18 Reasons Why I Love You

Chapter Eight: The Big Dinner Date

My heart kept beating harder and faster the closer I got to my destination. I was going to have dinner with Aaron and his kids tonight. The amount of scenarios that kept playing in my head was making me dizzy. But still, I wanted to make a good first impression on all of them. I was dressed in one of my fancier blouses and high rise pants. I just hoped that they would like me at the end of the day, or at the very least tolerated me.

This was probably one of the richest communities I’ve seen in Washington. Elaborate yard pieces, large houses, the whole enchilada. Thank God for modern technology, because I would be going in circles right about now. The directions Google Maps gave me lead me to a white two story house with a separate garage off to the side. It was surprisingly small compared to the others in this corner of the neighborhood. It made me wonder just how Aaron was able to keep ten whole children in there.

“Your destination is on your left.” Announced the app.

I pulled up behind Aaron's truck.

“Arrived.”

Well, this was it. It was show time. I took in and exhaled a rather deep breath. I kept my purse and lanyard close by. It was time to meet them.

From the corner of my eye, I could see someone from inside the house look at me come up to the door through the set aside curtains. They immediately retreated further into the house once they noticed that I was able to see them.

I went up to the door and rang the doorbell. I could feel my palms begin to sweat. The door opened before me, and I looked down to see a small girl with big brown eyes and light blonde hair.

“Hello?” She asked.

“Hi, I’m Miranda.” I introduced myself. “I’m one of your dad’s friends. You must be Vivian.”

“Yes, I am.” Vivian nodded. “Come in.”

I couldn’t believe how well spoken she was for her age.

“Shoes, please.” She pointed to the pile by the door.

“Oh, right.” I proceeded to take mine off.

“Miranda's here!” Vivian called out to the rest of the family.

The Inside of the home was actually rather spacious and tidy. To my left was the living room, where some of Aaron’s clan was on the couch playing Mario Kart on their big screen television.

“I won!” The youngest cheered.

I followed Vivian to the dining room, where Aaron was setting up plates and utensils for everyone. He turned around and smiled at me.

“Hey, Miranda! Glad you could make it.” He said warmly as he gave me a hug.

“Thanks for having me,” I hugged him back, trying to sound as confident as possible.

“Kids! Soup’s on!” Aaron called out for his kids. One by one, they began to trickle into the room. Their ages ranged from kindergartener to high schooler. They all greeted me with a mixture of curious eyes and shy smiles.