Ch.22

Time flew by with weeks turning to months and our second year of high school was now almost over. Though Alex and I still had spent a lot of time together, Claire and she seemed to work through their earlier problem. Then Alex told me her family was invited to a fundraiser at a roller rink, by one of her Uncle Mitchell's ex-boyfriends. Alex invited me along and so I came to pick her up in my new car that yes I got for my birthday, after passing the driver's license test. 

"Hey Gabe, Haley is coming with us in your car too," Alex says to me getting into my car while Haley climbs into the back seat. 

"Oh, ok… everything alright?" I ask since Haley would usually give Alex and me space unlike Alex's overprotective Mother, Claire. 

"Our family is insane! You wouldn't get it, your family is perfect," Haley says as I snort in response. 

"My family can be just as crazy at times… though to be honest your family does have more… drama in it," I say to them as they both seem to agree and we drive to the roller rink. Arriving at the roller rink, we see that it is relatively busy for a fundraiser, at a place like this.

"Let's skate," I say to Alex once we get inside and Haley wanders off, to where ever it is she is going. 

"Uhm… sure…," Alex says while looking at the rink with some worry. 

"You don't know how to skate?" I ask her as we get our shoes exchanged for skates. 

"No…," Alex says to me with a slightly embarrassed face. 

"No worries, I can teach you," I say to her as she nods her head. 

Alex and I then spend the next hour or so in the rink as I help teach her how to skate. With Phil helping Gloria learn to skate too, while Claire is trying her best to avoid Jay for some reason. Haley seems to be talking to some guys she found at the rink. Manny and Luke headed to the arcade area, with Cam, Mitchell, and Lily all talking to the person who invited us here. 

"Let's take a break," Alex says as we both leave the rink and I got get us some food and drinks. 

Walking back to Alex I see Haley has brought over the two guys she was talking to earlier, with Alex looking uncomfortable. 

"Hey… everything good over here?" I ask as the two guys look at me with annoyed and judgmental looks like I am stepping into their territory or something. 

"Oh hey, Gabe! This is my sister's best friend, he is gay, no worries," Haley says making me give her a confused and surprised look. Alex gives me a look of help. 

"Gabe can I talk to you over here," Haley says while dragging me away from the group as I look over to make sure they don't make Alex any more uncomfortable than she is. 

"Just play along ok! This is my chance to land two hot boyfriends," Haley says as I just stare at her, then look back to Alex who seems even more uncomfortable. As one is hitting on her, this makes my anger spike. 

"Yeah fuck that, you can get laid on your own time," I say walking past Haley who gives me a very angered look and quickly follows me back to the group. 

"Ok, funs over shit heads. This is actually my girlfriend and her sister is just an idiot. So kindly fuck off," I say while placing myself between the one guy hitting on Alex and Alex. 

"What?!" the one hitting on Alex says as I tense up readying for a fight to break out. Alex jumps up and tries to pull me away. 

"He's just–" Haley says trying to save her possible three-way or whatever it was she was trying to achieve here. 

"No I am not, fuck off, or I will make you fuck off!" I say with more anger in my tone than I originally intended. However, it seems my size difference between the two shorter guys and their lack of courage made them reconsider fighting me. 

"Gabe! What the fuck!" Haley says as the two guys leave, though I turn to her very angry still, especially at her. 

"No Haley you what the fuck! What in the fuck were you thinking?! Putting your sister in that situation without asking her or me if we are okay with it?! What you did was fucked up!" I say to her as I let out some of my pent-up anger from the almost fistfight a few seconds ago. 

Haley just gives me a very angry look before opening her mouth to think, then closes it before stomping away like a little kid. Meanwhile, Alex finally relaxed but was watching her sister stomp away in anger. 

"Thanks Gabe… Though now Haley is gonna be pissed for a while," Alex says watching her sister, then turning to me with a grateful look. 

"Like I care if Haley hates me or not," I say with a dismissing grunt since Haley has quickly earned herself on my shit list from this move.

"Well… two things, first, I found what you did very hot, and second, my house is currently empty…" Alex says to me with a very suggestive look as I look around and see no one paying attention to us. 

"In that case why are we still here?!" I say as Alex chuckles and we quickly leave without anyone noticing, going back to her place. 

With another couple of weeks passing, our second year at high school came to an end. Haley was still pissed at me shunning me every time I was over the Dunphy's house. Though I couldn't care less, ignoring her all the same. Then a few weeks into our summer break, Phil's mother passed away. Phil invited our family to come to Florida where his parents live. As my Dad is Phil's best friend and he wants, his best friend at the funeral too. 

My parents paid for everyone's first-class fight tickets as part of a grieving gift to Phil and his family. Though Jay covered his family's tickets, along with Mitchell, Cam, and Lily too. The flight there was uneventful though Alex and I did talk about her grandma who just died on the way there, telling me how close the two of them were as she was very upset at her passing. Phil had already headed down to Florida a few days earlier to help set up the funeral, as we would be meeting him down there. 

