MUMUS: The Night We met
My very last MUMUS for 2009. I wasn't sure if it was going to be done in time, to be honest. I started it about two hours ago haha But I really like the way it turned out.
The title has a double meaning. Since this story is a different telling of the night that Troy and Gabriella met, it talks about them meeting, but that scene is the first time the viewer is introduced to Troy and Gabriella, so it's for us too.
My original plan was to finish the series by the end of 2009 and post this last one on New Years Eve, but that didn't happen. But oh well.
Couple: Troy & Gabriella
Rating: T
Quote: "I know they mean well, but it always feels like they’re trying to pawn me off to people just so they can be alone."
Setting/Event: Troy, Taylor and Chad are with their families at ski resort; Troy meets Gabriella for the first time
Random Stuff:
- manicures
- basketball
Mountain Top Ski Lodge
.5 miles
The sign brought a smile to Gabriella’s lips. She couldn’t wait to go back to the place that she had met her husband at. Just thinking of that story made her laugh, that vacation hadn’t turned out like she had thought it would.
***********
December 25, 2006
She came downstairs on Christmas morning to the small fake tree that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the packed boxes. She hated that they were moving; she didn’t want to move again.
“Merry Christmas, sweetie,” her mom smiled. “Did you sleep well?”
Gabriella shrugged and picked up the one present from under the tree then looked at her mom. “I thought we weren’t doing presents this year?”
“That’s not from me, it’s to you and me from your dad’s sister,” her mom replied. “It came in the mail yesterday.”
Curious as to what her aunt had sent her, especially since they would be living right next door to her in a week, Gabriella ripped off the paper then opened the box. Inside were two plane tickets to Colorado.
“What’s in Colorado?” Gabriella asked. “Uncle Charlie and Aunt Claire live in New Mexico.”
“We’re spending New Years Eve with them in Colorado,” her mom explained. “They always go someplace with their friends for New Years and since we’re moving to Albuquerque, she and I thought it would be great for you to be able to reconnect with your cousin Chad and meet his two best friends.”
“What about our stuff?”
“The movers come the day after tomorrow and we’re on the first flight out on the twenty-eighth,” her mom replied. “Your Uncle Charlie has already asked his parents to let the movers into our house and they’ll surprise them while we’re having fun.”
***********
“We’re here,” her husband’s announcement brought her out of her thoughts.
After a ski lodge employee opened her front door, Gabriella eased herself out of the car, careful to not slip on wet cement. Her husband met her on her side of the car, after handing the keys to the valet, and then they went into the lodge to check in.
Though their parents had gone to Hawaii for New Years, she and her husband and her cousin and his wife had opted to come back to the ski lodge; mostly because Gabriella and her cousin-in-law were seven and eight months pregnant, respectively.
As Gabriella and her husband listened to the mandatory spiel about what the ski lodge had to offer the guests, her mind slipped off to when she met her cousin-in-law for the first time.
***********
December 28, 2006
Gabriella and her mom had been the first to arrive at the ski lodge since the others were driving up from Albuquerque. Gabriella figured that she and her mom would be sharing a room, but after they checked in, they found out they were in two separate rooms that were connected with a pass-through door.
They had retired to their rooms and, after unlocking the pass-through door, had settled in. It wasn’t until after dinner that the door to Gabriella’s room opened and she came face to face with an African-American girl.
“Are you Gabriella?” The girl asked. Gabriella nodded. “I’m Taylor, Taylor McKessie. I’m friends with your cousin Chad and my parents are really good friends with your aunt and uncle.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gabriella replied.
“I’m going to take a quick shower, but then we should talk,” Taylor stated.
While Taylor was showering, Gabriella went with her mom to see her aunt and uncle and met Taylor’s parents and the mom of Chad’s best friend Troy.
“Those three must have run off to play basketball,” Aunt Clarie shook her head. “I told Chad you would be here, but apparently he forgot.”
“They needed to burn all their pent-up energy,” Uncle Charlie stated. “They’ve been stuck in the car for the last seven hours.”
