I smiled at him, and we stepped apart. Then I turned to Margie. I grinned down at her, more than happy to see her again.
“Do you guys want to help me in the kitchen?” she nodded her head enthusiastically, and we all headed into the kitchen to start preparing the meal. We diced, washed, and cooked the food together. It was fun. I enjoyed the time I got to spend with Justin and Margie. Regardless of what we were doing, I was happy to just be in their company.
We didn’t have much time together that night. My parents and Ally arrived after only fifteen minutes. They were ten minutes early, which I guessed was better than being ten minutes late, but it cut into my alone time with Justin and Margie.
After I heard my dad’s famous knock, the three of us walked toward the door together.
“Are you ready?” I whispered to Justin.
“Yes, I am.” I could tell he was being genuine. I found it so sweet that he was willing to do this for me.
I took a deep breath and opened the front door.
“Anna, baby,” my mom said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi, mama.” I returned the gesture and then moved over to my dad who gave me a big hug.
“Hi, sweetie,” he said. “We’ve missed you.”
“Hi, dad. I’ve missed you guys, too.” When we pulled apart, I motioned for them to come in. “Come meet Justin and his daughter, Margie.” I pointed to each of them as I said their names.
“It’s nice to meet you,” my dad said and held out his hand for Justin to shake.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, sir,” Justin said.
“Please, call me Tom,” my dad responded.
“Okay, Tom,” he smiled before turning to my mom. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. I see where Anna gets her beauty from.”
I blushed and hoped no one caught it, but I noticed my dad gave me a funny look.
“I like you, already,” my mom said with a laugh. “And you can call me Millie. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel so old.”
“Millie it is then,” he said with a nod.
“Hello, Ally. It’s good to see you, again,” Justin said to Ally, and I was happy that he greeted her. It made me feel good about the situation.
“Aren’t you just the cutest thing ever?” my mom said to Margie. She took to hiding behind me, and I thought it was so sweet.
“Thank you,” I heard her whisper.
“Hey, Margie, I’m Tom,” my dad said to her. He didn’t attempt to touch her, and I noticed her shoulders relax a little.
“Hi,” she said, speaking a little louder this time.
Everyone moved around the living room and found a place to sit down.
“How was the drive?” I asked my parents.
“Oh, you know how it goes with your mother,” my dad said. “Always complaining about my driving.”
“If you drove better, then I wouldn’t have to,” she shot back to him.
“If I didn’t have a backseat driver, then I could drive better,” my dad said.
Everyone except for Margie laughed.
Ally and I knew what he was talking about. Our mom had a lot of anxiety when it came to riding in cars. She would freak out about every little thing. It made for some interesting (and tense) family road trips.