"Yuck..." AJ's voice expectedly sounded from the backseat as, for what seemed like the thousandth time since they'd left the airport, Alvaro lifted
the back of his wife's hand to his lips, kissing her soft skin as his fingers tightened around their joined hands. He laughed as he glanced over his
shoulder at his son in his car seat, his little nose scrunched in disgust.
"What? I cannot kiss your mommy?" Alvaro asked jokingly, placing more sloppy kisses on Evita's hand. A mix of giggles and whiny "No!!!"s streamed from
the backseat, erupting the car in laughter. He was home again. Back with his wife, who Alvaro could swear was more beautiful than when he
left, and his growing-like-a-weed son. And just like every time that he'd gone away on a medical mission and returned, it felt normal. Nothing felt
out of place. He had an irrational fear...and he knew it was irrational. Every time he left, he thought he'd return to a place that was unfamiliar
with him. That AJ wouldn't know him or Evie would be...he didnt like to think that way. Not when his fears never turned out to be true. It was a
stupid thought. And the stupid thoughts seeped away when he saw their smiling faces, when he held them close to him, when...
"We're home!" Alvaro looked up, his smile breaking as Evita pulled the car into their driveway. Home. He couldn't deny it, Alvaro seeing home was the
pentacle of his homecomings. Knowing that he was seconds away from putting his bags down in his own foyer, minutes away from eating a meal that Eva
had cooked just for him...less than hours from being wrapped in her loving arms, falling asleep in their bed...
"People can park on the streets now?" He muttered to Evita as they pulled his bags from the trunk of the car.
"It looks so cluttered..." He said, noticing the change to their neighborhood that was usual so strict about the aesthetics of the homes and the
streets.
Trudging his bags up the walkway, he couldn't help notice how quiet Evita was...or how she hadn't answered his question, even as he pulled out his
keys and pushed open their front...
SURPRISE!
Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.
Evita giggled as Alvaro kissed her hand for what had to be the millionth time since they'd pulled away from the airport. She looked into the rear view
mirror just as little AJ gave yet another adorable sound of disgust. Evita scrunched up her nose at him before refocusing on the road. They were
almost home and that was just a little more exciting than it had been originally because Evita had a surprise waiting for her husband.
For as long as she had known him Alvaro was never one for a party. Sure, he would do the occasional "work thing" with his job or hers, but even in
school he was never a "let's get drunk and stay out until 2am" partier. So when Whitney suggested a homecoming for Alvaro, Evita cringed. But then she
got calls from a few of his co-workers and a couple family friends who wanted to see Alvaro when he got back and she figured...what's the
harm? It wouldn't be a party. It would be dinner. And a couple glasses of wine. He would be fine! So she had spent all day making sure everything
was perfect and now that he was here, it was.
"We're home!" She announced it mostly for Alvie, but she knew Alvaro loved the first sight of home. When they bought this place he knew immediately
upon seeing it that this was it. Their home. Where they would raise a family. Where AJ would come on breaks from college and where Alvaro came when he
was done with his missions. She watched his eyes light up as they pulled in and she could practically feel the happiness radiate out of him. He was
home.
Evita tried her hardest to stifle a giggle as Alvaro asked about the cars parked on the street. She said nothing as she grabbed his backpack from the
trunk and walked around to get his son from the backseat. She gave a nonchalant "mmhmm" as he told her how cluttered it looked, walking ever so
slightly behind him before...
"SURPRISE!" Even AJ shouted it, looking up at his father to see his reaction. Evita made sure not to invite more than 10 people so that Alvaro wasn't
too overwhelmed, but a quick glance at him told her it was still too much. Without missing a beat her lips found his in a kiss just long enough to
bring a smile to his face.
"There you go-," she giggled a little, her fingers running over Alvaro's lips to get the lipstick off. Evita put distance between them again and
ushering he and AJ fully inside. She let everyone greet him as she pushed his bags to the side and out of the way. They could worry about unpacking
later. Her baby was home.
But it's you who brought me here.
You, through all these years.
He couldn't eat another bite. Truly, he couldn't. And he hadn’t even been able to get through most of the succulent, Brazilian dishes that his
Evita had prepared for his arrival. His homecoming. He knew his shallow stomach was mostly to blame. The month he’d been in Haiti,
he'd been stricter about his diet, ate less...and unfortunately slept less. But the true reason for his inability to eat his wife’s amazing
meal? He was already so full. Being home, sitting at the table with some of his little family’s dearest friends, bowls of moqueca and
thick, crispy bread on the table. Endless conversation. He knew that was the culprit. He was full of joy. He was home. He was finally with
his wife and his son.
“What was that game called again, Al?†His eyebrows raised as Evita’s voice rose over the laughter, her beautiful eyes shining as
she caught his.
“The one the children played with you at the hospital?†He chuckled a little, realizing that she’d taken on the task of
entertaining their guests...a task that Alvaro was all too grateful to give up. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the party and the
faces of his friends greeting him upon his return. But, traveling was tiring, being away from his family for so long and so often was draining
and…
“Warri…†He said with a smile, winking as she pulled attention back to herself, retelling most of the stories and memories that
he’d shared with her during his time in Haiti. The story about the girl who survived a surgery that should have surely taken her life, but for
her resilient spirit, she survived. The story about the unofficial hospital dog that visited the small children’s ward most days and begged for
scraps at the end of the day, as if asking for his shift pay (this was Alvaro’s favorite story). She talked of almost every child, experience,
joy and sorrow as if she’d been sitting beside him every day he’d been away.
