and tapes the gauze on the wound, taping it down with an adhesive. Ally says,
"Thank you, Doctor."
The doctor says,
"Don't mention it."
Elsewhere, Trish got her nails done and now is at Drybar, getting her hair blown out by a hair stylist, watching Girls' Trip, and drinking water from a wine glass. As he lets a section of her hair fall from one of the sectioning clips, blowing it dry with a round brush-hair dryer hybrid, he asks her,
"What are we getting blown out for tonight, darling?"
"My fiancé and I are having dinner with his parents,"
Trish replies.
"That sounds like fun. I remember when I met my husband's parents for the first time. I ended up spilling wine on my now mother-in-law's Dior pantsuit because I was nervous."
Trish says,
"Oh, god. I would have been so embarrassed, too."
"It was single-handedly the most embarrassing moment of my life."
"I can imagine."
Unbeknownst to her and her fiancé, John and Agnes planned a surprise engagement party with their families and friends. Neither of them knows yet. John and Agnes decided to set it under the guise of making them think it was a simple dinner with his parents. Not long after that, the stylist says,
"Final step. Close your eyes, darling."
He picks up a large can of hairspray and covers her hair with it while she shuts her eyes and he turns the chair toward a large mirror. Trish's long, black hair is mostly flat with some soft waves at the ends. He tells her,
"Look at that volume. You're stunning."
"Thank you,"
she hugs him and he says,
"Congratulations on your engagement. Have fun."
Trish sees Jace's car out of the corner of her eye.
"Thank you."
She puts her credit card in the reader and tips him and she goes out to her fiancé's car. Jace tells her,
"You look beautiful, mi amor."
Trish blushes.
"Thank you, Jace. You look handsome and you smell like cologne."
Trish immediately puts two and two together. Jace smelling like cologne can only mean one thing- he got a haircut. He always smells like cologne right after getting his hair cut. His dark honey-brown hair is cut into a textured quiff with medium tapered sides and the back shorter.
"Did you get your hair cut, baby?"
"Yes, I did. I got a shave, the hot towel treatment, scalp massage, and a neck and shoulder massage."
Trish quietly giggles.
"That checks out. It's very sexy and it brings out your eyes."
Jace plants a kiss on her cheek.
"Love you, Trish. We have to be at my parents' house in an hour and a half."
He drives her back home and she changes into a red puebla dress that reaches just above her knees, with a slip under it, and a pair of gold high-heeled sandals. She puts on a pair of gold hoop earrings and a gold necklace. She is doing her makeup when Jace enters the bathroom in a midnight blue blazer, a blue dress shirt, khaki slacks, black Converse Chuck Taylors, and a silver layered cross necklace, representing his Christian faith. She looks into Jace's piercing hazel eyes. Even if she's wearing high heels, Jace towers over her. Her head goes to his shoulder, and when she has high heels on, her head goes right under his jaw and chin.
Trish and Jace have sometimes been asked if Trish's parents approve of their relationship as she could pass for a minor. She gets carded at bars when she is with him because she looks like a teenager compared to him. But you know, people tend to favor couples with a short girl and a tall guy. He and Trish intertwine fingers, most notably the hands with the rings on them.
"You look stunning,"
Jace whispers in her ear.
Trish whispers,
"You're so sweet. Not to mention handsome."
Trish then stands on her tiptoes in her high heels and rests her hands on Jace's face while he rests his hands on her hips and the two passionately kiss on the lips. After reaching Jace's parents' house, they're both walking up the walkway, holding hands, Trish sees someone out of the corner of her eye peering out from the window with the curtains semi open. She is very surprised.
"Is that… Dez?"
Dez Wade is one of Jace and Trish's friends. Austin was Jace's first friend when he moved to Miami and he's Austin's childhood best friend. Jace also asked him to be one of his groomsmen. Dez is a quirky, goofy, marijuana-loving guy with a self-deprecating and dirty sense of humor. He doesn't always have the most common sense, but he always has good intentions and he loves those around him and cares for people. Dez and Trish especially have a brother-and-sister-like relationship. Jace says,
"I think I see him, too."
It turns out to be Dez. He has a pair of thick-tinted sunglasses on his head and he is clad in a t-shirt with marijuana leaves, a middle finger gesture and it says Legalize now! Dez realizes that they can see him and quickly closes the curtains and Jace thinks,
Why would Dez be at my parents' house?
Trish says,
"I think Dez being at your parents' might have something to do with why your mom asked us for a guest list."
Jace snickers.
"Me too. He deserves a medal for keeping it a secret. In the past, he couldn't keep a secret to save his life."
Trish whispers,
"Hopefully, someone keeps an eye on him at the alcohol bar."
Trish rings the Ring doorbell. Jace's dad, John Dillon, answers, carrying a bottle of Heineken in one hand, and a black sash and a white sash in the other hand, and instantly smiles at his son and daughter-in-law-to-be. He says,
"There's the engaged couple!"
