All I Want

by Natalie Ann

  “Different in that I’ll be pretty ticked off if anyone isn’t on their best behavior.” Since he very rarely lost his temper or showed any signs of anger, he figured his mother would get the hint.

  “Okay. I’ll let you go then. I know you’re busy.”

  She didn’t make a comment on his last statement and now she was rushing to get off the phone. Great. “Going to call Anna right now, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am.”

  He knew his mother well. “Going to warn her to behave herself?”

  “What? Oh yeah, sure. I’ll make sure she does.”

  “Then you’re going to call Kristy and Melissa, right?” he said, laughing to himself. He wasn’t stupid; she wasn’t calling to tell them to behave. She was calling to tell them how excited she was he was bringing someone home.

  “Absolutely. Have a good afternoon. Bye, Sean,” she said, then hung up before he could say another word.

  He wasn’t sure if Carly would want to spend the holiday away from her mother. As much as he saw the tension between the three of them, he knew they were close. He hoped he could convince her, but if she didn’t want to, he would understand too. And then he would try to hide the hurt.

  Go Through That

  “Are you nervous?” Brynn asked the weekend before Thanksgiving.

  “Yeah. I mean this is a big deal, right? Not just meeting his parents, but his entire family. I’m going to be so outnumbered.”

  “You’ll do just fine. You’re good with crowds.”

  “Not with adults. With kids, yes,” Carly corrected.

  “There will be plenty of kids there, so you have that buffer too. Did you say there were nine of them?”

  “Yes, all ages. I think Sean said their ages range from three to seventeen. His sisters are pretty close in age, the three of them born in five years, but the youngest is still seven years older than Sean.”

  “You know quite a bit about them, then?” Brynn asked.

  “Bits and pieces. He talks about his family often. I know everyone’s names at least. Now I can put a face to the names.” Well, that wasn’t true. She’d studied the pictures on Sean’s wall enough that she knew everyone’s name and face, as long as they hadn’t changed too much from when the picture was taken.

  “Then you at least have that covered.”

  “What’s wrong?” Carly asked, noticing how pale Brynn had just gotten. She’d been awfully quiet, too.

  “Nothing, why?”

  “You don’t look well. Are you coming down with something?”

  “I don’t think so. I hope not. I want to see the baby tonight.”

  Brynn had texted her that Sophia had gone into labor yesterday and delivered last night. A healthy baby boy named Ian Philip. “How are Sophia and Ian doing?”

  “They’re doing well. They were both sleeping when we finally could get in to see them last night. Sophia still looked beautiful, but she was exhausted. Phil looked pretty rattled over it all. I overheard him saying to Alec that he didn’t think he was going to be able to make it listening to her yelling and seeing her in pain.”

  “Childbirth is painful,” Carly said.

  “And you know that firsthand,” Brynn said, smiling.

  “Of course not.” But she wanted to. “Want to know something funny?”

  “Sure, make me laugh,” Brynn replied.

  Carly swatted her hand at Brynn. “Seriously. This morning when I got out of the shower there were two texts waiting for me. One from you and one from Sean, both telling me about Ian’s birth. He gave me more details than you did.”

  “What do you mean? I said his name and weight,” Brynn argued.

  “But Sean gave his time of birth.”

  “Why did you need to know that?” Brynn said, looking all indignant.

  “Because that is normally what people ask—name, weight and time of birth.”

  “Well, Sean is an old pro at it since he’s been through it nine times. Cut me some slack, it was my first birth announcement.”

  “There, again, you just paled,” Carly said, pointing her finger. “Are you pregnant?”

  “What? Where did that come from?”

  “Seriously, Brynn, are you? Do you even know?”

  Brynn’s eyes filled. “I think I am, but I haven’t said anything to anyone, not even Alec. I’m just a few days late, but I feel it, you know?”