Leaving the adults to talk, Gabriella went back to her room and found Taylor coming out of the bathroom dressed.
“So you’re aunt told me you were on the Scholastic Decathlon team,” Taylor said, trying to make conversation.
It had worked and Gabriella and Taylor had spent most of the night talking about things they had in common. It was something Gabriella had never experienced before. She had never it hit off so quickly with anyone; usually it was a painful experience for her. But by the time she and Taylor called it a night, at nearly 3am, Gabriella knew she had made a best friend.
***********
“You feeling ok?” Gabriella’s husband whispered to her as they road the elevator up to their room. “You seem a little spaced out.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just thinking about all the memories this place has.”
“All good, I hope,” he smiled.
“The best,” she replied.
When the elevators opened, they stepped off and followed the bellhop to their room. It wasn’t until they were in there alone that Gabriella realized it was the exact same room that she and Taylor had shared six years ago.
***********
December 29, 2006
By the time Gabriella and Taylor had woken up, Chad and his friend Troy were already out snowboarding and Uncle Charlie, Taylor’s dad and Troy’s dad were all out skiing. Not that Taylor and Gabriella minded, since neither was into the whole skiing and snowboarding thing. Instead, they joined their moms, Aunt Claire and Troy’s mom at the spa and got manicures and pedicures.
It was that night that Gabriella finally got to see her cousin Chad. Her aunt and uncle made dinner reservations for the five of them at a restaurant thirty minutes away in honor of her mom’s birthday.
Gabriella loved being around her family, which was one reason she hadn’t put her foot down and flat out refused the move to Albuquerque. Plus, she figured, if her mom got transferred again, she could stay in Albuquerque with her aunt and uncle.
***********
Tired from the drive from Albuquerque, Gabriella stretched out on the bed and fell asleep.
Her husband woke her up a little later and told her that Chad had just called and said they were twenty minutes away.
He helped her up then she went into the bathroom and took a shower.
After college, Chad and Taylor had married and had moved to Denver, Colorado where he worked as an athletic trainer and she was a lawyer. She sort of envied them, but she knew Denver wasn’t like the sleepy little town a few miles from the ski lodge. It was full of little shops and she knew she and Taylor would have to make a trip down there before they left.
***********
December 30, 2006
The day had started out much like the day before, with the menfolk up and out on the slopes before 8am. Taylor and Gabriella got up earlier than the morning before and joined the moms for breakfast in the formal dinning room.
Then the womenfolk had taken the ski lodge’s transit bus down to the town Gabriella’s family had had dinner the night before. She hadn’t gotten a good look at it then, but in the daylight, it was a beautiful little down. The snowy streets were lined with mom and pop shops that boasted everything from handmade soap to designer dresses to blown glass.
Taylor and Gabriella stuck with the moms for most of the late morning, each ending up with a dress and shoes to wear on New Years Eve, and excused themselves from the group when they came upon a bookstore. They had spent the rest of their day in the bookstore and had an early dinner with the moms before they too the bus back up to the ski lodge.
***********
Hearing a knock on their door, Gabriella opened it and smiled when she saw Chad and Taylor standing on the other side. She greeted them both then let them into the room.
She watched with a hand placed on her belly as her husband greeted Chad and Taylor. She didn’t have to be reminded how lucky she was to have the husband she did. And if it hadn’t been for Taylor and Chad, she never would have met him.
***********
December 31, 2006
“So what’s this Troy guy like?” Gabriella asked as she and Taylor got ready for the teen party.
“You haven’t met him yet?” Taylor replied. Gabriella shook her head. “Oh, wow. Well, hmm, how to explain Troy Bolton.” She paused for a minute. “He’s a lot like Chad, but has more emotions or is a little more aware of them than your cousin is.”
“Chad never was a crier,” Gabriella stated.
