if you're an old reader from the original, you may remember this chapter! i still found it important in establishing the closeness darcy has with her staff at the café. i didn't have to do much editing either which was nice and why this chapter came to you in just another week! ignore weird mistakes and typos, hope you enjoy! xx

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Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." - Lilo and Stitch

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"Darcy?" Papa called from the living room. "Where's the gift you bought for Evan's kid?"

I was finishing up brushing my hair in the bathroom, which proved to be quite a feat with such the long length. It's been over a year since I've last cut it. I began to pull it into its usual braid as I called back to him, saying, "Did you check the counter? I put it in a bag this morning when I woke up. There should be a card in there for him, too."

He made a noise of understanding before shouting back to me a moment later, "What's this little animal called again?"

I feigned offense – though some of it was genuine – as I came into the living room. Papa held the stuffed Stitch in his hands with confusion evident on his face as he tried to remember where he'd seen the familiar blue creature before. I was slightly disappointed in him, not gonna lie. He should know who Stich was with me as a daughter. Clearly.

"From that Disney movie, Papa," I said, taking it from him and placing it back in the bag. I adjusted the tissue paper and slipped the letter back on the side. "Lilo and Stitch, remember? There's this whole overall theme of ohanas, which means family in Hawaiian culture. Evan's ohana just grew one person bigger, so I thought getting him a Stitch would be more meaningful than just any old stuffed animal."

He hummed. "Can't seem to remember that movie."

I was more than happy to jog his memory. "Well, we will watch it tonight, then," I declared.

Before our movie lie in, though, we were throwing Evan a congratulatory dinner at the cafe after closing time. The pictures he sent of his baby boy were the most precious thing in the world, and it brought good spirits to the staff to see them. He's taken time off to help settle everything at home, and Papa's allowed him another week to make sure all is well before he came back to work. I, of course, was more than happy to cover those shifts for him. I've started to take it upon myself to write little messages on the backs of cups and bags. A little quirk of a smile or even the slightest of chuckles from a customer makes it all worth it. What better way to brighten your own day than by brightening another?

Papa nodded compliantly, to my delight, and handed me the bag as I put on my coat. "Go on now, get to work. Tell the others I'll be there tonight. Keep 'em on their toes – lunch hour's been hectic with the oncoming holidays and what not."

I wavered by the door, holding Evan's gift in one hand and my scarf in the other. Call it paranoia, but I couldn't help be slightly worried for Papa as he stayed home feeling under the weather. Past experiences have conditioned me to slip into an immediate state of anxiety and not wanting to leave his side.

He must've sensed my weariness as I hovered by the door because he assured me, saying, "Oh, wipe that look off your face. I'm all right, honey."

Teetering on my toes, I was still overcome with hesitance. "London will be in classes today, so she won't be around if you need anything."

Papa gave me that look, the one that said chill out, kid, as he came and wrapped the knitted scarf around my neck. "I promise it's nothing serious. You'll be the first I call if I feel like there's something wrong. In the meantime, I need you to hold down the fort so I can rest up for tonight. In fact, why don't you ask Chris if he's busy tonight. I'd love to see the boy again."

I perked up at the thought of seeing him again. Last night's message kept me guessing about what he had in store for tomorrow. I tried pestering the answer out of him, but to no avail. He just kept being annoying and cheeky about it, sending me winky faces and shrugging emojis.

"You won't mind if he comes?"

"Not at all," replied Papa with a squeeze of my shoulders. "That boy was ohana once."

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Papa's words stayed with me throughout the day, resonating even more as the whole staff sat together at the giant combined table, gathering like a family on Thanksgiving. Evan told us more about how his wife and son were doing, which then strayed to more stories about everyone else's families: Ronnie's unaccepting parents, Ben's too slack parents, Nina's aunt and uncle that she stayed with after she turned ten. It put me in a rather reminiscent mood.

If there's anything I've come to really appreciate in life, it was the number of families you find yourself apart of throughout your life. Not just the ones you're born into, but the ones you make with different groups of people. You become so close-knit with one group of people that it's a whole different level of family. It's the people you see so often, click so well with, that a bond of trust and love develops. The girls at the orphanage were my family for a long time until Pa and I became a two person family, but then there was this crazy bunch at the Brewing Café. London was like family, too, as she so often reminded me of Jessica and the way she used to look out for me.

