The Driving Force to Love (MXM) ✔

Chapter 55

Antonio Angel Hernandez Sanchez

"We'll see you there," Jose said.

I was at his house helping him pack up his car for the trip. Rosa packed a lot of food for the weekend trip. Olivia was riding with them, but Sophia was riding with Felipe and his girlfriend. They just arrived at Jose's house.

"See you there," I said.

My car was already packed up with my things so I went to Liz's house to see if they needed help. It was strange to pull up the familiar house that was once where I lived. I sometimes found myself driving there automatically on my way home. Sometimes I even got all the way here before I remembered I didn't live here anymore. My house wasn't too far away so it wasn't that big of a deal to drive here first and then reroute to home. Liz and Sarah and the girl they were fostering stood outside loading up their car.

"Need help?" I asked as I got out of the car and approached them.

"Uncle tio," the little girl - Amy - said as she ran up to me.

"Hello, Amy," I said and patted the top of her head. She smiled. When Liz and Sarah first introduced her to me, she had been confused that uncle and tio meant the same thing. They did explain it to her and she did finally understand, but she kept calling me uncle tio anyway and I thought it was cute so I let her.

"This is the last of it," Liz said to me as Sarah put the last bag in their trunk. "You should get going if you are meeting up with Dean to ride with him."

"You know the way?" I asked her. I was pretty sure she did, but I wanted to confirm.

"We know the way," Liz assured me. "And if we take a wrong turn or something, we can call you."

"Let's go, Amy," Sarah said to the little girl. "We'll see you up there," she said to me.

I got back in my car and went to Mark's apartment. He was waiting out front with his new girlfriend. I hadn't met her before, but she had a friendly smile, a delicate frame and innocent eyes that reminded me a lot of Liz. I immediately liked her.

"You must be Sally," I said as I got out and took her bag from her. "It's great to meet you. I'm Antonio, but you may call me Tonio."

"It's good to meet you too," she said. "Mark thinks highly of you."

That brought a smile to my lips as I turned to Mark. "It's good to see you again, Mark."

"You too," he said. We put their bags in the trunk of my car. They sat in the backseats as I drove to Dean's. Sally made it easy to keep the conversation going so the ride wasn't awkward. It was clear Mark adored her by the way he looked at her and as she took his hand in hers and smiled at him it was clear she adored him too.

When we arrived at Dean's he was standing outside talking with Vincent and Chet.

I got out of the car and went to him. Mark and Sally followed me. "Ready to go?" I asked Dean after we all greeted each other and Sally was introduced to Vincent and Chet.

He nodded. "I put my stuff in the back of Vinny's car. He'll follow us."

"Great," I said. "I think my brother and his family and Liz and hers have already left. They'll probably beat us to the campsite."

"That's fine," Dean said. "We're not really in any rush."

We went back to my car. Dean sat in the front passenger seat while Mark and Sally got in the back. I pulled the car away from his house. Vincent and Chet followed us in their car.

Dean conversed easily with Sally and seemed relaxed around her. It was my first time seeing Mark and Sally together, but she did seem good for him and he seemed brighter than I had ever seen him.

When we got to the campsite, the others were already there setting up. The bustle of the camp paused as we arrived and introduced everyone to each other. Dean and I had a two man tent we quickly set up while Vincent and Chet and Mark and Sally did the same. My brother's family and Liz's family had just finished setting up their tent. Amy stayed close to Liz and Sarah at first, but Olivia and Sophia began talking with her and eventually she dared to stray further from Liz and Sarah to get closer to my nieces.

Jose started a campfire. Dean and I joined him. Sarah and Liz went to Rosa to help her prepare whatever food she was going to make for dinner. Rosa always went way out when it came to food.

Chet brought out his soccer ball. My nieces and nephew and his girlfriend joined him and Vincent as they played. Amy watched from a distance. It was clear she was unsure if she was allowed to join them or not. Chet purposely went and took Amy's hand as she watched and pulled her into the game. Sally pulled a hesitant Mark along to join in the game.

It was clear even though Chet was taking it easy, that he could easily out run and out score all of them. When Chet saw that the little girl wanted to play, but was struggling to keep pace, he slowed the pace of the game even more. The others took his lead and slowed it down to make it easier for her. Then Chet took the time to teach her how to kick the ball and how to tribble it. Everyone paused game play to allow her to score a goal. Olivia was goalie. She purposely missed the ball to let Amy score, but she made it look like Amy had out played her. Amy smiled happily as Chet gave her a high five.

The game continued at its slow pace. Whatever reservations Chet had had about Mark in the beginning now seemed to be completely gone as he high fived Mark for making a goal even though Mark was on the opposite team. Mark had been hesitant when the game began, but now he seemed relaxed to be playing with his girlfriend and the kids.

"Your son's boyfriend has a way of making everyone feel welcome," I pointed out to Dean.

Dean smiled. His head swiveled from the soccer game to me. "So do you," he said and nudged my shoulder gently. I would have kissed him then and there even with everyone watching, but with the way I was feeling at that moment, I probably would have taken it further so I didn't.

Rosa, Liz and Sarah made carne asada for dinner. She placed a grill over the fire to cook the meat, onions and grilled pepper. I hadn't thought I was hungry, but at the smell of the cooking meat, my stomach growled. No one seemed to notice though. Or maybe they were too focused on their own hunger to notice.

The soccer game ended when dinner was almost ready. They hadn't kept score so neither side was declared a winner. They all spoke happily with one another. Even Amy was now completely relaxed with the older kids.

We all gathered around the fire to eat. We felt like a real family even though some of them had only met that day. A family that Dean and I had brought together.

After dinner we made smores. Amy was particularly obsessed with them and kept saying how she had never had them before. She went around to each person to make sure they each had a smore. She ate several. Sarah and Liz had a quiet argument about letting her eat so much sugar in one sitting, but Liz won and Sarah relented to let Amy have as many as she wanted for one night only.

Amy fell asleep in Liz's lap with marshmallow and chocolate around her lips. Vincent, Chet and my nephew and nieces got along well and had their own conversation while the rest of us older adults had our own. The night got later and eventually we went to our own tents to sleep.

"Did it feel the same to you as it did to me?" I asked Dean as we sprawled side by side in our two person tent. "Did it feel like our two separate families were one today?"

"Yes," he said as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close.

"Let's get together like this with everyone as much as we can," I said. "I know it's a little hard because Vincent and Chet attend college so far away, but when we can, let's do this."

"Okay," he said.

I threw my arm around his waist and snuggled in closer to him. I couldn't imagine a more perfect day than today.