Page 42 of Triple Protection
I chuckle. "Yes ma'am, you sure are."
"Then I say we're buying furniture so your family can stay with us. That's that." She pushes back into downward dog but I can't help but kiss her. I climb under her awkwardly for an upside-down kiss.
"You're the best." They're not the three words I want to tell her. But I'm terrified she's not there yet, so it'll have to wait for another day.
...
It turns out Alex's mom is coming for Thanksgiving dinner too, but only staying for the meal and driving home that evening.
New rooms furnished and decorated, and a mess hall's worth of food later, and Angela and Alex have been puttering around the kitchen all morning. Angela insists that Alex deep fry one turkey while she oven roasts another using a recipe she found online so they can compete during a taste test.
While Alex mans the deep fryer on the back porch, Brick and Angela get to work prepping the mac-n-cheese, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mashedpotatoes. The Macy's Day Parade plays on the TV with the volume low.
Alex texted me a minute ago to come run interference because Angel's stress cooking.
I slide up behind her in the kitchen and wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her neck and breathing in her jasmine lavender scent.
"Everything alright baby?" I murmur, letting my lips graze her warm skin.
She melts into my arms like she does every time and rests her head against my chest.
"I'm so nervous to meet your family. What if they don't like me?"
"What's not to like?" I quip back, but it does little to reassure her. "Baby, you're perfect in every way, and it doesn't matter if they like you or not.Ilike you.Welike you. That's enough."
The door bell rings and Angela squeals with excited nervousness. "They're here!" I open the door to see the smiling faces of my mom, dad and sisters. Angela comes around behind me, wiping her hands clean with a dishtowel.
"Mom, Dad, sissies, this is Angela. Angela, this is my mom Hannah, my Dad Brian and my sisters Ellie and Vikki."
"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you!" Angela says enthusiastically before pulling each of them in for a hug. Chuckling, I pull her in for a half hug before kissing her hair. My mom and sisters' eyes go wide with surprise.
We haven't told them, yet, that we're in a relationship, but also had decided not to try to hide it. We don't know how our families are going to take it. And it's not exactly a conversation to have over the phone. But we also don't want to spend a family day pretending or lying by omission.
Trial by fire, I guess. They'll either accept it or they won't. In hindsight, this might not have been our best plan. Not that I careabout how our families will react to our relationship, but that Angela will be devastated if they're not accepting.
"Baby, why don't you go help Brick in the kitchen, while I show everyone to their rooms?"
She must read something in my face because she smiles and agrees.
I grab my parents' suitcase and march up the stairs before I turn and assess their hopeful, questioning faces.
"Alright, so I know this is a bit of a surprise, but Angela and I are an item. Actually, Angela's with all of us. So please don't freak out. She's already so nervous about having your approval. If you're going to be weird about it you're going to have to stay up here or find somewhere else to sleep." I cringe at how harsh my words are, but my panic and need to protect Angela is kicking in quickly.
My parents share a confused look, by Ellie and Vikki grin at each other and squeal.
"No way! A real-life reverse harem?! You go girl!" Vikki shrieks.
"Keep it down!" I whisper. My speech given, I show everyone to their rooms. Ellie and Vikki seems fine with our relationship, but Mom and Dad still look confused. I sit on the foot of their bed.
"So?"
My mom's the first to shake her head. "It's definitely not traditional..." my palms start sweating. I may be the baby of the family, but I still really want everything to work out, if only for Angela's sake. "She's obviously beautiful." Ah, now I know where she's going with this. When I first started dating my parents had three pieces of criteria for every girl I thought about dating. That they were beautiful, smart and kind.
"She's also smart, and kind."
My mother nods in relief. "And she's good to you? And the other boys?"
"Yes, mother. The absolute best." My voice takes on a softer tone involuntarily. "You wouldn't believe how kind and patient she is with both Brick and Alex." I chuckle a little to myself. "They're like putty in her hands."