“Oh my goodness!” Mom said, a big smile on her face. “This is her? This is the famous Piper?”
I remembered right away why I’d made the decision to keep Maddie and Piper a secret from my parents for the time being. Mom wasn’t the type to sit around waiting for me to figure out the perfect time for introductions. Nope, she was far too strong-headed for that.
“Karen!” Dad called out again, as he stood at the entrance to the bedroom shaking his head, his big arms crossed over his chest. “Give the two some damn privacy!”
Piper turned her wide eyes to me, and in that moment I was so damn glad that we’d both decided to throw on some clothes in the middle of the night.
“Uh, Piper? I’d like you to meet John and Karen—my parents.”
Mom stuck out her hand, as if the circumstances were the most normal thing in the world.
“Pleased to meet you,” she said with the happy smile of someone who was getting what she wanted.
“Likewise,” Piper said with hesitation, taking Mom’s hand and shaking it.
“Now, where’s that granddaughter of mine?”
* * *
The next half-hour passed in a whirlwind of introductions, Mom and Dad doting on little Maddie in just the way one would expect grandparents to do when meeting a long-lost grandchild. Mom barely gave Maddie time to get dressed for the day before covering her little face with kisses, Dad doing all he could to hold back the tears.
Through it all, I did my best to make sure that Mom and Dad didn’t spill the truth about who they were, exactly. As far as Maddie knew, they were just my mom and dad and that was it.
Our breakfast plans changed, with Mom insisting that she make her special blueberry ricotta pancakes for everyone. By the time we’d finally eased into the day, the whole group was down in the kitchen, Mom at the stove, Dad chatting away with Maddie, Piper and I trying to wrap our heads around the strange turn the day had taken.
“Alright!” Mom said, turning from the stove and sliding a few more pancakes off the griddle and onto Maddie’s plate. “Now that introductions have been made, we need to plan the next few weeks.”
Dad nodded. “That’s right. Not a chance we’re going right back on the road when we’ve got a little girl to spoil and spend time with.”
Maddie took another bite of her pancakes, eagerly wolfing them down.
“Why do these taste different?” she asked.
“They’re made with ricotta!” Mom announced with pride.
“Ri...cotti?” Maddie tried to wrap her mouth around the strange, new word.
“Ricot-ta,” Dad said. “It’s an Italian cheese.”
Her eyes lit up. “Like on pizza?”
“Sort of,” Piper said. “But sweeter.”
Maddie laughed, the idea of cheese in pancakes apparently amusing to her.
“They’re really good!”
“Glad you like them, cutie!” Mom said, hurrying around the counter to plant a kiss on Maddie’s forehead. “Because there’s tons more where those came from!”
“Listen,” Piper said after taking a sip of her coffee. “I’m sorry if I looked a little shocked when you first came in. I don’t want to give you the impression I'm not thrilled to meet you both, and to have you both meeting Maddie.”
“Thanks for taking it so well,” Dad said. “Karen can be a little... exuberant when it comes to family.”
“Can you blame me?” Mom asked. “Knowing we had a precious little thing like her waiting for us, we couldn’t wait another second!”
I glanced over at Piper and shrugged. Mom had a point.
Once Maddie had her plate full of pancakes, Mom finished dishing out the rest, clapping her hands together once it was done.
