Chapter 23 #2
For the next hour, my daughter vanished into the Doyle family like she'd always been part of it.
I caught glimpses—Charisse's ponytail bobbing as she followed Tom into his sawdust-scented workshop, her small fingers tracing the embroidered edges of Danny's patches while he told some story that had her eyes wide.
At one point, the twins had her giggling so hard she snorted.
When we finally sat down to eat, Patty slid a heaping plate in front of my daughter before I could even reach for the serving spoons, and Charisse didn't even look surprised.
And through it all, Andi moved among her family with easy grace — the center-of-gravity everyone orbited around.
Tommy leaned back in his chair, a beer resting in his hand. "So. How'd you two actually meet?"
"Well, I'd seen her at her coffee shop a few times, but officially, we actually met at Harper's basketball game," I said between bites. "Bridget dragged Andi there. I was there for Charisse."
Joe snorted. "Of course Bridge dragged her."
Bridget, from across the table: "You're welcome."
I ignored that. "Charisse and Harper play on the same team. Bridget introduced us."
Mike grinned. "So you fell in love over youth basketball?"
"Something like that," I said.
Bridget chimed in, "Again, I get some credit here."
Danny leaned forward. "Yeah, yeah. More importantly, Gavin—how long before you decided she was worth keeping?"
There it was.
"Pretty quick," I answered. "Longer before I was smart enough to show it."
That bought me a few nods.
"So Charisse met Andi yesterday," Tommy said during a lull. "Seems like that went okay?"
"Really well. They had fun at the museum."
"Our sister's great with kids," Joey said. "Always has been."
"She practically raised this one," Mike added, jerking his thumb at Danny.
"I raised myself!"
"Sure you did," Patty laughed. "Pretty sure you're still a work on progress. Thank God Andi would take you to do things. Definitely saved your hide from me a time or two!"
Stories tumbled over each other like dominoes—Danny's teenage misadventures and Andi's knack for damage control.
"She sweet-talked Officer Canton right out of that speeding ticket," Mike said through a mouthful of pasta.
Tommy's fork clattered against his plate as he laughed.
"And remember when Danny snuck out to that Green Day concert?
Dad would've killed him if Andi hadn't created that whole elaborate cover story.
" Between the ribbing and reminiscing, I glimpsed Andi through their eyes—the family diplomat who'd charmed her way through crises while becoming the first Doyle with a college degree.
Across the table, Jackie negotiated for a third piece of garlic bread while Ricky wore more marinara than he'd eaten. Rachel, without missing a beat in her conversation with Patty about Little League standings, wiped sauce from one child's face while pouring water for another.
Tommy caught my eye and grinned. "Welcome to chaos, man."
And then, in the middle of passing the salad, Charisse said it.
"I’m having a lot of fun here," she announced, completely unprompted. Sauce on her chin. Pride in her voice. "You guys are all so great."
Patty beamed. "Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing?"
Charisse nodded seriously. "My mom wasn’t sure. She said it would probably be really awkward." She twirled her fork in the pasta. "But it hasn’t been!"
The air didn’t go silent.
It just… thinned.
Tom set his fork down carefully.
One of the twins shifted in his chair.
Danny’s jaw flexed once.
Andi didn’t miss a beat.
"I’m really glad you’re having fun," she said warmly. Calm. Steady. "Sometimes grown-ups worry about things that don’t end up being a big deal."
Charisse shrugged. "Yeah. I told her that."
And then she reached for the bread.
Conversation restarted—overlapping, loud, normal—but I felt it settle under my skin.
Rebecca didn’t throw stones. Seemed instead she was planting seeds. Seeds I had no intention of letting root.
After dinner, back outside, Andi and I stood off to the side, just taking everything in. "She's fishing," I said quietly.
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." She looked at me. "Just don't keep me outside of it. That's all I need."
"I won't. I promise."
She squeezed my hand, and we stood there watching Charisse chase Sammy around the yard, Harper and Bridget having already left. The girls' laughter made me smile as I listened to its sound floating toward us on the evening air.
"She fits here," Andi said softly.
"She does."
"Your daughter. In my family." She looked up at me. "That doesn't scare you?"
"Terrifies me. But in a good way."
When we were leaving, Charisse hugged Patty goodbye, then Tom, then each of the brothers.
"Can we come back?" she asked.
"Always," Patty said, and I saw Andi's eyes go bright.
In the car, Charisse chattered about everything and everyone, telling me how much fun she'd had. She didn't stop talking from the time we left until the time we got home. Telling Andi and me everything she could about the day.
I looked at Andi in the passenger seat. Her hand found mine across the console.
This is what belonging feels like, I thought.
And for the first time in more years than I could count, I wasn't scared of it.