Page 36 of Body Checked By the Defenseman

He hugs Abuela and then she hugs Macklin.

“You three are all looking good. I’m glad to see college life is treating you well,” she observes.

“We won the game on the weekend,” Hayden tells her. “And Ruby came in third in her last meet.”

“I heard,” Abuela says. “I’m so proud of all of you.”

“Who told you, Ruby?” Hayden asks.

“No, this handsome fella over here keeps me posted, thankfully,” she says, smiling warmly at Macklin.

“You’re making us look bad, bro,” Hayden says to him.

“Nah, you do that all on your own,” Macklin counters with a mischievous smirk. Those two love poking at each other.

“Whatever, you two,” I say because sometimes these two seem more like brothers with sibling rivalry than actual friends.

“I can’t wait for you all to meet Mario’s granddaughters. They’re so pretty,” Abuela says, and my stomach sinks at the thought of Macklin being introduced to pretty girls. “I wish he had a grandson for you, mija, but no such luck.”

“That’s okay,” I force a smile.

“I’m up for meeting some hot chicks,” Hayden says.

“Make sure you’re on your best behavior, mijo. Their parents are staying with us too. They’ll be in the rooms in the basement. Hayden and Mack can take the guest room and I hope it’s okay if you take the couch, Ruby.”

Yay! I get to be in the busiest room in the house with no privacy. How about my brother takes the couch and me and Mack take that bedroom? I blush just thinking the thought.

“Is everything okay?” Abuela asks me.

“Huh, oh, yeah, why?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs but she watches me curiously.

We put our bags in the trunk of Abuela’s Corolla and get in. Of course, my brother calls shotgun, so Macklin and I end up in the back seat together.

His gaze shoots my way for a millisecond, and my body heats. I exhale, wondering how I will get through this weekend without having a visceral reaction to him.

We make it back to the house. Abuela begins to introduce us to Mario’s family. When she introduces us to the granddaughters, Hayden lays on the charm real thick. One is named Victoria or Vicky, and the other one is Riley. They are both gorgeous. We also meet Mario’s son, Carlos, and his wife, Lucia, and his daughter, Ana, and her spouse, Camilla. Everyone is very nice and welcoming. I’m happy to see that they are all so good with Abuela. We never had family to rely on, and it’s nice to see she has this now.

“You guys get settled in. Ruby, you can keep your stuff with the boys. Then I want you coming downstairs. We’re going to play cards in the sunroom,” Abuela says.

The three of us head upstairs. When we get into the room, Hayden says, “This is weird.”

“Right,” I agree. “It’s so odd having so many people around.”

“This is very different than our Thanksgiving in the apartment. I kind of liked that it was just us. It was quiet,” Macklin states.

“But it is nice these people have accepted Abuela as family,” I remind. “After everything she’s done for us, we need to bond with them.”

“I know you’re right,” Hayden agrees.

“We’re seriously fucked up, guys. Look at us. This isn’t normal,” Macklin mentions. “People do Thanksgiving with families.”

“Unless you’re us,” Hayden notes.

“I think this is a good thing,” I say, trying to look at the bright side. “I always wondered what it would be like to have a large family, and now I get to pretend I do.”

“It’s like our little family experiment,” Macklin adds, bobbing his head.

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