July 1, 2030
The guests would be arriving any minute.
Marisol was trying her best not to freak out. But it was hard. This was the biggest gathering she and Eli had ever thrown, let alone the first one at their new house. All of their friends from high school were coming over with their kids to celebrate Canada Day. According to the RSVP list, there were going to be 29 people in the house today, including themselves.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t feeling the pressure.
“Are you sure everything’s ready?” she asked Eli, pacing around their exceptionally large kitchen. It was easily her favorite part of the house, with backsplash walls, a marble-topped island, and a built in TV screen. The cabinets, counters, and floors shined even without the light beaming from the pendants overhead. It was, frankly, the perfect kitchen. A perk of a makeup mogul marrying a movie director.
But right now, she was too distracted to really appreciate her surroundings. If anything, she was being more critical of them. Was it possible the floor needed one more touch up…
“Yeah, we’ve got enough food to last us until Thanksgiving,” Eli pointed out. The two of them, with a little help from their oldest daughter, Alex, had spent hours that morning and the night before putting together snacks for the event. Salads, sandwiches, poutine, pretzels, veggie trays, cookies…and that didn’t even account for the barbecue that would be happening later or the items their friends had promised to bring.
“Not just the food,” Marisol insisted, still pacing. “Is there anything else we need to do outside? Or inside?” She surveyed the adjoining living room. “What do you think about the decorations?”
Eli followed her gaze, tilting his head thoughtfully. After a moment, he cupped his chin in his hand and said, “You know, I think the pillows could stand to be titled 0.03 degrees to the left.” His signature smirk, which somehow managed to be both attractive and irritating at the same time, spread across his face.
Marisol shot him a glare, letting him know she did not appreciate his joking around right now.
“Sorry,” he said, turning to face her. She rolled her eyes and looked away, but he got her to face him again by putting his hands on her shoulders. “Mare,” he added reassuringly. “The decorations look great. Everything looks great. This is gonna be the best Canada Day-slash-high school reunion ever, and it’s all thanks to your brilliant planning skills.”
He smiled, and she quickly found herself smiling back. That goofy grin, along with the simultaneous strength and softness of his voice, was part of the reason why she had fallen for him in the first place. And after she’d looked past the whole driving-a-hearse-to-school thing, she’d come to find that not only was he physically attractive (especially after he cut his hair), but he had an attractive personality, too. He was mysterious, but in an intriguing way. He was sarcastic, but in an endearing way. He was intelligent, but (usually), not in a show-offy way. And, by far her favorite quality of his, he was passionate.
Whether it was in his work, his family, or their relationship, Eli Goldsworthy gave everything his all. His hard work and dedication—and the genuine smile he wore through it all—was no doubt the sexiest thing about him.
And, ultimately, he was right in what he said. She did have crazy planning and design skills. A semester as student council president in high school and years of developing her own makeup line made Marisol much more than an amateur.
Her passion was what Eli loved most about her. Back in high school, even when he only saw her as a snobby, airheaded cheerleader, he couldn’t deny her determination. He once left his notebook in the locker room and walked into the gym during Power Squad practice to pick it up. He was impressed when he saw her get the entire group in line within seconds, and even more impressed when their routine at the pep rally the next day was flawless (he’d seen how rusty their pyramid was on his way back out). It became clear to him that Marisol Lewis did not play around when it came to her goals.
And once he got to know her better, he had come to appreciate that side of her even more. She never gave up, accomplishing anything and everything she set her mind to. It was attractive and admirable at the same time. She was creative, like him, and although their talents manifested in different ways, she put just as much effort into her projects as he did into his. It was one of the main things they had connected over. And on top of all of that, she was smart, funny, and unbelievably gorgeous.
Eli slid his arm around his wife, who was currently towering over him thanks to the heels she was wearing. Every day, he thought about how grateful he was that his 17-year-old self had given the “ditzy cheerleader” a chance. And although she didn’t mention it much, Marisol felt the same way about the “emo freak.”
