I was suddenly feeling like that shy kid with no friends again as we pulled to a stop in front of my parents’ house and removed our helmets. We shut off the engines and dismounted, staring up at my childhood home where so many memories had been made.
Caressing my cheek, Ethan said softly, "I'd like to take credit for the confident, powerful, beautiful modeling star you've become in L.A., but I can't. You were like that when I met you. All that you've achieved, you've done on your own, despite setbacks like Mick and the hardness of L.A. You had something inside you ready to break free and shine — you just had to get out on your own to find the courage to set it loose."
"You really think so?"
"I know so." Ethan pulled me to him and gave me a passionate kiss that was so hot it melted away all my uneasiness and reminded me of everything good in my life, including him.
"
Hey, you two. Knock that off or go get a hotel room!" A familiar voice startled me and made us both jump. I turned to see my sister Morgan coming out of the house. She wrapped her arms around me in a big embrace, and I hugged her back, blinking back tears of joy.
"Cool motorcycles! How fast can they go? What's the horsepower on an engine like this?" My brother Tommy rolled his wheelchair up to my bike and started touching the handlebars.
"Hey, this is a sweet ride. Can I take Tommy for a ride around the block after dinner?" my brother Joe Junior lifted Tommy out of his chair and set him astride the seat of the bike. Tommy was beaming so wide, I thought he might burst.
"Let me through so I can give my sister a hug," my sister Emily cried out happily, pushing her way past my brothers and holding her arms out wide.
Ethan looked terrified as he whispered to me, "We're surrounded."
"It's okay, they don't bite," I laughed and hugged each of my beloved siblings in turn before pulling them all together into one giant group hug.
"Exactly how many brothers and sisters do you have?" Ethan asked me.
"Four: two brothers and two sisters. I'm exactly in the middle, with two older and two younger," I explained, still embracing them all.
"Yeah, and once I came along and got diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, she had to run away from home just to get any attention," Tommy said, and I could see Ethan shift uncomfortably in his boots, although I had a feeling he was relieved to learn what was wrong with my baby brother without having to come out and ask.
It wasn't nice of me not to have forewarned him of Tommy's disability, but I'd gotten so used to it over the years, I didn't even think about it. None of us did. He was just Tommy to us. Plus, we'd all discovered a kind of fun in intentionally not telling anybody about his disease and enjoying the surprised look on their faces when they found out.
It was a good way to judge someone's character. The way an individual reacted when they were first confronted with Tommy's disability and how they chose to treat him after they knew his diagnosis said a lot about what kind of person they were. So far, Ethan was a blank slate and time would have to tell.
"Well, can you blame me for wanting to get away from you?" I teased Tommy and then ruffled his hair lovingly, making him laugh. We shared a hug, and I helped Junior put Tommy back in his wheelchair before he fell or got hurt.
Then I said, "You know it had nothing to do with you. I just felt lost, like I didn't feel like I fit in anywhere, so that's why I ran away. Now I realize what a mistake that was. I do fit in; I fit right in the middle of the Brandt family."
"And you always will." My siblings embraced me in a group hug again. Letting them go, I turned to Ethan then and introduced him to them all one by one.
There was Junior; he was the oldest and a born athlete. He went to college on a baseball scholarship, graduated with a business degree, and married a girl he went to college with named Shelby. They had their first child two years ago, a chubby boy they named Joseph III. As I told the story, Junior grinned at me and said, "And, Shelby is about to make him a big brother. She's pregnant with a little girl, due in January."
"Congratulations!" I hugged my big brother tightly, no longer able to hold back my tears of joy. His lovely wife approached holding their young son, and I put my hands on her rounded belly, blinking back tears of joy again.
Then, I introduced Ethan to my big sister Emily. She was the brilliant academic I could never live up to. If they made a trophy for it, she had it. Spelling Bee Champion, President of the Future Leaders of Tomorrow Club, Student Body President, Class Valedictorian. Polk High may not have been a big school, but inside its walls, Emily Brandt was a shining star. Everybody loved her, and she had won a full-ride scholarship to the state university.
"Of course, all those trophies didn't mean a thing," Emily said, as humble as she was brilliant. "I ended up dropping out of the university my sophomore year when I got pregnant. I married my college sweetheart Mark and we had little Madison. Now I'm just a housewife while all my friends are getting their master’s degrees."
"Yeah, but you’re Super Mom." I wouldn't let her get away with putting herself down. "I hear you’re the head of Toddler Time and Mommy and Me and you held a fundraiser to get new toddler safe equipment at the park."
"Yeah, but that's just local stuff. I've never been on a national magazine or the star of a huge marketing campaign," she said. Now it was my turn to blush.
Next came Morgan, the musician the family. She could play piano, violin, and cello.
"When I graduate in June, I've been accepted into the music program at the University," she gushed happily, and it was clear we were all extremely proud of her. Then, it was time to introduce the baby of the family.
"Last but never least, you've already met Tommy," I said with a wave of my hand. I headed for the door to our house, ready to allow Ethan to escape the awkwardness by going inside to meet my parents. He surprised me, however, by hanging back and taking the time to shake Tommy's hand and spend some time with him first. A lot of people who'd come to the house couldn't wait to get away from Tommy because his disability made them uncomfortable, but I was glad to see Ethan wasn't one of those people.
"We haven't met officially, but now we have. What about you? Do you have big plans for the future?" Ethan asked, and Tommy's face lit up.
"I spend a lot of time studying on the computer, and I really love engineering. The things you've done to improve the speed and efficiency of your motorcycles is impressive. It's given me some ideas I've been developing. I just wish my hands worked the way I wanted them to so I could build models and try them out."