kisses and freckles (eddie redmayne oneshots)

Fourteen: Meet the Mother

"Why am I excited to meet your parents? Isn't this, you know, something to be afraid of? Isn't it a classic boyfriend move to fret over this sort of ordeal?" Eddie asked confusedly as he glanced over his shoulder before turning into the next lane. I laughed and ran the pad of my thumb over the knuckles of his right hand, which we had intertwined over the console.

"There's nothing to be worried about, so I don't really see the point." I replied with a shrug. "I'm excited that you're excited."

"It's just that- well, I mean, you're so wonderful and all the stories you've told me about them.. They seem like great people, is all." he explained. I smiled.

"They are great people. They're going to love you." I replied. Eddie flashed me a smile as we pulled into the driveway of my childhood home. It was all so oddly familiar, but with hints of differences that threw me off. My old neighbours got a fence. My parents had painted the door. A new car sat in front of us in the driveway. "It's been so long since I've been here." I muttered. Eddie squeezed my hand, and we got out of the car. Little boys I'd never seen before played in the driveway across the street.

When you're young, you live in a neighbourhood of other families with young kids. At least, that's where I was raised. The neighbour that lived in the house behind mine was my best friend. When I was 9, my mom removed one of the nails in the plank of wood of my fence so that it could swing back and forth. It was my friend and my secret passage to each other's backyards. When I was 14, we nailed it back so they could sell their house. I haven't spoken to that friend since. Everyone moves away eventually, with job promotions or sick family or this or that. But my family had always stayed put. Unlike me, my parents weren't fond of change. The new paint colour of the door was as adventurous as they got. I was always the complete opposite. I couldn't stay in one place without getting restless. Lately, Eddie had been the only constant in my life.

"Did we get new neighbours across the street?" I asked upon entering the living room, where my dad sat with his iPad on the couch and my mom sat with her magazine in the lounge chair. They both brightened up upon hearing me, standing up to say how much they've missed me and give me hugs that smelled of home. Maybe it was nice to have some things that never change.

"No, honey. Molly had kids." my mom answered my question as she broke away from me.

"Mrs Williams, I'm Eddie. It really is lovely to meet you. Mr Williams." Eddie started being Polite Eddie, shaking their hands and smiling his adorable smile and charming their pants off, as predicted.

"Molly got married?" I asked, wandering towards the window before my dad could start interrogating Eddie.

"A few years back, yeah." my dad replied.

"Jesus, she's my age, isn't she?" I wondered quietly.

"A year younger." my mom corrected. I turned away from the window to see all three of the most loved people in my life watching me very closely. Eddie's brows were furrowed in concern. He tried to communicate with me without the use of words, but my mind was too occupied with the passing of time to understand.

"Sorry. I just always forget the people around me grow up while I do." I said, shaking the thought of my parents looking older, and taking a seat next to Eddie on the couch. His hand found my knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Oh, honey." my mom smiled sympathetically. I could tell she thought I wanted Eddie to hurry up and ask me to marry him or something along those lines, but that honestly wasn't it. It was just strange, is all. "I'm sure you and Eddie will be popping out grandchildren soon, don't you worry." my mom added with a wink, tearing me out of my haze.