The Price of Forgetting

Chapter 29

Theo had apparently been conservative when he mentioned who would be coming to dinner. All three of his brothers had come with their families, and his Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Susan had brought their children. Uncle Michael and Aunt Rebecca brought Jesse, Isaac, and Annie, of course, and Matthew's sister, Waverly and her two small children had come along with Aunt Keira and Uncle William.

No one was unfamiliar to me, but seeing them all together was just daunting. Matthew's family was huge! And they weren't even all here. There was still Grandmother, Evie's family, and Matthew's other two siblings who had their own families. And when I married him, they'd all be my family too. With our families together, we could probably have our own ball with no shortage of people to dance with one another.

"Are you alright?" Matthew leaned over to ask.

"Hmm?" I'd been listening to one of the many many conversations around the table. No shortage of that either.

"You haven't eaten anything," he pointed out.

I glanced down at my plate and realized he was right. I'd been sipping at the glass of water, but the food just didn't seem that appealing to me.

"I'm not very hungry, I guess," I said. "And I'm kind of tired. Probably from all that time out in the sun."

He smiled. "It was a good day."

"The best," I agreed.

"As long as you're not feeling sick?"

This was one of those things Matthew always worried about. I didn't skip meals often, but anytime I did, or if I just didn't eat as much as usual, he had to make sure I wasn't sick. At first, he was almost obsessive about it. He'd ask Doctor Collins to check me over for the silliest things. It was kind of sweet, but I was glad he'd progressed to just asking if I felt alright.

I shook my head. "No, nothing like that. I just don't feel like eating." And then to distract him, I said, "your family is enormous. And they're not even all here."

"Sure, but you knew that."

"I know, but seeing everyone together makes you realize just how many people there actually are."

He smirked. "I've got three other pairs of aunts and uncles and a bunch of cousins you've never met. I don't think, anyway."

Stunned that there were more, I blinked at him.

"My mother is one of seven," he shrugged.

"Eight," Aunt Keira apparently heard our conversation. "You never got to meet your Uncle Ian."

Matthew nodded and looked at me again. "That's a lot of people to start with. After long enough..." He shrugged again.

With a smile, I shook my head. That made sense, but still. How did you even keep all the birthdays straight?

Seeming to understand what I was thinking, he leaned over again and quietly said, "you get used to it."

Taking another sip of water, I decided I'd have to take his word for it. Right now, it just seemed staggering.

After dinner, we moved to a large reception room so everyone could mingle and relax. The men either played cards or chess or went to smoke on the balcony. The women talked and laughed and occasionally reprimanded the small children who were mostly allowed to run free in the room.

I'd grown a little more tired since we'd been at the table, so I was happy just to sit off to the side and watch everyone. Lily and Matthew had been with me until they were pulled away by some of the kids to play some made up game with them. I smiled, watching Matthew with his little cousins. It was sweet to see how indulgent he was with them.