Family Dinner
Travis
After a long day of sitting behind my desk, I was finally able to go to Creed’s and see my girls. “Uncle Twavis!” Addie flew into my arms, and I was on cloud nine to see she was holding the kangaroo stuffed animal I brought back from Australia.
“It’s been a long day, and an Addie hug was exactly what I needed.” I squeezed her back, and she giggled.
“It was a wong day for me too!”
She pulled back and was sitting on my arm when she looked at me and pushed her purple glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“What did you learn today?” I asked.
“Dat Spwace Force guys are dumber dan a stupid Maween. Day keep dem in the basement of da Cowoonity center.”
I chuckled. “Who told you that?”
“Dillon.” She answered.
“Those guys really aren’t dumb, Addie. They help us communicate through satellite and they’re really good at organizing missions.” I explained. I sure didn’t want to go into how they protect our ability to go into space and all that jazz. It’s confusing enough for adults to understand.
“Otay. Whatever uncle Twavis.” She rolled her eyes, and it was the cutest damn thing ever.
“Where’s your mom?”
She frowned. “In da kitchen making suppah”
Damn, I tried to tell her last night that I’d take care of it. She really needed to stay off her feet. “Okay, let’s go help mom then maybe after dinner you can play with the other kids.”
Her eyes lit up. “Otay.” She hopped down and ran to the kitchen. I followed and found Morgan behind the stove.
“Uncle Twavis is here!” Addie slid down on her knees to play with Nico.
Morgan looked over and smiled at me. “Hey, I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour.” She looked like she was having a hard time standing. There was one thing I knew about Morgan and that was how much she loved taking care of us.
“What are you doing? I told you last night we could just go to the mess hall or I could order us something. You look miserable. How about you take a seat, and I’ll finish up here.” She taught all day then came home and started cooking. It was ridiculous and I told her last night it was time she cut back. She was seven months pregnant with twins and she looked uncomfortable as hell. I guided her into a chair and went to the stove to finish making the spaghetti and meatballs. She made that recipe before and I helped, so I knew how to finish up. Creed was still gone because his mother contracted pneumonia and was in intensive care. I had my doubts that he would even be out there if it weren’t for his brothers.
“How was your day?” I asked.
Morgan groaned. “The twins are moving nonstop, my back started hurting before my first class was over, and Melissa was being a total…” She looked down at Addie. “She was in a sour mood. We met with the contractor for the school and Drakos was there, so I’m sure you can guess the rest of the issue.”
I chuckled. “Melissa gave him hell because he’s annoying and not happy with the whole Club X thing?” I put the meatballs in the oven.
Drakos was pissed that all the Originals out voted him on the whole Creed’s Lake girls issue. He blamed it on the domestic violence program. They were taking up the jobs Felicity’s girls usually held, so there would be no new available girls for a while. We were building the vocational and educational center to accommodate the educational needs of our new clients. We were able to secure a grant rather quickly, which was a shock. We also had some donations from Morgan’s friends out in California. It was going to be named after her best friend and Addie’s biological mom.
“They argue like cats and dogs. It’s funny at first but gets old after a while. He needs to get out of Creed’s Lake more often.” She said.
I heard footsteps and knew it was Magnus coming in before Addie even went running and screaming his name. For a kid that had been through hell like she did, she was happy and well rounded. She adored all of us and she had all of us wrapped around her little pinky. I don’t think there could be anything in this world we wouldn’t do for that adorable little girl. We were close with Granger’s kids as well, but there was something about little Addie that made her stand out.
An hour later, the house was filled with laughter and Addie took center stage just as expected. Around the dining room table was Axton, Darren, Bolton, Magnus, Patrick, Drakos, Melissa, Morgan, Addie, and me. That’s how it was every Thursday night, except Creed and his brothers were not in attendance.
“They both arrive tomorrow but their furniture hasn’t yet arrived.” Axton said.
I was nervous about seeing Wrenly. There was no way to prepare myself. Was she angry at me for staying away for so long? Was I just a distant memory to her? She had so many life experiences since I saw her last that maybe seeing me wasn’t that big of a deal to her.
“Morgan has competition now.” Drakos rubbed his hands together. “It’s going to be great. I never saw such long legs and the rack on that girl…” He kissed his finger tips like an Italian. “Perfecto.”
Magnus elbowed Drakos.
“What’s a rack?” Addie asked.
Morgan was too busy glaring at Drakos to answer.
“It just means she’s really smart.” Axton lied to her.
“Only dummies eat crayons, Uncle Mike. She’s a dumb Maween.” Addie rolled her eyes, making her look like a miniature teenager.
“She’s really super pretty, like your mom but better.” Drakos said and I heard Morgan gasp. “Ouch, shit!” Drakos cried out when Addie punched his arm.
“No girls are better than my mommy. You shut up before I punch you in the dick!” Addie threatened and Morgan once again gasped.
“Addie! What have I told you about hitting people?” Bolton asked.
Addie smiled real big. “Don’t hit anyone, except for uncle Scott, then that’s otay.”
Bolton nodded. “Good girl.” She smiled as she took a sip of her wine.