Movement on his chest reminded him that AJ was laying there, his short arms still trying to wrap themselves around his father as he slept. Alvaro
smiled, his large hands going to his son’s back, patting lightly as AJ smiled in his sleep, his little lips that looked so much like
Evita’s lifting at the corners in amusement at the dream he was dreaming.
Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.
Evita felt like she was rambling. She was trying to do her last little bit of entertaining. Now that dinner was done and a majority of the guests had
taken their leave, it was much easier. The only two left were Whitney and her fiance, James, neither of whom Evita really had to entertain. Whitney
was on her fifth glass of wine and James was just trying to keep her upright in her chair. Everyone laughed at a lapse in Evita's story...well,
Alvaro's story that Evita was telling.
She turned to him, making sure he was still with the group and asking him to help out with the story. She loved having him home. Time seemed to slow
as she looked at him, their son against his chest as he rested after today's excitement. Nothing was better than having her boys together again and
she knew Alvaro felt the same.
"Well y-you're not the only one living an exciting life-," Whitney interjected, her nose scrunching in Alvaro's direction.
"Yes, Whit, we know you're planning a wedding." Evita laughed and the others joined in. AJ pulled his father closer, disturbed by the noise. He
soothed him, his hand rubbing his back as he settled again.
"Now you know I'm talking about you and Mr. Gucci Store." Evita gasped involuntarily, which was fitting as it felt like all the air was sucked out of
the room. Her eyes went wide and fell immediately to Alvaro. What was Whitney thinking?!
But it's you who brought me here.
You, through all these years.
And if there was total content to be found in holding his son as he dozed to the sound of his wife’s voice, Alvaro had found it...although he
was quite sure that falling asleep at their dinner table in the midst of company would be frowned upon. Especially since the last of their company was
Evita’s friend, Whitney and Whitney’s fiance...whose name he still got wrong on most occasions. Was it John or James? It’s
James, Alvaro. He smiled secretly at the chidding version of Evita’s voice in his head, tuning back into listening to the real thing and
the conversation between she and her friends at the table.
An exciting life? Alvaro smiled again at Whitney’s words, but his smile had a different meaning. He wouldn’t necessarily call his life
“excitingâ€. Sacrificial? Necessary? Of course. Leaving his family for months on end to help those who would ever see the medical care he
and his colleagues offered without their aid was his contribution. A lot of the doctors in some of his groups were more into the beauty or
entertainment of a place. Alvaro mostly kept to his job. Not that he didn’t enjoy learning about the culture and the people that he served,
but...his definition of exciting was different. Exciting was listening to little AJ sing a song he’d learned in daycare that day. Or hearing
Evita’s hilarious stories about her assistant’s daily mishaps. All of that, even as familiar and comfortable as it was, was
Alvaro’s excitement.
And he would’ve told this to Whitney if she’d not continued, slurring a few of her words as her fiance looked on, a tinge of
embarrassment coating his smile. Alvaro laughed along with everyone as Evita commented on Whitney’s pending nuptials, which were apparently
going to be the event of the season...or at least that’s what Whitney believed. She’d told Evita this, who’d told Alvaro as well,
a thousand times.
“A wedding we all can’t wait to attend.†Alvaro chuckled in agreement with his wife, patting AJ’s back as his little
sleeper.
The laughter was still fresh on his lips as Whitney mentioned...Mr. Gucci? Who in the world could that have been? And it looked as if the
adventures of Drunken Whitney were about to strike again.
He flashed an incredulous face, rolling his eyes jokingly at his wife and her friend’s antics...until he noticed the flash of panic spreading
across Evita’s own expression.
“Oh come ON, Evita! Mr. Guc-†Whitney’s laughter turned into a chuckle, accompanied by a cough of...was that embarrassment?
Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.
She was frozen, listening to Whitney repeat herself and then, maybe realize how what she was saying sounded. Because it sounded like there
was a man in her life that was not Alvaro or their son. It sounded like she was keeping secrets. It sounded like the beginning of an
argument on Alvaro's first night home...One of those was correct. Because when she did tell Alvaro about "Mr. Gucci" she would have to say who he was
and Amiri would be the last person he wanted to hear about her seeing. Especially because he didn't hear it from her first...oh no...
She never planned on telling Alvaro about her run in with Amiri. First of all, it wasn't important. She saw him once and didn't plan to see him again.
Second, despite never meeting him in person, Alvaro was not a fan of Amiri for what he did to her oh so many years ago. Alvie had been there to shift
through the wreckage after Amiri destroyed her and she knew he harbored feelings about that. And finally, it wasn't important. She didn't bring it up
because she didn't want exactly what was happening now; her, unable to make speech despite opening and closing her mouth way more than necessary and
him, staring at her in confused silence as he waited for her to explain. She didn't want to do this in front of people.
"Look at the time." Evita stood taking AJ from his father and resting him gently against her chest. "I can't believe it got away from us so quickly.
Whit, James, I'm going to go put AJ down and I'll be right back." She looked sympathetically at Alvaro before heading away from the group and toward
AJ's room. She just needed a minute to get herself together. Hopefully, a minute the other would use to grab their jackets and get ready to leave.
Thanks to Whitney, Evita had to talk to her husband.
But it's you who brought me here.
You, through all these years.
![[*]](images/davis/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
