43. June
FORTY-THREE
June
My hands tighten around Oliver’s as I stop, staring up at my mom’s house. It’s a two-story brick giant, a blend of traditional and modern styles with large windows, an oversize front door, and small bushes that line the entire beige exterior. It’s a testament to her hard work, but it’s also a little cold, intimidating.
And I’m not going to lie, a little impersonal, kinda like her.
It’s fair to note that I don’t want to be here. Literally, I’d rather be anywhere else. My mom hasn’t said a word to me since I quit on Monday, and there was a large part of me that figured after all that she’d call this off.
Do we really think she wants some Neanderthal football player wandering around her house, bumping into things and humping everything?
Because I’m positive this is what she thinks Ryan is going to do today, just like I’m positive she thinks he’s a bad influence on me. I’m sure she’s hoping he comes in here, acting like a huge idiot, so she can say I told you so. And rub it in my face for good measure.
No one’s seen me yet. It’s not too late to entice Oliver back to the car with the promise of pizza and ice cream.
Fudge.
I spent all morning trying to come up with a believable excuse, anything that could get us out of being there. Food poisoning. Yoga emergency. My imaginary cat is stuck in a tree. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Anything and everything.
But I couldn’t do it.
Not after quitting on Monday, leaving the firm a little high and dry. Because I’m a sucker, I felt bad.
Oliver is excited to see everyone. Plus, Ryan and his mom are already on the way.
He spent the morning fixing some loose boards on her front porch and helped her with a few things around the house. We were supposed to meet her earlier this week, but the three of us were wiped out with the stomach flu, and we didn’t want to risk making her sick.
I’m anxious to meet her.
I hope she likes us.
I hope my mom isn’t ... well ... I think we all know how my mom can be. She hasn’t exactly been silent on her disapproval of Ryan, and I wouldn’t put it past her to say something contrary in front of everyone.
At least I’ll have Poppy, Kinsley, and my dad here as a buffer.
Not that I’m entirely confident it will make a difference.
Speak of the Devil ... or should I say Satan? My mom throws open the door, and there’s no way we can turn back. She’s seen us. Oliver is oblivious to my plight, taking off like a shot, wrapping his arms around her legs. “There’s my favorite grandson.”
“I’m your only grandson, Grandma.” He puts his fists on his hips, and I imagine he’s giving her quite the look.
She leans down, a genuine smile on her face, and bops his nose. “But still no less true. Everyone is in the backyard if you want to go say hello.”
I’m instantly forgotten as he takes off running toward the back of the house, his sneakers stomping all the way across her expensive wood floors. There’s no way my sisters or me would have been allowed to run through the house when we were, well ... any age.
She still looks at me sideways if I’m walking beyond the foyer with shoes on.
You know, kinda like she’s looking at me right now.
And that’s when it registers—with Oliver gone, the two of us are alone. Yep. All alone. No buffer.
It’s fine. Everything is fine. Oh God, please let everything be fine.
“June.” That smile wobbles, falling quickly from her face. Nice Grandmother Morgan is long gone, and her lawyer persona is firmly back in place. “I hope you’re doing well.”
“I am, actually.” I move into her foyer, letting the door close behind me. “Leaving the firm has allowed me to put all my focus on the studio, which is doing better than expected. I appreciate you being gracious enough to understand.”
Let’s be honest, she didn’t understand a thing and tried to get me to put in a six-months notice. Six months . But if I’m not careful, I’ll activate the dragon, and that’s the last thing we need today.
She opens her mouth to respond, but before she can get another word out, there’s a knock at the door. A strong one. Shoot. I didn’t realize he’d be here so soon. My insides twist, and my heart leaps in my throat, and my pulse skyrockets so much I’m pretty sure I’m having heart palpitations. Oh God . The moms are going to meet. Like right now. His mom is going to hate me. She’s going to?—
My mom raises a brow, assessing me for a second, and pulls open the door, forcing me out of the way. “Hello there.” Fake smile. Okay, maybe it’s more like a grimace. “You must be Ryan. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Ryan’s gaze flicks to me, giving me a quick look of disbelief, and he extends his hand to her. “I am. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Yes. Finally. Considering you knocked up my daughter and moved her into your place not so long ago, I’d say it’s only fitting that we finally met.”
