“Okay,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to beg her to meet them. I smirk and then look up at Addison, who nods at me as if she knows the struggle I’m going through.
In the two seconds I look at Addison, Avery loses the battle on the ice cream. When I look up, her hands are covered in melted ice cream, her chin has drips of it, and somehow, she even got it on her forehead. “Can I go on the slide?” she asks Addison, who grabs the cone from her and gets up to toss it in the bin.
“Let’s clean you up first,” she suggests, opening her purse and taking out a white plastic container.
She opens it and pulls out what looks like a tissue, but I finally get a look at it and see it’s a wet one.
She wipes her face off and then her hands before she kisses her nose. “One time on the slide, and then we go,” she tells her, and Avery nods at her before she runs off.
“Are you okay?” I ask Addison, who nods at me.
“I guess so,” she exhales. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to be or feel. My main concern is Avery.”
“My concern is both of you,” I tell her, and she is about to say something when Avery comes back.
“Did you see me?” she asks me, getting on the seat next to me. “I went the fastest.”
“I did,” I lie to her. “The fastest I’ve ever seen,” I tell her, and she nods at me.
“Let’s skedaddle,” Addison says, making me laugh.
“Skedaddle.” I roll my lips. “That’s a word I haven’t heard in a while.”
“Well, the last time I said let’s bounce,” Addison tells me as we start to walk to the restaurant,
“she thought I was going to bounce her head.”
I laugh as Avery slides her hand into Addison’s and mine. I don’t even have any words to say, I can only look down at our hands that are together. “What is the name of this street, Momma?” Avery asks her.
“Main Street,” she tells her quietly.
“I’ve never been to a town that had a Main Street before,” I add in, and they look at me like I have five heads. “Usually, I’m in big cities.” I look at Addison now. “Why did you choose this town?”
“Um, it seemed like a perfect place to raise her,” Addison replies as she swings Avery’s hand, making her giggle. “Plus, I didn’t know anyone here, so no one would bring up certain people.” She avoids saying her family. “It was a clean start for all of us.” I know it’s not the time and place, but I also have little patience. I also know it’s only a matter of time before I snap and either ask her about it or go behind her back and find out. I would rather not do the latter, but I also know I have to protect my family, which now includes her.
I look up and see my parents standing outside the restaurant. Talking to each other, my father picks up my mother’s hand that is in his and kisses her fingers. Her other hand holds a big bag and I cringe inwardly, not knowing what is inside. “Also, my uncles might come as well,” I mumble to her with no time to spare. She doesn’t have time to say anything. She just looks up at me like a deer in headlights.
“Here we go.”
addison
. . .
T he closer and closer we get to Stefano’s parents, the harder and faster my heart beats. The more my hand starts to sweat, the more my knees start to shake. “Here we go,” I think I hear him say, but the buzzing in my ears takes over.
“There they are.” I look up toward where the man’s voice is coming from and my feet literally feel like they weigh six thousand pounds. He looks over at us and he smiles a great big smile, and you know it’s genuine because his eyes light up. It’s Stefano’s dad, Markos, as he was introduced to me at the wedding. I didn’t know back then he was my daughter’s grandfather, which made it so much less awkward than it is now. He lets go of the woman’s hand, who I know is Vivienne, because she came to me at the wedding to let me know that she wasn’t drunk and asked if I could get her some sweet tea.
She said all of this in French until Zara came along to fill me in.
“Oh mon dieu,” she says in French, and I start to panic, not knowing what she said. What if they hate me? My head screams at me so loud I about have a panic attack in the middle of Main Street.
“Hello,” Markos says when we get close enough. The buzzing in my ears just get louder and louder, and my stomach lurches to my throat.
“Hi,” I say softly as Avery lets go of my hand, no doubt because I was squeezing it too tight.