Yet here she is, like nothing has changed.
Except, everything has changed. I’ll always love this family, but they’ll never bemyfamily. We won’t have babies together or vacation together.
It hurts worse than losing Aldridge ever could.
I hold Phineas and Louisa close, my chest aching from remembering how they were once the brightest spots in my life. “My babies! How are you?”
“Where were you, Auntie Kay?” Louisa asks. “You didn’t come to my recital.”
Meryl gasps. “Louisa, we talked about this.” She leans forward and touches my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Kay. I swear, we’ve gone over that a hundred times.” She smiles, a little sheepish. Up close, her makeup is flawless—subtle shimmer on her cheekbones, not a hair out of place.
It almost makes me wish I’d worn full makeup today.
Meryl turns to Sean. “You must be Kayla’s husband, the man I will never forgive for stealing my almost-sister away.” She beams, too light, too effervescent for the moment. “I’m Meryl, her almost-sister-in-law. And you’ve met my brother, Aldridge. The almost-husband.”
“Good to meet you, Meryl. Aldridge, good seeing you again. And … I’m sorry?”
Meryl laughs, and Aldridge gives a decent attempt. “As you should be,” Meryl says, though her eyes are warm. “I kept hoping these two would figure it out, but it’s clear Kayla found where she’s meant to be. You’re glowing, hon—your Instagram proves it.”
“Ouch,” Aldridge mutters, and I smile in spite of myself. “I’m sitting right here, Mer.”
Meryl leans back in her seat, grinning. “You’re the one who lost the sister of my dreams. I’m the real victim.”
A beat passes. Then Aldridge says, quietly, “We both know that’s not true.”
And it’s that tone that kills me.
Because I know he means it.
Aldridge isn’t all bad. When he’s hurt, he’s at his worst. But we had good times. I saw something in him once that had nothing to do with how he made me feel in public. He cared about me. Too much, honestly, but he did care.
And now, seeing him see me so much happier than I was with him, I feel bad for him.
Aldridge reaches a hand over to my parents. “Lawson, Jolene, it’s good to see you.”
“You, too,” Dad says, shaking Aldridge’s hand.
Meanwhile, Phineas and Louisa are fighting for my lap, and no amount of me putting one on each knee seems to solve it.
“Phineas, just sit on Kayla’s husband’s lap,” Louisa says, giving her brother a kick.
“No,” a chorus of voices say. I don’t know where my voice is in that chorus, we all blend so well.
“Phin, why don’t you come back up and sit with me,” Aldridge says. Then he whispers conspiratorially. “Don’t tell your mom, but I have cotton candy.”
Phineas scrambles over the back of the chair like a blur. Louisa puts her arms around my neck and leans against me. “I’m so happy to see you, Auntie Kay.”
I look at Sean again. His mouth is smiling, but his eyes aren’t. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
Louisa wriggles off me when Aldridge tempts her away with another cotton candy. I almost laugh at him, because that’s what he always did. They’d fight for me, he’d flash a treat to win them over, and I’d shoot him a dirty, playful look.
It’s scary how easy it would be to fall back into that rhythm.
Even when I know how offbeat it sounds now.
I reach for Sean’s drink, and he hands it to me with a tight smile.
What is this like for him? My brothers have returned from their cannon shenanigans and are sitting on Sean’s other side, thank heavens. They talked to Aldridge politely. Gray even gave him a hug.