As the two held each other close, they looked around their house. Even when it wasn’t covered in red and white decor, maple leaves, and Canadian flags, it was an absolutely beautiful home. It was an absolutely beautiful life they’d made together. Two thriving careers, one outstanding house, four beautiful daughters, and two passionate people whose love for each other ran just as deep as it had twenty years ago.
They had worked hard for this life, and today they were going to show it off.
<><><><>
The doorbell rang a few minutes later.
“Come in!” Marisol hollered. She wondered who the first guests would be. She hadn’t heard anything about any of her friends’ whereabouts in a little over an hour, so this could literally be anyone.
“Heyyyy!” a familiar male voice sing-songed, practically echoing throughout the room. Marisol could tell who was at the door by the extra-ness of that call.
“Oh my god, hi, you guys!” she exclaimed, running up to greet Drew and Bianca Torres in the front hallway. The first thing she noticed—aside from the fact that both of them looked exactly the same as when she’d last seen them four years ago—was the baby carriage that Drew was rolling along next to him.
“Oh my god, is that the new baby?” she gasped.
“No, we just carry baby carriages around for the heck of it,” Drew replied.
Bianca rolled her eyes playfully and elbowed him, and then stepped forward to pull Marisol into a hug. “Hey, girl. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” Marisol said, temporarily distracted from the bundle of cuteness in front of her. She and Bianca weren’t best best friends (that spot was reserved for Katie and only Katie), but the two of them had gotten to know each other very well over the last few years. They’d come to find that they actually had a lot in common, including but not limited to the fact that both of their husbands spoiled their daughters.
Speaking of which…
“Can I please hold her?” Marisol begged, once the hug was over.
“Of course,” Bianca replied. Drew reached into the carriage, carefully picked up their newest addition, and handed her over to Marisol.
Marisol’s heart swelled. Aside from her own children, of course, this girl was one of the cutest babies she’d ever seen. She already had a full head of hair—curly, like Bianca’s—and her big, blue eyes were just so sweet and innocent.
“Her name’s Adrianna,” Drew supplied.
“Awww, I love it!” Marisol said without taking her eyes off of Adrianna. She couldn’t help it—it had been six years since she’d held a baby, and she’d forgotten how much she loved it. “Is she talking yet?”
“Not much,” Bianca replied. “She mostly just babbles. Although Drew insists she said ‘Dada’ the other day.” She glanced up at the ceiling in annoyance.
“What? She did.” Drew seemed irritated. “Just because you were out of the room doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“I think you probably misheard,” Bianca said.
Marisol was no longer paying attention to their conversation. She was too busy talking to the baby. “Hi there!” she gushed.
As she continued fussing, Eli jumped up from the couch to greet their friends. “Hey, hey, how goes it?” he greeted, pulling Drew in for a bro-hug.
“It goes,” Drew replied.
Eli hugged Bianca next, and as he did, he noticed Drew and Bianca’s older daughter, Rosanna, standing next to her mother. Jesus, she had to be, what, nine now? The last time Eli had seen her, he was pretty sure she hadn’t even started school yet. Now she was half as tall as he was.
As he looked at her now, he realized that she was a perfect blend of both of her parents appearance-wise. She had Bianca’s long dark curls, but her eyes and her smile were 100% Drew. And, as Marisol came to realize when she finally noticed Rosanna a few seconds later, she had a good fashion sense going too. She was wearing a cute yellow sundress and a matching yellow flower hairpin.
To think, the stars of Boiler Gate would eventually marry and have two daughters. Sometimes Eli and Marisol were reminded that their love story was not the weirdest at Degrassi.
“So, we have beer in the car," Bianca informed them. "And we also brought a casserole..." She reached into the bag that had been wrapped around her arm this whole time and pulled out a rectangular shaped container. “We pre-baked it, so that there wouldn’t be as much work.”