Man, did I really miss everyone.

How was Sylvia? I wonder how Emmery is doing . . . and Carles, Zarah, Albany, and Edan, too. Missing them like this, is this what graduation felt like? When everyone goes their separate ways for college? I mean, for people who had friends, at least... I had a feeling my post-graduation would be a lot less sad than others.

"Hey, why the down look all of a sudden?" asked Chris, nudging me with his elbow. He came 'round after school and did his homework upon accepting my invitation of joining us tonight. A good hour or so after was spent pre-doodling goofy faces onto a pack of paper bags. It was nice to see him again so soon, but his mere presence pushed me further into my nostalgia.

I frowned and put down my fork. I was more lost in my thoughts than I was in the food, which was a rare thing to say considering meals were always phenomenal when our chefs, Nina and Jack, made them.

"I'm okay," I told him, smiling faintly. "All this talk is making me think about the past. Everyone I've left behind. Kinda sucks when you think about just how many people you used to see so much and now haven't seen in years."

"Do you mean the people you used to be with at the orphanage?" he asked curiously.

I nodded. It was a broad way for me to refer to the girls back at the orphanage without having to directly say it, but I'm not surprised he knew what I was talking about at first guess.

"Nah, I know what you mean," Ben commented from across the table. He and the rest of the staff knew about my past – there was nothing to hide. "People come and go like that, but you always meet new people who could potentially stick around longer than some. Or, you know, some just leave for a while and then come back, like your childhood sweetheart over there."

Chris laughed, but my cheeks flared. "Childhood friend, not sweetheart. Knock it off, Ben," I hissed at him. In the corner of my eye, I saw Papa lean back in his chair and chuckle.

"Whatever you say," he teased with a wink.

I glared the best menacingly look I could, but I knew threatening him with Ronnie's name would shut him up good. She would have no qualms of holding back on Ben if I came to her for backup, and Ben was fully aware of that considering he refrained from making any more comments.

"I get it, too, and Ben's right," Chris continued on, placing his chin on his hand. His expression turned grim as he stared overhead at the window. "Sometimes you can't help who you lose in your life. People come and go, but only some will actually stay."

Now it was me who didn't need to guess who he was talking about. I've noticed in the short time since our reunion that Chris does the same thing that Jessica did – smile through the pain. He likes to pretend that he's okay even though he's not okay yet. While I admire his ability to maintain this positive demeanor, I always thought that it'd be okay if he wanted to express how he was truly feeling. I wonder if he knew that it was okay to be sad in front of me.

"Back on the market and onto the shelves. Don't worry, Chris. There will be plenty of girls walking down your aisle soon enough."

He chuckled and shook his head. "At the moment, I think I'm okay being looked over from all the rest."

Later that night, as Evan was opening the presents given to him, Papa and Chris wandered off to the farther side of the café for their own little chat. I couldn't help but gauge their facial expressions, even tried to read their lips at one point in hopes of getting the gist on what they were talking about. It probably would've been more reasonable just to ask them, but curiosity had me staring intensely at the moment. It looked like a pretty serious conversation to me.

"This one's from the boss and his daughter," I heard Ben say, pulling my attention away from Chris to Evan holding his gift bag.

I gestured a hand to all of them. "Listen, if none of you get the reference when he opens that gift then I'll be sorely disappointed and your punishment is to watch said reference movie with me and Papa."

To my surprise, Ben was the first to shout out, "I get it!" when Evan pulled the Stitch out.

"Really?" I asked him incredulously.

"No, but I just don't want to watch a movie with you."

"That's why it's punishment, stupid," I deadpanned.

"Well, I guess I'll have to endure this awful punishment because hell if I know the reference," Ronnie piped, falling back onto her seat.

"I, for one, actually get it," Evan said with a smile. "That's the movie with the whole ohana thing, isn't it?"

Papa looked impressed. "Good on ya for figuring that out without reading the card. She's probably made me watch this movie with her since she was six and I forgot the reference entirely."

