Page 85 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

He’d been doing such a great job of not getting sucked back into his old ways, but calls like that made it hard.

Especially when he was sitting here trying to fill his day.

He’d already been to the gym, he did his laundry, and there wasn’t much on TV that he was interested in though football would be on this afternoon.

Maybe some video games would take his mind off of it. Got to keep up with the kids he saw and their lingo, likes and dislikes. They seemed to enjoy when he could talk the same language as them.

But an hour later, his phone was ringing again.

This time, his mother.

They’d texted yesterday but nothing else. She gave him space, but he wasn’t sure the exact reason.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Luca. I know you’re off today and Gabriela is working. I thought I’d try to reach out.”

“I am off. I’m playing games and relaxing some.”

“You don’t relax enough in my eyes.”

He laughed. “Not before. I’m getting enough of it now.”

“Tell me about yesterday. You said you were going to Gabriela’s parents’.”

His parents worried about him being alone for Christmas, but once he confessed he was dating Gabriela,theywere the ones who relaxed and were thrilled he wouldn’t be alone.

Nope, not dating. In a relationship.

That was how he was thinking of it. Even if they didn’t say the words in an agreement, it was whathefelt.

He filled them in on their brunch and that Gabriela was working, but had time to spend it with family and him for a few hours. “It worked out well.”

“Sounds like you had a great holiday.”

He looked down at his snowman socks, wiggled his toes and grinned.

“I did. It was nice. Not too chaotic, which I think some of her holidays could get, but not this year. There were too many people working.”

Both Hudson and Carson had to work; Ava was on call. He’d found out when more of Gabriela’s cousins were off, it was a bigger holiday celebration.

Just like New Year’s Eve. Her family would be gathering and he’d be working. Working in the ER without Hudson.

New Year’s Day, he’d go see Gabriela for a few hours, then head back to work. No reason he had to take the full day with her, but it’d be nice to not have to wait so long to see her again.

The ten days where her shift ended, and his started, was beginning to feel like a lifetime.

“You’re not used to big family gatherings anyway. It might be more than you can deal with.”

He held the growl back. Barely.

He got it. For a couple of years, many thought he couldn’t put one foot in front of the other if it didn’t pertain to his career.

And maybe they were right.

But now wasn’t like then.

“I can handle just about anything,” he argued. “Haven’t I proven that?”