Chapter 1, The Party
Tommy Santos
I prepare myself mentally in the car, I try not to freak out too much so as to not concern Bex, my girlfriend. We’ve been dating each other for 3 months at this point, though it’s only until quite recently that I told my parents about the relationship; telling them about how I’ll bring Bex to my Tío Jorge’s party. Here in the car, I could hear the music playing some Los Ángeles Azules songs, a bit muffled as it’s being played in the backyard.
As I exit the car, I turn to Bex and remind her, “Just as we rehearsed, alright?”
“Yeah, like you say so hon!” Bex replies to me, her smile lit up, complimenting the freckles on her face that scatter like rain droplets.
She holds my hand as we both approach the door, a flood of childhood memories returns to me; seeing the pathway laced with painted stones leading towards the porch. I remember one summer afternoon when my brother Floro, my dad, a few of my cousins, and I helped with the front yard. I feel proud, being able to show Bex the place and people which I’ve spent several years of my life growing up with. We arrive at the front door and I ring the doorbell, a little nervous about showing my girlfriend to my family.
As soon as the door is open, my parents greet us; “¡Hola Tomás!” As we enter, they soon also start to greet Bex, “Hey there! You must be Bex, Tommy told a lot of stuff about you!”
As Bex starts to shake hands with them, she replies in Spanish, “Sí, ese mi, y como estás?”
I listen to Bex’s conversation, she has the slight accent you see a non-native speaker having while speaking Spanish; and I can’t help but slightly blush. I think it adds to the overall cuteness that she has, one which I enjoy. As we walk to the back by the house, I greet some of my uncles, aunts, and younger cousins; until we walk outside to the backyard.
Floro, my older brother, spots me and greets the two of us; “Hey little bro! How ya doing?” he tells me, teasing me by petting my head; he’s a bit taller than me.
“I’m good Floro,” I replied back, “Well… um, I brought my girlfriend here.”
I see Floro turn to Bex, they give each other a handshake.
“Oh hi! I’m Bex! Tommy probably talked to you about me.”
“Nice to meet you Bex, I’m Floro, I can introduce you to Tommy’s and my cousin friend circle!” Floro replies, we both start to walk towards my cousins.
We talk amongst each other, though I’m starting to get a little nervous; I’ll know I’ll have to tell my family a couple of stories between Bex and me. I go to get a drink of Jamaica, though my fear starts to form, the lunch feast. As my family starts to sit down at the chairs, two of them are marked with my name. Both me and Bex sit down next to each other, right before we start to eat my Tío Jorge makes an announcement.
“Before we start our meal, I'd like us to say a prayer” he says.
We say the Our Father in Spanish, I hear Bex say it in Spanish; it sounds like she’s doing a good job! Once the prayer is over, we all serve our food; and this is where the q&a session starts, the thing I was least looking forward to.
My mom is up first, saying, “So Bex, how did you and Tommy first meet?”
“Well, I first saw him at a tech orientation around the end of the summer.” Bex replies to my mom with.
“Though…” I add on, “We started to actually talk to each other once we noticed we jogged at the same time.”
“That’s sweet,” My dad tells the two of us, “So, where are you from, Bex?”
She replies with, “Oh yeah! Well I’m from San Mateo, both my mom and dad are Italian-American, I believe I’m like the 3rd or 4th generation of that.”
I begin to eat my food, just my typical beans and rice, I see Bex also grabs the beans. I see her smile during the party, seeing the vampire-like fang she has on her left side of her teeth, which also gets the attention of my family.
My Tía Lucila then mentions, “Hey Bex! Are you a vampire or something?”
“Yeah?” Bex says, being a little confused; “Oh yeah, who knows I could be.”
We all start laughing, it definitely seems that Bex has been accepted by my family. I breathe a sigh of relief, as I take a bite into my food
Tommy Santos: Later in the Evening
“¿Cómo te voy a olvidar? ¿Cómo te voy a olvidar?” the speakers sang.
As the nighttime rolled in, we moved the party inside. The dance floor was set up in the living room, as my aunts and grandma got people to dance to the music. I go on my phone, scrolling through it, a sign of my boredom. Most of my family members, including the majority of my cousins I’m close with have already left. As the next song on the playlist changes mood from a slow long to a fast one, people start to come up to dance. I think about putting my phone down, wondering if I should ask Bex to dance with me. Though as I do so, I see Bex hold her hand out to me; looking down at me as she stands up.
“Come on Tommy! Let’s dance to this song!” She says, as I stand up with her.
We both move towards the living room and we both dance, something I’m super good at. I put all my energy I can to dancing, impressing both my family and Bex. I dance to the majority of the song, only slowing down as I start to get tired.
In between deep breaths, I ask Bex a question; “So Bex… What do you think?”
She replies with, “Wow, that’s amazing Tommy! I see you weren’t lying about those school dances.” as we both start laughing.
I’ve mentioned to Bex about my dancing skills at some of my high school dances and proms, and miscellaneous parties here and there. Anyways, we dance to several more songs; until we crash on the couch depleted of energy. We stayed for about an hour or so at this party, as more people left; I decided it’s time to say goodbye.
I turn to Bex, asking her, “Hey Bex, do you think we should head back now?”
“Yeah, considering the drive home.” She replies.
As my parents still live in my childhood home in San Leandro, it’s like a half an hour to return to the dorm. I get up and start to say my goodbyes to my family.
“Adiós mamá, papá” I say while hug them.
“Bien viajé Tomás!” my mom replies to me.
As I start to head towards the door, I hear Bex say goodbye to my parents.
“Bye Mr. and Mrs. Santos, nos vemos otro día!” She says.
We head back to the car, proud of the day I had today, the party and also knowing that Bex has officially become a member of my family.