"Welcome to the club, boss. I still don't know what movie they're talking about!" Ben exclaimed with no shame, raising a hand for him to slap.

I shook my head disapprovingly. "Yup, that settled it. We're watching it together like a ohana so you can get the damn ohana reference."

"I'll pass," Ben said as Ronnie answered, "I'm down."

"You heard the girl, it's punishment," she added with narrowed eyes that alone pressured him to tag along.

Chris stepped towards me as everyone started to clean up. "Hey, I gotta head off. Dad set a curfew this time but," he began, throwing his arm around my neck and pulling me away from everyone else, "you're welcome in advance."

I blinked up at him as we walked outside. I shivered immediately at the freezing night air. "What am I supposed to be thanking you for?" I asked him, but judging by the stupid goofy grin on his face, I wasn't going to find out from him. My tone fell flat as I said, "You're really gonna do that to me. You're gonna put me in suspense like that and not tell me?"

"I told you I'd have a surprise for you tomorrow, didn't I? All you need to know is that you're going to thank me for it and that I was happy to do it. This information should tide you over until then."

"It's not tiding me over right now!" I argued, wanting to slap him for peaking my curiosity even more than before. It was a real life cliffhanger and I didn't appreciate the tease.

Chris made a shushing sound and pressed my face down onto his shoulder before stroking my hair as he joked, "Hush now. You'll survive." His shoulder shook with unsuppressed laughter, causing me to pull away unamused.

"Whatever," I drawled, starting towards the door of the cafe.

"Enjoy your day off tomorrow!" he shouted after me, piling on to my confusion. There's still a few more days worth of shifts I need to cover for Evan. Why would I have a day off?

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Ronnie, Ben, and Jack came along with me and Pa to watch Lilo and Stitch back at our place. It was a trip down memory lane for Ronnie and Jack, but Ben was acting as if he's never seen it in his twenty-three years of living. Geez, what kind of a childhood didn't have some Disney in it?

It turned out that I did have a day off the next day, one that was forcefully given to me.

Papa dropped the news on me as I was getting ready for bed. "You can sleep in tomorrow, kid. Have the day off," he'd said and then resumed to shoot down any arguments I had about why I can't. He was so adamant in giving me this day off that I let the objections die on my tongue and accepted it.

The whole sleeping in thing didn't happen really happen, though. When persistent knocking at our door woke me up, I noted that I got an extra hour of sleep than I usually would.

By that time, Pa was at the café on a pinky swear that he was feeling better than yesterday, and some person was trying to play some kind of beat on my door. I threw the covers off me with a groan before slipping down to the floor. Whoever was at the door was gonna wear a hole in the door. Couldn't they get hint that if no one answers the door they should beat it because a) nobody's home or b) person home doesn't want to open the door?

I was ready to unleash some annoyed remarks that normally comes from a newly woken Darcy, but instead found myself shocked and wracked with the urge to cry or laugh (or both) as I opened the door to a woman with familiar blonde hair cut past her shoulders and turquoise colored eyes that were hard to forget.

She smiled brightly and clasped her hands together. "I would ask if you remember me, but I think I know the answer to that," she said.

Chris was right, I thought as I was pulled into a tight, oxygen restricting hug. I was gonna thank him big time.

"Oh, you bet I need a picture of this right now!" the woman squealed, shaking my body with joy. I pressed my face into her shoulder, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Of course you do, Jessica."

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we're back and rolling, baby! some of you may remember this chapter from the original version. i will be starting to incorporate those past chapters in (edited, of course) and putting in new scenes as well. i'm so so excited to get back into the bulk of the story, and i'm grateful for you following me on this journey. it truly feels good to be back.

also, you may notice the aesthetically pleasing changes i have added to the chapters. they make me happy hehe

my cousin is in town now so i'm still going to try and post the next chapter again next week, but we shall see. thank you guys so much for your patience :)

thank you. i love you. see you soon!

p.s. hehe yes that is my handwriting. and i've made an author instagram today because i really wanted a space to put all fan-made graphics, post previews, give updates, etc etc. if you fancy, go follow for all that exclusive material <3