We’ve talked about my family and if there’s one thing I wanted him to know, it’s that they are always up in my business. There are some things I’d rather keep private, at least for a while. I have no problem being seen with him, or being with him, but I know that I’ll be fielding questions for the foreseeable future.
To my eternal gratefulness, Cole confidently strides over, a wiggling toddler in his arms. “Grant, where are the medals?” The little girl squeals, determined to break free from her father’s grasp. “Parents are asking.”
Grant smoothly excuses himself to grab the missing medals from his car leaving me alone with my mother. “I should go help Candice…”
“Not so fast.” The stern mother tone has me scrunching my face and pausing my steps.
“Yes?”
“When were you going to tell us about this?”
“I mean, eventually? Candice doesn’t even know.”
“Candice doesn’t even know, what?” Like a demon who’s summoned by the simple utterance of their name, my sister appears, casually drinking from her water bottle.
“What is this,Maury?” Neither of them seem to understand my humor. Not even a hint of a smile. “Alright, fine,” I give up with a sigh. “I’ve been seeing Grant for several months.”
Candice shrugs nonchalantly. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Mom clicks her tongue. “You knew the whole time and didn’t tell me?”
“What do you mean, ‘she didn’t tell you’? She didn’t tellmeand it’s my relationship.”
“You haven’t been very sneaky,” Candice explains. “You guys can’t stop looking at each other. Plus, Mason says you guys are getting married and that he and Harrison are going to be cousins. He’s real excited.” She leans in closer, nudging me with her elbow. “Nicely done.”
While this isn’t a conversation I want to have right now, I can see the humor of it all. “I mean, who could resist all this?” My sister and I laugh at my little joke but mom stands unfazed.
Mom clears her throat. “I’m still wanting to know how this all happened.”
“I’m sure she’ll tell us all about it later, Mom,” Candice says, saving me from an awkward, embarrassing conversation. “I came to tell you that Mason’s been looking for you.”
Immediately Mom’s whole demeanor changes. “Oh, where is he?” Mom can’t resist her grandchildren and goes to quickly find Mason.
Nothing makes me happier than dodging the mother bullet and I breathe a small sigh of relief that it’s all over. For now at least.
We follow behind Mom when Candice turns her attention to me. “Don’t think that you’re going to get away with not telling me. I’ve beendyingfor you to finally bring it up.”
We reach the small group of parents and players gathered in a circle as Grant sorts through the box full of medals.
My sister issues one last reminder before the awards begin. “Remember, this isn’t over.”
Like I could forget.
Chapter Nine
Hazel
Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I’ve never had a serious conversation with my sister over dinner, but tonight’s different.
My worries about kids and my ability to be a mother, let alone a stepmother, haven’t gone away. They’ve been lingering in my mind, popping up to the surface at the most inconvenient times.
Grant’s started to notice too. Since soccer season is over, we decided to take Harrison to the zoo. We’re trying to be more intentional about the time we spend together, and it was a lot of fun spending time with just the three of us. Grant and I strolled hand-in-hand with an excited Harrison rushing ahead of us. So much of that day was everything I dreamed it’d be.
Except when Harrison fell face-first toward the concrete.
Luckily, he caught himself, managing to scrape his palms and not his whole face. I just stood there as the poor kid cried, not knowing if I should comfort him or leave him alone. Grant was there, calm and prepared, and cleaned the cuts before putting on a cartoon band-aide. Harrison was back to normal five minutes later.
But I wasn’t.
