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Drew and Ty chime in before I even have a chance to respond. “Absolutely!” Ty exclaims. “Totally, Rosie and I meant to ask you. You’re a part of the family now, too.”
“Sure, I would love to,” I say, without thinking what the sentiment means. “Thank you, Jasper and guys, for the invite.”
“You’re not supposed to thank family, Abs,” Drew scolds lovingly as the barista calls our names, and we all walk over to grab our drinks.
When I have mine and Rosie’s liquid rejuvenation for the day, I say my farewells and promise Drew to give Rosie his love. As I walk out of the old, red brick building, I have a feeling I’m going to have a good week. Although, I would be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling nervous about being around Parker at the Nallen family dinner. I’ve heard so much about these dinners from Rosie. We’ll just have to see how I fare in the fight to keep my emotions in check because if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that not much gets past the Nallen family.
Thirteen
PARKER
“Good morning, baby girl! I love waking up to your kisses,” I coo as she plants one on my head. “Yes, I do. It always starts my day off right,” I continue as I caress her head gently. She gives me another, more enthusiastic, wet kiss. “But seriously, you really need to do something about your dog breath.” Another heavy pant in my face causes me to laugh and gag at the same time.
Man, I love this sweet girl like no other. I’ve had Gizmo for almost seven years. From the moment I saw her cute face and oversized body that day in the shelter, I knew I wanted to be with her forever. It was love at first sight. As the thought passes through my mind, I realize how messed up I am. I can commit to a dog for the rest of my life, talk about love and all the feelings, but when it comes to a woman? Nothing. I can’t admit to one damn emotion other than lust.
I’m seriously messed up.
As Gizmo continuously licks my hand, I finally pull away. “Okay, girl! Let’s go potty and get you some breakfast.” She jumps up in excitement and launches herself off the bed.
Rolling out of bed, I stand up, stretching my arms high above my head. I catch a glimpse of Gizmo running down the hall, and she makes a sharp turn when she realizes I didn’t follow her, then beelines it back in my direction. When she reaches me, she begins dancing around my legs, trying to let me know she is ready to take care of her morning business.
“Okay—okay,” I tell her, patting her head. As soon as I do, she takes off again for the back door.
Following behind her, I make my way down the short hall into the kitchen. When I come around the corner, Gizmo is sitting up straight, waiting for me. I open the door, and she happily makes her way into the yard.
Leaving the door cracked, I make my way over to the one-cup coffee maker. I select my favorite pod blend and set my mug in place to catch the morning brew. While it does its magic, I pour some food into Gizmo’s bowl in anticipation that she will be coming back any minute. The sound of the last pull on the coffee machine echoes through the quiet kitchen, and I reach out for the mug. Wrapping my hands around it, I savor the warmth that envelopes my hands. Bringing the cup to my lips, I blow on it in hopes of cooling it down before I take my first sip of the day. When I think it is cool enough, I take a drink and release a small, satisfying groan. The nutty flavor hits my taste buds, and damn, it’s good.
The ring of my phone breaks through the morning silence and brings my attention back to the kitchen as Gizmo pushes her way in through the door. I let her go about her business as I pick my phone up. Drew’s face lights up the screen, so I put the phone to my ear. “Good morning, little brother. What’s happening?”
“I just wanted to remind you it’s your Sunday to bring dessert and also to let you know we will have an extra guest tonight,” he informs me.
“So, Jasper finally manned up and invited Cora over?” I joke.
Drew’s laugh echoes through the phone, and I can’t help laughing out loud myself. We all know Jasper hasn’t quite developed the courage to admit his crush on our neighbor, Cora.
When we both gain a bit of composure, Drew says, “You know better than that. Actually, we invited Abbey to join us.”
I take a long gulp of coffee as he lets me know that Abbey will be there on Sunday. Luckily, the coffee’s cooled significantly because I feel the burn at the back of my throat. “Oh, yeah,” I respond, a sigh slipping past my lips. I’m surprised she hasn’t been invited before now. It’s not that it’s a disappointment; it’s just that I was looking forward to a little peace and quiet in my mind. My family usually does that for me, and right now, I need it. I need to give my mind and body and heart a breather to get everything back together.
“What’s that deep sigh for? Does it bother you Abbey is coming to family dinner?” Drew asks, and I can hear the defensive tone in his voice. Sigh? I didn’t even realize I had sighed out loud.
“No…of course not. Rosie is family. Abbey is her best friend, and Abbey is…Abbey,” I try to explain away the unease I obviously didn’t hide well through the phone.
This time Drew sighs, “Well, okay, I hope there isn’t an issue. I just want to let you know to include her in your count for dessert. I guess I will see you at Mom and Dad’s later.”
“Drew, I promise there’s no issue, I was just sighing at something Gizmo was doing…anyway, I will see you later,” I tell a tiny, white lie to try to reassure him.
He is quiet for a minute like he wants to say something else, but instead, he just tells me goodbye. I return the sentiments, and when I end the call, I look over at Gizmo, who is panting at my side. She’s looking up at me with an enthusiasm for life I only wish to have each day.
Reaching out, I rub the top of her head just behind her ears, the way she likes. “You’re such a good baby! Let’s go for a walk before I have to shower and leave,” I tell her. She lets out a loud, rumbling bark in response.
The uneasy feeling I got from my conversation with Drew dissipates as I focus on Gizmo and her uncanny way of making my world feel a whole lot calmer.
• • •
When I walk through the front door of my childhood home, I’m enveloped by the scent of a home-cooked meal. It’s one of my favorite things about our Sunday night family dinners. The feeling of being young and carefree. This time together before the workweek begins gives me a sense of comfort and security. Maybe it’s the presence of my parents or the fact that no matter how old my siblings and I get, we always remain the same.
Even now, as I follow the scent, I feel more at peace with my worries. I reach the kitchen entryway, and I know this is where I will find my parents prepping for our arrival. I’m a bit early. I make it a point to get here before my brothers and sister so I can have a little alone time with Mom and Dad.
