The Porch
Alex was sitting on the porch of Jay's house. The sun was beginning to set. The air smelled of wet earth and jasmine. Her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Leo: "How was dinner?"
Alex: "I survived. My mom almost died when I told her about us."
Leo: "You told her?"
Alex: "Haley ratted me out. But I was going to anyway."
Leo: "How did they react?"
Alex: "My mom is in shock. My grandpa nodded. Gloria said you were 'the kind of man worth having.'"
Leo: "Gloria said that?"
Alex: "Gloria said that. She also said that if you hurt me, she's going to call her cousins in Colombia."
Leo: "She has cousins?"
Alex: "She has twelve. All bigger than me, stronger than me, and experienced in making men disappear."
Leo: "Is that a threat?"
Alex: "It's a promise."
Leo: "Then I won't hurt you."
Alex: "I hope not."
Leo: "Can I see you tomorrow?"
Alex: "I have school."
Leo: "After school."
Alex: "Okay."
Leo: "I love you?"
Alex: "Are you asking me or telling me?"
Leo: "Telling you. I love you."
Alex: "I love you too."
She put her phone away. The sun was setting. The clouds were tinged with orange and pink. Gloria came out onto the porch and sat beside her.
"Leo?" Gloria asked.
"Yes," Alex replied.
"Is he a good kid?" Gloria asked.
"He's the best," Alex replied.
"Does he make you happy?" Gloria asked.
"He makes me happy," Alex replied.
"Then don't let anyone take that happiness away from you. Not your mother, not your father, not anyone," Gloria said.
"What if someday he stops making me happy?" Alex asked.
"Then you leave him and find someone else. But as long as he makes you happy, stay," Gloria said.
Alex nodded.
"Thank you, Gloria," Alex said.
"You're welcome. That's what family is for," Gloria replied.
Gloria stood up and went back inside. Alex stayed on the porch, watching the sun disappear behind the trees.
Her phone vibrated again.
Leo: "Are you still there?"
Alex: "Still."
Leo: "Are you thinking about me?"
Alex: "Always."
Leo: "That's very cheesy."
Alex: "I know."
Leo: "It's okay. It can be cheesy sometimes."
Alex smiled. She put her phone away. The sun was gone. The stars were beginning to appear. And she, Alexandra Dunphy, who had never believed in love, who had always thought equations were more reliable than people, who had built a wall of books and sarcasm to protect herself from the world, understood that sometimes broken things can be more interesting than perfect ones.
And she, who had felt broken for so long, now felt whole.
The Dunphy House
Claire arrived home with the kids. Phil was on the couch with the remote control in his hand and an expression of absolute confusion.
"How was dinner?" Phil asked (he hadn't gone to the family dinner because he had several house showings).
"Fine, until Alex announced she has a boyfriend," Claire said, setting her keys on the table.
"What?" Phil asked, jumping up. "Boyfriend? Who?"
"It's Leo," Claire interrupted.
Phil froze.
"Leo? The Leo? The robotics one?" Phil asked.
"How many Leos do you know?" Claire replied (with a slight déjà vu, since Alex had said the same thing that afternoon).
"Since when?" Phil asked.
"Since Valentine's Day," Claire said.
"And they didn't tell us anything?" Phil asked.
"They wanted to wait. To be sure," Claire said.
Phil sat down on the couch.
"Leo's a good kid," Phil said.
"I know," Claire said.
"He treats Alex well," Phil said.
"I know," Claire repeated.
"So why do you have that face?" Phil asked.
"What face?" Claire asked.
"The 'something bad is going to happen' face," Phil replied.
Claire sat beside him.
"What if he hurts her?" Claire asked.
"Leo isn't going to hurt Alex," Phil said.
"How do you know?" Claire asked.
"Because I've seen him. The way he looks at her, the way he waits, the way he never pushes her. That kid is truly in love," Phil said.
"That's what worries me," Claire said.
"Why?" Phil asked.
"Because if he's truly in love, and if Alex truly is too, and if someday they break up... she's going to fall apart," Claire said.
"Or maybe not. Maybe they'll last forever," Phil said.
"No one lasts forever," Claire said.
"We've lasted," Phil said.
Claire looked at him.
"We've lasted seventeen years," Phil said.
"Seventeen years of chaos," Claire said.
"Seventeen years of love," Phil corrected.
Claire smiled.
Phil hugged her. Alex came into the living room at that moment.
"Can I watch TV?" Alex asked.
"Sure," Claire said, pulling away from Phil.
Alex sat on the couch and took the remote.
"Alex," Claire said.
"What?" Alex asked.
"I'm happy for you. For Leo," Claire said.
"Thanks, Mom," Alex said.
"But if he hurts you, I'm going to..." Claire began.
"I know, Mom. You're going to call Gloria's cousins," Alex interrupted.
"How do you know about Gloria's cousins?" Claire asked with surprise.
"Gloria told me," Alex replied.
"When?" Claire asked.
"Years ago. When she started suspecting about Leo and me," Alex said.
"Gloria knew before I did?" Claire asked with disbelief.
"Gloria knows a lot of things before you do," Alex replied.
Claire sighed.
"Anything else I should know?" Claire asked.
"Leo loves me. And I love him. And we're going to try. The rest doesn't matter," Alex said.
Claire looked at her. In her eyes was something she hadn't seen before. Security. Certainty.
"Okay," Claire said.
"Okay?" Alex asked with surprise.
"Okay. You're my daughter. I trust you. I trust Leo. And if you're happy, I'm happy," Claire said.
Alex stood up and hugged her mother. It wasn't a frequent hug, but it was a comfortable one.
"Thank you, Mom," Alex said.
"You're welcome. That's what family is for," Claire replied.
Phil, from the armchair, smiled.
"Can I hug you too?" Phil asked.
"You can," Alex said.
Phil stood up and hugged them both. Luke came into the living room at that moment.
"Hugs again?" Luke asked with disgust.
"Come here, Luke," Claire said.
"I don't want to," Luke said.
"Come here or no dessert," Claire said.
Luke approached reluctantly. Haley appeared on the stairs.
"What's going on?" Haley asked.
"Family hugs," Claire said.
"Can I opt out?" Haley asked.
"You can," Claire said.
"Then I opt out," Haley said and went back upstairs.
Everyone laughed. Even Alex.
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