A Place to Call Home | 5

As their wedding day draws near, Alvin and Gaby take time out to enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation at Lani St. Taz's most expensive and luxurious spa. They've been on the go for so long, traversing the entire globe with only limited breaks, that they've nearly forgotten what the word "relaxed" means. As it turns out, jet-lagged exhaustion is not meant to be one's default state after all.

In the middle of a private yoga class, their many sleepless treks seem to catch up with them all at once, falling heavy upon their shoulders like a pile of bricks, and even these slow, gentle movements are too much for them to handle. What they really need is to be able to lie perfectly still, while someone else does the heavy lifting for a change.

Ah, yes. A full-body massage perfectly hits the spot. Gaby can feel a little more stress leave her body with every soft touch of the masseuse's hands, until her mind and spirit are floating as weightlessly as clouds.

Alvin, meanwhile, goes for a deep-tissue foot massage, a luxury he never realized he was missing out on until this very moment.

Not wanting to put too much pressure on their renewed bodies, they exert only the most minimal energy relocating themselves to a couple of lounge chairs on an outside deck, where they alternately nod off and sip their complimentary fizzy beverages.

They've seen countless amazing views so far in Sulani, but the intimacy of the moment makes this particular one feel special. If they didn't both have such restless personalities, their brains itching to be constantly occupied with something and their legs aching to be always on the go, they might just stay here enjoying it forever.

A few days later, Gaby's family arrives on an early morning flight. After they've spent some time settling into their hotel, Gaby and Alvin meet them on the beach to officially welcome them to the islands. The last time she saw Ana and Gracie, the status of their relationship was still uncertain. They weren't separated, but they weren't fully together either, both of them still reeling from Ana's betrayal while Gracie was away covering Strangerville. Gaby doesn't ask now, assuming they've come to some sort of understanding, if not as partners than at least as friends. Instead, as Ana immediately sets to work on her tan, she listens to Gracie gush about the accomplishments of their twins, Ari and Cleo, who are growing up so quickly Gaby can hardly believe it.

Her brother, Rafael, is also here, though his husband, Alexis, had to remain back at home to care for their months-old daughter, Camilla. But their older daughter, Marisol, is along for the trip, even if she doesn't look too happy about it.

"Aren't you going to get a little warm in those clothes, sweetie?" Gaby asks, but Marisol, scowling and sweater-clad, just continues to stare into the distance intensely.

Rafael laughs indulgently. "Don't mind her. Mari's been having a little identity crisis ever since the baby arrived. You know how teenagers are. They've always got to make themselves the center of attention somehow."

After they've lost sunlight at the beach, they head back to the hotel to change out of their soggy, sand-encrusted clothes (all except Marisol, who still clings to her dark, heavy sweater and jeans). Then they go out for dinner at a Lani St. Taz restaurant.

Ana and Gracie didn't get a chance to meet Alvin when he and Gaby were briefly in Oasis Springs, so, naturally, they've come prepared to pepper him with questions all night long. As their overlapping voices compete to be heard, Gaby cuts them off. "I'm not at all opposed to you relentlessly grilling my soon-to-be-husband for hours on end, but one at a time, please!"

At the other end of the table, Cleo is trying to bring Marisol out of her shell, but she seems more annoyed by the child than anything, clearly reminded of the new addition in her own home threatening to steal all her parents' love away.

Ana rolls her eyes at Marisol's immature display. "Is she always like this?"

"She really was a very sweet child," Rafael insists, like he's trying to convince himself as much as everyone else. "I guess we know what Mom and Dad felt like when we hit the terrible teens now, huh?"

Gaby takes a different approach to Marisol's sulkiness, hunching her shoulders and adopting an exaggeratedly melancholy tone of voice. "Ugh, I'm just a mopey, unlovable teenager! Why doesn't anybody in the world get me? I feel so misunderstood!"

"Hey," Marisol exclaims, her face burning red with embarrassment. "Stop doing that! I don't act like that at all!" It's not much, but it's progress, considering they're the first words Gaby has heard her speak all day.

After dinner, Gaby orders drinks for all the adults. She brings Rafael his and finds him staring out at the water moodily. She thinks she knows what's on his mind, so she doesn't push him. A few minutes after taking his drink from her, though, he says quietly, "Mom and Dad would have loved this. Sometimes it's still so hard for me to believe they're gone."

