Jay's House
Family dinner at Jay Pritchett's house was always an event. It wasn't just a meal; it was a three-ring circus with the smells of cilantro, garlic, and grilled meat. Today, however, the circus had a different tone. Alex could barely concentrate on her plate. Her fork moved automatically between the rice and beans, but her head was somewhere else. With Leo. With the kiss. With the way his fingers intertwined with hers when they walked out.
They had been a couple for three days. Three days of secret smiles, of midnight text messages, of hands searching for each other under tables. And no one in her family knew yet.
"Alex? Are you okay?" Claire asked from across the table.
Alex looked up. Everyone was looking at her. Haley with curiosity. Luke with indifference. Jay with his usual expression of boredom. Gloria with a smile that seemed to know more than it should.
"I'm fine," Alex lied, her voice flat.
"You don't look fine. You look... distracted," Claire said with concern.
"I'm thinking about thermodynamics," Alex lied.
"On a Sunday?" Haley asked with disbelief.
"Thermodynamics doesn't rest," Alex replied.
"You're so weird," Haley said.
"Thank you," Alex replied.
"That wasn't a compliment," Haley said.
"It was to me," Alex replied.
Manny, who was sitting next to her, looked at her with his big, analytical eyes.
"You seem different today," Manny said.
"Different how?" Alex asked evasively.
"I don't know. Happier. Like you have a secret," Manny said.
Alex didn't reply. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Alex has a secret," Luke sang with his mouth full.
"Luke, don't talk with your mouth full," Claire said.
"Alex has a secret," Luke repeated with an empty mouth.
"I don't have a secret," Alex said too quickly.
"You have a secret," Haley said, narrowing her eyes.
"Drop it, Haley," Alex said.
"Is it about a boy?" Haley asked with a malicious smile.
Alex didn't reply. But her silence was more eloquent than any words.
"Alex has a boyfriend!" Haley exclaimed.
The silence that followed was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jay put down his fork. Claire froze with her wine glass in her hand—although she already suspected the news from the kiss Luke had told her about, she didn't know they were officially a couple yet. And Gloria smiled as if she'd won the lottery.
"Is it true?" Claire asked with a strangely calm voice.
Alex took a deep breath. She couldn't hide it anymore. And deep down, she didn't want to.
"Yes," Alex said with a firm voice. "I have a boyfriend."
"Who?" Claire and Haley asked in unison.
"Leo," Alex replied.
"Leo? The Leo? The robotics one?" Haley asked with surprise.
"How many Leos do you know?" Alex replied with irony.
"Since when?" Claire asked.
"Since Valentine's Day," Alex said.
"And you didn't tell us anything?" Claire asked with a mix of surprise and offense.
"I wanted to wait. To be sure," Alex lied. In truth, she wanted to keep the secret a little longer, like a candy in her mouth she didn't want to finish.
"Is he a good kid?" Jay asked from his armchair.
"He's the best boy I know," Alex replied sincerely.
Jay nodded. He didn't say anything more, but in his eyes was approval.
"And how was it? Did he confess? Did he give you flowers? Did he write you a poem?" Haley asked with curiosity.
"He gave me a poem," Alex said.
"A poem?" Gloria asked with emotion.
"A poem made from my words. The ones I had written. He put them together and created a new one," Alex said.
"That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard," Gloria said, putting a hand to her chest.
"It's cheesy," Haley said.
"It's Leo," Alex replied with a smile.
Manny looked at her with admiration.
"I want someone to write me a poem someday," Manny said.
"Someday it will happen," Gloria said.
"When?" Manny asked.
"When you stop writing poems yourself and let someone write them to you," Gloria replied.
Manny thought about it.
"That doesn't make sense," Manny said.
"Love doesn't make sense. That's why it's beautiful," Gloria replied.
The Kitchen
After the meal, Claire and Gloria were in the kitchen. The dishes piled up in the sink. The voices from the living room came muffled.
"I can't believe Alex has a boyfriend," Claire said with fatigue.
"It's normal. At her age. She's thirteen," Gloria said.
"Thirteen is very young," Claire said.
"When I was thirteen, I already had a boyfriend," Gloria said.
"And how did that end?" Claire asked.
"In the hospital," Gloria replied.
"Did you hurt him?" Claire asked.
"I hurt him," Gloria replied with a smile that wasn't a smile.
"Gloria, that's not funny," Claire said.
"It's not funny. It's a warning," Gloria replied.
"A warning for what?" Claire asked.
"For you to take care of your daughter. Men can be cruel," Gloria said.
"Leo isn't cruel," Claire said.
"Do you know him well?" Gloria asked.
"He's been coming to my house for years. I've seen how he treats Alex. How he looks at her. How he waits," Claire said.
"Waits?" Gloria asked.
"Always. He never pushed her. Never asked for anything. He was just there," Claire said.
Gloria nodded.
"That's the kind of man worth having," Gloria said.
"You think?" Claire asked.
"I know. My father was like that. He waited for my mother until she was ready. And they were happy until he died," Gloria said.
Claire fell silent.
"What if Alex gets hurt?" Claire asked.
"We all get hurt in love. It's part of growing up," Gloria said.
"What if Leo hurts her?" Claire insisted.
"Then I'll call my cousins in Colombia," Gloria said.
"Gloria, you can't call your cousins every time someone hurts someone," Claire said.
"Of course I can. That's what cousins are for," Gloria replied.
Claire sighed.
"And what do you think of Leo?" Claire asked.
"I think he's a good kid. Smart, respectful. And he looks at her like she's the only person in the world," Gloria said.
"That's what worries me," Claire said.
"Why?" Gloria asked.
"Because if he looks at her like that, and she gets used to being looked at like that... what will happen when he's not there?" Claire said.
"Why wouldn't he be there?" Gloria asked.
"People leave. They change. They get tired," Claire said.
"Like your father with your mother?" Gloria asked.
Claire didn't reply, but her eyes grew moist.
"Claire, not all men are like your father. Not all stories end badly," Gloria said.
"I know. But I'm scared," Claire admitted.
"Fear is normal. But you can't let fear take away your daughter's happiness," Gloria said.
Claire nodded.
"I'm going to have to talk to Leo," Claire said.
"What for?" Gloria asked.
"So he knows that if he hurts Alex, I'm going to..." Claire began.
"Call your cousins?" Gloria interrupted with a smile.
"My cousins aren't good for this. My cousins are accountants," Claire said.
"Then you're going to have to use your own hands," Gloria said.
Claire looked at her.
"Do you think I can?" Claire asked.
"You're more Colombian than you look," Gloria replied.
Claire smiled. It was a small smile, but it reached her eyes.
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Haley discovered the secret. Alex has a boyfriend. Her family exploded.
Who reacted best? Jay nodding or Gloria with her Colombian cousins? 🇨🇴👀💣
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