By the time the guests started to arrive, I was desperate for Russell’s touch. As people arrived, I stood close to Russell, but never reached for his hand or to touch him. I was close enough that I could smell his cologne and occasionally I could brush my arm against him. It would have to do for now. This was his family, and I didn’t know if any of them were opposed to a guy being with Russell. On top of my nerves over being a guy, I had the age gap thing going as well. So there were a lot of things for me to be nervous about, and I didn’t need to compound anything right now.
I was introduced to several of his aunts and uncles, cousins and their families. I made eye contact, smiled, and greeted everyone as they were introduced to me. While I was thrilled to be able to stand beside Russell as people arrived, it was also torture to be this close to him and not be able to touch him like I so badly needed. I offered to help Stanley hand out drinks and collect coats, but Russell didn’t allow me to escape.
All of Russell’s cousins were very interested in his life outside of the Midwest. A few commented on how Lily and Stanley would share info about his accomplishments and the success of his software business. As Russell fielded tons of questions, I glanced around at his family. They were all kind and well put together families.
The keyword being “families.”
His aunts and uncles were all still married, had kids, and some had grandkids. The kids all had manners and were quietly coloring on the floor by the fireplace.
Once we were all seated around the large dining room table, it hit me in the gut. They all had families. I had robbed Russell of being married and having kids. I also had robbed Lily and Stanley of having grandkids.
I felt ice fucking cold as food was passed around.
“So, Russell, do you wish you had gone into the psychology practice with your dad, or do you prefer the tech and software field?” Kent, one of his cousins, asked. He hadn’t seemed smug about the question but was just curious.
“I love my software company and don’t regret being in the profession at all.”
“Forget about the tech industry,” Julia said to her husband and then glanced at me. “Lily tells us you’re an author, Ryan.”
I nodded and then quickly reminded myself to speak.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What do you write?” Patricia, one of his other cousins, asked.
“Um,” I cleared my throat. The coldness that my body had felt was quickly replaced by the heat of being under the spotlight. “I write a few different genres.”
“Do you write romance, Ryan?” Kent asked. Before I had the chance to reply, he spoke up again. “Because if you do, you just made all of our wives happy.”
“Mhmm,” Rick murmured and then reached for his glass of water. “Julia has bookshelves and bookshelves full of romance books,” he added.
“So does Patricia. The whole bookcase is full of partially dressed men,” Herman volunteered the info about his wife’s reading preferences.
“Ew, gross, Uncle Herman,” Samantha added. Samantha was Julia and Rick’s daughter.
A few smaller conversations broke out at the table, and I seemed to be asked questions from all the chats.
“Ryan, I hear you’re a surfer. Have you gotten this guy out in the water yet?” Kent asked.
“Yeah, he’s been out in the water, and he’s even stood up on a board,” I explained.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Russell can do just about anything he tries,” Patricia said and winked at me. Some of the others chimed in and agreed. It sounded like Russell had always been naturally good at everything he tried.
Finally, most of the questions died down, and it became a group conversation again. The topics varied, but all were stories of Russell and his cousins when they were kids. I enjoyed this conversation because not only did it take me out of the spotlight, but I was able to hear more about Russell as a kid.
During dessert, the hardest question came from Kent and Patricia’s teenage daughter, Haley. I had finished drowning my slice of pumpkin pie in Reddi-wip and picked up my fork to dive in when the question came.
“Russell, is that a wedding ring?”
“Haley,” Kent and Patricia said in unison.
The question rattled me enough that I dropped my fork. My hands quickly tried to catch it and stop the noise as it clanged around on Lily’s nice china.Fuck, please don’t let me have fucked up his mother’s china.When Russell’s hand gripped my knee under the table, I could hear him trying to calm me and telling me to relax. I stared at the fork that was covered in Reddi-wip on the tablecloth. Russell, however, was not nearly as bothered by the question. His laughter was warm and free of any annoyances over the question.
“It’s as meaningful as a wedding ring,” Russell calmly explained. “I treasure it and the meaning behind it. It’s engraved on the inside.”
“What does it say?” Haley asked.
“Haley,” Kent warned again.
