When my eyes move upward, they land on her eyes—emerald green like Nick’s…like Reed’s. My gut tells me this woman is related to Nick, and then I recall our late-night conversations where he confided in me about his childhood and lack of relationship with his parents. How he never understood the different kinds of love until Reed was born. My initial instinct is to hate this woman, but instead I choose to pity her, because she’s the one missing out on having an authentic relationship with her son.
“Can I help you?” I finally say, and her lips twitch slightly into a shell of a smile.
“I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Victoria Shaw, Nicholas’s mother.” She puts her perfectly manicured hand out to shake mine, and I meet her halfway.
“I’m Olivia Harper.” She obviously knows who I am or she wouldn’t be standing here introducing herself to me.
Reed chooses this moment to make his presence known. He squirms slightly, his arms coming up, and when I lift and turn him around to face me, his mouth morphs into a smile—a new milestone I can’t take enough pictures of. “And this is Reed,” I add, my eyes staying trained on my baby boy.
Corrine reaches over and tickles his belly. “I can’t get enough of those smiles,” she says, joining the awkward conversation. “Every time I see him, I swear he’s grown another inch.” She lightly pinches Reed’s cheek then glances up at Victoria. “I’m Corrine, but you know that…we’ve seen each other at several team functions this year. I’m also Olivia’s stepmother.” Corrine stands and walks around the back of the couch over to Victoria. “I’ve watched how you treat those around you. And I’m warning you right now, if you treat my stepdaughter with anything other than respect, I’ll have you removed from the premises.” She smiles saccharinely and excuses herself to the restroom with Shelby following behind.
I hold back the tears that want to break free. I miss my mom every day, but having Corrine in my life almost makes up for not having my mom here. She’s everything a woman could ask for in a stepmom, and I’m so blessed to have one more person in our lives who loves Reed and me.
After a few seconds, Victoria says, “He looks just like Nicholas.”
“Yeah, he does. Would you like to hold him?” I hold Reed out, but when Victoria shakes her head, I bring him back against my chest.
“I better not. This is a new dress, and I would hate to have to go back to the hotel and change if he…” She scrunches her nose up in disgust. “Well, you know.” She smiles a pained smile, and it has me wanting to find Nick and hug him tightly. The stories Nick has told me about the type of relationship he has with his parents didn’t fully sink in until this moment. I mean, what grandmother doesn’t want to hold her own grandbaby? I can barely keep Corrine and my dad from hogging Reed when they’re in the same room as him.
“Okay…” I give her a plastered-on smile and turn back to watch the pre-game ceremony. Corrine and Shelby return a few minutes later, and we chat about the upcoming game as we wait for it to begin. Our conversation is interrupted when Nick’s dad, Henry, shows up. Victoria introduces us, but just like his wife, he has no desire to hold his grandson, and they both choose to sit elsewhere instead of near us. Nick mentioned that the majority of the time they live in North Carolina, and I’ve never been more relieved to know they won’t be around fulltime.
Just after half-time, Celeste walks in. I only know this because I hear Victoria gush over her. “Oh, Celeste! Sweetheart! I’m so glad you’re here.” Corrine makes eye contact with me and rolls her eyes. I roll mine back, but deep down I’m sad Nick’s parents are behaving this way. I can’t imagine not having the support and love I have with my family and friends. I haven’t known Nick for long, but other than Killian, I haven’t seen anyone else have his back. I know he and Celeste are best friends as well, but I haven’t yet to witness their actual friendship.
I hear Celeste politely say hello to Nick’s parents, and I hold my breath, afraid our truce was only temporary. A minute later, Celeste sits down next me and says, “About time you got control of that baby.” I take a calming breath and turn to her to say something back—what, I’m not sure—but when I look at her, she’s grinning ear to ear.
“Ugh…” I groan. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Probably not, but on the flipside, after hearing him cry, it cemented my decision to never have children.” She laughs. “Crying babies are the perfect way to control the population if you ask me. Five minutes of hearing him cry, and I was double checking that my birth control was up to date.” She shoots me a wink, and I laugh.