Jace smiles and quietly chuckles,
"Hi, Dad. It's good to see you."
He man-hugs his son and plants a soft kiss on Trish's hand.
"You look beautiful, Trish."
Trish blushes.
"Thank you, John."
John puts the glass down on the table by the front door.
"Come on in. Your mother and I got something for you and your bride to be."
He presents the sashes to them- Jace's is black and says Groom to be in large gold letters while Trish's is white and says Bride to be in large gold letters.
Trish says,
"This is so cute."
Jace tells him,
"You and Mom are the best."
Jace and Trish walk into the kitchen and dining room where there is a large buffet of paper plates, paper cups, plastic cutlery, and food- appetizers, side dishes, and desserts (including a penis-shaped cake) on the dining room table, and a full bar with some coolers of beer, wine, champagne, tequila, vodka, and some non-alcoholic drinks as well.
Trish whispers to Jace,
"I have a feeling my parents and my abuelita might be here,"
eyeing the tamales, tortillas, Mexican wedding cookies, and tres leches cake. Trish's grandmother takes any opportunity to cook for any event possible.
The two walk into the family room, where the couple's family, and friends, as well as some of Trish's colleagues from Marino High School, are hanging out in the living room, which is softly lit, decorated with fairy lights, flowers in vases, flowers on the wall frames, and on the backdrop, ring stickers, streamers, and photos of Jace and Trish throughout the years from when they first met as teenagers about to enter high school, photographs from their "just friends" days, from her Quinceañera, their prom portraits, high school graduation photos, and so many other little romantic moments between them. The backdrop is an elegant white background with rose graphics that says Jace & Trish forever in large gold cursive letters and it is adorned with fairy lights. The room looks beautiful. The room looks elegant and sophisticated and everyone is there supporting them and their romantic relationship. Everyone in the room yells,
"SURPRISE!"
Trish asks,
"What's all this?"
John says,
"An engagement party. For the happy couple."
Jace turns to his mother while putting his arm around Trish, and Trish's arm is around his waist with her hand resting on his hip. Jace says,
"No wonder you asked us for a guest list!"
Agnes says,
"Jace, you look handsome, and Trish, you look beautiful."
The couple say in unison,
"Thank you,"
while embracing her. Jace goes to find his in-laws-to-be, while Dez, holding the remote to the Echo, says,
"Echo, play Trace's playlist."
Jace and Trish greet and embrace many family members and friends. The playlist is compromised of a mix of songs in Spanish, romantic ballads, a lot of the pop, rock, and hip hop the couple listened to in high school, some old school tunes like "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire and "Darling" by the Beach Boys, and even a couple of romance songs from Disney movies. Many of the guests are drinking champagne, beer, and wine (or at least mocktails) and eating the food. Trish and Jace are hanging out with Austin and Ally, and Trish notices a glove on Ally's hand and asks,
"What happened here?"
Ally says,
"For this party, Austin bought a bottle of Jack Daniels and I was trying to put it in a bag, and I ended up dropping it and breaking it and cutting my hand."
Trish says,
"Oh my shit, Ally. Are you OK?"
Ally says,
"Yeah, thanks for asking. I didn't need stitches, so that's a good sign."
Austin pipes in.
"My job is making sure she keeps her hand dry and clean and sometimes changing her dressing. She still wanted to go to this party."
Jace says,
"I'm sorry, Ally. I hope your hand heals fast."
Ally says,
"Thank you, Jace."
Austin asks,
"Did you guys happen to notice the cake shaped like a phallus?"
Trish says,
"Yeah, we did. Not gonna lie, it was actually kind of funny."
Ally says,
"Trish, I can't believe you're engaged and planning your wedding. Remember when we used to fangirl over Disney Princes and boybands?"
She says,
"I do."
"And how we used to talk about being the maids of honor at each others' weddings?"
Trish says,
"Now that's actually happening. It's fucking surreal."
Later on, the guests with drinks and food in hand listen as certain guests give speeches. Ally starts by saying,
"Trish has been my best friend since I was five years old, and now we're in our late twenties. Watching her close friendship with Jace blossom little by little into the romance it did warms my heart. What warms my heart even more is the love and respect he shows to Trish every day. Congratulations, Trish and Jace. I wish you both nothing but comfort and happiness."
The crowd applauds. Austin says,
"Jace moved to Miami the summer before we all started high school. He and his family moved in right down the street from me, and I could tell he was a little nervous and homesick about moving to Miami from Albuquerque. What brought us closer together as friends was the fact that our moms worked together as colleagues. Other than Dez, he's my best friend. As for Trish, she's like the sister I never had. Sometimes she makes fun of me, but I know she has my back and never lets anything happen to me. She's Ally's best friend, and Ally is like her sister, which makes her my sister-in-law, I guess. She and Jace have such a similar relationship dynamic to Ally and I, and now I'm going to be the best man and Ally is going to be Trish's maid of honor when they get married. I platonically love you, Jace Dillon and Trish De La Rosa."
