Picture Us (Turn it Up Book 3)

by Natalie Parker

  I look down and nod before he reaches over to grab my wrist and give it a fatherly shake before letting it go while telling me, “And I want you to know that I’m happy. Okay?”

  I skeptically raise an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” he gives me a casual smile and a shrug. “I’m happy for ya, and excited for myself. I’ve had a few days to reflect and I’m actually looking forward to being a grampa.”

  I nod, feeling relieved. “And you and mom?” I ask.

  He lets out an astronomical sigh, flopping back down on his back and squeezing his eyes shut. Like what he’s about to say is going to hurt like a punch to the ‘nads.

  “We’ve started seeing a counselor…” he moans out before snapping back to sitting. “Just to help us rein in our fiery passion enough to get it under control so that we’re not exposing you or our grandbaby to it, and our home will be a suitable location for family gatherings.”

  I let out a loud, disbelieving laugh at the concept.

  “And how’s that working out so far?”

  “We’ve only been to one session and I wanted to grab the guy’s fancy CROSS pen off his desk and stab my eye out with it.”

  19

  “Are you nervous?” Annie asks from the passenger seat, as I drive us down the highway towards her hometown.

  “No, not really. Why?” I ask with a shrug as I rest my hand on top of the wheel. I’m totally fucking nervous, especially if her linebacker grandfather is going to be there.

  “Well, meeting a girl’s parents isn’t something you’ve been very privy to over the years.”

  “No, but I’m not some teenager. I’m a grown-ass man about to have brunch with other grown-ups.” And while I’m at it, tell them I got their daughter pregnant out of wedlock.

  “Okay,” she retorts, raising her eyebrows and shrugging as she looks out the window. “Glad to hear you’re not nervous when I am and it’s my own family. I sure as hell was nervous to meet Ken and Maureen and tell them I was housing their grandchild in my uterus, all on the same night.”

  “Alright fine, I’m a little nervous,” I lie while I realize I’m white knuckling the wheel. I let it go to shake my hand out for a second. “But like I said, it’s not like we’re in high school. We’re responsible adults and things happen that you don’t plan on, and that’s what’s going on with us,” I reason, placating myself probably more than Annie, as I absentmindedly place my other hand on her leg. “From what you’ve told me, your parents are cool and they should understand that, right?”

  “Yeah,” she says nodding and looking reassured. “Yeah, you’re right. It will be fine.”

  We approach Annie’s hometown and I like it already. It’s one of those quiet farm towns where everything is spread out with plenty of fields and trees. Out of nowhere, I get a thought that I might want to get out of the city someday and move my family to a place like this.

  Annie’s childhood home where her parents still live is a three-story white house on a decent plot of acreage. It’s completely white and has a couple of large trees on either side of it, one of which has a tire swing hanging from one of its sturdy branches.

  Along the left-hand side of the house is a nice-sized shop with one of its garage doors open all the way, allowing me to see the lights on inside and various pieces of vehicles like wheels, car doors and carburetors scattered throughout. I can see work benches and tool chests as well as a fridge. It’s the dream mancave.

  From somewhere beyond the other garage door that’s closed, a tall, brawny man that looks like he could star on one of the many gear-head shows I watch comes sauntering out. He’s in worn out jeans with rips and grease stains all over, a black Carhartt jacket and steel-toed boots. He’s got a mane of silver hair that comes down to his collar and a matching beard, not quite long enough to tug. His exit out of the garage looks like it should be played in slow motion to Thunderstruck, and I realize I’m definitely in no hurry to tell this man I’ve made a grampa out of him.

  No. It’s fine. Like I said, Annie’s a grown woman, and besides, I could take him. Probably.

  “There’s my youngest!” He exclaims when Annie walks up to him and lets him envelope her in his big gorilla arms. After he releases her, she introduces us and he turns to me and offers me his hand with a welcoming smile. After releasing the handshake, he gestures his hands toward my car. “Nice Firebird,” he compliments, referring to the edition of my Trans Am. “That a ’79?”

