“Hi, Dad.” After he releases me, I look at Naomi, who is grinning ear to ear. “Hey, Nomes.”
“Hi, Tate. Sorry, I missed you at Thanksgiving. If I had known Mom and Dad were going to be gone sooner, we would’ve come out this way. Or at least invited you to spend it with us.”
This surprises me. We’ve never been close. I mean, we love each other and tolerate one another, but we’ve never been the type of sisters who do each other’s hair and makeup. I don’t know if she’s just saying this because Ethan’s family is here, or if she actually would have tried to make it out here.
“It’s okay, I spent it with Fletcher and his family.”
“Is that your boyfriend?” Arthur looks at me, and I’m lucky I’m not already drinking some wine because I would’ve choked on it.
“Oh, no. He’s my best friend. We practically grew up together. He and his family live next door, so I basically lived there when I was younger and my parents were at work. You’ll meet him tomorrow.”
“They’re the really large family that was playing in the snow when you all arrived.” My mom’s voice is stoic as if their large family is a bad thing. Maybe it is for a woman who has two kids but probably should have had none.
“Oh.” Ethan’s minimal response doesn’t seem to give my mom the response she was hoping for.
“Their house won’t be as crazy as usual tomorrow since some of his older siblings won’t be there, but it’ll still be a pretty full house.”
“Will Chase and Stella be there?” Naomi reaches out for my hand. I’m honestly surprised she even knows their names. “If they are, honey, you’ll absolutely love Chase. You’ll get along great.”
“Yeah, they will be. Chase is the only older sibling who will be at dinner tomorrow.”
“How’re they doing?” I don’t know what’s happened to my sister, but she actually seems interested in my response to these questions. It's not like she’s just asking them to seem like a good person.
This is weird.
“They’re good. They’re actually having a baby. Oh, I’m not sure if I should have said that. I’m assuming both of their families know by now, but I don’t know if they want the news out yet.”
“I won’t say a thing.” She fakes zipping her lips shut and throws away the key. “I didn’t realize they got married.”
“They’re not.” I shake my head.
“Well, good for them. Chase always seemed like a good kid when he came home.” My dad pats my back.
“Yeah.” I rock back and forth, hoping for a change in conversation, but instead, the kitchen falls silent. “Oh, um, I meant to text you, but time just got away from me. Congratulations on your engagement. Your ring is beautiful.”
“Oh, thank you. We’re really happy, and I wasn’t expecting it at all, so.”
“Do you guys have any idea when the wedding will be?”
“No. We’re gonna soak this in for a little while and then probably start planning in the Spring or something like that.”
“Well, I’m really happy for you guys.” I give Naomi a hug, another thing I rarely do, but it feels like the moment calls for it. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go get settled in.”
“Oh, about that.” My mom stops me. “Naomi and Ethan are actually staying in your room while they’re here.”
“Why not Naomi’s old room?” I tilt my head.
“Arthur and Lucille are staying in Naomi’s old room.”
“And the guest room?”
“Well, Naomi’s room became the new guest room, and the guest room became my office. All of my files, cases, and everything are in there from when I work from home.”
“You work from home?” My eyebrows pop up. Has that always been an option for her? Probably something she should’ve done when I was a little kid, but, you know, to each their own.
“Not often, but sometimes I do. It’s mainly just for me to have a space to go to get work done after I get home.”
“So, where am I sleeping?”
