Breath Of Life

“Maybe a little.”

“Dude, you got the ultimate in. You saved my life.”

He snickers. “Really?”

I playfully punch his shoulder. “Shut up, corny or not it’s true. They’ve wanted to meet you long before this. I kept them at bay. My family is ... a lot.”

“You don’t say.” He widens his eyes, and I shove him playfully as we head up the walkway toward the two-story candy home where I grew up. The colorful flower beds and artistic sculptures carefully placed around the perfectly manicured lawn are the perfect representation of my parents. Organization with a creative flair. The door opens before we can knock and I laugh as my mother pulls Ollie into a huge hug. His eyes nearly bug out of his head with shock.

“Did I forget to mention we’re huggers?” I ask.

My father chuckles. “You set that boy up, didn’t you, sugarplum?”

“Maybe a little bit.” I walk around them and hug my Dad. “Hi, Daddy.”

My mother moves back, and I hug her as my father shakes Ollie’s hand.

“I want to thank you for what you did for our daughter.”

“I did what anyone would do, sir,” Ollie says.

“Call me Peter, son.”

“Let him in. Others want to meet him, too,” Riley calls.

I sigh as we move into the house. And the insanity begins.

I close the door behind me and watch, amused, as he’s accosted and grilled by Riley. Calling my sister overprotective is like calling turquoise a little blue. After the mess that was me and my ex, I can’t blame her. I spent nearly six years putting up with that loser, and I hid the worst of his behavior from everyone because I was embarrassed and young. I thought things would get better, and maybe this was what it meant to be in a committed relationship. It was when he made like he was going to hit me I snapped out of it less than eight months before I slated marriage. I’m chilled to the bone imagining what the hell being wed to a man like him would’ve been like.

“Why don’t we head out back? Dad’s been working on barbecue all day.”

“Oh, did you smoke some brisket, Daddy?” I ask as my mouth begins to water.

“You know I did. And your mom made her potato salad.”

“Hey, I made baked beans and Spanish corn,” Riley said.

“Can we skip talking and move to eating?” I ask only half joking.

“What? No? We have the yard games set out.”

“Wait, yard games?”

I roll my eyes. Why did you have to ask that?

“Yes, we have an old set of lawn darts, Yahtzee, and Jenga. I decorate those pieces myself.”

“What? That’s awesome.” His exclamation makes me laugh.

“Don’t forget about the corn hole,” Dad adds.

Ollie glances over his shoulder at me, and I laugh. He’s like a small child right now.

“Go.” I make a shooing gesture, and he moves to the other side of the backyard with my mom and dad.

“You didn’t tell me how sexy he was,” Riley says, punching my arm once the three of them are out of range.

I laugh. “Ouch. He’s pretty good looking, isn’t he?”