The next morning, Isa woke up before the sun, knowing she had a long day ahead. The twins' bags were packed, but there was still plenty to do before they hit the road for Orlando. She slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake Jey, who was still asleep on the couch after staying up late playing with Mateo's new Spider-Man figures.

She smiled to herself, then shook her head. Focus, Isa. You have packing to do.

Heading to her closet, she pulled out her suitcase and began picking out her outfits-comfortable but stylish clothes for the parks, a couple of cute dresses for dinner, and, of course, extra shoes because there was no way she was walking around Disney all day in just one pair.

After packing her things, she turned her attention to Jey. She didn't have to pack for him, but knowing him, he'd wait until the last minute and forget half the things he needed. So, she grabbed his duffle bag and filled it with athletic shorts, T-shirts, sneakers, and a couple of hoodies for the cooler Florida nights.

Halfway through, she held up one of his neatly folded shirts and hesitated. It felt oddly domestic, doing this for him again. Stop overthinking, she told herself, shoving it into the bag and zipping it shut.

With their clothes packed, she moved on to preparing the road trip essentials. She went to the kitchen, pulling out a large tote bag and filling it with snacks-fruit snacks and granola bars for the twins, chips for Jey, and trail mix and bottled water for herself.

Next, she packed the essentials:

✔ Wet wipes (because kids were messy)
✔ Hand sanitizer
✔ Extra phone chargers
✔ Headphones
✔ Coloring books and crayons for Sofia
✔ Mateo's tablet (already loaded with movies)

She glanced at the clock. Almost time to wake everyone up.

Just as she was double-checking the bags, she felt a presence behind her.

"Damn, you really packed all this?" Jey's voice was raspy from sleep.

She turned to find him leaning against the counter, arms crossed, looking impressed.

"Somebody had to," she teased. "You would've thrown some clothes in a bag five minutes before we left and called it a day."

Jey smirked, rubbing a hand over his face. "You ain't wrong."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "Go wake up the kids. We gotta hit the road soon."

Jey pushed off the counter, stretching. "Aye aye, captain."

As he walked off, Isa took a deep breath, looking at everything she had prepared. It had been a long time since they had done something as a family, and despite all the complications, she wanted this trip to be perfect for the twins.

Because no matter what, they deserved this.