"Lucy", I smile. Her eyes light up. Everyone else besides Dad looks startled. I run to her for a hug. She almost drops the bottle in her hands.
I stand back, examining the questioning looks on every one's faces. After a moment, the only other person that finally comes around, is Cole.
"Oh, um. Hi, this is for you", Lucy hands Mom the bottle. Mom smiles thankfully, motioning for Lucy to enter the house. "I'm Lucy".
"It's very nice to finally meet you in person. I'm Kerry", my mother and my Mom shake hands.
"Oh, sorry", I face my sister and the guys. "Cole, Matt, Cara, this is my biological mother, Lucy. Lucy, this is my sister, Cara, her boyfriend, Matt, and my boyfriend, Cole". They all smile a little at her.
"It's very nice to meet you all. I'm sorry, you guys all seem surprised that I'm here" Lucy questions, she looks at my father.
"Ha. Ha", Dad laughs nervously. "You might have been a surprise to the kids. But they're fine. Please, come join us."
Lucy follows Mom and Dad to the living room. I get strange looks from the other three. I shrug nervously. Lucy sits in the arm chair in the far corner closest to the TV, Mom and Dad sit on the Love seat and us four kids sit on the main couch. We are all silent, we look at each other for a few moment. I can sense the extreme awkwardness lingering in the room.
Lucy looks over at me and Cole, taking a deep breath. "So, this is Cole. You look much different from your pictures".
Cole looks over at me, then back at Lucy. "That's me", he says quietly, giving a small smile.
Another awkward moment passes before Mom gets up, examining each one of us. "Well, I guess I should make dinner. We do have to eat at some point", Mom hurries into the kitchen.
"Dad, we'll be right back", Cara says. She grabs my hand and Matt's hand. I instinctively grab Cole's. "Just one minute".
Cara pulls us upstairs into her room. She stares at me for a second. "Did you know she was going to be here?" she looks at me.
"No, I swear. I wouldn't think she would drive all the way from Ann Arbor just for dinner. She must be here for some reason". I sit on the edge of Cara's bed, looking down at the floor.
Cara gives me a smile. "And I thought we both looked like Dad, damn. You are twins", We all laugh.
"She seems nice. I can see where you get it from", Cole chimes in. "What do we do now? I mean, Kerry raised you, and your biological mother is here to make amends of some sort".
"Well, like you said, she is in the same house as my un-biological mother, both of which were married to my father at one point or another. We should probably make it as least awkward for her as possible. Please. I kind of want some kind of relationship with her. If we can get through this night, I think we will be okay", I smile at each of them before getting up from the bed and walking down stairs. Cole is right behind me, and I can hear Cara and Matt talking about something. They come down a moment later.
"So, Lucy. How are you?" I ask her as I sit back onto the couch.
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm great".
We talk for a few minutes, Cara and Cole come into the conversations. Matt stays out, but I don't blame him. If I was him, I would have fled this scene a while ago.
"Dinner is ready", Mom calls from the dining room. Dad, Lucy, Cole, Matt, Cara and I all walk into the dining room and take our seats.
Dad sits at the head of the table, Mom and the other. I sit in the middle between Cole and Lucy, and Matt and Cara have the other side. Mom has laid out cubed steak, a grape almond salad, which is to die for, a spinach salad, which is pretty much for Cara, and zucchini bread. She makes this bread like no tomorrow during the fall, and I absolutely love it. It's the best thing she makes, and that's really saying something because my Mom is an amazing cook.
"So, Lucy", Mom asks as everyone has what they want on their plates. "What made you decide to come out here on such short notice?"
Lucy chews the food in her mouth and answers. "I have a business trip to Minneapolis this upcoming week, and my company decided to have me fly out of O'Hare airport instead of Detroit because they wanted it to be cheaper. So, I thought it would have been nice to come out and see Meredith".
The rest of dinner is mostly silent, with a few questions to Lucy every once in a while. She seems less tense compared to when she first arrived. She seems to be fitting in, at least a little bit. I can tell how awkward she feels sitting at a table with her ex husband and his wife, plus me and my half sister, not to mention my boyfriend and my sisters boyfriend. Matt has rarely talked tonight, and neither has Cole, both of whom I can tell is extremely awkward for them. It just my parents, my sister, Lucy, and me.
An hour or so after dinner, Lucy decides to call it a night and go back into Chicago to her hotel. Mom and Dad thank her for coming and for the bottle of wine. Cole and I walk Lucy out onto the porch.
"Thank you for coming", I say to her as she gives me a hug. "It really means a lot that you want to see me".
"Meredith. It has been wonderful to see what you have become, even just over the past few weeks from when I met you. I still can't believe I made this wonderful young lady. I was young, and stupid at that time. But I knew the right choice was to leave. Well, it was the right choice then. As soon as I signed over custody, I knew that I had made the wrong decision. I'm sorry for that".
"Lucy, stop. You don't have to apologize or explain yourself, I promise. I'm mad and angry or anything at you. You came into my life now, and that's all I could ask for. So, thank you", that makes her smile.
"Well, tell your mom thank you for dinner, and we will talk soon, okay? And, Cole. It was very nice to finally meet you. You and Noah are both very wonderful young men".
Cole nods, and Lucy gets in her car and leaves. Cole and I go back inside, we say goodnight to my parents and Cara. I guess my parents knew he was going to stay here. And he was staying in my room. I don't know how he convinced them to let that one happen. Maybe because there are so many other people in the house, we wouldn't do anything?
Cole and I silently get ready for bed and lay down. I rest my head on Cole's chest, his arm wraps around my waist. This feel natural, like I'm home again.
As I fall asleep, Cole turns his head so he can whisper into my ear. I smile at what he says.
"I like her".
YOU ARE READING
One More Day (Counting on Hockey #2)
Romance*book two of the Counting On Hockey series. Read Just Another Goal prior to this book* Meredith and Cole are going into their Senior year of high school. They are inseparable together. Now both playing hockey, and being together for now more than a...
