Miguel had learned very quickly that being a parent wasn’t something you could just pick up overnight. It was a process—One to which he had jumped into head first with nothing other than faith and love. He picked up a few things quickly, like what Gabriella’s schedule was or what foods she did and didn’t enjoy. Those small lessons didn’t quite equate to bigger ones. Emotional turmoil and misunderstandings caused a bit of a rift in their small family, but Miguel was never one to give up so easily.
The harder moments were due to the gaps in knowledge between Miguel and the dead version of himself. Gabriella might have been his daughter, but there was a realization that he didn’t know of her much more than that. It took a little while, but he eventually got the ropes of the situation he was in.
He got into their routine and listened to her with every decibel of hearing he had. She was a smart girl, too smart for her own good sometimes, so she easily detected that something was amiss at first but pushed no further than stating the dislike of his forgetfulness.
Still, none of that dissuaded his want for this life.
Sure, it didn’t work out all the time, Miguel was a realist in some capacity so he knew it wouldn’t be perfect. Nonetheless, when he came home to his daughter, whether it was little, childish disagreements or loving moments that he’d only ever seen in movies, he still craved that life. The real, healthy sense of home he had been wanting was right there. Sometimes he couldn’t believe it.
It was in the silliest moments did he realize that he had finally taken what he wanted, essentially having his cake and eating it, too.
The first moment like that, the one that he could remember, was surprisingly eating McDonald’s at midnight in a parking lot. Neither he nor Gabriella could sleep, and when she said she was hungry, Miguel agreed.
“Dad, we should go to McD’s,” She said, rubbing her hands over her stomach. “Because my tummy is speaking to me and it’s saying ‘chicken nuggets and fries’.”
He snorted at her eight-year-old sense of humor and relented. It was a bad, irresponsible idea, but the smile that graced his daughter’s face was well worth it. He hardly had time to put on his shoes before she was at the front door yelling at him to hurry.
“If you take any longer they’re gonna be serving breakfast!” She whined.
“No, they won’t, Gabi, we’ll make it,” Miguel said before grabbing his car keys. As Gabriella sprinted out the door he mumbled to himself, “For my sake, I hope they aren’t.”
Miguel found Gabriella in the front seat of the car, looking at him like she wasn’t going to move for the life of her. Unfortunately, the amount of stubbornness she had was inherited from him.
Quickly, he quipped back in Spanish, using the same tone as his mother used when she was upset, “Get in the back seat, or we go back inside.”
There were a few moments of silence before her stubbornness gave way to the need for nuggets. Gabriella made it a point to declare how much she would rather sit in the front since the whole trip was her idea as she buckled herself in. Miguel, fortunately, knew better than to poke the already seething bear.
The rest of the car ride was quiet, and Miguel looked back in the rearview to make sure Gabi was still there. She was but could see the silent whirring of the car was starting to pull at her sleepiness. For a minute, Miguel thought about just driving around until she fell asleep.
Just like when she was a baby— Miguel stopped the thought short, remembering that he didn’t know whether or not that happened. He could only assume because it was a small instance in his dream. He simmered on the thought until he saw the Golden Arches.
Gabi must have seen them first by the way she was suddenly there again, giving a hearty squeal of excitement before going on to chant for chicken nuggets. Luckily, there wasn’t much of a line, and when he pulled up to the intercom Gabriella had already told him her order three times.
“Yeah, a chicken nugget happy meal,” Miguel said.
Gabi excitedly added, “With the toy, Dad! With the toy, please!”
He was proud of her for at least using her manners. “With the toy. And then, get me two Big Macs with fries and a soda.”
Gabriella giggled in the backseat, reaching forward just enough to brush the back of his arm as he finished their order. Miguel looked in the rearview mirror at her. “What is it, baby?”
“Hold my hand,” Gabriella desperately tried to grab at him again, though was too far out of reach and held back by her seatbelt.
Miguel’s heart squeezed when he had to tell her he couldn’t. “Not yet, baby. Let me pay this nice lady and get our food, then I’ll hold your hand.”
She pouted and it tugged at his heartstrings. Gabriella, Miguel’s sweet girl, could plan to set the world on fire and he’d be there with gasoline to help because he loved her that much.
“Dad,” She said, kicking her feet when they finally got their food. “Do we have to go home right away? Can we eat in the car somewhere like usual?”
That wasn’t a memory with him she was talking about, but he would fucking make it one if it made Gabriella happy. Either out of love or spite for his luckier, dead self, he agreed, asking her where. The park, where she could watch the city light twinkle— her words, but Miguel wouldn’t rebuff her child-like view of the world. The parking lot to the city park was empty, which made it perfect for looking out toward the never-ending expansion of Nueva York.
As soon as the car was in park Gabriella was climbing over the center console to sit in the front seat. Miguel had to quickly move the bags out of the way before she sat on them, lightly reprimanding her for not being more conscious of her surroundings.
After her apology, she finally started to dig into the food she’d long awaited for. Gabriella had a set order of things when it came to eating food in the car. She would set the small box of chicken nuggets in her lap before laying the fries in the open part of the box, then, after making sure the toy was to her liking, held out her hand toward him expectantly.
“Hold my hand, Dad,” Gabriella’s tone told him that her little sign to him should have been obvious.
Miguel, after making sure he could still eat his burger with one hand, put his free one into hers. Gabriella hummed happily before munching on her nuggets, eyes trained on the city outside.
“Do you think tomorrow, after school, we could come back here,” She asked.
Miguel squeezed her hand. He hoped this world’s original Miguel loved his daughter as much as he did. “Sure, baby. But, we’re not getting any more McDonalds. Two days of it in a row is bad for your health.”
She giggled and said, “Okay. We should get pizza and bring it here!”
“No,” He paused to lean over to kiss her head. “We’ll have a picnic, so we can make stuff at home.”
Gabriella gasped, before going on a tangent about what they could make. She suggested brownies, empanadas, a few other sweets, and everything that did not equal a healthy dinner for a growing girl. Miguel loved Gabriella but knew he couldn’t make her eat any more junk food. As he let her go on, that’s when he realized this is what he wanted. The moments like this that would seem so small to anyone else, but to him were something so new and exciting.
Halfway through her rant he suddenly said, “Little girl, I love you so much.”
Gabriella seemed surprised by the sudden announcement, but, like her father used to be, was never one to turn away from love. She looked down bashfully before leaning her head on his arm. “I love you, too, Dad.”
Miguel leaned over to kiss Gabriella’s forehead, but accidentally knocked over the soda in cupholders all over her and the front seat. Between him cussing in Spanish and Gabriella shrieking that her shorts were now covered in soda, Miguel found himself laughing at how lucky he was.
He hoped there were going to be millions of memories like this one, even if in the span of multiple universes they were just mere fleeting moments.