“You’ll love her.”
After breakfast, Alex and I freshened up and left the house for a morning hike. It was a nice way to get in some exercise and also enjoy the outdoors. By the time we returned home two hours later, we were sweaty and tired, with enough time to shower and head out to Cleveland.
I paid little attention to the landscape as we drove. My mind had switched to Helen’s family. I couldn’t wait to meet my niece. We got into Cleveland at one thirty and drove to the suburbs where Helen and her family lived.
My first assessment of Helen had been right. They were pretty comfortable, judging from the huge beautiful house that we pulled up to. As soon as we got out of the car and were walking on the porch, the door burst open and she ran out to meet us.
I laughed at the enthusiasm of her hug. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I’ve been nagging everyone, worrying that you won’t come.” She turned to Alex. “And you must be my brother-in-law.” In the warm way I’d started to recognize as a Helen way, she pulled Alex into a hug.
He hugged her back, clearly pleased with the reception. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, looking from Helen to me. “You don’t need a DNA test. You’re obviously sisters.”
“Yes, I’ve been boasting to everyone that I have a sister. Come on in.”
I wondered who everyone was. I hadn’t bothered to ask who would be there when she invited us. All I’d cared about was meeting my niece and brother-in-law.
We entered a foyer and then walked through an open plan living room, an industrial sized kitchen with equipment that made me want to grab an apron and start cooking and then finally stepped out to a garden that stretched as far as the eye could see.
“Gorgeous,” Alex said.
I was relieved to see that there were less than fifteen people.
Alex
I flipped burgers on the grill and kept an eye on Charlotte, but she looked like she was having a lot of fun. She was standing with Helen and her parents. Helen leaned towards Charlotte’s ear and said something that made my wife throw her head back and laugh.
Seeing her like that warmed my heart. Her new found family were awesome people and Helen’s parents had threatened to make Charlotte their daughter as they’d always wanted to have two children. Charlotte was glowing from the love showered on her.
Then there was her adorable niece Kacy, who was jumping on a small bouncy castle with a paternal cousin. Helen’s husband was a lawyer as well and a pretty easy guy. They were a good warm bunch and I felt lucky that we had found them.
“They look so alike,” Ed said. “Here, brought you a cold one.”
“Thanks.” I took the cold can of beer and opened it. I took a swig and sighed as the icy cold liquid went down my throat.
It was the perfect day for a barbecue. The sun was hot but not too hot and a soft breeze blew from the woods behind Ed and Helen’s property. The scent of roasting meat was the icing on the cake. Being here with them reminded me of how little we had socialized in the last six months.
Though I couldn’t complain. Not when I remembered the enjoyment, I’d derived from peeling the layers back and getting to know my wife more. In and out of bed.
Ed placed fresh steaks on his side of the grill. “I’ve been wanting to ask you. Are you in any way connected to the New York law firm, James Turner & Sons?”
It took a moment for me to answer. It had been so long since I had heard the mention of my family that it felt like a punch to the belly. “Yes,” I finally said. “James Turner is my father.”
“Oh, I met him once in a courtroom, he’s a beast,” Ed said, his voice brimming with admiration.
“Yes, he’s pretty awesome,” I said, dreading the inevitable question.
“So, what are you doing working in a tiny firm in Grantsville?” Ed said. “Shouldn’t you be by your father’s side, adding to the billing hours of the company?”
There was no way to explain apart from the truth. “We fell out. They wanted me to marry someone else, and I had set my mind on Charlotte.”
Ed’s jaw dropped. “People still do that?”
I laughed at his astounded expression. Living out of my family circle in college and now working had also opened my eyes to another world. A world where family members respected each other’s independence.
“Some parents do and their children agree. But there was no way I was going to marry a woman based on her family background,” I said, still furious they didn’t think Charlotte was good enough.