Just be there

Casey

Izzie stood in front of the closet nervously looking at different tops. We are supposed to be at her grandma's apartment in 30 minutes to install a car seat for her baby sister, before we head out to lunch and the park with all three of her siblings. I have only met them once, and very briefly at that, and never met her grandmother. I hope my yellow t shirt and jeans shorts are appropriate. I want to make a good impression.

Izzie finally settles on a simple white crop top to pair with her black shorts.
She turns and looks at me, and I whistle. "Dang , how did I get such a hottie?" I say learning forward to kiss her lightly. She laughs and says "Shut up Newton" but I see her smile as she goes to put on her sneakers. I pull on a pair of Vans, and we head downstairs.

"If you guys want, bring the kids by after the park and we can watch a movie or something" My mom says as we walk through the kitchen. Izzie smiles at her and says "We will play it by ear, the baby can get pretty cranky in the afternoon"
Elsa smiles and nods.

We pull up into the parking lot at Izzie's grandma's parking complex and a miniature male version of Izzie runs out to greet us. This is Luca, Izzie's little brother who has the same olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes though his cheeks still have a prepubescent roundness to them. He is 11, and the oldest of Izzie's younger siblings. I get out of the car and say "Sup dude?" And he grins and hands me the car seat. Izzie gets out of the car and hugs him tightly.
Izzie than takes the car seat from me and starts installing it, as I have never installed a car seat in my life. Luca smiles at me and I grin back. "So you two are like together?" He asks me. "Yep." I say back. "Cool." He says before turning to walk up to the apartment. "Good talk" I mumble to myself and chuckle.

Izzie is done installing the car seat and takes my hand and leads me up to the apartment.
The door is already open and she leads me into the living room of the small apartment. Luca and Izzie's sister Gabi are sitting on the couch. Gabi is a year younger than Luca, but is already taller than her brother at 10. Gabi has dark eyes and hair like her brother and sister, but her skin tone is more pale. "Hey dudes" I say as we walk in.

"Grandma is in her room with the baby." Gabi informs Izzie. I wait while she goes to knock on her grandma's door. It is clear that Gabi and Luca are sharing the couch, as there is a blanket and pillow on each side of the couch.
Izzie's grandmother walks out holding the youngest of Izzie's siblings. Izzie's grandmother is a stern looking woman in her late 70's with grey hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her face warms when she smiles at me.

The baby isn't really a baby anymore, as she turned 2 a few weeks ago. She has a different dad than the rest of her siblings so she is chubby cheeked toddler with dark blonde hair and light hazel eyes. She grins and shrieks with excitement when she sees Izzie.
"Is that my Charlie girl?" Izzie says as she reaches for her youngest sibling.
"You must be Casey, I've head good things about you" Izzie's grandmother says. "Hi Ms. Taylor, it's so nice to meet you!" I say to her grandmother. "Please, call me Alice" I nod and smile at her. Izzie is happily tickling and giggling with Charlie, who keeps screeching "Ithy" over and over between her giggles. "Z's are still hard for her" Alice says to me with a laugh.

After we chat for a little bit, we take the kids and head down to the car so Alice can get some peace and quiet. I can't imagine living in a 1 bedroom apartment with an 11,10, and 2 year old. Alice is one tough old lady.

The car ride to McDonald's to pick up Happy Meals is loud and chaotic. Charlie is still screeching "Ithy!" ever few minutes, to which Izzie replies "I'm right here Charlie girl" which is always met with an adorable giggle from Charlie. Gabi is sitting in the middle seat between Charlie and Luca, and we go most of the ride without hearing her say a word. Luca chattered loudly to me about video games for most of the ride. Izzie had told me before that Gabi is shy, but she didn't seem so shy when she suddenly screamed "Get your dumb boy arm off me Luca!" right before I turned into McDonalds. It was chaotic, but Izzie was positively glowing with happiness.

We order two Happy meals because Luca insists he is too old for a Happy meal. Instead I order him a #2, as well as a #2 for myself. Izzie orders a chicken salad and I eye her suspiciously. "Are you going to order something healthy than try to steal my fries?" I say with a mock angry look on my face. "Yes she will" little Gabi chimes in. "Yeah she always does that" Luca says laughing, delighted at the opportunity to tease his older sister. Izzie laughs so hard she snorts. "Are you okay little piggy?" I say laughing. This only makes Izzie laugh harder, and Gabi and Luca join in. Charlie doesn't understand what is going on, but she claps her hands happily at the sound of her siblings' laughter.

I pull forward and pay the very confused drive through guy, who gives us our food and drinks. Izzie balances them on her lap, and I pull out to head to the park.

***
Five and a half hours later we get back in the car after dropping off the kids at Alice's.

Izzie smiles at me, her face completely content. "Thanks for today Case" she says softly. "We should try to make it a weekly thing, they are great kids, and we had a blast" I tell her.

Izzie's face lights up. "Are you sure? Even after Charlie threw her drink at you?" She teases.
I laugh. "I'm sure."

Maybe one day this is what it will be like to have a family with Izzie I think to myself. I keep that thought to myself, but I smile with happiness at it. We are barely 17 but I can already picture a future with Izzie in it.

God I love this girl, more than anything.