I nod, moving out of his reach again to finish packing my lunch. “I’ll call. I promise. If anything, I’m worried it’ll increase my anxiety because of the price, but I’ll still call. On second thought,” I say, turning back towards him. “You’re a doctor, how do I go about selling a kidney on the black market?”
His face falls, a horrified expression fixed once he realizes I’m not joking.
“I’m kidding. Kidding.” I raise a hand up to slap his cheek. “Don’t worry, Charley-Boy, I’m only kidding.”
Sort of.
Chapter Nine
The late afternoon sun beams down on me, and I tilt my face up to soak in its warmth. The morning started out cloudy with the threat of rain, but by early afternoon the clouds vanished. Now it’s blue skies for as far as the eye can see, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day for Jackson’s first game.
“Meg!” a familiar voice screams, and my head whips up to see Jenna and Allie walking across the grass hand in hand. Little Sophie trots in front of them, her chubby legs going as fast as possible. She’s on the brink of turning one and is definitely the flesh and blood of Jenna. She walked before most kids crawled, and ran before Jenna and Emmett had time to blink. Emmett has his hands full with his three crazy girls, and the man doesn’t seem the least bit phased.
“Soph!” I squeal, kneeling down so she can barrel into my arms. I pick her up, swinging her around as her giggle carries, reaching an arm out to pull Allie into a hug. “Hey sweet girl.”
She wraps an arm around me in a half hug, then runs over to the fence to talk to Jackson.
“Thanks for coming guys,” I tell Jenna once they are within reach.
“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t have missed his first game for the world.” She pulls me into a big hug, reaching her hands down to honk my butt. “I miss you,” she whispers.
I squeeze her back. I really miss her, too.
“Where are the lovebirds?”
“Who you callin’ lovebird?” Lainey’s voice sounds behind me, and I look up to see Lainey, my dad’s hand clasped in hers as she slowly guides him over the soft divots in the lawn.
I rush over to my dad, taking his other hand in mine. “Hey, Pop.” I place a kiss on his cheek.
His limp seems worse today. He had a hip replacement in his sixties, followed by a knee replacement at seventy-one, and hasn’t been the same since. With all the spring rain we have been having, I’m sure the stiffness and pain is as worse as it’s ever been.
“How are you? How’s your knee?”
We reach the lawn chairs and Lainey releases his hand. He places his weathered one over mine, squeezing gently. “I’m just fine, Meggy. Don’t worry about your ol’ man. It’s your mom you need to worry about.”
I look over his shoulder to see Emmett on one side of my mom and Ryan on the other, both of them helping her walk across the grass. Now I know damn well she doesn’t have a limp, or need any help, really. She catches my stare and winks.
“Sure nice to have such handsome friends that are willing to help an old lady like me.”
I scoff at that. “Old lady, my ass.” My mom might be pushing eighty, but you’d never know because she’s filled with more energy than someone half her age. She’s dressed in adorable wedge sandals and a long, floral skirt, a throwback to her hippie days.
She is an anomaly to aging women everywhere. I’ve met people who are ten years younger than her that can barelymove, yet my mom hasn’t slowed down in the twenty-something years I‘ve known her. Every summer she dons her favorite floral slacks, a crocheted vest, and drives around in an old school VW van with a group of women that are likely twenty years younger than her. She and her hippie sisters spend their weekends at flea markets, outdoor concerts, or take the bus for a scenic drive before lunch. She seems to thrive the more she does, and somehow keeps up with them a lot better than I ever could.
When they reach our group, my mom leans forward to kiss my cheek.
“You look gorgeous, momma.” She raises a hand to sweep back her bangs, the sun reflecting off the blonde highlights mixed with her graying hair. “I love those shoes, by the way. I’m going to steal them.”
“They’re yours whenever you want them.” She pulls me in tight, rocking us back and forth in a hug. “I’m so excited to see Jackson’s first game. How is he doing?”
“He’s nervous, but excited.” He told me today he had a stomach ache and was worried they’d have to stop the game so he could poop.
“By the way, honey”—my mom pulls back, clasping my hand in both of hers—“I’m thankful you finally added a young man with blond hair to the group of handsome, dark-haired fellows you hang around with.” She gestures over her shoulder to Pop. “You know I’ve always been fond of blond men.”
Even though my dad is fully gray now, and had salt and pepper hair when we first met, I’ve seen many pictures of him and Momma when they were young. He had a full head of thick, wavy blond hair and could have passed for the fourth BeeGees member.
“What do you mean?”
My mom ushers behind her, and there I see him.
