“We’ll leave the skateboarding to Mr. Harris.” Karson plays my hero once again. “I’m going to introduce Gemma to your mom, Granddad, and Grams right now, then after pizza you and I can race the RC cars your dad sent you.”
“Sweet,” he yells and takes off into the house. The screen door thuds again, and though I can’t see him, I hear him yell, “Uncle Karson brought a girl.”
Karson studies me, lips pinched together in apology. “We can turn around right now,” he offers.
I actually don’t mind having my presence announced by a kid’s yelling it through the house. He’s like a little Charlie. “Are you kidding? This is the most exciting pizza party I’ve ever attended, and I’m not even through the front door.”
“That’s because you don’t eat pizza,” Karson teases.
The screen door swings open to reveal a gray-haired couple and a woman in her thirties. She’s exotic-looking with long, dark hair and big, trendy glasses. If this is Karson’s sister, it explains where Phillip got his darker coloring, though I’d mistakenly assumed Karson’s sister would look like him and that Phillip’s multicultural ethnicity came from his dad’s side. We’re both learning a lot about each other today.
All three of these strangers smile and wave at me like I’m a long-lost relative.
I smile and wave back.
Karson runs a hand over his face.
“You did bring a girl,” his sister gushes. She’s as sweet as he is salty.
Also, has he never brought a girl home before? I guess besides prom dates, I’ve never really introduced a guy to my parents either. But Karson’s family lives a lot closer.
His grandma motions me forward. “Come in, come in. I made pie.”
I’ve never wanted to eat pie more.
“Introduce yourself first, Patricia,” her husband admonishes. “Otherwise you’ll scare her away.”
“I think it’s too late for that.” Karson ushers me forward with a hand to my back, and of all the ways he’s been protective, this is my favorite. “Gemma, meet my crazy family. When you play Nerf war with Phillip, you have my blessing to shoot any one of them. Though I must warn you, Grams hides an Atomic Power Popper under her bed.”
His grandma makes a fist in mock indignation. “I told you that’s for playing fetch with the dog.”
“Sure, Grams.” He gives her the all-knowing expression he must use in interrogations. “And how long ago did we bury Bingo?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“The point is …” His grandpa steps to the side to hold the door open for us to enter. “You’re welcome in our home, Gemma, and we will not be having any Nerf wars tonight.”
Phillip appears in the doorway with a blaster in each hand. “What?” he whines.
Granddad nods for him to put his weapons away. “Though we do like our guns, we are also against excessive use of force and police brutality.”
“That’s right.” Karson’s grandma grabs my hand with both of hers. “It doesn’t bother you that Karson is a police officer, does it? I think it’s a very respectable profession.”
“Uh …” I pause before crossing the threshold onto worn oak floors and look over my shoulder at the cop in question. He must not have mentioned to them how he’s been the one avoiding me for the past year. “I agree.”
Karson lifts a shoulder as if telling me not to worry about it. Probably shielding me from all the stories that could be told about my adventures in citizen’s police academy. “The good news is that Gemma likes police officers. The bad news is that she can’t eat pizza. Or pie. She’s allergic to gluten.”
All movement and sound stops.
I glance around at their horrified expressions. Are they feeling bad for me or, in a family with a homemade pizza oven, is my diet a dealbreaker?
“More pie for me!” Phillip jumps onto the couch in celebration, and the tension dissolves into laughter.
“Get down, Phillip. The last thing you need is more sugar.” Karson’s sister takes the soda from my arms and heads inside, past an open staircase and through the living room filled with antique furniture. “Come on, Gemma. We’ll make a salad out of pizza toppings.”
I shoot Karson a hopeful grin. I think this means I’m being accepted. Also, I would gladly swap him sisters.
“You’re Karson’s sister?” I check to confirm I’ve got the family dynamics correct.
