Making Memories

Chapter 29

That evening, Woods and I ordered room service. Then, we filmed an update video. We are going to be completely honest with our viewers. I've been telling Woods that we need to tell them what's actually going on. I'm been having some emotional problems, being away from home for so long now, away from my parents and brother, I kind of need them. I need to talk to them.

Woods presses record. My eyes are already red from crying earlier.
"Guys, we need to be honest with you. Shelly has been getting extremely home sick and missing her family. Do you want to explain?" Woods asked.
"Yeah, so I left home to take a risk in LA. Quitting teaching and starting YouTube. So far, it's given me the opportunities to travel Europe. As fun as it's been, I just miss my family. My real family, not just my friends back in LA, but my family. My parents and my brother. I haven't seen or even talked to them since I left for LA. That's something I truly regret. My student warned me to not let the city change me. But, I've been so distracted by work that I didn't even talk to my family. I really messed that up. I should actually talk to them for once. Since we're so far from home, it's really hard to talk to them." I said, almost crying again.
"Yeah, so for the sake of her, we're leaving Europe early. I'm cacelling our flights to the remaining countries, and flying back to LA. Then, as soon we get back, I'm taking her to her hometown, and she's going to visit her parents, then find what her brother's been up to." Woods said.
I sniffle and wipe my tears,
"We would continue this trip, but it's been too hard lately. I have to go back home. It's been too long. My parents are worried. They've contacted me through Facebook messenger and I've talked to them that way, but not in person for so long. That's why I need to go home."
"That's it for now. See you all back in America. Goodbye." Woods said.

Woods stops the recording and begins editing it. This is going to be really hard to upload. I don't know if I can go through with this, but our subscribers need to know what's going on. I know they'll have our back. Woods finishes editing and making a thumbnail. The thumbnail has a red border around it and a shot of me crying into Woods' shoulder, looking away from the camera, and hiding my face. It's titled: Being Honest | Life Update. The video is uploaded, and it's time we pack up.

We pack up all our things and head to the airport. This one day in Moscow has been amazing, but it's time we go home. We took Tanner's advice and are actually going home. We get onto the plane and fly all the way back to LA. Woods and I go to my apartment. I'm going to take a few days to adjust back to the US timezone, then head home.

*Three Days Later*
I gather my things for a week trip back home. Woods gladly joins me on my 12-hour journey back home. I know I didn't even visit the office yet, and they don't know we're back yet, but family first. Always. We arrive back and I drive to my old home. I walk to the door and knock on the door. My dad opens the door.
"Dad!" I exclaim and hug him.
"Hey, sweetie. It's been so long, here come in." Dad said.
"I brought my fiancé Woods." I said.
"Aw, it's nice to meet you. You see, I had no idea what you got up while in LA, but you've snatched up a boy by the looks of it." Dad said.
"Haha, yes. Where's mom?" I asked.
"She's downstairs taking a nap. Let me wake her up." Dad said.
"Be careful on those stairs, dad." I said.
"Oh, I know honey." Dad said.
"Woods, take a seat." I said.
"Ok. Your dad seems nice." Woods said.
"Oh, he is. He wanted me to marry a Christian, being the strict one he is, but I chose you." I said.
"You went against your parents? Isn't is say somewhere in the Bible that you're not supposed to do that?" Woods asked.
I sigh, "I mean yes. It's commandment number five. Honor your father and your mother. Which in includes obeying your parents for everything."
"You've still got that knowledge though you don't attend church anymore." Woods said.
"Pssh, always. I'm also thinking about attending the church in Loma Linda." I said.
"That's not too far from LA." Woods said.
"Yeah, I know. I've been there millions of times because of family who also live down there." I said.
"Aw, I see." Woods said.

My mom and dad come upstairs. I guess it took a little while to wake my mom up. She's a deep sleeper. Once she heard I was here, she shot right up though.
"Hi mom." I said, hugging her.
"It's so nice to see my baby again." Mom said.
"Well, we've been all over Europe and came home because I got home sick." I said.
"It's good that you did come home. I didn't want you getting sick like that time you were in 8th grade." Mom said.
"Don't remind me. Bad memories, no thank you." I said with a small laugh.
"Ooo, who's this? He's very gwapo." Mom said.
"I'm Woodland Demars. Also, what was that?" Woods asked.
"Gwapo means handsome in Tagalog." I said.
"A what now?" Woods asked.
I laugh. "It's one of the many Filipino dialects. Tagalog is the most common one. My mom can also speak Visayan, which is the southern dialect in the Philippines." I explained.
"Oh. . . Again, you know so many things about so many languages." Woods said.
"I mean, I only know German in depth, and only a few things in Filipino. I only know the simple words. Mom tried teaching, but I never took time to learn. I really want to now." I said.
"After all these years, 22 is when you want to learn?" Mom asked.
"As an adult, I'm passionate about learning, like I was in my teen years, but I'm more commited these days." I said.
"Nice. So, tell me about how you two met." Dad said.
"Strap yourself in mom and dad, this is a story and a half. You already know that I quit my job at the high school, in favor of YouTube. Well, that's where my adventures in LA begin. My friend Sam Fekete invited me to her work place called Hi5 Studios. That's where the story actually starts. So, I met everyone who works at Hi5, but then I had developed feelings for Woods. Then, after we screened my first video, Sam made me tell him that I liked him. I admitted my feelings in front of everyone. When I say everyone, I mean EVERY person working at Hi5. While visiting Germany, I met four cousins and dad, I met grandpa's cousin, who had a daughter, who then had a son named Louis who's my age." I said.
"Oh, so I do have family over there. Was that in Frankfurt?" Dad asked.
"You guess it. Louis had a freaking Porche. He drove us down the Autobahn from Berlin. That speed was legit terrifying for me. We were going at least 200 miles an hour." I said.
"Wow." Dad said.
"You forgot an important event, babe." Woods said.
"You tell them how we're engaged." I said.
"So, at the Pfaueninsel or however you pronounce that. 'Lust Castle', it was perfect and beautiful, just like Shelly. Anyway, while at this castle, I took the perfect moment and proposed to her. Now we're here." Woods said.
"The rest is history." I said.
"Let me take a closer look at that ring." Mom said.
"Sure." I said.
I show her my hand with the ring on it. My mom puts her glasses on and inspects the ring,
"Hmm, not as good as mine." She jokes.
"Oh, mom. You have an idea where my brother is?" I asked.
"Last time we checked, he's finishing his degree for computer engineering." Dad said.
"So, what college is he going to?" I asked.
"He's doing it online, we can call him. Maybe he can come visit." Dad said.
"Yeah, but where is he?" I asked.
"San Francisco." Mom said.
"Really? Oh, my. We could of visited him if we knew. LA isn't that far from San Francisco." I said.
"He found some friends over there and moved in with them. Don't worry, he's doing just fine." Dad said.
"I wasn't worried he was going to do anything dumb. He's his own person and an adult who can make his own decisions. We can stay here until he gets here, right?" I asked.
"Of course, take your old room." Mom said.
"Ooo, yes. Thanks mom and dad. I'm so glad I'm back." I said.
"We feel the same. Congrats on the engagement." Dad said.
"Thanks." Woods and I say.