“Hey! That’s not nice!” Drakos whimpered.
“Its fine.” Everyone said it at the same time.
“It pwobabwy doesn’t hurt Uncle Scott anyway. Weston say he has a bagina.” Addie took a bite of meatball, but everyone burst out in laughter.
“Addie! Don’t say stuff like that, it’s a very bad thing to say!” Morgan tried to correct her.
“But it’s true.” Axton laughed then took a swig of his beer.
“You’re all nothing but bullies! You’re teaching her bad things.” Drakos pouted like a baby.
“Shut up Drakos, or I’ll head butt you.” Melissa threatened and I choked on my beer.
“While you’re down there…” Drakos wiggled his brows, and I couldn’t breathe from laughing so hard. “Ouch, shit!” Drakos rubbed his arm again. “I’m not sitting by Addie ever again.”
“Be nice to Mewissa.” Addie crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Drakos.
I swear that kid was one of a kind and we all fell even deeper in love with her every single time she hit Drakos.
“Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Carlson will stay in an apartment until her furniture arrives on Sunday or Monday, and Stone will do the same. I talked to Creed, and we agreed we will all take turns with them since orientation doesn’t start until Monday. We will let them shadow us, so they have a better understanding of how things work around here. The twelve new prospects have been assigned to the duplexes and they’ve already got their furniture. I’ve teamed each of them up with an operative to shadow through orientation. The other four executive operatives will also arrive Sunday and we’ll probably do the same thing for them, although Creed wants extra attention on Carlson. I believe Creed sees her as his golden ticket.” Axton picked up his beer, but Morgan wasn’t too happy.
Morgan scoffed. “What makes this girl so special to my husband exactly?” She was sitting back with her arm draped over her huge belly.
“Seriously, Morgan. It’s about work and nothing more, so don’t go getting jealous. All Creed cares about is her skills as an operative and how well she would do with the women and young girls we bring home. You know female operatives are few and far between. You have to understand how decorated this woman was in the Marines. She has a lot to contribute to Creed’s Lake.” Axton explained.
Morgan rolled her eyes, which was exactly the reason Addie had been doing that so much lately. “I’ve met her, Axton. She’s nice and all, but she doesn’t look like an operative. More like one of my costars, she’s gorgeous and she doesn’t have a big swollen stomach like me. When I think female operative I think Tom Boy, not a classic and graceful beauty. I think it’s perfectly understandable why I would be uncomfortable hearing this about my husband when I’m as big as a whale.” Her eyes began welling up.
“You don’t think the fact that you’re carrying his kids is sexier than some blond? Nothing is sexier to a man than his pregnant wife.” Magnus said and Drakos snorted so I kicked him really hard before he laughed.
“Really?” Morgan asked.
“Yeah, I seriously doubt he even noticed her incredible body, the long natural blond hair or those gorgeous blue eyes. She’s totally your opposite, and Creed is always staring at you.” Magnus said.
Morgan glared at him. “Incredible body?”
Oh, he fucked up…
“Yeah, and I doubt her farts smell like a mixture of road kill and a hog farm on a hot day. They probably smell like roses and sunshine. Or maybe it’s like that scent just before it rains. Anyway, she can probably reach her…” He glanced at Addie. “Little kitty and give it a proper bath too.” Oh, he was fucking with her again. Shit.
Addie laughed. “Only a stupid maween would give a kitty a bath! They get scratchy!” Addie about fell over laughing.
Morgan stabbed a meatball with her fork and mouthed the word “asshole” to Magnus.
“Maybe she would like to learn about some first responder stuff.” Patrick spoke up.
Addie laughed. “Silly Uncle Patwick. Anybody can put a fire out.”
Everyone looked at Addie. “What makes you say that?” Darren asked.
“Nebermind.” Addie looked down at her plate of spaghetti and meatballs. The kid looked as guilty as hell.
After dinner, Granger showed up with his family and Addie ran off with the other kids. Then Jennings showed up and the guys went downstairs to play some poker. Bolton, Morgan, Steph, Melissa, and Heidi finished cleaning the kitchen after they kicked me out and made me hang out with the guys as well. I really didn’t want to listen to them talk about Wrenly. But, of course she was the hot topic of the day.
“Drakos, you better cut the shit out and treat her like the woman she is, not some girl that hangs out at Club X all night. Give her some respect.” Magnus glanced at me as he set him straight. I already almost left twice because of the shit he was saying about her. What I remember and what they saw was two different people. I remembered that tall skinny girl from my childhood. They saw her as a sexy goddess, and I just couldn’t imagine it.
For some time, she was taller than I was, but then I hit a growth spurt and was as tall as my Uncle Tony by the time I was thirteen. Damn, I could remember what she looked like in those days like it was yesterday.
Sixteen Years Ago
It was the first day of our summer break. My dad was on some kind of work trip and had been gone for a week. He had been traveling a lot lately and almost never came home at night. My mom was home, but she was working the tip line and thought I would be too loud for her to get any work done. So, I was more than happy when she sent me to Tony’s place.
