Chapter 25 #3
When George opened the main door, his family was waiting on the steps.
Daniel and Griff were looking around with awe in their eyes.
His father was his usual stoic self, and his mother’s gaze was sharp.
She had, without a doubt, calculated the worth of Andi’s house and property and realized how much it was worth.
Not that she hadn’t known that already from her research but seeing something for real was always different from reading about it somewhere.
“Guys, welcome to our home.” George invited his family in with a gesture, and they filed through the door into the hall where the staring intensified. None of them had uttered a word so far. Ignoring their impolite behavior, George closed the door.
“Mom, Dad, Daniel, Griff, this is my partner and boyfriend, Detective Andrew ‘Andi’ Hayes. Andi, these are my parents, Miranda and Ayden Donovan, my oldest brother Griff, and you already know Daniel from our calls.”
Andi shook hands with each of them, then indicated with a nod that it was Griff who had to see a doctor. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
George’s mother was icy in her greeting, his father indifferent, Griff clearly didn’t know what to make of the situation, and Daniel was the only one who grabbed Andi’s hand and shook with enthusiasm.
“Andi, so good to finally meet you in person! How are you doing? Your house is crazy cool. Is it very old?”
“Hi, Daniel. Yes, it’s good to see you. I’m fine. My house is over a hundred fifty years old. It’s been in my grandmother’s family from the beginning.”
“It must be nice to have such luxurious accommodations.” Miranda Donovan’s voice could have started the next ice age.
While George still wondered how best to run interference, Andi answered easily. “It is nice indeed. I’m not complaining.”
That was a lot tamer than George had feared from his prickly hedgehog of a partner.
“And you shouldn’t. Tell me, Andi, how can a simple detective afford such an expensive neighborhood?”
George bristled. His mother knew very well how Andi could pay for all of this because he knew she had had him investigated. Andi stayed calm.
“My gran saw to it.”
Short and to the point. Miranda gaped at him for a moment. Before she could fire her next round, Andi went on. “It’s so nice of you to have come for George’s birthday.”
“Uh, yeah, little bro. It’s your big day!” Daniel clapped George on the back with enough force to send him staggering a few steps forward. “I almost forgot, what with Andi’s great crib and finally meeting him!”
George sent his brother a grateful nod. Daniel was trying his best. Griff and Dad followed the congratulations, and even his mother said something nice.
“Thank you, guys. We have set the table on the porch. Please leave your shoes on the rack. I have guest shoes for all of you.” It was his ragtag collection of crocks since they would be in the garden. Well, a little color had never hurt anybody. “Please follow me.”
“Wait, son. Before we continue with this travesty, I have a few things to say to your partner.” Miranda stared at Andi as if she wished she could turn him to ashes with her gaze.
“Mother, I don’t think—”
“Miranda, dear—”
“Mom, please—”
“Ugh.”
George, his father, Griff, and Daniel all spoke at the same time. Andi lifted his hand.
“No, it’s fine. Go on, Mrs. Donovan. Say a few things to me.”
From the tension around Andi’s shoulders, George could tell that he was fighting on two fronts, dealing with whatever input he was getting from the arthropods, which had to be like an avalanche, and at the same time facing off with George’s mother.
This whole birthday brunch had been a terrible idea.
George should have met his family somewhere else, listened to his mother’s rants, nodded, and sent them back home.
This was Andi’s home, his safe space, and his mother was tearing it apart.
George straightened his shoulders, ready to confront his family—he wasn’t sure with who Griff and his father would side, only Daniel seemed to be a safe bet at the moment—and maybe cause a rift between them.
It was a strange feeling being ready to reject the people who had his back his entire life, who he loved, even if said love was sometimes complicated, but then again, which love wasn’t?
At the same time, he also felt elevated.
He had made his choice, and his choice was Andi.
Always Andi because he had opened George’s world so wide, there was no way he would ever willingly go back to the confines of what he knew before.
As if his lover knew what he was about to do—he probably did—Andi put a hand on George’s chest, slightly shaking his head.
George decided to follow Andi’s lead for the moment but stayed vigilante at his side, showing silently where his allegiance lay.
The narrowing of his mother’s eyes told him she knew and didn’t like it in the least.
“I see how it is.” She trained her gaze on Andi.
“I don’t like this.” The gesture she made with her hand said clearly what ‘this’ encompassed.
“I don’t think you’re good enough for my son.
I’m almost sure you’re going to cause him harm, be it professionally or emotionally.
I have looked into you, and besides your admittedly phenomenal solving rates, there is absolutely nothing that speaks for you.
I honestly don’t know what my son might see in you because all I can see is heartbreak and misery and the ruin of his career. ”
The silence following her words rang like a bell in George’s ears.
He had known how displeased his mother was with the situation and his choice of partner though he hadn’t realized how deep said displeasure ran.
This wasn’t just disapproval. This was rejection, plain and simple.
He opened his mouth to say something, but again, Andi beat him to it.
“Are you done?” He looked at Miranda with no reaction to the words she just spoke. Only the dark circles under his eyes betrayed how stressful this was to him.
“Excuse me?” Miranda clearly hadn’t expected this response.
“I was asking if you’re done. Or is there something else you want to get off your chest?” Andi’s tone was still somewhat polite, for him anyway, but he was fast approaching full-on hedgehog mode. George couldn’t fault him for this. His mother had crossed the line here.
“How dare you?” She clearly wanted to continue, but again, Andi lifted his hand.
“Mrs. Donovan, absolutely nothing you say will change anything between George and me. And I’m well aware that absolutely nothing I can say will change your mind.
I don’t know about you, but for me this argument is a waste of time, breath and energy better spent on having brunch, seeing as it is your son’s birthday.
Unless you want to disinherit him right now, robbing yourself of the delightful possibility to tell him ‘I told you so’ in the future. ”
For a moment, absolute silence reigned again. George’s feelings were oscillating rapidly between amusement, awe, and terror, unsure of what to settle on. Perhaps for the first time in his life, he saw his mother’s mask slip as she stared in pure astonishment at Andi.
And then she started to laugh. Not her polite society chuckle that was about as real as the Joker’s promise to Batman to behave himself, but a full-on belly laugh that had tears streaming down her face.
It took her a few moments to gather herself.
Then she dabbed her eyes with a tissue before looking at Andi.
“You’re right. Let’s stop wasting time and replenish our energy with brunch.” She gestured at the veranda behind the living room and the brunch table George had set there. “You can tell me where you got that lovely garden furniture. It’s gorgeous.”
Andi took a step aside and invited her into the living room. She followed him out onto the porch after she had put on a pair of hot pink Crocs George managed to shove in her direction with his foot.
“Choose your seat. It’s from my grandfather on my mother’s side. When she moved to the States, she took it with her. He was a blacksmith.”
“Quite a gifted one, I might say.” Miranda sat down and looked back at them, where they were still standing in the door to the living room. “Are you coming?”
Her husband was the first to join her, while George, Daniel, and Griff still stood stunned.
“What just happened?” Daniel’s eyes were wide.
“I don’t know, but it was epic.” Griff followed their parents to the table.
George wasn’t sure if epic was the word he would choose. He leaned more toward concerning. Sighing, he followed Daniel to the table. There wasn’t much he could do either way.