All Things Go

Chapter 82

Alei

"These pictures are everything Alei."

"It still doesn't compare to actually being there." I smiled.

Having lunch with Jaz, Val and Shay, I was happy to be back home. As much as I enjoyed the culture change in Morocco, I whole heartedly missed my babies.

"We gotta make a trip to there one day."

"We definitely have too." I agreed.

"We need to get back to our girls trips too."

"That's easy for y'all to say. Y'all have one and two children in y'all homes, I still have three and one is an infant." I laughed.

"True, and our trips used to be frequent."

"Exactly. I can't just pass them off to August all the time."

"Why? They are part his as well." Shay said.

"That's besides the point Shay."

"Ignore her Alei." Jaz spoke. "We understand but we do need a getaway every now and then."

Glancing over the menu, I took a sip in my wine.

"So what are we ordering?"

"Anything y'all want. Luca got the bill covered."

"Well excuse me." Jaz nudged me. "Y'all are getting really close huh?"

"You can say so." I shrugged.

"You barely tell us anything." Shay said.

"Because y'all are nosey and I learned my lesson the last time. I love y'all but what y'all already know and see is what y'all need to know and see."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

Snickering, Val shook her head. Placing our orders, we continued on the topic of travel and places we want to visit.

"Val have you decided on where your first family trip is going to be?" Jaz asked.

"You know about it?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Alei had asked us if we thought it would have been to much or overstepping any boundaries."

"Well just so you know, it wasn't." She snickered making me smile. "I was speaking to my mother and we were thinking going back to our home country, Ecuador."

"Y'all are from there?" Jaz asked.

"Yeah."

"I always thought you were from Cuba or Venezuela."

"Most people do but no, we're from Ecuador, a town name Esmeraldas."

"Isn't your middle name?" I asked.

"Yes, my mother named me after our home town." She smiled. "So yeah, we've decided to take Manuel back to see where his mama and grandmama are from."

"I think that's great and like I said, anything you need help with let me know."

"Alei you've helped me out more than enough and I thank you for that."

"Hey, what are friends for."

Getting our meal shortly after, we kept up with the conversation and enjoyed each other's company. These were the kind of social gathering I was more interested in as I got older. A simple meal with great friends, meaningful conversations and drinks.

Once we were all talked out, Jaz and Shay left to run some errands and check on their business, leaving Val and I there.

"I'm happy you're happy." She smiled at me. "I remember when we first met, you were so tense and down, now look at you."