Jesus Christ.
His mouth drops open, but he’s quick to recover, giving her a charming smile. Yes, baby, win her over with those award-winning dimples.
Nope.
Abort.
Her fake smile is morphing into a frown with an accompanying glare. Of course she’d be immune to the dimples.
This is a damn disaster. We can’t even get past introductions. I should have canceled. I should have faked an illness or even intentionally given myself food poisoning. I’m pretty sure there’s some chicken in the fridge that looks sketchy.
His mom is standing behind him, her eyes wide as she watches the exchange. Or at least, I’m assuming that’s his mom. They have the same dark-brown hair and similar facial features, but where he’s tall and broad, she’s petite. And I know exactly how she feels .
“This is my mother, Margaret, and I’m June. Ryan’s told me so much about you. I’m sorry we haven’t found time to meet sooner.” I hold out my hand, hoping she’ll take my peace offering, hoping she doesn’t find me lacking, especially since she knew Caitlin. But instead of shaking my hand, she steps toward me and pulls me into a hug.
Her arms wrap around me tightly, and the air whooshes out of my lungs, not because she’s crushing me, which she kind of is, but because her hug is so warm. So accepting.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for you, June. I’m so glad my boy found you.” She whispers in my ear and pulls back, keeping her arms on my shoulders, taking in my floral dress. “You’re so beautiful.” And then she turns to my mom and opens her arms for another hug. “Maggie, I’m Nicole. It looks like we’re family now.”
My breath stalls in my lungs, and this time Ryan’s jaw practically falls to the floor. She called her Maggie. No one calls her Maggie. It takes my mom a few seconds, but she smiles. Like an actual genuine smile. And then hugs her.
I don’t know what kind of spell she’s put on my mother, but I need her to stay with us and never leave.
They pull apart, and by some miracle my mom loops her arm with Ryan’s mom. “I hope you brought your appetite. My ex-husband is on grill duty, and he has a tendency to overdo things.”
Nicole gasps, clearly faking surprise. “Are you telling me he was the drama queen?”
“Yep.”
“Men. I know exactly what that’s like.”
They both cackle—that’s the only word suitable to describe the noise they’re both making as my mom leads Ryan’s mom outside. What the heck just happened ?
Ryan grabs my hand, lacing his fingers with mine, and leans toward me, lowering his voice to a whisper. “What just happened? Did we witness hell freezing over?”
“I think so,” I whisper back, rising up on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. “I’m not really sure what to do. Your mom seems great, though, and after you warned me about the cane, I’m surprised to see her walking so well without it.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Today is a good day. She likes you, you know.”
We head into the kitchen, trailing a bit behind the moms, who are still walking with arms linked and whispering conspiratorially. “I’m so relieved. After Caitlin, I was really worried she’d hate me.”
He tugs on my hand, slowing us down, and turns me to face him. “Oh, she didn’t like Caitlin when we were together. She thought she was all wrong for me. In fact, I’d say she was a combative witness at the wedding.” He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “She coughed rather loudly when they asked if anyone had any objections. I really thought she was going to jump up, hands raised, and let us both have it.”
“That would have been a memorable moment.” I laugh, glancing at my mom as she opens the door to the back patio. “I’m sorry about my mom. She can be a lot sometimes.”
“She’s got nothing on Coach Wolfe. And don’t worry, there’s nothing she can say that will scare me off. I saw you vomit, and trust me, it was very unladylike. We’re bound together forever.”
“Ugh. Is there a chance we can forget that ever happened?”
“Nope. But cute of you to think so.” He gives me another quick kiss and nods toward the backyard. “Come on, let’s go introduce our son to my mom. ”
I don’t know why that fills my stomach with nervous butterflies, but it does. His mom seems great, and she’s going to be good with Oliver, there’s no doubt in my mind. Maybe it’s because there’s another person who’s going to want a piece of him, someone who’s going to want some of his time. Silly, I know. He’s also going to have another person to love him, support him, and that’s really all that matters.
And Ryan’s mom lives alone, and while she tells Ryan not to worry about her, we need to make more of an effort to get to know her, to keep her company.
