You Always Remember Vegas

Chapter 19

"Again, thank you so much for coming," Linda, Alan and Tracy's mother, says as Phil, Stu, and I follow her to the living room to find Doug, the housekeeper, and a long-haired blond sitting in there. 

I wear my simple high-waisted blue jeans, a white tee, a black blazer, and beige cross strap sandals. As probably noticed, I don't really have a colorful wardrobe. Although, neither does Phil with his beige cargo pants, black button-down shirt, and black cotton jacket. 

"Oh, of course," Phil says. 

"This is Nico," Linda gestures at the blond man. "Nico is a good friend of Alan's."

"What's up, bros and brodette?" He waves. 

"Hey."

"And that's Blanca," Linda points at the Hispanic woman, picking up things off of the coffee table before she sits down. "Blanca's been with us since Alan was a baby." 

She smiles sweetly through her eyeglasses. "Hello."

"And this is Timothy," I almost didn't realize the little boy sitting in the large chair on the left of Blanca. "Timothy lives across the street. He and Alan swim together." 

Phil, Stu, and I exchange looks, believing a grown man swimming with a young boy to be quite odd. Except, if you look at it, I'm pretty sure Alan's not a pedophile. At least, not yet. 

"Hey," I smile warmly at Timothy. 

"Hi," He waves back. 

Doug stands up, coming up to give his best friend, me, a quick hug. "Why don't you guys take a seat."

"Yeah."

"Sure."

I move to sit in between Phil and Stu while Linda sits on the chair to our right, next to Nico. 

"Tracy's on her way back with Alan right now," Doug informs us. "Obviously, he has no idea this is coming, so things might get a little intense. But, no matter what happens, remember: This is all about Alan getting better." 

Just then, the front door barges in and we all turn to face them. 

"Mother, Oreo smoothie, now!" We hear Alan demand as he enters the mansion. He then notices all of us in the living area. He removes his sunglasses, "Oh. Hey, everyone," He says as he enters in his jean shorts and Santa Monica Pier yellow shirt. 

"Hey," Phil says. 

"Hey, Timothy," Alan looks at the little boy. "Little cold for a swim, isn't it?" 

"Oh, wow," I smile at Alan. "You went to the pier today, right? How was that?" 

"We had a great time," Tracy answers. 

"Yeah," Alan agrees, looking at each of us. "I played skee ball for, like, 45 minutes. It was a pretty sick workout. What's going on?" 

"Um," Doug clears his throat, still standing up in the front. "Why don't you have a seat, bud? We just want to talk to you for a sec." 

"Okay," Alan says, smiling and walking around the couch to look at Phil. "Hey, Phil." 

"Hey, yeah," Phil smiles, never seeming to care how much Alan is obsessed with him. I found it endearing how sweet he is to the man-child. He claps his hand with Alan. 

Alan then goes to clap hands with Stu and I chuckle when he dodges it, sliding his hand in his hair. 

"Oh, you got me," Stu chuckles. 

Alan looks down at me. "Hi, Aspen," He wiggles in between Phil and me. 

"Hi, Alan," I smile, noticing how Phil extends his long arm on the back of the couch so he can graze his fingertips on my shoulders.