Chapter 14
14
“ C had, where’s my kiss?” Mom asks, moving frantically around the cramped kitchen in my childhood home. This house barely fit the six of us growing up, and now it’s almost bursting with ten. I set the bottle of wine on the counter and give her a kiss on the cheek. “One of these days, bring a girl instead of a bottle of wine,” she chides, shaking her head as she stirs a pot.
“One of these days, let me make a holiday meal at my house,” I quip back. I did offer to host Easter this year, after all. My place is bigger, with an open floor plan, but Mom refused to break tradition.
“When you have a girlfriend.” She raises her brow.
Mom’s getting impatient with my single life, I know. “If you’re lucky, I’ll host Thanksgiving.”
“If I’m lucky?” She squints at me.
“I’m working on it.”
“Good.”
“Does that mean you're dating someone?” my oldest sister, Kelly, chimes in, stepping into the kitchen.
“Early days.”
“You hear that?” Kelly looks at Mom. “He’s being vague. That means he likes her. Who is she?”
“You wouldn’t know her.”
Kelly narrows her eyes a little. “Does she not live around here?”
“She lives here … in Lake Geneva.”
“And I wouldn’t know her?”
Do I tell them about how much younger Anna is than me?
As if on cue, Heather, my youngest sister, slips into the kitchen, along with Ashley, who lives for gossip.
“Chad being quiet, now this is intriguing,” Heather says.
Being ganged up on by all these women, it’s nothing new. I have no choice now. I’ll have to tell them every painstaking detail.
“Her name is Anna Clark.”
“Megan’s sister? Isn’t she, like, super young?” Heather immediately responds.
“She’s twenty-two.”
“Hmm,” Heather hums, and I know. Anna is younger than her.
“Anna? Isn’t that the girl you’ve been crushing on for months?” Ashley pokes my stomach. “The reason you’re eating so much pasta.”
“Yes. That Anna.”
“How long have you two been dating?” Mom asks, nearly shrill. “You could have brought her here.”
“Mom, we haven’t even been out on an official date.”
“You’ve been, what? Netflix and chilling?” Kelly raises a brow.
“No! I finally got the courage to ask her out the other day, so like I said … early days.”
“When are you taking her out, then?” Mom asks, no longer focused on dinner.
“Tuesday.”
“Uncle Chad!” My nephew Oliver, Kelly’s son, runs in, hugging me. Thank God! I toss him onto my shoulders and take that as a cue to leave the kitchen. If I don’t leave now, they’re going to ask for even more information about Anna.
Beyond stuffed after dinner, I make my way to the couch, dropping down onto the opposite end from Dad. He’s got the TV on, his usual post-meal ritual, and will probably be snoring in five minutes. The smell of ham and mashed potatoes still hangs in the air.
“You have to tell us, how was it being the Easter Bunny?” Kelly asks, pacing as she rocks her two-month-old son. “I’m so mad we missed it. These boys are terrible sleepers right now, and I was too drained to go.”
“The costume itself was terrible. So hot to wear. But it was a great event.”
“I’m sad I missed seeing you as the bunny.” My brother-in-law Noah leans on the wall in the living room. “But honestly, if I’d lost fantasy, I’m not sure I could’ve gone through with it.”
“Oh, we would’ve made sure of it,” I say, smirking. “Rules are rules.”
“You guys gave me a lot of ideas for my fantasy league,” says James, my soon-to-be brother-in-law.
“Next season, are you joining our league or not?” I ask him.
“Depends on what the loser has to do. I think we’ve been way too nice to each other in our league.” He gives Ashley a kiss before sitting on the recliner.
My sisters picked good guys. I know they’re right about me needing to take dating more seriously. With how well the bar banter was on Saturday, I’m excited to take Anna out on Tuesday.
“The bunny costume is how I broke the ice with Anna,” I admit to the group.
“What do you mean?” Heather perks up, fully invested now as she sits cross-legged on the rug in front of the couch.
“I invited her to High Five to have a drink with ‘Buttons the Bunny.’”
“This poor girl,” Kelly says, although she’s smiling. “Wait—are you saying you wore the costume at the bar?”
“Just the mask.”
“And she was into it?” Ashley asks skeptically, taking a seat next to me on the couch.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “Apparently.”
“Well, you two sound like a match already.” Heather laughs.
“I would’ve been, like, ‘take off that mask, weirdo.’” Ashley chuckles, nudging me with her elbow.
“Do you want to hold him?” Kelly asks now that baby Theo is asleep in her arms.
“Give me the little man!” I reach over, taking him carefully. He’s tiny, but I’m still cautious with him. “He’s big, right? Like longer than most babies this age?”
“He’s in the eightieth percentile for height and weight.”
“I do not want a ten-pound baby, but it feels inevitable at this point,” Ashley says, leaning over and reaching for Theo's hand.
“Inevitable before or after the wedding?” I tease.
“After.” She nudges her shoulder into me.
“I’m a little scared of babies when they’re this small,” I share. “But once they're Oliver’s age, it’s adventure time with Uncle Chad. Let me know when I can take him off your hands sometime.”
“Will do.” Kelly smiles at me. “You know, if you took dating more seriously, you could have your own family by now.”
I give her a sarcastic look. “Is that how it works?”
But something in her comment sticks with me.
Monday, April 21st
Chad Braun
How is my little bunny doing today?
Anna Clark
Good. Just so you know, I still don’t have your number saved in my phone because I refuse to add you as Buttons.
Chad Braun
Just one more day of waiting.
Anna Clark
I’m working tonight, by the way … do with that information what you will.
She thinks she’s so clever. No way I’m going to La Nonna tonight and risk ruining the surprise. But damn, she is clever. I usually go there on Monday nights since it’s slow. Should I go? Fuck.
Chad Braun
Do you want me to show up?
Anna Clark
That depends.
Chad Braun
On?
Anna Clark
If you flirt with me or not.
Hmmm.
Chad Braun
You want me to show up at your work and distract you?
Anna Clark
I think you know it’s usually slow on Monday nights.
Clever, clever girl. She’s got to know it’s me.
Chad Braun
What’s the difference between a stan and a stalker? Because I think you’re confusing me for the latter.
Anna Clark
Well … you’ll know where I’ll be later.
I smirk, the possibilities running through my mind. Do I play it cool and tease her? Do I show up at La Nonna and tell her? Or do I skip the whole thing altogether and wait until tomorrow? Decisions, decisions ...