“Oh, I know,” Taylor laughed. “At school, Troy’s more popular than Chad is, but that’s just because he’s the team captain. People who don’t know him well assume he’s a snob, but he’s been one of my closest friends since we were kids and even though his family has money, he doesn’t show it off, ya know? I mean he drives the ugliest beat up truck, but he drives it because he and his dad worked on it together.”
“He sounds nice,” Gabriella replied.
“He is,” Taylor smiled.
They finished getting ready then headed down to the teen club where the guys were waiting for them. They found Chad and he gave them both hugs, holding Taylor a little longer, Gabriella noticed.
“So where’s Troy?” Taylor asked.
“Coming,” Chad replied. “We sorta lost track of time when we were playing basketball and I showered first since I promised to meet you guys down here.”
While they were waiting for Troy to show up, they found a table and took turns going to get something to eat from the buffet.
When he finally did and Chad introduced Gabriella to him, she realized that Taylor had left out the part about Troy being very good looking.
Then something strange happened.
As soon as Troy sat down with his dinner and Gabriella started her dessert, Taylor and then Chad made an excuse to return to their respective rooms.
“What was that about?” Gabriella asked as she watched her cousin all but run out of the room.
“Chad and Taylor, being Chad and Taylor,” Troy shook his head. “I should have known they’d do this.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know they mean well, but it always feels like they’re trying to pawn me off to people just so they can be alone.”
“Be alone?” Gabriella stopped. “Wait, Chad and Taylor are dating?”
“Yeah, didn’t they tell you?” Gabriella shook her head. “Ah, well they’ve been dating since we were about 15 and in the last two years, they’ve tried to set me up with several girls.”
“This isn’t a setup,” Gabriella clarified.
“Yeah, I know,” Troy smiled as a spot light landed on them. “What the-”
“Come on up, you two, it’s time to Karaoke,” the party MC said.
***********
Gabriella smiled as she felt Troy’s hands rubbing the back of her neck. They were spending their last childless-New Years Eve at the place they had spent their very first New Years Eve and she couldn’t imagine any place she’d rather be.
When the clock stuck midnight on New Years Eve, Troy and Gabriella kissed and a few feet away Chad and Taylor kissed.
Story Index
The title has a double meaning. Since this story is a different telling of the night that Troy and Gabriella met, it talks about them meeting, but that scene is the first time the viewer is introduced to Troy and Gabriella, so it's for us too.
My original plan was to finish the series by the end of 2009 and post this last one on New Years Eve, but that didn't happen. But oh well.
Couple: Troy & Gabriella
Rating: T
Quote: "I know they mean well, but it always feels like they’re trying to pawn me off to people just so they can be alone."
Setting/Event: Troy, Taylor and Chad are with their families at ski resort; Troy meets Gabriella for the first time
Random Stuff:
- manicures
- basketball
Mountain Top Ski Lodge
.5 miles
The sign brought a smile to Gabriella’s lips. She couldn’t wait to go back to the place that she had met her husband at. Just thinking of that story made her laugh, that vacation hadn’t turned out like she had thought it would.
***********
December 25, 2006
She came downstairs on Christmas morning to the small fake tree that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the packed boxes. She hated that they were moving; she didn’t want to move again.
“Merry Christmas, sweetie,” her mom smiled. “Did you sleep well?”
Gabriella shrugged and picked up the one present from under the tree then looked at her mom. “I thought we weren’t doing presents this year?”
“That’s not from me, it’s to you and me from your dad’s sister,” her mom replied. “It came in the mail yesterday.”
Curious as to what her aunt had sent her, especially since they would be living right next door to her in a week, Gabriella ripped off the paper then opened the box. Inside were two plane tickets to Colorado.
“What’s in Colorado?” Gabriella asked. “Uncle Charlie and Aunt Claire live in New Mexico.”
“We’re spending New Years Eve with them in Colorado,” her mom explained. “They always go someplace with their friends for New Years and since we’re moving to Albuquerque, she and I thought it would be great for you to be able to reconnect with your cousin Chad and meet his two best friends.”
“What about our stuff?”