  “It is,” I confirm, cordially. I’m impressed with his knowledge, although I don’t think I should be surprised. Judging by the size of his shop and the car paraphernalia, I’m betting he’s a motor head like me.

  “I have a ’76 myself,” he informs me.

  “You’re serious?” I ask in disbelief.

  “Yeah, come check it out!” he says, turning in the direction of the shop and jerking his head for me to follow.

  “Dad, he hasn’t met Mom yet,” Annie calmly interjects as she slowly takes steps towards the house.

  “Its fine, Annie. He can hang with me for a bit first,” he explains, clapping a hand on my shoulder and turning to address me. “That house is full of crazy women; best to ease in.” He holds his hands up in a gentle motion to help demonstrate his words.

  “Okay,” Annie gives us one of her famous smiling eye-rolls before turning and walking up the path to the house.

  “Too early for a beer?” he asks, sauntering over to the fridge that’s against the far wall.

  “Nah, I’ll have one. Thanks,” I answer in appreciation. Having a beer with Annie’s dad right off the bat while we hang around in his wet dream of a mancave is not what I expected, and it’s already settling my nerves. Of course, he hasn’t heard the news yet…

  “This is a hell of a shop you have here Mr.-,”

  “Call me Mitch,” he politely cuts me off, handing me a beer. “And thank you. It’s my safe haven,” he says with an exaggerated eye-roll. “We’ll let Annelise visit with the women and settle them a little bit before I take you in to get hounded.

  Annelise?

  How did I not know Annie’s real name? I mean, she’s never offered it up, but I’m feeling foolish all of a sudden for never stopping to consider that her name might be short for something. I’m also surprised she doesn’t go by it. It’s beautiful. I make a mental note to ask her about it later before delving into car talk with Mitch as he shows me the gorgeous TA that he fully restored, along with other projects he has going on. He runs a body shop and does custom work out of his home shop on the side, and when I mention he’s a lot like Richard Rawlins from Fast and Loud, he chuckles and tells me how he’d love to go head to head with him on his show one day.

  We’re different, yet we have a lot in common too and are getting along famously.

  “It’s been a long time since Annelise has brought a guy home to meet us,” Mitch muses from his perch on a stool, holding his beer between his hands as we sit in front of an old Corvair that’s got a ways to go on restoration.

  I go rigid for just a second, having to remind myself that I need to accept Annie’s been with other guys before me. “Really?” I respond absently taking a drink of my beer.

  “Yeah, at least a year. Last one we met was some dumb fuck… Nate, I think.” He shrugs with a sour expression. “Since then she’s only been in a couple of brief relationships that haven’t gone anywhere.”

  “I take it there’s no love lost there,” I say, indicating the look on his face and his choice of words.

  “Hell no. If I ever see that guy again, he’s getting junk-punched.” He laughs while I fight the urge to shield my own crotch. “That is if Annelise hadn’t already taken care of that…” he trails off with a proud smirk on his face.

  Holy shit. I never seem to stop learning things about Annie that impress the hell out of me. I’m also wondering what this Nate fucker did to warrant her delivering him a harsh message right in his landing gear.

  “Anyway, if you’re here, s
he must really think something of you,” Mitch says, rising from the stool and chucking his empty bottle in a nearby recycling bin.

  Yeah, or I just got her pregnant I think, as I fall in line behind Mitch as he leads us towards a door at the far end of the garage that appears to lead into the house.

  “Oh!” Mitch halts holding a finger in the air. “I gotta kill all the lights and the heaters. Go on in, I’ll be two steps behind you.”

  “Okay,” I nod, and continue on my way into the house.

  While I was waiting for an actual occasion to come out here, after telling Tyler’s parents about the baby, I knew I shouldn’t wait too much longer to tell mine. So when my mom recovered from the flu and invited me out to spend the day, I agreed and told her I wanted to bring Tyler. Of course that sparked a lot of questions, but she was more than happy to have him, provided I fill her in when I got here.

