Love, Marriage, Love

Dreams

The next day after school Tia went with Trey to his house

"I am trying a new recipe today. You should totally come and taste it." Trey said with lot of excitement in his voice, it was hard for Tia to turn his offer down. In the back of her mind her Mom's words were playing on repeat. She needed to talk to Trey about this whole Boyfriend Girlfriend thing. They reached the house sooner than they thought. They both wished Trey's Grandma who was writing the new recipe in her book.

"Hey Grandma, are you ready to hit the kitchen?"

"Yeah, I am so excited to see the outcome. Afterall this is my first time trying an Asian dish."

"Asian dish?" What are you trying?" Asked Tia

"Something called Momo. Its a dumpling kind of dish. I am going to stuff it with chicken filling. Lets see how it turns out."

"Oh" frowned Tia

"What happened dear? You dont like chicken?" Grandma asked

"No. I like chicken but when Trey said he is trying a new recipe, I thought it would be something like a Pie or cupcake."

Trey and his Grandma chuckled

"You dear are quite a sweet tooth, arent you?"

"Hehe" Tia let out a embarassing smile.

Tia watched as Trey and his Grandma started cooking, she also helped cut the vegetables and in some preparations. After half hour, hot and steaming momos were ready.

"I am going to enjoy it with your Grandpa in the couch. You two can eat in the dining table." And Grandma left towards the living room.

"Mmmm. Its yummy. Specially this spicy sauce. Its heaven on a plate."

Trey chuckled looking at Tia enjoying her food. Here you go he said and slid another plate in front of her. It was full of cupcakes. Her eyes lit up.

"When did you make this?"

"it was a surprise for you. I thought about packing it so that you can take home but now when I see you tasting it, I want to see your reaction while eating the cupcakes.

She took one and put it in her mouth

"Oh God, it should be a crime to make such delicious things. Did you put chocolate in the middle, hmmmmmmmm it just melted in my mouth." She closed her eyes and feasted on those cupcakes.

"I am glad you like it cupcake" he said with a smile

"I am glad you like THE cupcake. You made a mistake" she said stressing on the word The.

"No, its my new nickname for you. You are my girlfriend, I thought about a nickname for you but now seeing this I think cupcake is the best one."

Tia almost choked on her cupcake. She coughed and drank water and when she was better she asked Trey

"Hmm. Trey what do you mean by girlfriend?"

"I dont understand. Girlfriend means girlfriend"

"No, I mean we became friends months ago. So what is the meaning of this new girlfriend thing?"

"That means I like you and you like me. We can go on dates, hold each others hand in the hallway, go to park or something, have icecream together, then when we grow up, we can love, live together, get married some day, have lots of kids, grow old together"

Tia's mouth was wide open. She never thought this far but seeing him talk about growing old together filled her heart with an unusual feeling. She felt heat in the tip of her ears. Its like almost she is going to have a fever or something.

"Wow. So mom was correct" she mumbled

"What?"

"Nothing. You carry on"

"We can live in Lowell or something. So that I can travel everyday to work and be with my family. I want to go to beaches and parks in weekends, play in the pool with the kids, teach them how to swear, kiss them good night after reading the bed time story. Go to the playdates, buy them lots of icecream, dance with them, let them do my hair, teach them how to drive, bake. I want to do everything with them."

When he was talking his smile grew wider and wider till it reached his both ears. He pearly whites were all visible. Tia never had a dad so when she heard eveything, she also wanted to be a part of everything. She smiled listening to him talk about future.

"Wow Trey, that was, that was something."

"What? Do you think its silly?" He asked with a little embarassment.

"No, its not silly. I never had a dad or a father figure in my life but hearing you talk about everything seems like a life full of love." She gave him a smile

"So children huh. How many are there in your future plans?"she asked jokingly

"Atleast 4. More than that is fine with me too. 3 girls atleast. Boys would do too but a girl is a must. My grandpa was a single child, my dad, me, everybody were a single child. I want a house filled with siblings and fight and chaos. What about you?"

"Me. I am a single child too. So I would also love to have a house full of children."

They laughed.

"Trey, as much as I loved hearing everything, I am not ready for that kind of relationship yet. We are not adults. May be we can just be friends and then when we grow up, we can think about if we want to be more or not."

"I dont understand. You said yes."

"Yes, I did say that. I want to be your friend. I want to have study dates, eat ice cream together, go to park or movies or something but thats it. I dont want more than that. Atleast not now, I dont know what the future has in store for us but I would like to think about it when it actually occurs. You have your whole life planned out and I would love to be a part of it. I like to hear you talk about everything but right now its just high school. Lets just focus on that. I am not ready for anything further." She said quietly.

"I understand. Its ok as long as you still choose to be my friend."

"I am and I will be your friend. That I can commit for a lifetime."

"To a lifetime of friendship" they said and clicked their cupcakes like champagne glass.

Tia felt somewhat relieved after talking to Trey and making sure he understood her side. She was happy to be able to continue as his friend.

At night when she drifted off to sleep slowly her dreams were full of Trey's words. There was a house with a big lawn, a big garage like the one in Trey's house, a little pool in the backyard, 2 boys playing in the pool with Trey. A little girl jumping around in the grass trying to catch a butterfly, lots of popsicles and juice boxes, the laughter of the kids filled her ears and she smiled in her sleep. Dreams can sometimes feel so real that we dont want to wake up.