  “No, I don’t know.” But Carly said it with a smile, got up and walked over to hug Brynn where she was sitting on the stool in Carly’s kitchen. Carly thought it was odd Brynn asked if she could stop over this morning and if Sean was around. Once Sean had left an hour ago, Brynn didn’t hesitate to make her way over. “Are you happy about it?”

  “Of course I am, but I’m scared. My God, Carly, I could hear women screaming in the birthing unit last night. I don’t want to go through that. I remember when Kaitlin had the twins and how scared everyone was when she got rushed into surgery. But it didn’t seem to bother me like it did last night with Sophia.”

  “That’s because you didn’t know everyone that well back then. You weren’t as vested as you are now. But now you see yourself there, in their shoes and in their place, right?”

  “Yeah, I do. Sophia’s mom is flying in today; so is her father. They were both upset they missed it, but Sophia went into labor earlier than they thought.”

  “And you’re thinking how your mom is going to miss this?” Carly should have realized that was part of this.

  “I am. It’s not fair.” Brynn wiped her eyes with her knuckles. “I’m emotional, just ignore me.”

  “Because you’re pregnant. I know you are. Go buy a test, please. Go do it right now. I’ll keep it a secret, I promise.”

  “I don’t know. What if I’m not?”

  “You are, because now you’re wishy-washy, and you are never wishy-washy. Go do it.”

  “Can you go buy it for me?”

  “Nope. My luck someone would see me and recognize me. No way am I going to be seen buying a pregnancy test. Sorry, you’re on your own.”

  “I don’t suppose you have one here in the house?” Brynn asked, joking.

  “If I did, I would have offered it, but you know better than that.”

  “Fine, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Carly watched Brynn walk out the door. She was happy for Brynn, she truly was. Now she was going to really be Aunt Carly, and not just to a dog, because she was positive Brynn was pregnant.

  As much as she wished it were her, she wasn’t jealous in the least. Mainly because she knew that she and Sean were getting there. She could see it—she wasn’t overthinking things, she wasn’t jumping the gun and she wasn’t wishing on stars. She just knew that her time was finally coming. She just didn’t know when.

  When Brynn returned fifteen minutes later, Carly could see the excitement on her face now. “What am I supposed to do, just pee on the stick?”

  “You didn’t read it,” Carly said.

  “No,” Brynn said sheepishly, “I just want to go do it.”

  “Give me the box. Let’s go.” Carly grabbed the box and walked up the stairs to the bathroom with Brynn following while she opened it and took out the stick. “Here, go do your thing. Then we need to wait.”

  When Brynn was done, she walked into Carly’s bedroom where Carly was waiting on the side of her bed. “Talk to me while we wait. Distract me.”

  A distraction was good. They both needed one. “Did you know Sean’s family has Thanksgiving dinner at their pub?”

  “Really? Is it open to the public?”

  “No. The family is so big, that no one has a house big enough. I guess years ago they decided to eat at the pub. He said it’s a blast, plenty of room, and the kids have all sorts of things to do between pool, video games in the back, and darts. There are plenty of TVs and they can watch all different things, and everyone is happy there.”

  “That sounds like a lot of fun really. But I think my Thanksgiving is go
ing to be bigger than yours,” Brynn boasted.

  “How’s that? There are fewer kids than Sean’s family.”

  “But more adults. Isabel and Michele Mathews, Ryan’s mother, decided to do the holiday jointly this year. It’s going to be at Kaitlin and Ryan’s house since it’s massive.”

  “Your house is pretty big,” Carly said.

  “Nothing like Ryan’s, trust me. He can fit us all and then some. Anyway, it’s Kaitlin, Ryan, Phil, Sophia, Alec, me, Ben, Presley, Alec’s parents, Ryan’s parents, Lucas, Brooke, Mac, Beth, all the kids.” Brynn stopped counting on her fingers, then waited while she thought. “Oh, my father, Drew, and probably Sophia’s parents, which is four more, since they are both remarried too. Maybe they won’t stay that long. It’s still four days away.”

  “That is a lot.”