  I let myself in through the front door and find the place already decked out for Christmas. My family is one of those that doesn’t waste time. In fact, if the tree isn’t up before the Thanksgiving leftovers are consumed, my mother considers it a failure. I can smell my mother’s signature pumpkin pie pancakes wafting from the kitchen, and once I’ve hung my coat up, it’s all I can do not to float over to it.

  “Annie baby!” she greets me as soon as she looks up from the skillet where she has the pancakes cooking in perfect little circles, next to another skillet filled with perfectly crispy bacon. She sets her spatula down and gives me a quick hug before picking it back up. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too, Mom,” I tell her as I immediately start eyeballing all the food she’s got laid out. I’m ravenous. “Can I have one of these?” I ask, but don’t wait for an answer as I pick up one of the pancakes that’s already cooling on a plate. She wastes no time and starts drilling me with questions.

  “Where’s this man friend you said you were bringing?”

  “Tyler,” I remind her, before going on to explain, “he’s in the garage with Dad. He drives a vintage car, so…”

  “Ohhh…,” she gives me a knowing smile. “Your father’s probably out there proposing to him then,” she says and I crack up, with her giggling at her own joke beside me.

  “What’s he do?” she asks, once we’ve composed ourselves and I stuff a strawberry in my mouth.

  “He runs a really successful bar in midtown,” I tell her, reaching for a piece of bacon as she eyes me quizzically.

  “Good for him,” she says admiringly. “Want a mimosa?”

  “Sure…” I start to say and then catch myself. “Er, actually, no thanks. I’ll just have some juice or milk,” I offer to help myself by opening her fridge. “Ooh, you have chocolate!” I exclaim as I pull the carton out and she gives me some kind of weird smirk before shaking her head and continuing with her interrogation.

  “When and how’d you meet him?”

  “Three and a half years ago, when Mayzie first met Jack; Tyler worked with him. Then I ran into him again at the bar he runs, The Cedar, a couple of months ago.”

  “And you’ve been dating ever since?” Her face looks like it’s in a far-off place as she takes the skillet off the burner.

  Um, if you call prenatal visits “dates”, sure.

  “Um… we’re not dating per se… we’re, uh… close. Yeah,” I say, nodding to myself, happy with my answer and rewarding myself with a slug of the chocolate milk. My mother raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. “What?” I ask with a defensive shrug. “Oh, sorry. I shoulda grabbed a glass,” I realize and start opening the cupboard.

  “You’re pregnant,” she states, like she’s reading a news headline. I freeze with my hand still in the cupboard.

  “What? I… What? How…?” I look around for something, someone, anything to bail me out. She was not supposed to find out this way. Tyler was supposed to be with me and how the hell did she figure it out on her own? She’s a devil woman.

  “What’s going on?” my sister, Amy, asks as she walks into the room. Thank God, a diversion!

  “Amy!” I greet her in an over-the-top cheerful, high-pitched voice, and walk over on shaky legs to hug her.

  “Hi baby sis,” she lovingly greets me and squeezes me tight before releasing me. “I just caught the tail end of that. Who’s pregnant?”

  “Look at your hair!” I say overenthusiastically, playing with the end of one of her shiny cranberry locks. “When did you do this?” I ask while I continue to examine her hair like it’s absolutely fascinating in an effort to not meet the devil woman’s eyes.

  She gives a casual shrug before quickly explaining, “Saw it in a magazine a couple of weeks ago and got the urge. Who’s pregnant?” she asks again.

  “Somebody’s pregnant?” And cue the other half of my childhood torment. My other sister, Autumn, walks in from wherever the hell she and Amy were biding their time before they decided to join my mother’s version of the Spanish Inquisition.

  “Who cares?” I declare. “And what’s with the red hair?” I turn the questioning around on them as I look at Autumn’s hair that also red, save for the fact it’s a more fiery shade than Amy’s. “What, did you just have a twin meeting and decide you wanted to give being identical a try?” I’m high strung, desperately trying to get everyone’s attention off the “P” word.

  “Totally twin telepathy,” Autumn shrugs like it should be obvious. “But who’s pregnant?”

