Instead of saying anything, I put my hand over his on the stick shift. We shared a meaningful look full of understanding and support. Theo could count on me for anything. With just that look, I conveyed that.
The quiet car ride gave me an opportunity to think about my own family history. My father was an enigma to me. Always had been. Since my mother had told me very little about him, I wondered if she knew where he was or if she’d had any contact with him in the last nineteen years. It was such a touchy subject. We never had an actual conversation about him.
Theo thought I’d be mad at him for finding information about my dad. How could I be mad? It was incredibly sweet and thoughtful, but my desire to know about the man who abandoned me was next to nothing. At least, for now it was.
The trip to Tennessee was my first outside of California. The Great Smoky Mountains stood majestically on the horizon. We drove past the metropolitan cityscape of Knoxville to the small town of Maryville twenty miles south.
The GPS led us to a dirt road between a thicket of trees that we followed for ten minutes. We’d both been holding our breath on the drive through the woods and finally exhaled in relief when a cute ranch style house appeared. The dirt turned into gravel as we slowly drove up.
Before we got out of the car, I grabbed Theo’s hand and squeezed. He gave me a grateful smile and kissed me on the lips. “Thank you for being here for me.”
I spotted a little boy peeking through the curtains in one of the windows. Suddenly, people began to stream out of the front door. As we walked up to great them, a tiny elderly woman with white curly hair smiled at us and waved.
Theo walked right up to her with his hand extended in greeting. The woman, standing at about five feet tall, raised her arms up and pulled Theo down into a hug. With tears in her eyes, she cried, “I wish I would have known about you sooner.”
Theo closed his eyes and burst into sobs in his grandmother’s arms. She withdrew to look at him closely in the face. Putting a hand on his cheek, she said softly, “You look so much like Kelly.”
The other family members crowded around them. A man with Theo’s nose, holding the little boy I’d seen in the window, said, “I’m Anthony, your uncle. This is Bobby.” The little boy smiled quickly before burying his face in his father’s neck.
Anthony put his arm around Theo. “We’re so happy to meet you.”
Theo wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Taking my hand, he said, “This is Mia. My fiancé.”
It felt amazing to hear him say that especially during this significant occasion.
Other family members began to introduce themselves to us. Cousin Peter. Aunt June. Cousin Erin. Cousins Oliver and Owen, twins. Aunt Fiona.
Theo’s grandmother, Reba, sniffled. “Let’s get you both inside. We’ve got a feast waiting for you two!”
As we paraded inside, Aunt June gushed over my engagement ring. “Oh my! That is the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen!”
Cousin Erin added, “Mia! Theo gave you that! Wow!” She then squinted her eyes at me. “You look familiar.”
Theo put his arm around me and squeezed. “You probably saw her in a magazine. She’s a model.”
Erin’s eyes lit up. “That’s where I’ve seen you! Omigod! You’re so pretty.”
We walked into the house to a large table full of food: fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, barbecue chicken, pulled pork, biscuits, and six different kinds of pies.
Theo’s grandmother said with open arms, “I hope you came hungry!”
After chowing down on food and getting to know everyone, Theo’s grandmother said to him, “I’ve got some things I’d like to show you.”
Erin, Fiona, and June were talking my ear off about everything from fashion, programming, to what California was like. Theo looked over to me and I waved him on. It was important for him to get some time alone with his grandmother.
With Theo’s family around us, I never felt more at home with my husband to be. This was a new chapter for both of us, and nothing felt more right.
Chapter 18
Theo
The events of the last twenty-four hours played over and over in my head: finding out about my mother and father, then discovering I had a grandmother and flying out to Tennessee, then meeting my grandmother and all my other relatives, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, cousins, and second cousins. I went from not having any family to having a gigantic family overnight!
This feeling of fullness in my chest was unbelievable. The amount of love and happiness inside me was enough to make me burst. All had happened with Mia right beside me, supporting me and loving me.
How did a hapless orphan like me end up here with a loving family and a beautiful fiancée?
If Mia hadn’t encouraged me, I might not have ever opened that envelope. It might still be at the bottom of my desk drawer, languishing away but always on my mind. She’d given me the encouragement to be brave enough to open it and even braver to actually meet my grandmother.