“I’m not moving because I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk straight if I do,” Sabrina winces. “I think I might need a strong coffee if someone wouldn’t mind making me one.”
Lily laughs. “I’ll get it.” She turns to the man “Ramon go and say hi to Michael’s girlfriend, Brooke.”
“So you’re the woman Rachel told us about?” He joins Sabrina and I at the table.
“I haven’t met Rachel yet,” I offer feeling confused as to why she’d be mentioning me.
He laughs. “News travels fast in this family. I wouldn’t worry about it.” He glances toward the front of the house. “The guys through there?”
“Yes,” Sabrina slumps forward in her chair. “Why do you guys always let me drink your mother’s cocktails?”
“Probably because she knows you’ll drink them without complaining,” Ramon adds.
“Yes, but she isn’t even here to see me right now.”
“Here,” Lily places a cup in front of her, “drink that and you’ll feel better.” She puts her arm around Ramon’s shoulders and he wraps one around her waist. She smiles and adds, “Ramon is Paige and Rachel’s father.”
“And before everything gets confusing, I’ll tell you that my husband is Noah. Paige and Rachel were adopted a long time ago.”
I wasn’t expecting that, but I smile to put him at ease and to show that it doesn’t bother me, “I’m happy for you both, and you were so lucky adopting. I have a friend or more like a work colleague whose gay. He and his husband have been trying to adopt. Last time I spoke to him, they were thinking about paying a surrogate…I hope they eventually get as lucky as you did.”
Ramon watches me with an unreadable expression on his face while Lily and Sabrina watch me with delight.
“Michael!” Sabrina mumbles.
“Aunt Sabrina!” He moves and gives her a kiss on the cheek before he frowns. “Have you been drinking?”
She groans and drops her head to the table. “I never ever drink during the day. Hell, I might have one glass of wine in a two week period, and then I come here and Lily mentions your grandmother’s cocktail and I’m drunk after half a glass.”
Michael pats her on the back and hollers, “Uncle Lucien, Aunt Sabrina’s drunk.”
She gasps. “You tickle-tackle.”
Laughing, he pats Ramon on the back before he lifts me out of the chair, sits on it, and then places me on his lap.
“How did Sabrina get drunk?” Lucien asks, chuckling as he crouches besides his wife's chair.
Lily’s husband pulls her away from Ramon and cups her face. “What have you been up to wife?”
“Grandma’s cocktails,” Michael drawls, snickering into my shoulder.
“They’ve also been showing me lots of baby pictures of you,” I add to the conversation.
“What?” He looks at his mom. “You promised.”
“I did, Aunt Sabrina didn’t.” Lily laughs. “Don’t worry honey, she left out the naked baby pictures.”
“She’s already seen him naked so what does that matter now?”
“Dad!” Michael hisses while I blush, burying my face into his neck, and then I start laughing.
“I’m sorry, Brooke, that was uncalled for,” Michael’s father apologizes.
“It’s okay, and I guess everyone in this room has seen Michael naked at some point in his life, so I guess we all have something in common.” I smirk.
Sabrina chokes on the coffee she was sipping and Michael lifts me to my feet. “I think we’re going to leave before anything else comes out of that mouth.”
“You’re not leaving yet. I made your favorite, chicken casserole and dumplings,” Lily wiggles her finger at Michael.