I cherish every one of those lunch dates because they make me excited to keep trying with my business.
I also want it to succeed for more than my own personal gain, but if I can keep it going and make it bigger and better, I can afford to provide for a family.
Like a gorgeous, amazing mother of one and her very sweet little girl.
I swallow my nerves as I approach the door. My eyes count ten cars surrounding their house, and it’s hard to say if it’s because the neighbors also have guests today orif there is a houseful of Lennings that are about to interrogate me.
“You’ve got this,” I mumble to myself, wiping my free hand against my jeans to get rid of the excess sweat. “Just stay chill. Chill, Derek. You charm the pants off of people.” I pinch my eyes closed at that little bit of commentary. Dummy.
I knock before I lose my nerves and brace myself as I hear the thundering of feet approach the door.
“Do not answer that door!”
I hear a voice holler, and for a moment, I wonder if I did something terribly wrong and they know it’s me and I’m suddenly uninvited from my girlfriend’s family’s Thanksgiving.
“I’m almost ten!” I hear a voice saying from the other side.
“I don’t care if you’re eighty. Don’t answer the door if you can’t see who it is.”
“I’ll look through a window.”
“You can look all you want. I’m answering the door for our guest, and if it’s someone who we don’t know, they won’t have the chance to kidnap you because I answered the door. So, you’re welcome.”
I cannot tell who is doing the talking, but judging by the voices, it sounds like Hattie and a kid I’m obviously not familiar with.
The door finally swings open, and yup, it was Hattie. She gives me a kind smile. “Hey, Derek. Welcome. Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Hey, thanks. You too.” I step inside and look at the younger boy who’s standing there, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
“You let a stranger into the house,” he states, ignoring me completely and looking to Hattie. “Great. He’s probably going to kidnap me and Aurora.”
“Chance, knock it off. This is Derek, Birdie’s boyfriend.”
“Birdie doesn’t have a boyfriend, this is a kidnapper.”
Well, that’s welcoming. This kid has some serious angst coming off of him, and I nod, moving down the hallway where Hattie motions me.
“Go play with toys or something.”
The kid scoffs and says something that I try hard to get away from, not wanting to be accused of anything else, and I find my way into the kitchen.
The house is decorated to the max with streamers, balloons, and those old-school fold-out turkeys on everysurface. I’d bet money that Rora had something to do with the excessiveness of it all.
I smile when I see Valerie and hold up the pie. “Happy Thanksgiving, I brought the apple pie I promised.”
“Oh, Derek! You did it!” she says, grabbing it from me and setting it on the counter. She pulls me into a hug that I return, then turns to the other bodies in the room that are eyeing me curiously. “Everyone, this is Birdie’s boyfriend, Derek.”
Everyone nods and makes some sort of noise, and an older woman walks forward with her hand extended, shaking mine. “I’m Honey, Elizabeth’s grandmother.”
Honey is a name I’m new to, but I smile politely and return her handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Honey.”
“You as well. Birdie’s told us so much about you.”
I’m happy to hear that, and I say so.
“Val, you didn’t tell us how handsome Birdie’s young man is,” she says, looking me over. I feel a brash and fast blush working its way over my cheeks and clear my throat, making the other women in the room laugh at me.
“Mom! Knock it off,” Valerie says, placing a protective hand on my arm and shuffling me out the back door. “Now, go on. I know my girls have been missing you this week.”
