“Nothing to see here. Let’s move along,” he said.
She tugged it back and said, “Oh. I don’t know about that, Evan. You were pretty adorable as a kid. Especially the picture of you naked on the potty.”
He moaned and said, “I knew she was going to do something like this. I don’t know why I let her out of my sight.”
Clearly amused, his mother said, “Had to level out the playing field, son. She’s in a house full of strangers.
”
Taryn said, “Thank you for that. I feel immensely better,” as she continued to smirk.
Just like that, he saw her relax completely. His mother could often be pushy but in this case, she’d known the exact thing to do.
He heard his sister pipe up, “Yeah. He was a pretty adorable kid. We don’t know what the hell happened.”
“Thanks, Teeny.”
Ignoring him completely, Christina introduced herself and started introducing the brood that now lingered behind her, curious about the guest.
Over the next hour, the remainder of his family showed up. The men, along with his sister Maureen, gathered in the living room, while the rest of the women hung out in the kitchen, gossiping.
He wandered into the kitchen to check on Taryn and grab a beer. He found her peeling potatoes at the sink. Pressing a kiss against her cheek, he wrapped an arm around her waist and said, “She put you to work, huh?”
“Yep,” she said, grinning. “Peeling potatoes. It turns out I was just cheap labor.”
He heard his mother say, “Oh shush, you. Keep peeling.”
His heart warmed at the interplay between them. He’d been concerned that she wouldn’t have a good time. He’d really wanted his family to like her. Then again, it was equally important that she like them, too. It seemed to be going well so far.
He said, tapping her arm with his beer, “Say, is there any way you could bring me a refill in like, forty-five minutes?”
She stiffened against him briefly before, her voice all sass, she said, “Only if your legs are broken and the wheels of your wheelchair are flat, Evan.”
He heard the women hoot and said, “I had to try,” as he pressed a smacking kiss against the side of her neck. He left the kitchen as the women continued to cackle.
Christina followed him out to the living room and murmured, “She’s perfect for you, Ev.”
He nodded, unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face. “She is.”
An hour or so later, they all settled in for dinner. As always, it was a wild affair. He glanced around the table, feeling so overwhelmingly glad to be home. His brother Donnie sat at the end of the table, sneaking sweet potatoes onto the edge of his brother Michael’s plate while he was distracted feeding Molly.
He smirked and leaned over to nudge Taryn. His voice low, he said, “Donnie does that every year. He just put some sweet potatoes on Michael’s plate. Give it a minute or two. He’s gonna start gagging.”
Taryn said, “That’s kinda mean but funny.”
Maddy ran up to him, screaming, “Unca Evan!” as she waved her little fingers, which conveniently held olives at the end of each fingertip, at him.
Taryn dug into her pocket for her cell phone and took a picture of them as he picked up a squealing Maddy and brought her hand up to his mouth.
“Mine!” she squealed, giggling. When she wiggled furiously, he let her scamper off, olives intact.
A few minutes later, he heard, “Dammit, Donnie!”
Taryn snickered next to him and said, “I guess he found the sweet potatoes.”
Unable to stop himself, he tilted up her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips. She leaned against him, smiling for a moment, before she whispered, “Your family is great.”
Dinner long since over, Taryn was squeezed in next to him on the loveseat when his mother said, “Time for the Secret Santa drawing. Reminder. If you get yourself, throw your name back in. We don’t want another Jamie 2008 happening.”