When we get outside, she’s still standing with my mom, and they’re watching Oliver kick a soccer ball with Poppy and Kinsley. They’re both wearing wistful smiles and his mom, Nicole, swipes under her eyes.
Oliver sees us first and runs full speed at Ryan. My breath catches in my throat, but Ryan doesn’t miss a beat, scooping Oliver up and flying him in the air before settling him on his hip. They both look so happy, so in love with each other, I’m not sure how I can leave this every day.
I’m supposed to go inspect my apartment after this, but maybe when I get back home, I can gently suggest staying. I just ... I know it’s too soon, I know it’s reckless, but maybe we could live together permanently.
“Daddy, you’re late. Mommy and I got here foreber ago.” He lets out a very exasperated sigh like he was completely put out by the five minutes between our arrival and his.
Ryan laughs. “Forever, huh? I was spending time with your Mimi. She’s very excited to meet you.”
Oli’s eyes widen, and he squirms out of Ryan’s hold. “You didn’t tells me Mimi was here. We couldn’t meet her when we was sick.”
Mimi crouches on the ground, wincing a little on the way down. “You must be Oliver. I love all the dinosaurs on your shirt.”
“Dinosaurs are my faborite.” He pulls out his shirt, showing off the dino pattern. “I picked it out myself. Do you like to play soccer? Do you like puzzles? Grandma keeps some for me. Do you want to help put one together?”
“I’d love to.”
“I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he’s back in the house, I have to laugh. “And by ‘help’ he means he wants you to put the puzzle together while he mixes up the pieces.”
“Trust me, that’s nothing.” She waves me off and points at Ryan. “This one had me running football drills with him in the backyard. I’ll take a puzzle any day.”
“Oh, fresh meat. I mean, new person.” My dad joins the group, and I really have to fight the urge to face-palm. Hard. He sure has a way with words. “How’s my future son-in-law doing? You ready to kick some Baltimore butt on Sunday?”
“Yes, sir.” Ryan’s grinning ear to ear. My mom is glaring between the both of them, and Ryan’s mom is ... smiling? Either she saw the video of Ryan declaring me his future wife or he mentioned it earlier today. I’m sure she’s in on the joke.
And my dad?
Clearly he’s not allowed on the internet when there is any upcoming family function. Or maybe it’s better if he skips the internet altogether. There’s nothing he needs on there anyway.
“Oh look, my ex -husband coming in with the jokes. What a surprise.” My mom’s tone is droll, and if her face doesn’t give away her lack of amusement, her voice sure does.
Of course, my dad couldn’t care in the slightest. He simply shrugs, continuing to grin in her general direction. “It’s not my fault hell has voided your sense of humor. I’m sure you’ll get it back eventually. And it’s not a joke. We’ll be seeing these two walking down the aisle before you know it.”
“Dad,” I whisper-yell. He may think he’s funny, but he’s going to give my mom a coronary.
Thankfully Poppy and Kinsley have joined us, and after introducing themselves and Dad to Ryan’s mom, Poppy hikes a thumb at our parents, her brows in her hairline. “What’s happening here? It feels tense.”
“Nothing to worry about, pumpkin. Satan doesn’t find me funny, but that’s nothing new. Got to go. The grill calls. Nice to meet you, Nicole.” He gives us all a parting wave, humming all the way to the other end of the patio.
Not only is he banned from the internet, but they can’t be at the same function together. It’s been years, but apparently still too soon.
“Did he just refer to me as Satan?” Mom glares after him and Oliver, bless his little heart, comes out at the perfect time with two boxes of puzzles. Yay. Distraction.
“Hey, Ryan.” I nod toward the table where his mom is currently watching all this with an amused look. “How about we put together a puzzle? Seems fun, right?”
He coughs into his hand, slyly covering up a laugh. “Sorry, future wife, I’m going to chat with your dad for a few.”
I’m not amused.
There’s no way I’m not going to hear an earful later. It doesn’t matter if we’re no longer working together, she will find me. She will hunt me down to express her displeasure.
You’re terrible, I mouth before he can turn and walk away.
He shrugs and mouths back, Yeah, but you like me anyway .
He’s right. I don’t like that he’s right, but he is.