He came over giving me a quick squeeze, which I caught Garrett giving him the evil eye over. “I wanted to, but they decided to fly to my sister’s and there’s not enough room for everyone. Plus, I couldn’t pass up Sarah’s invitation to spend time with my two favorite friends.”
Grace, Jonathan, Donny, and my parents arrived next. But what surprised me was that Grace’s parents were with them, having flown down with mine to surprise Grace. So this must be the reason why Jonathan’s upset about not getting to spend time with Grace. When I turned from the stove to greet them, my former roommate, Hannah, jumped out from behind everyone, yelling, “Surprise, girlfriend!”
I nearly dropped the ladle for the pancake mix on the floor. Olivia was quick to grab it as she scurried me away from the stove so I could hug everyone. I was emotional, crying all over the place at all the warm and friendly faces.
I was excited to see Hannah, but had a bit of trepidation in regards to Aunt Lisa and Uncle David, my aunt in particular. She would always put in some kind of snarky remark about me being either under or overweight. I could never please the woman.
I wasn’t sure if introductions had already been made at the airport or not, and there were so many that I decided to get each person’s attention. “Everyone, in case you haven’t had introductions yet,” I hugged my parents as I spoke up, “these are my parents, Sylvia and Thomas Hart, along with Grace’s parents, David and Lisa Hart, and my college roommate, Hannah Prescott.”
The chaos that Thanksgiving is known for ensued. Hands were flying this way and that, as handshakes, hugs, kissed cheeks, and so on were exchanged. Olivia passed around coffee and Harris took my family on a tour of the beach house.
Deidre came downstairs and joined Olivia at the stove. I tried to get her to rest and enjoy a day off from cooking, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“I’m fine, Laurel. Your family is here now; go enjoy being with them and catching up.” She gave me a hug and scooted me toward where everyone was gathered in the family room.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Hannah came over and held me at arm’s length, examining me up and down. “You look good, Laurel. Garrett obviously does wonders for you, hon. Though watch out, you’re here at his place, engaged, barefoot, and in the kitchen—next thing you know, he’ll have you knocked up.”
Grace had been sipping on some orange juice, when she started coughing, spraying OJ out her nose and mouth. I just looked at Garrett and then in Grace’s direction and pleaded for them not to say anything.
It seemed that everyone looked to us, expecting we had some kind of big news to share. I finally spoke up and broke the spell. “What’s everyone looking at me for? Haven’t you ever seen a woman in love?”
Our secret would need to come out soon, because I was already starting to show; hopefully to everyone else, it just looked like I had gained a little weight. I just prayed it could stay hidden a little while longer. I was thankful that today was the first (of I hope many) morning where I didn’t wake with morning sickness. I took my medicine, as instructed, in hopes of keeping the nausea at bay for the entire time my family was here.
“You’re definitely in love, hon, and I can’t blame you with how good looking your man is. But, there’s something different about you. I just can’t put my finger on it.” Hannah stepped back and looked at me again, her hands on her hips, her obsidian hair falling round her shoulders as she leaned her head this way and that. Finally, a small smile escaped her lips. “I’ll figure it out eventually.”
I pulled Hannah over to the side while everyone else chatted. “So why aren’t you spending Thanksgiving with your family?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“I was sick of the ski scene. Mom and Dad went on another trip to the Alps for Thanksgiving. I decided not to cater to their whim and came here instead.” I looked at her a little weird; obviously most of us would rather be in the Alps. “Don’t get me wrong,” she continued, “I love my family, I just didn’t want to spend my entire Thanksgiving listening to my father complain about my life and how it’s going nowhere while my mom relies on retail therapy. I’d much rather spend it with people who are happy. Like you guys.”
I was a bit puzzled by the statement she made about her father. “Why’s your dad unhappy about your job and life? Aren’t you doing okay?” Everyone had quieted down and was listening in on our conversation; I felt terrible about airing Hannah’s dirty laundry in public.
She shook her head and I noticed a small tear escaping. “I love what my job is about, just not the company or boss I work for.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “My boss is a total sexist pig. He thinks all I’m good for is getting him coffee. I have several designs that can be used in numerous factories throughout the U.S. and overseas, but he’s shot down every last one of them, citing I’m only good enough to be his personal secretary.” She started pacing the floor. “Can you see me as secretary?”
I shook my head, wondering why she was getting such resistance. She was smart as could be and had a mouth to defend herself, so why wasn’t she using it?
“I thought I knew what I was doing, that my designs were great, but all he does is chuck them in the trash. I’ve spent every waking moment working on my designs!” She walked all the way over to the couch, before turning to me and punching a pillow. “You know what’s worse? He stole my f—ing designs and got a promotion! That bastard!” This time she really laid into the pillow with a hard blow.
“Do you date and sign your designs?” Garrett asked. “And do you have the originals?”
“Yeah, why?” She looked perplexed, wondering what he was getting at. “I’m not stupid enough to give him my originals.”
