“I’m so sorry,” I murmur. “I would have thought he told you we were coming. We don’t have to eat, but I brought some cookies to share.”
“Oh hush,” she responds, pulling away from the hug and taking the cookies from Jase. “We have plenty of food, I’m sure you will even be taking leftovers home with you.”
I glance up at Jason. He’s looking at his mom and I with a softness in his gaze. If I weren't slightly irritated with him for not telling them we were coming, I would find it adorable.
We finish saying hello, and Jason leads me back toward the dining table. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell anyone we were coming, Jase,” I scold, lightly swatting his chest.
“If I would have told them, they would have overreacted, and I know that’s not what you wanted. This way, things are chill.” He glances at his brothers, “Right?”
Beau is the one to respond. “He’s right. We probably would have pressed him a lot harder for information, Andrew especially.” He glances at his youngest brother, who shrugs, and nods in agreement. “But we’re happy you’re here.”
“Thanks,” I respond. I sit down next to Marley, and she gives me a side hug as best she can with her baby latched onto her breast. A slight pang of heartbreak rears its ugly head in my chest. No, my baby wouldn’t be a baby anymore, but I still grieve the moments I lost out on with them. What I would give to hold the baby for a moment, tell them how much I love them, and miss what could have been. It can be hard to be around babies, and I’m ashamed to admit that’s part of why I haven’t made as much of an effort to see Marley as I should have. “How are you? I’msorry I haven’t seen you much lately. Life is crazy, but that’s no excuse.”
“I’m good,” she responds. “Happy. It’s been a rough few months, adjusting to the twins, and finding a good system and meds for my mental health, but I’m good. I’m in a good spot now.”
I squeeze her shoulder. “Good. I hope you know if you ever need a break or an hour to yourself, I’m happy to pop over and offer a hand.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. I’m getting better at accepting help lately.”
“Is it safe to say things are going well?” Josie changes the subject.
I can’t help the smile that comes across my face. I glance up across the table, watching Jason as he converses with his brothers. “Yeah. Things are going well.”
“You two are adorable,” Marley says.
“Thanks.” My cheeks heat under the attention. “It’s… new. Very new.”
“That’s okay, it means you’re still in the honeymoon phase. It’s going to be amazing, I can already tell.” Josie reaches over, clasping my hand in hers and squeezing gently.
“Mom!” Presley’s voice calls from somewhere upstairs. If she didn’t sound excited I might be worried. I go to stand, but two sets of pounding footsteps stops me. Both she and Lennie bound around the corner, arms full of coloring books, Barbies, and an assortment of crayons. “Look! Lennie’s grandma and grandpa have so many fun things here for her to play with! Lennie said I could play with her stuff too.”
“Wow, that’s amazing, sweetie. And so nice of Lennie to share with you.” I push back a piece of hair that’s fallen intoher face, and smile at Lennie, standing beside her with the sweetest smile on her face.
“Presley’s my best friend. Even more my bestest friend than my friend Natalie. I like her a lot, but I like Presley mostest,” Lennie says.
“Most,” Jason corrects, coming up to stand behind the girls. “Girls, why don’t you bring the stuff back upstairs for now. It’s almost time to eat. You can play afterwards.”
“Okay!” Presley and Lennie agree, running back toward the stairs and up to the playroom.
Marley and Beau stand, announcing they’re going to lay the babies down in one of the bedrooms. Andrew comes in with his dad and Gramps from outside, and greets me with a hug and a smile. I’ve never formally met Richard, so it’s nice to meet him. It’s fun to see the resemblance Jason shares with his parents.
A few minutes later, we are all settled in at the table, dishing up an amazing smelling egg bake Jane and Nikki have made. The table is packed full of people, full offamily. It’s something I’m not used to. Growing up, it was me, my mom, and my dad. Both sets of my grandparents passed early, and both my parents were only children, like me.
I never wanted that for Presley. I wanted to give her a big family, with so many people to love her in case something ever happened to me. I thought that was something Brad and I could have, but clearly, that didn’t work out.
As I sit at this family brunch, surrounded by these people who love each other so much, it hits me how much I want this to work. Not only because of Jason, but for the sake of my daughter and me. To have this family too.
“Fallon, how are you liking working for Isaac?” Nikki asks, bringing me out of my reverie.
“Oh, I love it,” I admit. “He’s a great boss. I love working at Meadow Grove too. It’s such a great environment.”
“Fallon’s incredible at her job,” Jason says, glancing down at me. He reaches under the table to rest a hand on my thigh, and I nearly burst into tears. I try to shrug off the compliment. I’ve never been good at receiving them, but Josie pipes in.
“She’s amazing. Great under pressure, and is so good with her clients. I love watching her in action,” she says, smiling at me across the table.
“I mean, you did such great work for our wedding, so I’m not surprised at all,” Andrew says.
“Thank you,” I say to them, unsure as to why this is hitting me so emotionally.
