Chapter 40
“I don’t want to do this,” Oliver said. We sat in the car in front of my parents’ house the following weekend. We were here for a family dinner, my sister already inside. Neutral ground, I had thought. But maybe he’d been here before. Maybe this wasn’t as neutral as I’d planned.
I took his hand in mine and smiled. “Too bad. This is your penance.”
“This feels like revenge, not penance.”
“Oliver, she’s going to be part of our lives forever. If you can’t accept that, then…” I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. I wasn’t trying to give an ultimatum, but this was my family and he was my boyfriend and I needed them to get along. I needed it so badly.
“No, I can. Look at me,” he said, and I turned away from studying the front porch out the side window to looking at his soft brown eyes. “I can. I’m just whining. The first meeting will be awkward. It will be better after this.”
“Promise?” I asked, because now I was wondering if this was a good idea.
Maybe it was too soon. Maybe I should’ve waited until I’d been able to talk to my sister face-to-face.
We’d only had a phone conversation where I’d informed her that I actually was going to date Oliver, in fact already was, because she had no claim on him.
I couldn’t see her face, so I wasn’t sure if she really meant it when she said, “You’re right and I’m happy for you.”
“They do know I’m coming, right?” Oliver asked now from where we both still firmly sat in our seats, no attempt to open our respective doors at all.
“Yes, they do. I’m not that cruel.”
“Bill and…?”
“Jennifer,” I said, providing my parents’ names. “And Audrey is married to Chase and their kids are Jack and Samuel.”
“Okay, got it.”
“How are you when meeting families?” I asked him.
“Under normal circumstances, I am a dream.”
I snorted. “I bet parents love you.”
“I’ve only met one set.”
“So you haven’t been here before,” I said.
His eyes went wide. “No, I haven’t. You thought I’d been here before?”
“I wasn’t sure. And what about Chase? Did you ever meet him… back in college?”
He gave a breathy chuckle, seeming to know what I was implying. “No. I was just told about him in a very straightforward manner by your sister.”
“That sounds about right,” I said, grabbing hold of his forearm that was resting on the center console.
He placed his hand over mine. “I feel the need to reiterate that I am over all that. You know I’m over that, yes?”
“Yes,” I said.
“How are you when meeting parents?” he asked, curious. “I imagine they love you.”
“Are we stalling?” I asked.
“We are absolutely stalling,” he said.
“Should we leave?” I asked. “We could get out of here and go get some tacos and then have shower sex. We haven’t had that yet.”
He laughed. “You make a very compelling case, but no, we’re not going to leave. We’re here. We can do this.” He opened his door first. I was still sitting inside when he walked around the car and opened my door. “It will get easier after this,” he promised again.
I stepped out and we linked hands. “I haven’t met parents in a while,” I said, answering his previous question as we walked. “But I wasn’t great. In the most recent instance, I had no filter and ended up insulting their much beloved cat. It was definitely the beginning of the end.”
“My mom and sister would love you.”
“And your dad? I know he left a long time ago and you don’t see him, but do you talk to him at all?”
“Not once.”
“We’ll unpack that later,” I said.
“Before or after shower sex?” he asked.
“It seems I’m good at bringing up family members during sex. We could try that.”
He groaned. “Please, no.”
As we reached the porch, I squeezed his hand and turned to face him. “Thank you,” I said.
“For what?” he asked.
“For doing this. For being you. For loving me.”
“Easiest thing in the world.”
I reached for the door handle while knocking at the same time. “Hello!” I called, stepping inside. “We’re here.”
“Back here, honey!” Dad called out.
“Last chance for shower sex,” I said to Oliver under my breath.
“Are you saying it’s now or never? Because that changes my answer.”
I smiled and took his hand in mine again, leading him through the formal front room and into the great room at the back of the house. My nephews reacted first, barreling toward me and wrapping my legs in a hug.
“I thought you said other people’s kids didn’t like you,” Oliver said quietly.
“These aren’t other people’s kids,” I said, ruffling their hair as they screamed my name. “These are family.”
“Boys,” I said squatting down. “This is Oliver.”
“Liver?” Sammy asked, curling his lip.
“She said Oliver,” Jack said.
“Oh! Hi!” Sammy laughed and then they both ran out the back door, where I assumed their parents were.
“Welcome!” Mom said from the kitchen, where she stood next to my dad. Together they were chopping up veggies for a salad.
“Mom, Dad, this is Oliver.”
“I forgot the wine in the car,” Oliver said. “I brought you wine.” He took a step back.
I looked over at him. His face was on the pale side. He was more nervous than I thought. “It’s okay, we’ll get it in a bit,” I said.
