For a job, Trish is a Spanish-speaking on-call Child Welfare and Attendance Liasion at Marino High School (which is coincidentally where she went to high school) and works from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM from Monday to Friday. She is primarily in the wellness center, but she also helps out as a security guard for students who are cutting class or engaging in unsafe behaviors, or she will sometimes help out as a translator for students who speak Spanish and have difficulty with English, or a classroom aide to help students with schoolwork now and then. Trish is quite popular with a lot of the freshmen and some of the sophomores as well. As for Jace, he is a maintenance man who runs a business from home. He is an electrician, a contractor, and a plumber, and he renovates homes, remodels homes, and he installs and repairs appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, septic tanks, and HVAC systems. Trish is always commenting on how ripped he is because he does a copious amount of heavy lifting in houses.

Trish shows off her ring to the school nurse, Dana Walker.

"Look at that rock on your hand!"

she exclaims. She blushes.

"I know, my fiancé can pick them."

"Congratulations, Trish. You and Jace are going to have a wonderful life together."

Trish giggles.

"Thank you, Dana. I wonder what Marcus, Emilia, Ariella, and Aaliyah will think about this."

"They're going to be showering you with praise, you know how they are."

Trish laughs.

"Remember at the Halloween dance that I was a chaperone at, and Jace and I went in a couples' costume as Ariel and Eric from The Little Mermaid, and they all called us a power couple and referred to us as a power couple and voted for us in the costume contest?"

That very picture of Trish and Jace dressed up like Ariel and Prince Eric last Halloween is the background photo on Trish's phone.

"I do. That was so cute."

Marcus Williams, Emilia Galdamez, Ariella Fernandez, and Aaliyah Jones are four energetic, friendly sophomores at Marino High School. They all have a reputation for yelling out greetings, compliments, and friendly questions to school staff members they like, and Trish is one of their favorites.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am a middle school paraeducator. I have had some eighth graders who adore me and yell out my name and greet me every time they see me and shower me with compliments and open-ended questions. It warms my heart and makes me happy.)

"They're going to be so excited when they learn I'm engaged."

The bell rings and Trish says,

"I have to go. I have to give a presentation on bullying and Title IX to Stephanie's class. I'll have my walky on if you need me."

"Thank you. I hope it goes well for you."

"Me too."

I hope I can stay strong because this shit cuts me deep, Trish thinks to herself as she grabs her walky-talky, puts in the belt loop of her jeans, and picks up her water bottle her MacBook Pro, and the bag she carries it in. She's given a presentation on heavy shit like hate speech, but sexual misconduct and bullying are more than likely going to be a little more difficult. Ms. Stephanie Evans is a ninth-grade English and health teacher. She is probably the most well-liked English teacher at Marino High School.

Ms. Evans says,

"Good morning, class. Today we will have a presentation about bullying and Title IX, given to us by Ms. De La Rosa. You know her. Please give her your respect and your attention."

Trish says,

"Thank you, Ms. Evans. Good morning, Buenos Dias. I'm Ms. De La Rosa, I'm a bilingual CWAL, before I start this presentation, I want to give a trigger warning. I'm going to talk a lot about things that can be very upsetting like bullying, sexual harassment, rape, and suicide. I highly encourage you to take care of yourselves and talk to someone you trust if you feel you need to. I have resources available for you if it's happening to you or someone you know."

Miss Evans pipes in.

"Ms. De La Rosa, can I add to that?"

Trish responds with,

"Of course, Ms. Evans. Feel free to say anything you want."

Miss Evans says,

"If you are feeling upset, feel free to come to my desk and/or give me a note to go to wellness or to ask for a break, and I will give you approval."

As a Child Welfare and Attendance Liaison, Trish has seen and heard it all. She's seen and heard bullying, sexual harassment, child abuse, child grooming, sex trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and so many others. Not to mention, she survived sexual abuse herself at the hands of Chuck McCoy. She has never forgotten it, and never will forget it. Trish has always been traumatized by it, she has been haunted by the image of Chuck's mugshots and his sex offender photos forever, the thought of going to the hospital for a rape exam and being photographed for evidence still sticks in her head, and it still hurts. But, she remembers that it wasn't her fault uses her experience and how she had people there for her and it made her stronger. Trish also wants the students to have adults in their lives and friends and family members who support them like she has. It was one of the pillars that helped build up her relationship with her fiancé.