Getting down there apparently, Gloria confided in my Mom that her ex-roommate down in Florida turned their apartment into a brothel after she left, but her name was still on the lease. Alex and I overheard this conversation, Alex gave me a look of 'wtf' as I tried to not laugh. 

"Wouldn't you just pay a fine and that would be the end of it? Quick and easy," Jay says as my Mom thinks about it, along with Mitchell since they are both lawyers. 

"Yes, that was the name of the whorehouse," Gloria says as I let out a laugh now, as it was too much for me to hold back. This made them all look over at us, seeing that Alex and I overheard the whole conversation. 

"Uhm… Alex… it's… don't tell your parents," Jay says seeing Alex's face of pure disbelief at hearing this. 

"Te mantendrás callado," (You will keep quiet) Mom says to me with a very serious face, as I cough back my laughter while trying to not continue to laugh. 

"Yeah… I'm out, good luck," Mitchell says walking away as Jay sighs and turns to my Mom with a hopeful look. 

"I'll make a few phone calls," Mom says as Jay gives her a thankful look. 

"Gracias hermana," (Thanks sister) Gloria says to my Mom who nods her head to both of them before walking away to make a few phone calls. 

Alex and I then went to find her parents at her grandparents' house, while Manny went to indulge in the amenities of the gated community for seniors, yes, he fits right in. Cam ingratiated himself with a group of senior ladies discussing books. He was quite a hit, even taking them on in Mahjong. Getting inside the house, Alex's grandfather was sitting with her parents and siblings as they discussed the plans and will. 

"Alex!" her grandfather says walking over and giving her a loving hug, which she returns. 

"And you must be her boyfriend Gabe! I heard a lot about you, from Alex and Phil. I'm Frank by the way," Frank, Alex's grandfather says after greeting Alex, with a well-hidden deep grief in his eyes and turning to me. 

"Nice to me you Frank," I say shaking his hand which he smiles at and returns the handshake. Alex looks slightly embarrassed being called out for talking about me to her grandparents. 

'Even Phil talked about me?' I think as I look at Phil who appears distraught still. I knew he didn't hate me, but I figured he didn't like that much either. Guess I was wrong. 

"Anyway now that you all are here, these are the things your grandmother left to you all… I'm gonna… I'm gonna go grab something from the kitchen," Frank says and you can tell he doesn't want to be around when they open the gifts as he is still grieving deeply for the loss of his wife. 

Frank, Phil's father, gave him a box his wife left for the Dunphy family. Phil couldn't read the note his mother left behind, so Claire read it for him. His mother's last request was for Phil to set Frank up with Annie Fitzsimmons, a very nice lady who lived a few streets away. 

"WHAT?!?!" Phil says after hearing the letter his late mother left for him. 

"No way!! That is crazy!" Phil says as Claire continues on to read the letter. 

This is exactly how his mother thought he'd react, but she wanted Frank to find someone before all the 'vultures' came swooping in, given the very high female-to-male ratio of the community.

"Dad's not like that! He wouldn't follow anything with a casserole!" Phil says while eating cookie after cookie that Haley brought out from the kitchen. 

There were other items in the box, none of which were his mother's ashes. Haley got some jewelry, Luke got a pocket watch because his grandmother thought men acted more dignified with them.

"Is this chain in case you swallow it?" Luke says more to himself as no one is paying attention, though I wondered how Darwin's theory of evolution never applied to Luke. 

"A lighter?... The note says, 'It's a lighter'... what?!" Alex says taking her item from the box as she looks very offended at her last gift from her late grandmother. 

"Phil I think you might want to consider your mother's last wishes," Claire says as Phil is grumbling about it, with my Dad and sister finally entering the house. Phil brightens up slightly seeing them as he informs them what just happened. 

I then follow Alex upstairs who is very upset at her gift from her grandmother. As it seems I am going to have to comfort her. She was confused and didn't understand why her grandmother left her just a lighter. However, I remembered why from my past life's memories of the show. 

"Maybe ask your grandfather? He might know more," I say urging to ask him as he has another letter for Alex which he forgot to give in his grief, which explains the gift better to Alex. 

"I guess…" Alex says while looking down at the lighter with teary eyes. Though I just hold her as she cries in my arms from the grief finally taking over. 

Later that night at the ceremony they set up as the final goodbye to their grandmother, Frank gave Alex the letter that better explains the gift left to her. 

"This is a lighter. It belonged to my favorite actor, Paul Newman. One day, he came to the restaurant where I was waitressing and accidentally left it behind. For the first time in my life, I did something I wasn't supposed to and slipped it into my pocket. One of the customers saw and said 'Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me.' That customer turned out to be the love of my life: your grandfather. So, dear Alex, who I love so dearly, who's probably too much like me for her own good, don't be afraid to break the rules. You never know what might happen," Alex says reading it out loud to me as I hold her close to me, with her emotions taking over again as she begins to break up again reading the letter.