  “I lost count. I don’t know. More than you though, right? You have close to twenty; I think it’s close to thirty at ours. Either way, I’m just glad I’m not doing anything for it.”

  “I offered to bring a dessert, or something, but Sean said his mother refused. She didn’t want me to bring or do anything. Since it’s at the pub, it’s not like I can even bring wine. I offered that too and Sean laughed at me.”

  “I’m sure you will think of something, Carly. You always do, you little Suzy Homemaker.”

  “I’ve got a few ideas.” Carly stopped and looked at her watch. “Time’s up. Go look.”

  “I can’t,” Brynn said. “I can’t get my legs to move. You go do it.”

  “You want me to be the first to know?” she asked.

  “You will be anyway.”

  “Not really, you would be if you looked at it,” Carly insisted.

  “I can’t. If I can’t have my mom here with me, I’d rather it be you, any day. Please, go look for me.”

  Carly reached over and hugged Brynn on the bed next to her, then stood up and walked out of the room. She wasn’t nervous about looking; she knew Brynn was pregnant. She felt it deep down and didn’t need the stick to confirm it in her mind.

  Looking at it quickly, she noted the results and walked back to the bedroom with tears in her eyes. “Tell Droopy he is going to have a sibling soon.”

  Cherished

  “You’re awfully quiet over there,” Sean said on the drive to his parents’ house Wednesday morning. Since Carly didn’t have school, he felt it was easier to leave the day before, spend the night and relax before he subjected her to the chaos of his family.

  “Just thinking.”

  “Nervous?” As quickly as she said yes to his invitation to Boston, he’d seen the apprehension behind her eyes. First, because he knew it was the first holiday she’d spent away from her own family. And second, his family was a lot to take in all at once. He’d tried to fill her in little by little over the last few months and he knew she had a good memory, but it was one thing to hear about everyone and another to come face-to-face with them.

  “Just a little. It’s more people than I’m used to at once. But as Brynn so nicely pointed out, it’s less than the group she is with today.”

  “We could have gone there if you wanted.” He never would have, his mother would have skinned him alive first, but Isabel had come in and personally invited him like she did every year.

  “That’s okay. I’m sure it’s going to be crazy there too. Even though I know everyone now, that’s for family. I’m not their family.”

  “You are more than you think.” It was the truth. He knew how that group was. He’d been invited to several summer parties in the past, not to mention holidays. He’d attended a few parties and everyone made him feel welcome, but he didn’t overextend himself. Like Carly said, they were family.

  “I guess you’re right. Isabel made me feel so much a part of everything for Brynn and Alec’s wedding.”

  “Besides, I’m sure everyone is going to be fawning over the new baby. Phil is on cloud nine, walking around all smiles and in a dreamlike state. It’s kind of funny, but nice to see too.”

  “Phil went to work this week?” she asked, stunned.

  “No, not really. He stopped in on Tuesday to get his laptop. I’m sure he will be doing some work from home when Sophia and Ian are resting, but he will stay with them for at least the week. Then again, with all his in-laws still in town, he might go to work on Friday when no one is there.”

  “Oh, so Sophia’s parents are still in town? Brynn wasn’t sure how long they were staying.”

  Sean said, “I heard Alec telling Brynn that one won’t leave until the other does. Something about always trying to one-up each other, so they will probably leave the same time. Sophia seems to be enjoying the company. Her mother and her husband are staying at Sophia’s house, but her father and his wife are in a hotel.”

  “They didn’t have enough room? I thought everyone had a big house in their family.”

  “Plenty of room, but not enough patience, I’m sure. Anyway, enough talk about them. What did your mother and grandmother decide to do today?” He was still a little bothered that he was taking Carly from them, but he wasn’t ready to offer for them to make the trip either. He wasn’t sure he could handle the car ride there, not with the bickering Trisha and Theresa seemed to do nonstop.

  “They decided to go out to eat actually. I normally cook, and rather than the two of them cooking that big meal, they made reservations out. I think they will like it.”