“Smart choice,” Eli said, taking it off her hands. He went to take the dish to the kitchen.
“What kind is it?” Marisol wanted to know. She reluctantly handed Adrianna back to Drew after noticing the impatient look on his face. He gently placed her back in the carriage.
For some reason, Drew and Bianca exchanged an odd glance. After a moment, Bianca explained, “It’s just a random recipe Audra gave us.” She shrugged. “We don’t actually know what it is.”
“Ah.” What Marisol really wanted to say was wow, that’s super weird, but instead she kept her mouth shut and focused on Rosanna. “Hi, there,” she said again, but this time in her normal voice. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” Rosanna answered with a small smile. “How are you?”
“I’m doing great.” And she absolutely was.
“Hey, guys, what kind of casserole is that exactly?” Eli asked, returning from the kitchen.
Drew and Bianca both just shrugged.
“They don’t know,” Marisol explained. “It was just a random recipe Drew’s mom gave them.”
“Wow, that’s super weird.” Eli raised his eyebrows.
Rosanna, meanwhile, had taken to looking around the place. “Wow, your house is way bigger than ours,” she observed. “You guys must be really rich.”
“Rosie!” Drew and Bianca exclaimed at the same time. Rosanna just turned to look at her parents innocently.
“Sorry,” Bianca apologized. “She speaks without thinking sometimes.”
“Wonder where she gets that from,” Eli quipped, looking at Drew. Unamused, Drew pursed his lips.
“So, where’s Dawn?” Rosanna asked next. She had always gotten along well with Eli and Marisol’s daughter, Dawn, as they were roughly the same age and had many similar interests.
“She’s in her room,” Eli said, deciding now would be a good time to call his kids down. He headed over to the spiral staircase and shouted, “Hey, girls, come on down now! The guests are arriving.”
On cue, a stampede of footsteps thundered from upstairs. Eli and Marisol’s four daughters, Alex, Dawn, Evie, and Wilma quickly came into view. They ran down the stairs excitedly and took turns hugging Drew, Bianca, and Rosie, and then they all started gushing over Adrianna.
Once the formalities were done, the girls were ready to begin their hangout. “Can we go play?” Rosie asked.
“Yeah, go for it,” Drew replied.
“Just make sure you stay where Eli and Marisol want you,” Bianca added.
“They can go wherever right now,” Eli said. “We’ll just have them come back down when more people show up.”
“Sweet,” Drew said. At the same time, Bianca said, “Go ahead, Rosie.”
“Yay!” Rosanna and Dawn immediately ran up the stairs, and the other girls except for Alex followed them. She would rather stay with the cute baby.
“So, who all’s coming today?” Bianca wanted to know. “I know Clare and Adam are, but not much else.”
Marisol took a moment to go over the guest list in her head. “Let’s see, Jake and Katie, Fiona and Imogen, Dave and Alli, Mo and Sadie…oh, and Dallas is coming later too with his new girlfriend.”
“She must be pretty great,” Drew threw in. “He’s been texting us nonstop about her.”
“Do we even know who she is?” Eli asked. “From what I can tell, he’s been really secretive about the whole thing.” Dallas had changed his Facerange status to “in a relationship” a few months ago, but he hadn’t tagged anyone or posted any photos with a girl. At one point, Eli had briefly wondered if this new relationship was made up.
“No, he hasn’t told us her name,” Bianca said, furthering Eli’s suspicions. Drew and Bianca were some of Dallas’ closest friends. If they weren’t fully clued in, something had to be up.
Everyone stood there pondering this for a few seconds (except Alex, who didn’t even know who Dallas was and was more focused on Adrianna anyhow). Then Marisol decided there were more fun things to do right now than worry about Dallas’ love life, and she stepped forward.
“Come on in.” She clapped her hands the way she used to at cheer practice and gestured for everyone to follow her further into the house. “Let’s get this party started!”