  I finally chance a look at my mom who lets out a heavy sigh paired with a faint smile as her eyes hone in on me, leading both my sister’s heads to simultaneously swivel in my direction, mouths agape as they both catch on. My mom’s eyes mist over as she walks over and wraps me in a hug that I hesitantly return.

  Okay… this is good.

  “Awww!” Both sisters gush and wrap an arm around each other as they take in the moment.

  My nerves are just starting to settle when I hear footsteps coming through the door at the end of the kitchen that leads out to the garage.

  “Annie?” Tyler calls out as he appears around the corner. The poor man has no idea what he’s in for. “Oh,” he says as he takes in the scene of emotional women in front of him. “Hey everybody,” he greets with a hopeful yet unsure smile.

  Amy pulls away from Autumn as her eyebrows go up and she lowers her chin in blatant approval of what she sees. “Wow, Annie. No wonder you’re pregnant!”

  Tyler’s tentative smile falls as the comment stuns him, and the room fills with the sound of more heavy footsteps before my dad appears next to him.

  “Who’s pregnant?”

  “Well that went well,” Tyler muses out loud on the drive home, referring to how my mom used her freaky ESP and figured out I was pregnant before outing me to my sisters, who then outed me to my dad.

  “Yeah, good times,” I quip back, staring straight ahead at the road.

  “I especially liked the part where both your sisters insisted on sitting next to me…”

  “Yeah, while I sat between both parents,” I raise a finger conversationally. “Yeah, I liked that too.”

  “Does Amy usually drop her fork a lot at meals?”

  I let out a painful sigh and close my eyes. “No.”

  “Didn’t think so.”

  I knew I should’ve had Mayzie’s parents adopt me. Except we were already eighteen when we met, and that would’ve made my ten-minute crush on her brother really weird.

  We ride in comfortable silence for a while as I reflect on the day’s delightful events.

  Like how when I went to visit my old room, that my mom has now turned into her craft room, my sisters followed me and made fun of the fact my mom hadn’t thought to tear down the Taylor Lautner poster on the ceiling above where my bed had been.

  Yes, I was Team Jacob. Team Edward members can get bent, seriously. I can get past the whole werewolf thing, but vampires were supposedly ice cold. Who the hell wants to feel like a popsicle is being shoved up their vag? Anyway…

  After badgering me
for a while, they moved on to Tyler and made sure to tell him every embarrassing childhood story about me they could think of while he and my dad tried to watch football. I retaliated of course. Those two shits were not exempt from embarrassing moments of their own growing up. Meanwhile, my mom alternated between crying over my baby album and calling everyone in her known universe.

  “So, what did you and my dad talk about?” I ask, shaking it all off and referring to their time in the garage.

  “Well…” a mischievous smile comes over his face. “I always knew you could bring a man to his knees, Annelise. I just had no idea it was in more ways than one.” The smile on Tyler’s face is amorous as he looks straight ahead at the road, and it makes my heart flip over. I take a second to remind myself he’s probably being his flirty self and compose myself.

  “Annelise? And what are you referring to?” I ask with a light chuckle.

  “Your dad brought up your last serious boyfriend,” He says with a casual shrug. “Nick?”

  “Nate. Yeah…”

  “What happened there?”

  “We were together two years. It got serious enough to move in together. Three days before his lease was up, I found out he was cheating on me, and I… let him know my thoughts. The end.” I end my little story cheerfully, adding a shrug. Tyler’s fingers tighten around the wheel, and I think I see his jaw clench.

  “How did you find out?” he asks, his voice quiet and lethal-sounding.

  “In the best and worst way possible. Caught him in the act.” I let out a breath but keep my chin up, feeling the need to show him how it no longer affects me.

  “I can understand that being the worst way, but how is it also the best?”

  “Because it’s a smoking gun. It’s right there in front of you, plain as day. There’s no questioning the circumstances, no way for the person to twist the story or downplay it, or convince you it’s not what you think. It makes dumping them easier than making a sandwich.”

  “As well as putting him out of commission?” Tyler raises an amused eyebrow.