Chapter Twenty-One
“Is this her?” A tall, curvy woman with the most beautiful smooth, rich skin Charlotte had ever seen flung open the door and started talking immediately.
“No Mom, this is just some random girl I picked up off the street. My girlfriend will be along later.” Trey rolled his eyes and enveloped his mom in a bear hug that Charlotte feared would crack the woman’s ribs.
“Oh, hush you.” She slapped him playfully on the shoulder and told him to put her down. “Come in, come in. Let me get a good look at you.”
Heated embarrassment spread from head to toe, and Charlotte knew she’d be redder than ever before. But she did as the woman said, not wanting to make a bad impression on Trey’s mom by turning hide and running as fast as she could. As soon as they crossed over the threshold into the main living area, it was like an explosion of noise. Men and women all came up to slap Trey on the back of bestow kisses on his cheek. They all looked varying degrees like Trey, and Charlotte stood dumbfounded at the pure size of his family. For her part, Charlotte had only met one aunt on her mother’s side, and a cousin. The rest of their family were still in Russia and China.
Even if she had grown up with my extended family around, she had no doubt they would be nothing like this. These people were genuinely happy to be around each other. And the affection they handed out like pens at a doctor’s office, as if it cost them nothing to give a hug. It would take some definite getting used to.
“Okay, let’s see you sweet girl.” Trey’s mom shifted them away from the greeting crowd, and held out Charlotte’s eyes. This woman didn’t let anything past her, that much was obvious.
Charlotte tried not to fidget under such intense scrutiny, but suddenly she second guessed everything she was wearing. She should have gone for a dress instead of skinny jeans and a boat neck green sweater. Heels instead of flats. Should she have left her hair down instead of the braid that hung over her shoulder?
In the middle of Mrs. Smith’s evaluation, Trey joined them, sliding his arm around the small of Charlotte’s back. “What do you say, Mom? Am I allowed to keep her?”
Despite the teasing tone in his voice, Charlotte knew this was an important moment. Her heart rate skyrocketed. The sudden burst of increased nerves making her dizzy for a moment. Trey’s strong form steadied her, seeming to sense her distress, he squeezed her hip reassuringly.
“Oh, Trey.” Tears formed in Mrs. Smith’s eyes, threatening to run down her face at any moment. She’d made her cry. Charlotte had made Trey’s mom cry for some reason, and she had no idea how. Ready to start apologizing profusely for whatever slight she had unintentionally made, Charlotte’s words were cut off by the woman’s surprisingly strong arms wrapping around her. “She’s just adorable. You are just, I mean, I want to feed you a couple sandwiches. Those hips are going to need some filling out if you two are going to give me grandbabies. But I can tell you are a good girl, just perfect for my Trey.”
Did she say grandbabies?
Charlotte stared up at Trey, wild panic oozing out from her every pore.
“Mom, let Charlotte go. And can we not scare her off with talk of grandbabies, please. I’d like her to stick around long enough to have a piece of cake.”
“Oh no, you made the cake?” Mrs. Smith abruptly released Charlotte and spun on her son. “What did you do that necessitated the forgiveness cake?” She spun back to Charlotte. “What did he do? I swear he’s not too old for a good whack upside the head. You tell me. I’ll have no problem taking care of it for you. Obviously didn’t do it near enough when he was a child.” She muttered the last part to herself, then swung her questioning eyes between Trey and Charlotte.
Thankfully they were saved from answering by a man three inches shorter than Trey’s Mom joining them. “Viola, leave the poor kids alone.”
“Charlotte, this is my Dad, Reverend Theodore Smith. How you doing, Pop?” The two men engaged in a back-slapping embrace that had Charlotte’s heart swelling. God, what would her life had been like if she’d grown up with parents like these? No wonder Trey had such an indomitable spirit.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Reverend Smith.” Charlotte held out her hand for the jolly man to shake, but he just laughed and shook his head before coming for a hug of his own.
“Call me Teddy. Everyone else does. And I can tell already, you, my girl, are far too good for my son.” The older man winked at her as Trey groaned his displeasure. “But we are so happy you have deemed him worthy of your affections. It’s about time the boy brought someone special home.”
“Stop hogging her, Teddy.” Viola squeezed between them and looped her arm through Charlotte’s. “And you can call me Vi, by the way. Okay, let’s introduce you around.”
Before she knew what was happening, Charlotte was whisked away from Trey. She craned her head back, giving him panic eyes in hopes that he would rescue her. But Trey just shrugged and mouthed sorry as his father led him into another room with serious looks on their face.
After fifteen minutes, Charlotte stopped trying to remember people’s names. There were just too many of them. Strangely, her overwhelming nerves and the desire to flee had faded five minutes in. Something about Trey’s Mom just put her at ease, while also keeping her on her toes. By the sixth or seventh family member Charlotte was introduced to, Vi was insinuating that Trey and Charlotte would be married in no time. Heck, they were practically already engaged. The woman obviously wanted Trey settled sooner rather than later.
Finally, Charlotte and Vi settled in at one of the man folding tables spread throughout the yard. For city standards, their property was pretty big, fenced in with a swing set which looked like it hadn’t been used in years sitting toward the back of the lawn. The house itself was modest, a bi-level house that looked as if it hadn’t been update since the late eighties. But it was welcoming in a way her own parent’s house had never been.
“Charlotte, can I just say I am so happy Trey has found you.” Vi took a sip of her sweet iced tea then went on speaking as if she didn’t need air. “He is such a kind boy and has a huge heart. All I’ve wanted for him in life is to find a nice girl who he can rely and build something with. But he just always said when he finds the girl, he would bring her around. And he never brought anyone around.” Trey’s mom’s voice began to rise, as if him not bringing girls around before was the height of disrespect. “But I can tell, you’re it. You’re obviously smart given everything he’s told me about your job and new promotion. Congratulations, by the way. That is simply fantastic.” Vi patted her hand, giving it a squeeze before picking up her fork.
“Um, thank you.” For some reason, an hour into the party, it was the encouragement and affection Trey’s mother showed Charlotte that had her freaking out. It all became too overwhelming. The people accepting her on sight. The love this family threw around without feel of self consciousness. She needed space, to be alone for just a few minutes. Trying as hard as she could to regulate her breathing, Charlotte stood from the table. “Would you mind directing me to the bathroom?”
After Vi cheerfully gave her directions through the house, Charlotte dashed off. Tunnel vision firmly in place, she didn’t look around, just kept her eyes forward and walked as fast as she could to the bathroom without calling attention to herself.
It wasn’t hard to find, down the hall from the kitchen, up the half-set of stairs, and first door on the right. But it felt like the longest walk Charlotte had ever taken. Lungs constricting. Heart galloping. Fingers tingling. Black spots floated at the edges of her vision.
Collapsing into the door, Charlotte tripped over to the tub and sat on the edge, head between her knees. Breathe in 1...2...3...4. Hold it. Breathe out 1...2...3...4...5...6...7. She went through the breathing exercises three times before the pain in her chest began to ease and her vision cleared.
“What can I do?” Trey’s deep voice made her jump and immediately blush at finding him in the doorway witnessing her in the midst of the worst panic attack she’d had in years.
“I’m fine. I’ll be right out.”