“I’ll call one of my attorneys who works with fraud cases tomorrow. Maybe he can look into it and see if you have a case against your boss. In the meantime, I wanted to discuss an idea with you and Laurel’s dad regarding environmental design within my companies. We try to do our best to reduce emissions and waste, but I’m sure we could improve on what we’re doing. We currently don’t have a department or engineers for this type of thing, so I’d have to refer to someone with a lot of knowledge in the area and hire new talent that’s fresh and full of ideas. But why go looking for people when I know of two that are right here in this room?”
“I appreciate you thinking of me, Garrett,” my dad was quick to argue, “but I can’t just up and quit my job and relocate down here. What about the moving expenses, my current job, and my 401k? I want to retire in five to ten years, or less.”
“Plus, I can’t leave my nursing job,” my mother chimed in. “I have the same concerns about moving. Maybe we can entertain the idea when we reach retirement.”
Donny’s face was full of hope, and I know mine was too, only to have them dashed again. We were enjoying the new honest and open communication with our parents and had started missing them being so far away in Ohio. We knew the only reason they stayed there was to finish up their jobs. They’d already made mention of a desire to move to the Central Florida area so they could be closer to us, but it was still a plan five or ten years down the road.
I felt somewhat envious of Grace. She didn’t have to worry about her parents being elsewhere. Uncle David and Aunt Lisa had just retired several months ago and were already looking at homes in the area so they could move down and be closer to their only child.
“Mr. Hart?” Garrett started. I knew he would be quick to negate my father’s concerns.
My father hated being called that; he said it always reminded him of his father. “Please, Garrett, call me Thomas, and my wife is Sylvia.”
“Thomas, I’d like to ease your concerns. My company would pay for relocation expenses; we do with all of our employees. Plus, according to Laurel, you haven’t been happy with your work lately, something about no raises in a while, with increased hours and less matching on your retirement plan?”
I watched as my father nodded his head. “That’s true. It
used to be an exciting job, with excellent benefits. Now it’s just a means to pass time until I can retire. They keep asking us to cut corners and focus on the bottom dollar just to make a profit, not really caring about the quality of the product and whether or not it will help the environment.”
“I can assure you,” Garrett said with a grin, “that our company is upbeat and family oriented. We’re focused on making a difference and want to improve wherever we can and share that technology with the rest of the world. Plus, our financial advisors have been able to double and triple some of the 401k plans, pending the person’s investment aggressiveness. And we match half of what you invest into your retirement fund.”
My dad’s eyes shot to my mother’s, his face definitely conveying a message to her. I didn’t think she was completely resistant to the idea, but not for it either, only giving a sideways motion with her head, which was her sign for, “We’ll discuss this later.”
“Sylvia?” Harris spoke up.
My mom turned his direction. “Yes, Harris?”
“Are you happy with your employer and your work?” he asked.
She hesitated for more than a minute before finally responding. “Truthfully, no, I’m not. They’ve made so many cuts to the hospital that we’re short staffed on the floors. I’m always having people call in sick with no time to replace their shift, so I’m working more than I ever have and getting nothing more. Since I’m salaried, they’re getting away with me working 70 hour weeks.”
Harris smiled knowingly. “You wouldn’t have to work that hard here. One of my co-workers just lost his head nurse to early retirement so she could travel around the world with her husband. He needs a head nurse who’ll keep him in line, make sure his hospital schedule is taken care of, and head up the nursing department on that floor of the hospital. It’s the cardiology department. Would you be interested?”
My mom’s eyes were shining bright and a smile spread across her face. “That sounds wonderful, but would he be okay with me wanting to retire in five years or so?”
Harris grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “He wants to do the same thing himself in about that time frame, so he’d have no problem with it. Plus, the hospital pays its employees quite well. They offer full benefits, plus match the donations to a person’s retirement fund by $0.40 on the dollar.”
My parents’ hands linked up and I saw them smile together. I couldn’t help sneaking a peek at Donny, who gave me a thumbs up.
“I don’t know about Sylvia, but I have some questions, though I’d like to postpone them until after breakfast.” He took a deep breath in. “That food smells amazing and I’m starting to lose the ability to think. My stomach demands that it be fed.”
Everyone laughed at my dad’s sense of humor and his timing. I had to admit the smells were starting to get to me too and I watched in wonder as everyone raced towards the table, elbowing each other out of the way, trying to get their chance at the pancakes and other goodies. I was grateful that Olivia and Deidre had already prepared Garrett and I some plates, so we could just relax for a change and enjoy the spectacle before us.
I leaned over to Garrett and whispered, “You weren’t kidding when you said your family goes all out. I’ve never seen such a large spread just for breakfast or seen such commotion just to get to the food.”
I’d never really enjoyed the holidays. It just reminded me of all the fun times I’d lost with my real family. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Waters clan as my own family, but I always wondered what my parents’ and Aunt Lydia’s traditions were, because I was too young to remember any of them.
I always gave my employees extra days off to enjoy time with their families and loved ones, but spent my time between the Waters family and work, trying not to focus too much on the past.
For the first time, my heart actually opened up and I found myself laughing with everyone, listening in on stories as friends and family caught up with one another. My parents instantly got along with both Laurel’s and Grace’s parents; it was as though they’d known each other their whole lives. I was in awe how my life was changing, for the better, with my sweet Laurel in it.