“The movers come the day after tomorrow and we’re on the first flight out on the twenty-eighth,” her mom replied. “Your Uncle Charlie has already asked his parents to let the movers into our house and they’ll surprise them while we’re having fun.”
***********
“We’re here,” her husband’s announcement brought her out of her thoughts.
After a ski lodge employee opened her front door, Gabriella eased herself out of the car, careful to not slip on wet cement. Her husband met her on her side of the car, after handing the keys to the valet, and then they went into the lodge to check in.
Though their parents had gone to Hawaii for New Years, she and her husband and her cousin and his wife had opted to come back to the ski lodge; mostly because Gabriella and her cousin-in-law were seven and eight months pregnant, respectively.
As Gabriella and her husband listened to the mandatory spiel about what the ski lodge had to offer the guests, her mind slipped off to when she met her cousin-in-law for the first time.
***********
December 28, 2006
Gabriella and her mom had been the first to arrive at the ski lodge since the others were driving up from Albuquerque. Gabriella figured that she and her mom would be sharing a room, but after they checked in, they found out they were in two separate rooms that were connected with a pass-through door.
They had retired to their rooms and, after unlocking the pass-through door, had settled in. It wasn’t until after dinner that the door to Gabriella’s room opened and she came face to face with an African-American girl.
“Are you Gabriella?” The girl asked. Gabriella nodded. “I’m Taylor, Taylor McKessie. I’m friends with your cousin Chad and my parents are really good friends with your aunt and uncle.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gabriella replied.
“I’m going to take a quick shower, but then we should talk,” Taylor stated.
While Taylor was showering, Gabriella went with her mom to see her aunt and uncle and met Taylor’s parents and the mom of Chad’s best friend Troy.
“Those three must have run off to play basketball,” Aunt Clarie shook her head. “I told Chad you would be here, but apparently he forgot.”
“They needed to burn all their pent-up energy,” Uncle Charlie stated. “They’ve been stuck in the car for the last seven hours.”
Leaving the adults to talk, Gabriella went back to her room and found Taylor coming out of the bathroom dressed.
“So you’re aunt told me you were on the Scholastic Decathlon team,” Taylor said, trying to make conversation.
It had worked and Gabriella and Taylor had spent most of the night talking about things they had in common. It was something Gabriella had never experienced before. She had never it hit off so quickly with anyone; usually it was a painful experience for her. But by the time she and Taylor called it a night, at nearly 3am, Gabriella knew she had made a best friend.
***********
“You feeling ok?” Gabriella’s husband whispered to her as they road the elevator up to their room. “You seem a little spaced out.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just thinking about all the memories this place has.”
“All good, I hope,” he smiled.
“The best,” she replied.
When the elevators opened, they stepped off and followed the bellhop to their room. It wasn’t until they were in there alone that Gabriella realized it was the exact same room that she and Taylor had shared six years ago.
***********
December 29, 2006
By the time Gabriella and Taylor had woken up, Chad and his friend Troy were already out snowboarding and Uncle Charlie, Taylor’s dad and Troy’s dad were all out skiing. Not that Taylor and Gabriella minded, since neither was into the whole skiing and snowboarding thing. Instead, they joined their moms, Aunt Claire and Troy’s mom at the spa and got manicures and pedicures.
It was that night that Gabriella finally got to see her cousin Chad. Her aunt and uncle made dinner reservations for the five of them at a restaurant thirty minutes away in honor of her mom’s birthday.
Gabriella loved being around her family, which was one reason she hadn’t put her foot down and flat out refused the move to Albuquerque. Plus, she figured, if her mom got transferred again, she could stay in Albuquerque with her aunt and uncle.
***********
Tired from the drive from Albuquerque, Gabriella stretched out on the bed and fell asleep.
Her husband woke her up a little later and told her that Chad had just called and said they were twenty minutes away.
He helped her up then she went into the bathroom and took a shower.
