Page 55 of Undeniably Perfect
“Sweetie, can you hand me a mixing bowl?” the older woman says as we enter the kitchen.
Kylie opens the giant double doors of the pantry and finds a mixing bowl. “Here. This is Kent’s girlfriend, Tabby.”
I pale at the mention of “girlfriend” as we haven’t discussed that.
“Oh, how lovely. Kent hasn’t mentioned this to me. I need to go scold him,” she says as she wipes her hands on an apron and walks over to me, pulling me into a giant hug. She looks like a slightly smaller, slightly plumper version of Mrs. Moore. “Now, call me Nana Betty, dear. It’s so nice to meet you. You sit down here and tell me all about yourself, while I whip up some dips.”
Kylie walks behind her grandmother, and I can see her smirk from across the room. “Well, I’m a photographer,” I start as I give Nana Betty the short rundown of my life. She nods and smiles as I speak, and asks the occasional question. She’s the most grandmotherly looking grandmother that I’ve ever seen. As we speak, the other Moore grandmother comes in to help.
“This is Kent’s girlfriend, Tabby,” Nana Betty says.
“Oh, well, hello there. I’m Gran Tilly, so nice to meet you,” she says as she hugs me. Gran Tilly is a thin, petite woman who is dressed very stylishly.
Then Gran Millie walks in and greets us all.
I remember watching this old movie as a kid, it was called The Electric Grandmother. I wonder what it’s like having so many grandmothers around. They are all so different, it’s crazy.
And so, I spend the next thirty minutes surrounded by older women, who ask me a million questions. I show them photos on my phone. I talk about the upcoming gala. I even talk about my brother. They are easy to talk to, and I find myself confiding in them in ways I normally never would with people I’ve just met.
I’m deep in conversation with Gran Tilly about a recent art show in the city when a hand lands on my shoulder, causing me to jump.
“It’s just me,” Kent whispers in my ear.
I raise a hand to my heart. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”
He grins and snags a carrot from the veggie tray on the island.
Nana Betty slaps his hand. “Now, I’m not done loading that up. You just hold up a second, sweet cheeks.”
I nearly choke on my drink. “Sweet cheeks?” I repeat, looking up at Kent who groans.
Kent’s face turns red. I smirk and raise an eyebrow.
“Don’t even think about it,” he mutters.
“Oh, I don’t know, I like ‘sweet cheeks.’ It’s…fitting,” I say to him with a grin.
“Who do we have here?” an older gentleman asks as he comes in and stands next to Gran Tilly.
“This is Kent’s girlfriend, Tabby, dear,” Nana Betty says.
“Nice to meet you,” he says to me with a warm smile. There’s something about him that just puts me at ease. He has this old movie star way about him, and I like him immediately.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“So, this is where the party’s moved to,” a younger woman comes in and wraps an arm around PopPop Bob.
“Oh, hi, I’m Sadie,” she says to me, holding out her hand.
“This is Tabby,” Kent says before I can get a word out.
I start to get déjà vu as I repeat this same conversation with every family member and some family friends. By the time all the food is out, I have a vague understanding of who is who, but I definitely won’t be acing any pop quizzes on names.
“You having fun?” Kent asks as we plate up some food and settle ourselves at the breakfast room table along with Amery, Lyla, Ward, and Nate.
I nod. “Your grandmothers are awesome. I had fun talking to them.”
“You should see them all when they have bridge night,” Nate says. “I’d be afraid to go to Las Vegas with Nana Betty, she seems all sweet, but she could take your ass down in a serious game of poker.”