I felt the warmth of her arms wrap around my waist and her face lean into my back. “You seem lost in thought. Is everything okay, honey?”
I pulled her around so I could give her a proper hug and kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s nearly perfect. I’m just thinking how happy I am.”
She pulled back slightly, her brows furrowed. “Why only nearly perfect?”
“To be perfect, I would already be married to you, the Petersons wouldn’t be a thorn in our sides, and everyone would know our little secret,” I whispered as I smiled and planted a loving kiss on her lips.
She deepened the kiss, opening to me so I could explore her mouth. We didn’t come up for air until we heard a few deep throated grumbles.
“That’s enough, you two,” my father admonished, “we do have company here.”
We both laughed and blushed at the audience we’d managed to attract. When they got back to their conversation, Laurel leaned into my ear, whispering, “I like your idea of perfect,” as she licked the outer rim of my ear, sending desire coursing through every portion of my soul.
Breakfast was a huge hit with everyone. Everyone ate too much to even consider the idea of lunch, so we opted to talk some more and play volleyball on the beach. Jonathan and I played against Donny and Freddie. The winners of that match played against Hannah and Grace. To our surprise, even my parents got into a game of two on two with Laurel’s parents, with the winner playing Grace’s. They tried talking Laurel into playing, but we both claimed she hadn’t been sleeping well, so she should bow out for now.
Deidre and Dillon stayed behind to let the caterers in to set up for dinner. We’d be eating an early dinner since we had a late breakfast. Mom spared no expense and creativity with the menu. She wasn’t sure who liked what so she’d ordered turkey, ham, and prime rib to suit all our taste buds, with every trimming you could think of.
I guess we were too busy to notice the time, with all the fun we were having enjoying the volleyball games, Dillon arrived before we knew it to let us know that dinner would be served in about an hour.
We headed for the house to wash up for dinner. As soon as we hit the doors, all the men groaned in appreciation of the smells coming off the kitchen area. The women quickly ran over and checked everything out, oohing and aahing over each dish.
I’d been against having a huge dining table installed in the beach house, but was thankful for Sarah’s insistence. Between that and the counter at the kitchen bar, we had just enough places to sit.
The caterers brought out a list of items available and brought us a plate made up of our individual selections, which was just plain amazing.
My father got everyone’s attention with a toast. “Before we eat, I’d like to say a few words. I would like to say how nice it is to have all of our children home and together for the holidays. Thanksgiving has always been close to our family’s heart because we have a lot to be thankful for, especially this year. We have two beautiful women who have brought joy to both of our sons’ lives, a daughter who has found someone wonderful to spend time with, and our youngest, Tiffany, will be graduating with a degree in art at the end of spring and coming back home permanently, and extended families and friends who we have so much in common with. Our lives have been truly blessed this year and we are sincerely thankful. May it continue to be that way for the years to come.”
I couldn’t argue with the old man on that one. It was one of his finest toasts ever making me realize, despite the chaos in our lives, just how grateful I was to have Laurel and our families in mine.
The dinner was done and those who weren’t in a tryptophan coma decided to break out some board games and play Pictionary. It was the girls against the guys and the gals were creaming us with their talented drawing skills. Of course it didn’t help us having my artist sister on their
team.
After several hours of games, more talk, coffee, hot tea, and dessert, we all decided to call it a night, promising to meet back here the next day to plan some adventures. Jonathan and Grace grabbed their bags and headed for one of the bedrooms upstairs, while the rest drove back to the hotel for the night.
“I thought we had the house to ourselves, with exception of security and Deidre?” Laurel asked when everyone was gone.
I lifted her up in my arms and carried her upstairs to our bedroom. “We weren’t expecting Grace’s parents to fly in and the hotel is booked solid for the weekend, so they’re giving up their room to her parents and staying here. Last night Grace had to sleep on the sofa in their room, while Jonathan slept on the sofa in my parents’ room. I knew of all the options, you’d like this one better than having our parents here.”
She smiled. “That’s true. I love my cousin as though she were my sister.” She gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. “Thank you, Garrett, for being so generous and looking out for the well-being of my family.”
“You know, love, they’re going to be my family soon, too. As soon as I can get you to say ‘I do.’ Any thoughts on when we can move forward on the wedding, since you’re already starting to show a bit?”
Her good sense of humor faded quickly, probably remembering one of the remarks made by Grace’s mom during dinner. “No wonder you have a tiny muffin top now, with all the rich and decadent food you’re eating lately.” I’d almost given her a piece of my mind, but Laurel’s hand squeezed my knee under the table, indicating she was fine with things and to let it go. She’d already warned me that out of everyone, Aunt Lisa would be the one to make a remark about something.
“What’s wrong, love?”
“Will you still love me when I get all fat and ugly with our twins?”
I’d just walked us through the door of our bedroom and kicked it closed with my foot. I shifted her in my arms, so her legs were wrapped around my waist, and pushed her up against the back of the door, devouring her mouth with my lips and tongue. “Does this tell you how much I love you?”
Learning to Love Again Page 9