I put on a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt then took my bike over to Clint’s house to get Wrenly. Grandma Patty was in the kitchen baking while I waited for Wrenly to get ready to ride our bikes to the community pool.
I tried to sneak a cookie, but Grandma Patty slapped my hand away. “Not until you come home on time, no being late today.” She put the hot cookies on a baking rack to cool. When she turned she almost bumped into me, and she laughed as she looked up and patted my cheek. “I swear you grew overnight.”
I was almost six foot tall at thirteen and I hated it. I would have been a string bean if Uncle Tony didn’t work out with me. Since I couldn’t do sports, my uncle bought me some weights to workout at home. Then when I was with him we would go to the gym at night when he was off work. When he did have a shift we went early in the morning before school.
I heard Wrenly come down the steps and turned to see her blond hair up in some kind of messy bun thing on top her head. She was wearing a pair of jeans shorts and a large t-shirt thing. The first thing I noticed were how toned her long legs were because she really was athletic. She had a beach bag hanging from her shoulder and I could see the strings from her swimsuit tied behind her neck. That was new, and she looked way more grown up than last summer.
“Ready?” She asked as she slipped her feet into some flip-flops.
“Yeah.” I grabbed my towel and draped it over my neck.
“Be home early, your dad would like to see you before he leaves for work.” Grandma Patty reminded us.
“Okay!” Wrenly called out as we walked out to the garage for her bike.
I was totally weirded out by Wrenly. Last summer she was tall and really skinny, then she wore jeans and sweatshirts all winter. It just hit me that she filled out by a lot, and it made me feel strange.
As we rode to the park, I kept glancing over at her legs and as weird as it was, they made my mouth feel dry and I was very thirsty. They were stupid freaking legs, and I saw them a million times. Why so different now?
We parked our bikes then stood in line to pay for our entrance, and Wrenly had to walk through the girls shower room and I had to walk through the guys, but we met up at a few chairs and put our stuff down. The smell of chlorine and tanning oil made it smell like it was finally summer.
“I’ll get us two drinks.” I was really thirsty, and Wrenly smiled at me as she said thanks. I stood in line at the concession stand and looked around the pool to see if I could find any of my buddies. I noticed Matt, Austin, Tristan, and Tanner standing in a group, but they were all looking at something. My eyes followed where they were looking and suddenly I froze and couldn’t move.
They were all looking at Wrenly. She had just taken off her shorts and pulled off the t-shirt. It was a bikini, and my eyes trailed from her feet all the way up to her chest and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Wrenly had boobs. Not just that, but she was no longer built like a straight pole. She had actual curves, and I shook out of it when I felt something wet hit my shirt. I reached up and realized I was actually drooling. I looked over at the guys and they weren’t laughing or teasing. They were all standing there with obvious boners except for Tanner who just scratched his head like he was confused. Yeah, we were in middle school, and really noticing girls. I pulled my shirt down to hide my obvious and uncontrolled problem. Then I looked at Wrenly, who had no business looking sixteen or seventeen at only thirteen years old. She was putting sunblock on, but I swear she already looked tan.
“The line has moved, young man.” Somebody’s mom shook me out of my trance or whatever Wrenly was doing to me.
“Sorry.” I stepped forward then looked back at the guys who had probably realized their boners and jumped in the pool, but they were still staring at Wrenly with their jaws dropped. Then I looked around and saw some high school pricks doing the same thing, just staring at Wrenly like she was one of the biggest wonders of the world and I felt my hands clinch into fists.
I looked back at Wrenly and wondered if she knew how much she changed. And when the hell did Clint approve that bikini? What was he thinking by allowing it? Did he even know she owned that stupid thing?
I watched as she put her beach towel on the chair and bent over just a little and I could hear the faint groan in my throat. No wonder Uncle Tony had so many sleepovers. It was all starting to make a whole lot of sense.
“Young man!” I heard the woman again and went to step sideways and tripped over my own foot because I couldn’t take my eyes off Wrenly. That was when I noticed both lifeguards not even looking at the kids swimming, but at Wrenly. One of them was a girl and even she had her sunglasses lifted to look at my best friend.
My eyes trailed back to Wrenly, and she laid down on the lounge chair where I saw her flat belly and her hip bones, and I swallowed hard. Was that what being athletic did to a girl’s body? Because she did not look like her teammates at all. There wasn’t one ounce of Tom Boy in Wrenly.
“You who, Travis.” I heard a girls voice and turned to see Simone, a girl a few years older than me working the concession stand. I looked at her and she was leaning into the window. “Hey, are you here with Matt and everyone else?” She asked.
I stuttered. “U.. um..w..n..no, I’m with Wrenly.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. What can I get you?”
“I…I um..I guess I want one Dr. Pepper and one Cherry Coke.” Cherry Coke was Wrenly’s favorite.
She went to get our sodas, and I turned to look at Wrenly again, but three high school guys were standing over her. Oh, hell no that wasn’t happening. She wasn’t even in eighth grade yet.
“Here you go, that’s 2.50.” She said, and I gave her three ones and told her to keep the change before I raced over to get rid of those assholes.