Pigeons & Planes

Epilogue

         "He saved up money and got his first car and his license, and he just wants to take me for a ride," Elena said as she shrugged her shoulder. "I just thought it'd be fun."

         Nash mouthed the word 'fun' to himself as he bobbed his head. Elena was his pride and joy and thinking about it further left him at ease with the idea. "You will make sure to meet up with your grandmother for your language lesson on Saturday as well, yes?"

         Elena nodded her head as she sat up. "Yes."

         "And you'll watch Hye for your mother and me on Friday night?" Nash pushed a little further.

Elena eyed her baby sister and nodded once more. "Yes."

         Nash broke into a grin. "Sure, why not?"

         Elena squealed with delight, like that of a fangirl in the midst of her favorite celebrity. She sprung up from her seat and was quick to go around the table and throw herself upon her father. "Thank you, appa!"

         Hye didn't know what was going on, but the sight of her older sister happy delighted the one year old. "E!"

         Elena smiled and soon scooped up the baby girl and settled her on her hip as she went back to the front counter.

         Before Nash could get back to his latest design he caught the welcoming bell going off at the front door. He looked up and instantly frowned at the sight of his seventeen-year-old son entering the coffee shop.

         "Here comes trouble," Nash mumbled to himself as his son approached. "I send for your mother and you show up, why is that?"

         Ortiz smirked as he sat down in the chair Elena had been in moments before. "She says you're not the boss of her." He sat back and crossed his arms; sitting with so much attitude that Nash knew something was up.

         Often, he and his wife thought to call their son "Karma," because he was a terrific blend of all the spice Nash and Nina held within their selves. Having both his parents' tempers and angst, Ortiz Soh was a lot of mischief to deal with when he wanted to be. Despite a bit of a darker complexion, he was the spitting image of his father, right down to the way he wore his hair in the manner his father used to. He had his ears pierced, but beyond that he hadn't an interest in ink like his father had when he was his age.

         Now girls—that was another story.

         "What have you done this time?" Nash asked, cutting to the chase.

         Ortiz sighed and appeared smug. "Igotadetentionforfighting."

         Nash practiced the patience of twelve men. "In English, Ortiz."

         "I got a detention for fighting."

         Nash studied his son, noting that not a scratch was on him. "How does the other guy look?"

         Ortiz's cheeks bruised red in embarrassment. "It's a girl."

         Surprise peppered Nash's face. "Come again?"

         "It's a damn girl, appa," Ortiz uttered through clenched teeth. Abhorrence covered his face as he looked his father square in the eye. "Suri Yeo is a pain in the ass and she won't get off my back."

         "So you fought her?" Nash was confused.

         "We started arguing as usual and she whacked me and I just gave her a little shove to get her away from me," Ortiz tried to clarify. "That was a wrong move because the girl went psycho and it blew up."