Dane leans against the kitchen counter, talking to my dad about college football—something I’ve never even pretended to understand. Cole is consulting with Thomas about his science project, checking over the equations for him. And Nico perches on the edge of the couch, regaling Therese and Valentine with stories about the islands he’s visited along the Italian coast, the lemon desserts, the opportunities for tanning and playing at the beach.
“That sounds dreamy,” Therese says, to which Nico responds, casually, “The family should come for spring break. You do get a spring break, right?”
Therese and Valentine squeal and jump around, and Auggie rolls his eyes, covering his ears. “It’s like they don’t even care that I had a brain injury.”
“Auggie!” Mom calls turning the corner and hollering up the stairs, before turning and starting at the sight of us. Today she’s wearing one of her Sunday dresses, having just come fromchurch this morning. And she and Dad didn’t even fight about the fact that I elected to stay home with Auggie. “Oh, sorry—I thought you two were still holding us up.”
“We arenotholding you up,” I say, laughing and narrowing my eyes at my mother who is still putting in her earrings, swapping them out.
She smiles and waves a hand at me dismissively, “Oh, I was ready.”
Auggie shoots me a look that says,ri-ight.
And then my mother and Dane are working together to shepherd everyone out of the house. The guys and I are still using a driver, but my family piles into their tried-and-true Suburban to fit everyone.
“Can I ride with you guys?” Auggie asks, when I realize he’s trailing along behind us.
“Of course,” Dane says, no-nonsense, ushering my brother into the SUV.
“No fair!” Valentine calls from the driveway, crossing her arms in a pout. “I want to ride in the fancy car!”
At that, all my siblings are clamoring for a spot in the “fancy” car, and I shoot a happy smile at the guys, “I’ll ride with my parents, to make room.”
I’m just climbing into the backseat of the Suburban when I feel a presence at my back and turn to see Dane and Cole following me, climbing in with me.
I can’t help but laugh at the sight of these billionaires, Dane in a pressed suit, climbing into my family car with me. “What are you doing? You could have stayed?—”
“Nico can entertain them,” Cole says, and I can tell from the look on his face that he’s trying to preserve his social battery. Silently, as he and Dane sandwich me on the bench seat, I slip my hand into his and squeeze.
Dane takes my other hand, and neither of my parents say a thing from the front seat as we set off toward the restaurant.
When we get there, it’s a Sullivan-family-palooza, all my siblings piling out of the car and inside. The restaurant, a family-style, Italian place we’ve frequented on Sundays, smells like oregano and tomato, the air a little steamy. I breathe it in, chest lit up with an impossible kind of happiness.
Together, we all cram into the chairs around a large table. The guys do their best not to be dismayed at the food that comes out.
We have plenty of time to treat my family to “fancy” food. Right now, this is a chance for me to share another piece of myself, my history, with them.
Conversation flows surprisingly easily between all of us. My siblings are still kind of confused about the dynamic between us but seem happy to have interesting and rich new “in-laws,” as Auggie keeps calling them, despite the fact that we’re not even close to being married.
The thought of it, getting married to these guys, makes my stomach light with anticipation. Not a question ofif, but ofwhen.
When the bill comes, Dane reaches for it. I catch his wrist with a coy smile on my face, then slide my card—the new one, withmyname on it—into the leather check presenter. He smiles back at me, and I pray I’m the only one who can see the lust laid out plainly on his face.
The waitress takes the card, and I slip off to the bathroom. When I come out, my mom is at the sink, fixing her makeup.
I go to the sink next to her to wash my hands and we catch gazes in the mirror.
“Okay?” I ask, though I’m not sure exactly what it means. The guys rented a house just outside town for us, so I could be near Auggie, and they could be near me. We’ve been here for aweek, visiting Mary and Auggie, folding ourselves into the daily movements of Lancaster and Sullivan life.
Even though it’s only been a week, the guys have made waves. The neighbors look at us, whisper from behind their curtains.
Dane hired a contractor to finish all the projects my dad’s been meaning to get to. The trim is up in the living room, and the ceiling above the fridge is properly patched. While contractors were moving in and out of the house, Therese and Valentine talked them into painting their bedroom a soft, dusty rose, which made Dane laugh when he found out.
“The contractors quoted me also for thebedroom painting job,” he’d murmured, a soft smile on his face before he met my eye. “Those sisters of yours are going places.”
“Yes,” Mom says now, drawing me out of my thoughts. She nods at herself in the mirror, then meets my gaze again. “I just… maybe someday, this will all feel normal.”
I blink, emotion welling in my throat. It’s not perfect, but it’s more than I could ask for from her, a woman born, raised, married, and a mother in the same small town. She’stryingto understand, which is far more than Julian’s parents ever did for him.