The crowd claps Jace's oldest brother Eric is next up.
"Right when I met my younger brother's sweetheart Trish, I knew they were going to start dating at one point or another. Ryder and I used to tease Jace about his relationship with Trish, but that was because we knew he liked her from the start and we were secretly rooting for their relationship. As for Trish, she's a special kind of girl. Jace had a few girlfriends and flings here and there, but Trish was one of a kind. She has a lot of layers to her. She was at my wedding, she was there with the family when Tina was having kids and she held every one of my kids when they were born and when they were little, she was very playful and affectionate with them with the kissing, playing with their feet and the gushing. Allegra especially has been asking multiple times if Uncle Jace is gonna have a wedding with Aunt Trish. By the way, Allegra told me to tell you that she wants to be the flower girl at the wedding. Congratulations to the happy couple. Trish, I can't wait for you to be my new sister-in-law, and Jace, I know you're going to be happy with her. Marriage is a ten out of ten and I highly recommend it."
The crowd just laughs and claps.
Jace's younger brother Easton says,
"I know Trish through not only my brother Jace, but also through my middle school and high school friend, JJ, who is her brother. Jace was the one to give me the best advice about girls, and now he's marrying the first girl he met when we moved here from Albuquerque. Congratulations, Jace and Trish."
Next up is Valeria.
"I knew Jace and my little sister, Trish, were tight from the start. I remember when she had her Quinceañera, Mamá was helping her get ready for the mass, and Jace came in the back and indulged Trish with flowers and gifts. He brought flowers for Mom and for me, too, and I secretly watched from the window when Jace decided to take Trish out on the esplanade to dance with her just one-on-one. I admit it- I was eavesdropping and I heard him tell her she looked like a princess, and I heard her say, you make me feel like one. When my sister was fifteen, she had an act of violence committed against her. It brought her and Jace closer together and it made her stronger. Jace isn't just a special guy for Trish- he showed me so much support when I was dealing with all the chicken shit with my ex-boyfriend and he acts as a father figure to my two kids. I love you, Jace. You treat not just Trish well, but you treat me well, and the rest of the family well, too. I'm so glad you're going to marry my sister."
JJ is up next.
"Congratulations to my sister, Trish, and her now-fiancé. I liked Jace from the minute I met him. He was like the brother I never had. I love my sisters, Trish and Valeria, just fine, but I never had a brother, and Jace was just that brother I needed. When I was fourteen, I was going through an identity crisis and I was questioning my sexuality. I was facing a lot of bullying at school for hooking up with both girls and guys and it escalated to the point where I faced a violent hate crime against me. Jace encouraged me to talk to his dad about filing charges against the people who did it, and his dad had the best strategy. I came out as bisexual to Trish and my soon-to-be-brother-in-law, and they were both more than willing to put aside their religious views and they showed me the love and support. Congratulations. I love you both."
The crowd claps. Last but not least is Dez.
"When I first met Trish and Jace, we were freshmen. Trish and I make fun of each other and play practical jokes on each other, and Jace, Austin, and I play video games and we would be candy and soda and pretend it was drugs and alcohol. They had a bond like no other. I was the first person she confided in about her crush on Jace. I witnessed them kissing a lot and they were very touchy-feely with each other and I just started crying because it was beautiful. When Trish fell victim to S/A, Jace was so kind to her and helped her through it and he was always there to help quell her panic attacks. When they announced on social media that they were dating, I was so happy that I did backflips. Now I got to relive that moment all over again as they're getting married."
Dez is probably stoned or drunk right now and proceeds to cry a little bit.
"They're such a beautiful couple. Oh my fucking god, I'm going to be such a mess when I watch them kiss together at the wedding. I love them together, and I can't wait to watch them spend their lives together."
Ally whispers to Austin,
"We should probably give him a ride home. I think he's drunk."
Austin puts his arm around Ally.
"Yeah."
Later on, the guests are gone, the food and dishes are gone, and Jace and Trish are helping Jace's parents clean the house. Trish says,
"Thank you, Agnes and John. The party was lovely."
Jace says,
"Thank you, Mom and Dad. The best engagement party I've ever been to."
Agnes says,
"We're happy to do it. For our handsome son and our beautiful daughter-in-law-to-be."
Jace is throwing dirty plates and napkins and cutlery in a trash bag and John whispers to him,
"That Dez guy is a character."
"That he is. But we platonically love him."
"He was the one who brought the penis cake, by the way."
Jace snickers.
"Of course he did."
After arriving back at Jace's apartment, Jace whispers to Trish,
"You look so pretty in the night."
She says,
"You're so sweet. I can't wait to be your wife."
The two move to the backseat of Jace's car and proceed to kiss passionately and Trish takes off her shoes, her dress, and slip, revealing her bra, and Jace proceeds to take his jacket, shirt, and undershirt off and they continue making out very passionately.
Third chapter down! This story is so much fun to write! If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review it! Love all of you my fans!