  “You cooked Thanksgiving? You never said that.” Now he really felt bad. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she did, but not only was he taking her away from her family, but also taking the person who hosted their dinner.

  “It’s fine, really it is, Sean.” She reached over and patted his hand. “Your face is priceless right now. Trust me, they won’t care. Maybe it will do them good to go out and spend a holiday without me.”

  He nodded. He wasn’t sure what else to say, so he changed the subject. “When did you find time to make everything?”

  He’d been shocked when he picked her up two hours ago and there was a big cooler by the door. When he asked what was in it, she’d said, “Treats for your family.”

  “What do you mean by treats?” He bent down and opened the cooler and saw easily two dozen gourmet coated apples with sticks poking out and little turkey tags on each explaining what was on each apple. Then he opened another box next to the apples and saw several layers of caramel and candy coated pretzel rods. “My father is going to be in heaven; he has such a sweet tooth.”

  “Really?” she asked, charmed. “I’m happy. I had to bring something and I thought these would travel well, and they last a long time if stored in the refrigerator. There are enough apples for everyone plus a few extra, and a few dozen of the pretzel rods.”

  He’d shaken his head at her. He shouldn’t have been surprised she went out of her way to bring something. “I told you that you didn’t need to make anything.”

  “I know, but it’s not polite to show up empty-handed.”

  “When did you find time to make all the apples and pretzels?”

  “Oh. I did the apples on Sunday afternoon and the pretzels Monday night. It’s not really that hard, just a little time consuming.”

  “So did you leave any at home for me?” he asked. He had a sweet tooth too, and she knew that by now.

  “What do you think?” She was batting her eyelashes at him, looking much more playful than moments ago and he was glad he’d changed the subject.

  “You’re so good to me, Ms. Springfield.”

  “Yes, I am, and don’t you forget it. I even made enough for you to share with the office next week.”

  He’d never forget it. She wasn’t just good to him, she was good for him. Great for him. Perfect.

  Everything in this world that he ever wanted was right there staring at him. Everything he’d never known he needed was holding his hand just now, her eyes shining, gazing at him.

  The sensations rushing through him, thousands—no millions—all at o
nce, flooding him and every nerve ending he had. It didn’t matter, he didn’t care if he sounded foolish or sentimental just now, but he had to say it, he had to get it off his chest. “You were born to be cherished, though I suspect you haven’t been enough in your life. I’m going to make up for it, because you’re mine and always will be. I just never realized it until now.”

  ***

  Cherished. No, she never felt that before in her life. Ever.

  “You’re mine,” he’d said. And though those words could be taken on a serious note, or taken as controlling, she didn’t see that. Didn’t feel that at all. She wasn’t alarmed he’d said it. She wasn’t nervous or anxious like she might have felt if those words were spoken by someone else. She was engulfed with emotions so great she wanted to cry.

  “I’m sorry,” he rushed out to say. “Too much, too soon?”

  “What?” she asked, looking at his face and seeing his distress.

  “I’m moving too fast. You can tell me. Don’t be afraid. I guess I just had a moment. Must be the anticipation about being around my family. My sensitive emotions are coming through,” he rushed out to say, smiling at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  “Why do you say that? You aren’t going too fast.”

  “You’re crying. I made you cry,” he said cringing now.

  She felt a tear slip down her cheek. Crap. She didn’t think she was. “Sean. What you just said. It’s all true. I’ve never been cherished before. My life, my childhood, it’s nothing I want to talk about, or even remember. Sometime, maybe I’ll tell you, but not now. So no, I’ve never been cherished before, not like what you mean, and if I’m crying, it’s because I’m happy.”

  “Really? You aren’t just saying that?”

  “Really. I’m happy. I know Brynn has said things to you before about me being a homebody. I know she told you I was tender, and I can imagine the rest she has said. I’m simple at the heart of things. I want a simple life with a man and a family. All I want—no all I need—is someone to love me. I don’t need big houses, or grand parties and huge gifts, I just need you.”