Waves, Sunsets, & Coffee

Chapter 11.0

     "So this is the girl that you can't stop talking about, huh son?" A man who's probably on his late forties opened the front door for us.
     "Dad..." Ares groans and I chuckle.
     "Good afternoon sir Alandro." I greeted him.
     "Oh no, please, just call me Johnny." He said and I smile. The fact that he let's me call him by his given name, it means I've made a good impression on him. Let's just hope my charms would last.
     "Honey, who is that?" We heard a woman shout from inside.
     "It's Ares and his girl, hun!" Johnny responds and the woman from earlier squeals as we heard heavy footsteps running towards us.
     "Oh my, bless my days. Is this Alex? God Ares! Your words doesn't even do justice on her beauty!" It seems like Ares' parents are the energetic kind and I kinda like it, chuckling at his mother.
     "It's good to finally meet you, Miss Alandro." I said, when she shakes her head no.
     "Dearie, call me Sally. I like her already Ares. She just has that wonderful vibe going off of her! Oh how I would love to read your lines!" Ares' mother says as I was confused on what she was talking about.
     "My mother's a fortune teller freak." Ares explains and her mother swatts her on the shoulder.
     "Oh you shush now! I'm still mad at you for not telling me how beautiful this young girl is! What happened to your arm sweetie?" She asked, referring to the cast that I forgot had a lot of swear words. Oh God, how could I forget about that.
     "I got in a car accident just a few days ago." I replied sheepishly, hopefully she won't notice the penis that Alec fucking drew.
     "That's a bummer. Wait, is that a penis?" She exclaimed, shocked. Oh no.
     "Uhm... yea—"
     "Look at that Johnny! It's bigger than yours is!" Sally says and I try not to laugh as she roasts his husband.
     "Mom..." Ares groans at the two who were bickering about their sex lives and I can't help but be amused. "Mom, stop!"
     "Oh shush alright alright. Come on! Come in, come in. I've prepared us meals!" Her mother giddily says, inviting us in in their lovely warm home.
     As we entered the hallway, pictures of their family surrounded the walls.
     "This is you?" I asked Ares in disbelief as I saw a picture of a young boy with a certificate.
     "Uh... yes... I was a science nerd back then..." He shyly says.
     He leads me towards their living room where his parents told us to wait as they would prepare the table for an early dinner.
     "Let me help miss Ala— Sally. I mean." I offered and she denies, but I insist.
     It was simple manners that my dad taught me, so here I am now, setting up the plates and cutlery on the dining table.
     "I like her son, don't hurt her alright?" I heard Sally told Ares but I ignored their short talk, not wanting to eavesdrop more. But I'm gonna be honest. What Miss S just said made my heart warm and feel all giggly inside for his parents accepting me.
     "Alex, add another set there." Ares says, pointing on one of the seats as I look at him in confusion.
     "Are we expecting someone else...?" I asked, and just if on cue, I heard footsteps come from the living room and I look back to see a small girl who was a special child...
     "Kuya Ares! You're back!" The girl squeals and runs to Ares, giving him a hug.
     "Now now Sophia, get down we have a visitor." Johnny tells her and she climbs down from Ares' arms and looks at me.
     "Is she an angel?" The little girl named Sophia asked and I chuckle. Why does everyone here think I'm an angel? This nonsense.
     "Hi, I'm Alex and I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not an angel, but you sure are!"  I kneeled down in front of her who was hiding behind Ares' legs and when I called her an angel, she smiled and slowly walked towards me.
     "I like her!" She says to Ares and he chuckles. I'm glad she does.
     "Hello, ate! Are you kuya Ares' girlfriend?" She asked and I was confused by the foreign words she used before our names and Ares explained.
     "She's Filipino. We adopted her and in her home country, it's how they show respect to the elderly. You call a female who's older than you an ate before their name, and if it's a male, you call them kuya. Then if they're your grandparents, it's lola for the grandmother and lolo for grandfather."
     Woah, I didn't know something like that existed and it's cool. Why don't we have that in Canada?
     "Food's ready guys!" Sally called from the kitchen as she brought out the foods one by one as Ares helped and I stayed with Sophia.
     "So Sophia, do you want to eat already?" I asked her and she nodded so I helped her in her seat.
     The others set up the table as I helped Sophia on her seat and soon, our early dinner started.
     "So Alex, tell me about yourself. Where you're from, your parents—" Saly starts but Ares cuts her off at the mention of my parents.
     "Mom, I told you not to—"
     "It's alright Ares." I told him, calming him down since what happened to my past doesn't affect me that much anymore.
     "I'm actually from Canada. Born Canadian and for a while, I lived in Toronto. Then at a young age, my mother left my father and I so it was just us two. Then uhm... in high school, my father suffered a stroke and so I had to move to Australia with my Aunt and cousin." I explained to them as they looked at me with sad eyes.
     "I'm sorry to hear that Alex." They said and I assured them it's fine.
     "No worries, that's all in the past. Well, it worked out well after then. I passed a university in Adelaide and now I'm a nursing student."
     "So you want to go to the medical field?"
     "Yes, just like my father. But instead of being a plastic surgeon, I'm hoping to be a cardiothoracic surgeon one day." I told them as I smiled, knowing that I will one day. I had to be.
     "Sophia wants to be a doctor as well. Don't you Sophia?"
     "Yes! I want to be the one operating on uhm... on the bodies and saving people!" She happily says as I smile at her dream of saving people. Just like how I was when I was young.
     "Well, good news. I can see that you'll be a great doctor one day Sophia." I told her, only making her smile wider.