“That was thoughtful,” Mom said. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.”
“Of course,” Mom said. “We’re glad to finally meet you… I mean, through Margot, not through…” Okay, my mom was nervous too.
The back door opened and Audrey breezed in. Chase must’ve been out at the grill. “Hello!” she said, light and airy. “Oliver! So great to see you. You look exactly the same.” She gave me a hug and then extended a hand to Oliver.
He took it in a single shake, then let go.
“Okay,” I said. “Now that we’ve all gotten the awkward part out of the way, can we all be normal now?”
Dad laughed. “Can I get you a beer, Oliver?”
“Yes, please.” He followed my dad to the fridge.
“Was I awkward?” Audrey asked. “I didn’t feel awkward.”
“You put on your YouTube voice,” I said.
“You did,” Mom agreed with a giggle.
“You were no better,” I said to Mom.
“I’m sorry! He’s so handsome, I couldn’t help it.”
“He’s still in the room,” Dad said. “At least wait until I take him outside.”
Oliver gave me a save me look and I just mouthed penance .
It didn’t take long for everyone to settle into normalcy. We ate outside on the patio with bistro lights strung overhead and soft music piped through the outdoor speakers. Chase was telling a story about a property he showed where a rat fell from a ceiling panel directly onto the client’s head.
“How do you recover from that?” Oliver asked. The color had returned to his cheeks and he was sitting back in his chair, relaxed. He’d even rested his hand on my knee or my back or my arm throughout dinner.
“You don’t,” Chase said with a laugh. “You lead them back outside, wish them well, then immediately call an exterminator.”
Audrey stood and picked up her empty plate, then raised her eyebrows at me, asking if I was done. Instead of handing it to her, I stood as well, helping her clear. When Oliver moved to do the same, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Give me a sec to talk to her,” I said near his ear.
He nodded and settled back into his chair.
Audrey and I carried four plates each into the kitchen and began scraping the leftover food into the garbage. She was uncharacteristically quiet.
“How are you feeling? About tonight and all this?” I asked.
“I didn’t think that mattered.” She set her latest scraped plate on the counter.
I sighed. “Audrey. Of course, it matters. Don’t you understand?
My whole life, everything I’ve done was to try to make you proud of me.
I looked up to you so much. Everything you said held more weight in my life than anything anyone else said.
Including myself. I never had to really think things through or analyze what exactly I wanted because I had you for that.
And then my life imploded and I had to figure some things out.
And I did. I wasn’t trying to hurt you in the process, I was just trying to find me. ”
She met my eyes, and hers were shining with held-back emotion, all the dirty plates now on the counter waiting to be loaded into the dishwasher. “And did you?”
“I think so. I’m still working on it. And even though what I found might not have been the way you would’ve done my life or the things you would’ve picked for me, I hope you can be happy for me.”
“You really do think I’m a bitch, don’t you?” she said, a tear escaping from her eye and trailing down her cheek.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my sister cry. “No! I don’t. I really don’t.”
“Of course I’m happy for you, Margot,” she said.
“I’m Margot now?”
“I don’t know. What do you want me to call you? Maggie was your childhood name.”
“I’m good with Maggie. Just from you, though.”
She stepped forward and brought me into a hug. “I’m sorry. I was only ever trying to help. I didn’t mean to make you unsure of yourself.”
“I know,” I said, hugging her back.
“I’m not as confident as you think I am,” she said. “Half the time I’m faking it.”
“Aren’t we all,” I said. “It’s good to know you’re human.”
She pulled back and looked at me. “You have such an easygoing, fun nature. Quick to laugh, quick to make friends. I was always jealous of that.”
“You were?”
She nodded and pulled gently on the end of my hair hanging over my shoulder. “I’m so proud of you. Always have been.”
Great, now she was going to make me cry. Not hard to do, but still.
“Everything okay in here?” Mom asked, coming in the back door.
“We’re good,” I said, then looked at Audrey.
“So good,” Audrey said. “Is everyone ready for dessert?”
“Yes, I’ll help,” Mom said, then to me, “You should go rescue your boyfriend.”
“Does he need rescuing?” I asked, my eyes darting to the window.
“Dad is asking him to explain coding in detail.”
I laughed, gave Audrey’s hand one last squeeze, and then rejoined Oliver outside. They must’ve moved past the coding talk, because Chase and Dad were discussing the last T-ball game while the boys ran circles on the grass.
I sat on Oliver’s lap, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pressed my cheek against his.
His arms immediately went around my waist. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m glad we came,” I said.
“Me too,” he said. “I like your family.”
“I like you,” I said.
His laugh vibrated from his chest to mine as he held me tight.