Ana joins her siblings on the dock, wrapping Gaby up in a warm embrace before she has a chance to get too caught up in the thought of not having her parents at her marriage. "They're here in spirit, you know?" Ana tells her. "They're watching from wherever they are now, and they're going to see how beautiful you look and how happy you are, and they're going to be so proud." Gaby feels an ache in her heart and a sting in her eyes, but she knows Ana is right.

The next morning, it's back to the beach for another day of water-filled fun before getting down to the business of getting married.

Gaby wishes she'd spent more time with Ari and Cleo as they were growing up, but she's glad to get to know them now, especially as their personalities are starting to take form. She's also relieved they seem to like her. She and Ari build sandcastles together until their fingers are close to blistering from gripping the cheap plastic shovels so tightly.

They get on well with Alvin, too, who patiently supervises a snorkeling session. Gaby wasn't sure how he would do with the kids, but he seems to be a natural. Even though children of their own are a long way into the future, if they decide to have any at all, it's good to know he already possesses some naturally fatherly qualities.

Meanwhile, despite endless coaxing by her father, Marisol still hasn't left her sullen stoop. At least she's wearing more weather-appropriate clothing this time, and no one has to worry about her dying of heatstroke for the sake of maintaining her morose aesthetic.

Ana was hoping Sulani would be remote enough for her to sunbathe peacefully, without the threat of paparazzi and autograph hounds looming over her. Even though she's not acting as frequently these days, her face is still recognizable after years of being plastered across Del Sol Valley billboards. Unfortunately, even if Sulani's residents have no idea who she is, its tourists do. Soon enough, fans of all ages are approaching her in awe.

She takes a deep breath and bounces to her feet, immediately switching gears into her celebrity persona. "Yes, it's me, the one and only Ana Goth née Martínez you've heard so much about! Now, quick, get all the photos your heart desires, but please don't tell your friends about me. Your selfies won't be so special if everyone else has got one, too, now will they?"

Out on the water, Rafael and Alvin are engaged in a tight race on a couple aqua zips they managed to convince a local to let them borrow.

Surprisingly, it's the sight of this that finally manages to get Marisol into the ocean. It seems she can't turn down the opportunity to positively destroy her own father on a dangerously fast water vehicle she hasn't the faintest idea how to operate.

"I don't think you can handle what's about to go down, old man," she shouts across to Rafael before revving the engine and leaving him thoroughly soaked in her wake. He wonders for a moment if he should be yelling at her to slow down. Instead, he slams on the gas and races to catch up.

Ana and Gracie's relationship is only growing more confusing by the second. One minute, they're openly flirting with each other like a couple of newly-dating teenagers.

The next, Gracie is hitting on a woman she's just met right in front of an unbothered Ana (and in spite of a rather painful-looking sunburn). Whatever's going on here, the most important thing is that it's mutually agreed-upon, and so far they both appear to be content with the arrangement.

Cleo has been wishing all day to see a dolphin, ignoring Gaby when she tells her it's probably not very likely. They're wild animals, after all, and likely not comfortable swimming around so many people. However, she has to eat her words when, just before sunset, she sees a shiny gray nose emerging from the water mere feet in front of her.

Surprisingly, the dolphin is friendly, nudging right up against Gaby like a cat begging its owner to pet it. She tentatively reaches out a hand, and the dolphin squeals delightedly. "Quick!" she calls over her shoulder to Cleo. "I found your dolphin!"

By the time Cleo swims over, though, the dolphin has disappeared back under the water. "Where did it go?" she cries, casting her eyes about frantically and clearly on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Maybe if you call, it'll come back," Gaby says, though she's not at all certain it will work.

However, soon enough, the dolphin shoots up to the surface once more. Cleo, overwhelmed by its size up-close, backs away shyly as Gaby coaxes it nearer.

"Don't be scared," Gaby tells her. "It'll let you pet it if you want to. Just be gentle."

Tentatively, Cleo approaches the dolphin, her face lighting up with the biggest smile Gaby has ever seen as soon as her hand makes contact with its slick, rubbery skin.

It's another one of those unforgettable Sulani moments Gaby will tuck away in her mind to relive over and over again. She's glad Cleo has the memory to take home with her, too. She can't think of any more magical way to end the night before her wedding. Surely, the dolphin's appearance must be a sign of good things to come.