Moving On

[tamaracorine]

"Maybe one day I'll be like that. They clearly care about their kids and each other a lot." Alex shrugged. "But Sam interrupted them so I could meet them and Blaine was all 'we're not done yet, Ana' and I've never imagined that to be a thing."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Jason laughed, "Yep. That's dad for ya." he said with a grin, shaking his head. Samuel chuckled as well, "That was him being discreet by the way." he muttered, laughing. "Mom is a bit better at it than dad is. And don't call them by name to their faces, Alex. They'll just press you to call them mom and dad. Should have seen Leah the first time they met her." Samuel chuckled.

 

[tamaracorine]

"I was so awkward." Leah laughed. "Mom had purple marks on her neck and was wearing Dad's shirt and some black leggings. I had never seen two adults like that."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel nodded, "Not to mention the next morning you walked in on them in the kitchen. You wouldn't eat over at the house again for weeks!" he laughed.


Jason grinned, "Oh yeah! I remember that! And then there was the time all of us took your sisters to the movies, and we all walked in with them on the couch?" he practically cackled.

 

[tamaracorine]

Alex laughed and smiled over at Samuel. "So that's why you're so damn bold. Your parents showed you how. What about you, Jason? Did they teach you too?"

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Jason smirked, "I dunno. Ask Leah." he chuckled, finishing off his lunch.


Samuel chuckled, "Not that I wanted them to show me. It's just what I grew up with." he said, shaking his head as he, too, finished off his lunch.

 

[tamaracorine]

Leah shook her head. "He was always all about the public displays of affection. I was having a conversation with someone once, just a guy friend, and all of a sudden I was up against the locker being kissed."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

"And you liked it because if I recall correctly you grabbed me by my belt loops and wouldn't let me move away." Jason smirked at her, chuckling.

 

[tamaracorine]

"I was sixteen!" Leah objected. "Sixteen year old girls who find themselves suddenly kissed and pushed against a locker by the guy they're in love with find it hard to say no to such a thing." She gently kicked him under the table, finishing off her lunch. "We should get back on the road."


"I'll drive." Alex said. "I probably owe a whole lot of driving shifts."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Jason laughed, "Nah. We had it covered. I like driving." he smiled as he climbed out of the booth, followed by Samuel who dropped some cash onto the table to pay for their lunch.


"That should cover it if my math is correct." Samuel chuckled.

 

[tamaracorine]

Alex opened her mouth to object to him paying for everyone, making eye contact for a moment, then looking away as she thought better of it. She slid her hands into her pockets and walked quietly back to the bus.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel chuckled, and caught up to Alex, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "How about I let you buy me dinner tonight?" he asked, smiling. "I know you said you didn't want me paying for everything, so is that a good compromise?" he asked.

 

[tamaracorine]

"No, it's not... It's not that." Alex shrugged. "Well, it sort of is, but it isn't. The reason I objected so much to your money being used to help me was because I always thought that you weren't part of a family until you married into it. But your family... They're so different... And now I don't know how I feel."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel blinked for a moment, and then smiled, shaking his head. "You're family is who you choose it to be. There's blood, and there isn't. Doesn't matter. It's who you care about and want in your life that makes family." he grinned, leaning over and kissing her cheek lightly before moving his arm and shoving his hands into his pockets.

 

[tamaracorine]

"Hey..." She objected quietly as he moved his arm. "Never said I wanted you to move that..." She looked up at him with a small smile. "Can we make a deal? I... I'm planning on marrying you one day, and that means that eventually our resources will be combined. I'm willing to do that... We can pay bills out of that account... But you've got to be patient with me, Sam. My pride will take some time to adjust."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel laughed lightly, and put his arm back around her shoulders. "How ever you want to do it, Alex. I don't want you to rush. I understand you have your pride." he chuckled, smiling at her.

 

[tamaracorine]

"But my pride is stupid." Alex shrugged. "You're my family now, Sam." She whispered, her voice catching in her throat. "And pride is irrelevant when you're in love like this... Pride doesn't matter."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel chuckled and hugged her against him as they reached the bus. "Pride does matter, Alex. You just have to learn what there is to be prideful about or not. Remember, my example growing up is that my mom was a house mom and my dad supplied the paycheck. So yeah, I could use to learn that I don't have to be like him and pay for everything. Just like you can learn not to argue so much when I want to pay." he smiled, and released her so that they could climb onto the bus.

 

[tamaracorine]

Alex nodded slowly and got into the driver's seat. "I can learn." she agreed, smiling slightly. "Would you want them from me? What your mom gives your family?" she asked. "I don't know if I could be a housewife, Sam. I mean, I want kids one day but I don't... I don't want that. I don't want to be a housewife. If that's a dealbreaker, then tell me now..."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel chuckled, and sat on the couch that was beside the drivers seat and rested a hand on Alex's leg. "I'm fine with you not being a housewife. It's not for everyone." He chuckled, smiling at her. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do." He said lightly.

 

[tamaracorine]

"I love you." Alex told him quietly, glancing down at his hand before starting the bus. "Maybe one day I'll change my mind and I love your mom and I love the way she seems to just know what you guys need and I want to be like her. But I want to help others too..."

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Samuel grinned, "I love you too. And who knows? Maybe you will, maybe you wont. And my mom helps more than just us. She volunteered at the hospital all the time when she didn't have anything going on with us." He shrugged, smiling.

 

[tamaracorine]

"I hope I can be as beautiful as she is when I'm older. Maybe the solution is to be treated like your dad treats her." Alex laughed, turning into the interstate again. "Leah and Jason... How long have they been close to your family?"

 

[InactiveCoffee]

"I met Jason in summer camp just before middle school. And we really became close during middle school." He explained, laughing at the memories it brought back. "So naturally, when he and Leah got close, she was brought over to Jason's second family. My dad really took him under his wing since he didn't really have a dad of his own." He chuckled.

 

[tamaracorine]

"Leah mentioned them a few times." Alex said quietly. "I think your mom gave her the sex talk." She laughed. "That's a bit weird, right?"