starlight - jaylor AU

downtown boston

- Taylors Pov -

I'm a nervous wreck. How could I not be when I'm meeting my boyfriend's parents and brother for the first time. His brother is really cool, but I have never meet him in person, and only briefly said hi over FaceTime. It's not like I know any of them. Meeting new people is hard for me, but at the same time I've gotten good at it while I've been in New York. It seems like I'm constantly meeting new people and putting myself out there. I will probably never be a social butterfly, I'm a hardcore introvert, but I can learn the art anyway.

I take my car to the Ronald McDonalds house, its attached to the hospital. It's actually an old patient hotel, where people could stay if they needed to be close by but not in the hospital. Now however the building is run by the Ronald McDonalds charity that provide housing for cancer patients and their families if they have to travel for treatment. His parents will stay there while their son is in the hospital, at least when they don't need to be back in Pittsburg.

I'm dressed in warm clothing as after meeting them I'm heading to an outdoor skating rink to take Joe skating. It's something I like doing in the wintertime, so taking him is going to be fun. It's probably good for him to get a change of scenery too. At least I know how much I valued time away from a hospital setting when I was admitted. I'm sure my brother felt that way too.

Since my mom runs the oncology part of the children's hospital, she has a private parking spot. So she gave me her parking pass so I could park there while I meet up with Joe. She isn't working until the evening anyway, so it wasn't a big deal that I parked in her spot.

I know my way around this hospital as my mom has worked here for what seems like forever. For my whole life she has been a doctor and working at this children's hospital. She did her residency in a Boston hospital too, just like my dad, so they didn't have to move away for that part of their training. They meet freshman year in college and have been together ever since. When I was little, I used to run around the corridors of this hospital. And the children's hospital was my favorite because there were lots of playrooms and pretty colors to look at. There is even a huge aquarium with tropical fish in the reception area and an indoor playground.

I've texted Joe that I'm here, so when I reach the entrance to the Ronald McDonald House, he is waiting for me. I smile and lean into his arms before pecking his lips. «Hi»

«Hi beautiful. They are so excited to meet you» he says and brush hair out of my face before taking my hand and heading inside. He seems completely relaxed about this, which help relax me too.

He leads me into what looks like a common room where there is only three people. Two adults and who I know to be his brother. «Taylor you're here!» His brother says and come over to say hi. «I would hug you, but I'm not supposed to get too close to people. Doctors' orders» he says, and I nod. «I would hug you back»

I'm not sure if Joe has told them that my mom is Patrick's oncologist, so I'm not going to be the first person to bring it up. It's not my business to bring up anything medical, I don't know them that well.

His parents come over and his mom brings me in for a hug right away «hi Taylor, you can call me Elizabeth honey. Joe has told me so much about you» she says as she releases me. «It's good to meet you too, your son speaks highly of all of you»

I get a similar greeting him his dad, Richard, who asks me to call him by his first name too. Obviously, I would have called them Mr. and mrs Alwyn, but since they insisted I do as I'm told. I do like that they are more into personal greetings than overly formal one.

Joe leads me to take a seat on the couch next to me, while his brother sits beside their mother and their father sits on a chair to our left. Observing family dynamics is interesting to me, so I can't help but take notice to how they act around one another. Their parents keep at least a meter between them at all times, and they also avoid looking at one another at all. At least that's what I've gathered from the first little interaction.