When the bell rings and the freshmen leave the classroom, Ms. Evans notices the ring on Trish's hand.

"Look at that rock on your hand,"

she whispers.

"Yeah. My boyfriend is now my fiancé."

She takes her phone out of her pocket and shows her the photos.

"He's very handsome."

"I know, isn't he? He's so sweet and romantic. We've been together since high school."

"Relationship goals. Congratulations, Trish."

"Thank you. He did the cutest proposal for me. He brought me to the spot where I had my Quinceañera and presented the ring to me."

"How far have you gotten in planning the wedding?"

"He's picked his best man, and I've picked my maids of honor. My childhood best friend is one of my maids of honor, my sister is the other maid of honor, and my best friend's boyfriend is his best man."

Damn, Jace and I better get a move on with planning the wedding! Trish thinks to herself. She has to still give five more classes Bullying and Title IX lectures. She loves her job, but all that is on her mind is Jace popping the question to her and wedding planning.

At her fiancé's apartment, Trish is pouring herself and Jace glasses of red wine.

"Maybe it's because you're going to be my wife, Trish, but the way you pour wine is sexy as hell."

Trish says,

"You're cute, mi amor. Anyway, there's something I feel we should talk about."

"Is everything OK, Trish?"

"Yeah. It's not anything bad, it's just that, I wanted to hear some ideas about wedding planning. Maybe even the engagement party."

Jace takes his glass of wine and says,

"We've both already at least started with choosing the bridal party, Austin's one of my groomsmen, and Ally and your sister are your maids of honor."

"It's a good start, Jace. Then there's the engagement party, wedding venue, when we want the wedding to be, the pricing, the theme, appetizers, the cake, your bachelor party, my bachelorette party, and all that other shit."

Jace smiles at her.

"Your swearing is so attractive."

She quietly giggles.

"Stop it, Jace. You're making me blush."

She discovers a white gold wedding band on Jace's left ring finger.

"I like that ring, mi amor."

"I bought it with yours."

Trish picks up her MacBook Pro and allows Jace to look for wedding planners on her computer, on Yelp. While she is writing notes down, she says,

"When I decide to call it a night, can I have a ride to my parents' house?"

"Yes, of course. It might be a good time to ask for your dad's blessing."

Trish immediately reminisces on how nervous Jace was when he met her father and she found it adorable. He had come home from a shift in his police officer uniform, gun and holster and all, and her father seemed intimidating to him, but quickly revealed a fun-loving and friendly demeanor. At her Quinceañera, Jace had not only brought flowers for Trish, but for her mother, Magdalena De La Rosa, as well. When the two decided to dance just one-on-one alone and he whispered to her that he thought she looked beautiful in her dress and tiara, Trish's dad interrupted their brief private dance which admittedly was awkward for both of them, and jokingly asked if they were secretly dating. They both denied dating, but Trish developed secret romantic feelings for him at that moment.

Nearly a year later, when she was healing from the aftermath of her sexual assault, she warmly thanked him for protecting her and consoling her, leading them to share a kiss, and after discussing the kiss, they both admitted their romantic feelings for each other and started dating. Their first official date as boyfriend and girlfriend was to the movies, and Jace told her he loved her the night of their junior prom.

*FLASHBACK. June 2013. Trish is 15, going on 16 years old and Jace is 16, going on 17 years old. The two have been close for two years and only a few weeks ago decided to go steady with each other.*

Jace is holding Trish's hand and she pulls his arm over her shoulder as they're both in her parent's living room, while Eduardo and Magdalena De La Rosa are sitting together on the sofa.

Trish says,

"Mami, Papi, the reason I've asked you guys in here today is because we have something to tell you."

Magdalena asks,

"What's going on? You two have been spending more time together than usual and getting a little flirtier with each other."

Jace says,

"Yes, Mrs. De La Rosa. You see, there's a reason for that."

Eduardo has this look on his face that men get when their teen daughters get boyfriends. The look a Latino man would get when he learns his daughter is in a relationship with a white boy.

