“You can touch it,” I say to her, and she looks at Michael, who just smirks.
“I touched it last night,” he gloats, puffing out his chest as I shake my head. Alex puts her hands on my belly and leans down.
“Hey, little one, it’s your favorite aunt,” she coos, and I look around to see if Julia is anywhere near to hear her. “I’m going to give you all the candy.”
“That’s enough,” Michael says when the trunk slides open, and I get my answer about what kind of father he is going to be, pretty much just like Max.
“You look so pretty,” Allison says when she comes around as she gives me a hug. She’s wearing her own black jeans and a soft pink long-sleeved shirt with a sash around her throat tied in a knot. She walks over to the trunk and grabs the biggest flower arrangement I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, my,” I say, and Alex just shakes her head.
“There is more,” she says, walking to the trunk as she grabs another flower arrangement in one arm, holding it sideways, and all I can do is stare at how big it is. In her other hand, she carries a big brown bag.
“What in the world?” I ask, and she just shrugs.
“This is them doing things normally,” she says as she waits for her father, who carries three brown boxes.
“Michael,” I say his name when he closes the trunk, and he’s holding one brown bag in his hand. He looks over at me.
“I know,” he says, coming next to me. “But you have to pick your battles. This is one I choose to lose.”
“Do I want to know what is in the bags?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Dessert,” he shares, looking down at the bag he has. “We couldn’t get one cake like a normal family,” he says, looking over at his mother. “So we took one of everything.”
I close my eyes. “I’m afraid to ask about the flowers,” I say, looking at the three bouquets in front of me. “You ready?” I ask, and again, he shakes his head. I slip my hand into his to give a united front. “It’s going to be fine.” Walking with him to the front door of the house is nerve-racking for me, so I can’t even imagine what Michael is going through. “Here we go,” I say, opening the front door and walking in. The smell of roast hits my nose right away. I walk into the living room right off the front door, and my mother comes around the corner.
“Oh my goodness,” she says when she sees them with all the gifts in their hands. She is dressed in jeans and a sweater. She looks at me first, and I can see she has tears in her eyes. “Hi,” she greets, coming to me and kissing my cheek. “And you must be Michael,” she adds, giving him a soft smile as he nods his head.
He hands her the brown bag in his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says nervously to her. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“Mom, this is Allison and Max,” I introduce, pointing at them. “And Michael’s sister, Alex.” Who just smiles at her.
I’m about to say something else when I hear footsteps behind my mother, and my sister comes in. She smiles as soon as she sees us, and then her eyes go big. She scans the room, and then her eyes go to Max’s, and I can see tears welling in her eyes.
“Oh my goodness,” Allison says when she sees Julia wipe away a tear. Her eyes are looking down and then looking back up at Max.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “It’s silly. Please ignore me.” She turns her head.
“Welcome to our home, I’m Sharon.” She walks over to Allison and holds out her hand.
“Thank you so much for having us,” Allison replies, holding out her hand to shake my mother’s. “You have a lovely home.”
Both of them are blinking away tears. “Can I help with any of these bags or flowers?” my mother asks as she walks over to Alex.
“Let me help,” Julia offers as she walks over to Max, and she just stares at him.
“This moment,” she says, and I look over at Michael, who puts his hand around my shoulder and pulls me close as I wipe away my own tear.
“What am I missing?” Max asks and looks over at me.
“Their dad used to watch every single hockey game when he was alive,” my mother says, and she looks at Julia. “You were his favorite, and they used to watch you two together.”
“Oh my God,” Allison says, walking over to Max. “Put down the boxes,” she tells him, and he looks around for someplace to put down the boxes. He doesn’t move. Instead, he bends and puts them on the floor next to the couch.