Just be there

Izzie

There was only two weeks left of summer. I could hardly believe it. Between Casey and I hanging out with Sam and Zahid, hanging out with my siblings, and therapy what was left of summer had seemed to fly by.

I was trying to plan a birthday party for Luca, who was about to turn twelve. My grandma's apartment is too small, so I was using Casey's laptop to look up how much it would cost to rent a gazebo at the park.

Casey walked in and peeked over my shoulder at the screen. "Why are you looking at gazebo rentals?" She asked me as she flopped down on her bed.

"Luca's birthday is in ten days, and with everything that has happened these last few months I wanted to throw him a party" I tell her as I try to mentally calculate how I can afford the gazebo.

"Dude, you could totally throw it here and save yourself the $140 bucks." Casey says rolling her eyes.

I don't see it that simply though. The Gardners had already done so much for me, I didn't want to take advantage of them.

As I open my mouth to tell Casey that, she holds up her phone. "Look I already texted Elsa, she loves the idea"

I groan internally, and I can't help but feel slightly guilty. I guess I'll be throwing Luca's party here.
_____
Later that night when I text Luca to see who he would want invited to the party he texts me back a list of five boys and a girl. I blink at the girl's name.

Me:Penelope???!
Baby Broseph: yeah. She was nice and kinda hot 😜
Me:ewww

I roll my eyes. Guess puberty will be coming soon for Luca. I shudder at the thought.
_____

"What's your brother's favorite kind of cake?" Elsa asks me as she flips through a recipe book.

"Elsa...you don't have to do that. You're already letting me have the party here, and you didn't even need to do that" I say, still feeling guilty.

Elsa shakes her head at me. "Izzie, you're part of the family now. By extension so is your brother. Now enough of all that, and just tell me what kind of cake your brother likes"

Izzie couldn't help but grin at being referred to as part of the family. "I usually make him a lemon cake with lemon raspberry frosting. He likes tangy flavors"

"Sounds yummy. Should be fun to make!" Elsa says brightly.

_______
Casey and I are shopping for a gift for Luca's birthday at Target. Casey keeps walking really fast than jumping on the cart to ride it down the aisles. I roll my eyes at her. She's such an oversized child sometimes.

I find the Nintendo switch game I know my brother has been wanting in the video game section. Splatoon 2. Not sure I get the point, but my brother insists that it would be really fun to play online with his friends.

I add it to the cart and Casey grins. She grabs another copy and adds it to the cart. I look at her quizzically, and she shrugs and says "I thought it would be fun to be able to play with him". I smile at her, she can so be sweet. Though she would deny it adamantly if I said that out loud to her.

We walk through Target and Casey finds a Splatoon SnapBack and a Splatoon zip up hoodie she insists on buying Luca as her gift. I smile to myself, apparently when Casey said she would be my support system, she meant my siblings too. I love her so much. I still feel like I don't deserve her sometimes, but I talk about those feelings with Cindy, my psychologist now instead of acting out.

We get to checkout and I pay for the game for my brother, and than Casey pays for her copy of the game and her two gifts to my brother.

As we go to leave, Casey suggests we get some Starbucks. She orders her Venti iced coffee with milk, and I order a grande nonfat white mocha. Casey makes a disgusted face at me as I sip my drink. "How can you drink that? It's like pure sugar" she says teasingly. "Yumm" I say in reply, smacking my lips. Casey laughs and rolls her eyes at me and calls me a "Nerd". I shrug. I know she only teases me because she teases everyone she loves.

We walk back to the car hand in hand.
_____
"Sam and Zahid want to know what they should get Luca" Elsa says as we walk into the kitchen. I know it's pointless to argue at this point. "He could use some new shirts. He likes anything Zelda, Harry Potter, or Mario related." I say, knowing that he is starting to outgrow many of his current shirts. "What size?" Elsa asks me as she starts texting them back. "Boys Large" I respond. Elsa nods and grins.

"Okay tomorrow Doug will pick up the pizzas that I preordered from Don's at 11:30. I already picked up sodas and waters, as well as some snack food like chips and a veggie platter" Elsa is looking at her list as she speaks, clearing trying to see if she forgot anything.

"Thank you so much Elsa. It means so much to me" I say, blinking back tears at the unconditional love she is showing me and my siblings. Elsa puts down her list and wraps her arms around me and presses a kiss to my forehead. "No problem sweetie. We love having you here" She tells me with a tight squeeze.

I love the Gardner family.
_____
The next day at 11:45 I open the front door and see my grandmother in jeans and a light blue blouse, Luca in a blue button up and jeans, Gabi in a black t shirt and grey skinny jeans, and Charlie looking precious in a light green sundress.

I let them in, and my grandma thanks Elsa. Fifteen minutes later I answer the door to Penelope, and try not to laugh. I'm a little surprised she actually came.

Shortly after, Zahid and Sam walk into the the kitchen. Finally Doug arrives with all the pizzas. A few minutes later Luca's friends start to arrive. First is Jonathan, a tall gangly boy with long dark hair. Next is Will, a short skinny boy with an unfortunate bowl cut. Third is Chad, a stocky boy with short buzzed blonde hair. Fourth is Jaden, a handsome black boy with long braids. Fifth is Shane, a Chinese boy with medium length black straight hair. They all come in and set their gifts on the counter in the space Elsa had designated as the gift area.

Everyone went into the living room and we started taking turns paying Mario Kart on the switch. Casey pouted when I hit her with a blue shell of death, causing her to lose the race to Shane.

After awhile, it was time for cake. I had helped Elsa make it. It was a beautiful two layer lemon cake made from scratch with lemon and raspberry frosting, with fresh raspberries on top. Everyone oohs and awes as we bring it out.

Than it is time for gifts. Zahid and Sam got Luca two t-shirts each, one of Zahid's says "Don't worry ladies, I have arrived", I laugh, it's such a Zahid type gift. Elsa and Doug got him a new pair of Levi's, and a pair of Vans. Luca looks really excited, he rarely gets new shoes, especially ones that are brand name. My grandmother got him a pair of skull candy earbuds. Luca's friends got him Switch games including Animal Crossing, Diablo III, Mario Tennis, NBA 2K20, and something I didn't recognize the name of. "That should keep him occupied for a long time" my grandmother jokes. Last was Penelope's gift. It was a new baseball. My brother plays baseball, so it's a really thoughtful gift. I smile at Penelope thankfully.

I look around at all the people in the kitchen, and wonder how we got so lucky to have such a big support system now.

I'm so grateful. I grab Casey's hand and she turns and grins at me, and I grin back.