"I have a feeling I know what it is."

Trish holds up her and Jace's intertwining hands.

"We're boyfriend and girlfriend now."

Eduardo has a somewhat intimidating look on his face and looks right at Jace and says,

"I have something to say to you, Mister."

Jace is nervous and asks,

"What is it, Mr. De La Rosa? If you're worried about me hurting your daughter in any way, I promise you I have no intention of doing that."

Trish's father's protective daddy look disappears and turns into a warm smile.

"Call me Eduardo. You could be my son-in-law one day. Put it there, son."

Eduardo offers Jace his hand and he firmly shakes it. Magdalena pipes in.

"That goes for me, too. You can call me Magdalena because you make my daughter so happy and I could be your mother-in-law."

*FLASHBACK ENDS*

Not long after, Jace and Eduardo decided to go fishing together to bond and Trish went for a high tea with Jace's mom at the Enchanted Dollhouse.

Later on, Jace and Trish are at Trish's parents' house and decide to announce their

engagement. Magdalena and Eduardo are sitting down, in the living room. Magdalena says,

"I have a feeling there's some big news coming."

Jace says,

"Yeah. Yeah, there is."

Both of them hold up their hands with the wedding bands on them. Jace says,

"We're getting married!"

Magdalena says,

"¡Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, felicidades, a mi niña y su amor de su vida!"

She gives her daughter hugs and kisses and her son-in-law-to-be. As for Eduardo, he tells Jace,

"Felicidades! Welcome to the family, Jace!"

Jace and Eduardo do a firm handshake and then man-hug each other. Trish smiles and wipes a tear from her eye with her finger. Her dad and her fiancé always had a special relationship.

"Eduardo, your daughter means the world to me. She's a badass, she's confident, she's tough, yet she's vulnerable, empathetic, and motherly."

Trish stands right next to Jace and he puts his arm around her.

"I promise you, I'm going to keep loving her, appreciating her, protecting her, and taking care of her. She's my everything."

The couple kiss companionably on the lips and she kisses his cheek and he kisses her temple.

"Usted tiene mi bendición para casarte con mi hija,"

Eduardo says to his soon-to-be-son-in-law.

"Muchas gracias, Eduardo y Magdalena. Ustedes tienen mi palabra de que voy a cuidar de su hija hermosa."

Trish feels more tears sliding down her cheeks. Jace's love and respect for her makes her so emotional sometimes.

A few nights later, Jace is with Austin at a bar called House O' Booze and Austin asks him,

"What gave you the idea to propose to Trish?"

Jace says,

"It's actually really cute. I was hanging out at my brother Eric's house a while ago, and my niece, Allegra, who is four, asked me if I loved Aunt Trish and asked me if I was ever going to marry her and have a wedding with her and asked if she could go. I promised her she could go to the wedding if I ever asked Trish to marry me."

Austin says,

"Like, dude. That's fucking precious."

Jace takes a sip of Stella Artois.

"Trish has been to a lot of events involving my family from Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday parties, a couple of weddings, graduations, school plays, and all that other stuff and vice versa. Last month, I was her date at her cousin's Quinceañera. My brothers' kids have been called her "Aunt Trish" for a while, and I took my niece asking me about my relationship as a sign."

Austin takes a sip of his Corona and Jace asks him,

"Austin, I did ask you to be one of my groomsmen, but I want you to be my best man. When I moved to Miami, you became my first friend."

Austin says,

"Count me in! It works out anyway, because Ally is Trish's maid of honor."

The two male friends man-hug.

"Who else are you planning on making your groomsmen?"

Jace says,

"Dez, JJ, Eric, Ryder, and Easton."

"Just know that Dez cries at romantic events like weddings."

"That's OK. He's allowed."

Jace then takes another sip of Stella Artois.

"How's living with Ally?"

"Same as it is dating her, except now I get to sleep right next to her and cuddle her every single night. She looks beautiful when she sleeps, too."

"I gotta ask Trish to move in with me, too."

2nd chapter down! If you like the story, feel free to favorite, follow, and review it! Have a wonderful day my readers! I love and appreciate each and every single one of you!