After college, Chad and Taylor had married and had moved to Denver, Colorado where he worked as an athletic trainer and she was a lawyer. She sort of envied them, but she knew Denver wasn’t like the sleepy little town a few miles from the ski lodge. It was full of little shops and she knew she and Taylor would have to make a trip down there before they left.
***********
December 30, 2006
The day had started out much like the day before, with the menfolk up and out on the slopes before 8am. Taylor and Gabriella got up earlier than the morning before and joined the moms for breakfast in the formal dinning room.
Then the womenfolk had taken the ski lodge’s transit bus down to the town Gabriella’s family had had dinner the night before. She hadn’t gotten a good look at it then, but in the daylight, it was a beautiful little down. The snowy streets were lined with mom and pop shops that boasted everything from handmade soap to designer dresses to blown glass.
Taylor and Gabriella stuck with the moms for most of the late morning, each ending up with a dress and shoes to wear on New Years Eve, and excused themselves from the group when they came upon a bookstore. They had spent the rest of their day in the bookstore and had an early dinner with the moms before they too the bus back up to the ski lodge.
***********
Hearing a knock on their door, Gabriella opened it and smiled when she saw Chad and Taylor standing on the other side. She greeted them both then let them into the room.
She watched with a hand placed on her belly as her husband greeted Chad and Taylor. She didn’t have to be reminded how lucky she was to have the husband she did. And if it hadn’t been for Taylor and Chad, she never would have met him.
***********
December 31, 2006
“So what’s this Troy guy like?” Gabriella asked as she and Taylor got ready for the teen party.
“You haven’t met him yet?” Taylor replied. Gabriella shook her head. “Oh, wow. Well, hmm, how to explain Troy Bolton.” She paused for a minute. “He’s a lot like Chad, but has more emotions or is a little more aware of them than your cousin is.”
“Chad never was a crier,” Gabriella stated.
“Oh, I know,” Taylor laughed. “At school, Troy’s more popular than Chad is, but that’s just because he’s the team captain. People who don’t know him well assume he’s a snob, but he’s been one of my closest friends since we were kids and even though his family has money, he doesn’t show it off, ya know? I mean he drives the ugliest beat up truck, but he drives it because he and his dad worked on it together.”
“He sounds nice,” Gabriella replied.
“He is,” Taylor smiled.
They finished getting ready then headed down to the teen club where the guys were waiting for them. They found Chad and he gave them both hugs, holding Taylor a little longer, Gabriella noticed.
“So where’s Troy?” Taylor asked.
“Coming,” Chad replied. “We sorta lost track of time when we were playing basketball and I showered first since I promised to meet you guys down here.”
While they were waiting for Troy to show up, they found a table and took turns going to get something to eat from the buffet.
When he finally did and Chad introduced Gabriella to him, she realized that Taylor had left out the part about Troy being very good looking.
Then something strange happened.
As soon as Troy sat down with his dinner and Gabriella started her dessert, Taylor and then Chad made an excuse to return to their respective rooms.
“What was that about?” Gabriella asked as she watched her cousin all but run out of the room.
“Chad and Taylor, being Chad and Taylor,” Troy shook his head. “I should have known they’d do this.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know they mean well, but it always feels like they’re trying to pawn me off to people just so they can be alone.”
“Be alone?” Gabriella stopped. “Wait, Chad and Taylor are dating?”
“Yeah, didn’t they tell you?” Gabriella shook her head. “Ah, well they’ve been dating since we were about 15 and in the last two years, they’ve tried to set me up with several girls.”
“This isn’t a setup,” Gabriella clarified.
“Yeah, I know,” Troy smiled as a spot light landed on them. “What the-”
“Come on up, you two, it’s time to Karaoke,” the party MC said.
***********
Gabriella smiled as she felt Troy’s hands rubbing the back of her neck. They were spending their last childless-New Years Eve at the place they had spent their very first New Years Eve and she couldn’t imagine any place she’d rather be.
When the clock stuck midnight on New Years Eve, Troy and Gabriella kissed and a few feet away Chad and Taylor kissed.
Story Index