Two Proposals, One Wedding

Present Tense: Niño

Alice finally found parking close to the city park in the busy streets of downtown Cebu, Alice was annoyed and got out of her car, making sure she got everything she needed: her wallet, phone, and keys. It was a nice afternoon, the sun was warm to the skin and the wind was cool despite the smell of the city right across it, Alice walked towards where she was supposed to meet her sisters and their kids. They decided to pass the time by taking the kids to the park while waiting for Andrew to land which was expected to be around seven o'clock at night. Alice slept in til the afternoon, so her sisters didn't want to wake her up so they just sent her a message, letting her know where to meet them. Alice wore her denim shorts matched with a loose gray off-should shirt and a pair of open-toe slippers, her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she wore her dark tinted sunglasses.

"Don't go too far kids! Aunt Alice is here!" Adelle yelled.

"Aunt Alice might need some coffee...or iced coffee," Alice said as she yawned at the same time.

"You look like shit." Adelle joked.

"I feel like shit, should we get going? I want to stop at Starbucks for iced coffee, I need to wake myself up." Alice stood up and called for the kids.

"Andrea! We're leaving. Grab the kids!" Adelle yelled for Andrea and started to pack up the things the kids brought.

Andrea and Adelle walked the kids to Alice's car so they could stay off the heat after playing under it almost all afternoon. When the kids started to settle in the car, Alice told her sisters to meet her at the airport and she'd be stopping by Starbucks for treats. She got herself her iced coffee and got the kids cookies to share, and then they were on their way to the airport.

The airport was crowded, there were a lot of people waiting for their loved ones to meet them, Andrew saw his family holding a welcome home sign that the kids made for him. His sisters saw him and ran towards him except for Alice, who let her two sisters have their moment with him, it had been years since the last time they saw him in person, it was when he came home for their grandmother's funeral, the same year Alice left for Canada.

"Hey, sis! Oh, it's so good to be home." Andrew hugged Alice and saw the little ones behind her.

"Oh my, they have grown a lot. Zia was just a baby when I came home the last time." Andrew kneeled so he's the same height as the kids and he opened his arms to hug them but being that they were young, they never knew their uncle, only through the phone screen when they called each other. And just like when Alice came home, they went out for dinner and then dropped Ardel off at the same hotel where Alice was staying then they went off their separate ways: Ardel went to see some of his friends and Alice packed for the weekend trip with her friends.

Alice just zipped up her duffel bag to close it when she heard a knock on her hotel room door, she went to open it and saw Andrew. "Hey bro, what's up? Everything okay?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I just want to ask, does anybody know why we're here?" Andrew asked.

"No, I haven't told anybody yet. Not until when he lands at least, I want it to be a surprise." Alice answered with a heavy heart.

"Okay, I just want to ask before I ruin it. Does mom know about this plan?"

"Yeah, she'll fly in with Papa and him. I asked her not to say anything yet. They land in two weeks, we'll be fine."

Andrew hugged his sister and told her about his plans tonight, and she told him her plan in return and then asked his sister to take care and have fun.

Alice messaged the boys where to meet her and while she waited, she thought of going into the grocery store and buying some snacks and drinks for the trip, then when she was lining up to pay, James tapped her shoulders.