But what I got instead was two of the kindest smiles I’d ever seen before. Travis’s dad, Hal, wrapped his son in a back-slapping hug, a man worthy of the feat considering he was a massive as my lover was, and his mom, Maggie, pulled him in like he was still a boy who needed a licked thumb wiped across his cheek to clean him up.
And my heart melted just a tiny bit more, letting the soft gooey stuff in the center get even closer to sliding out and over the edge of my ice walls.
Maggie somehow balanced two casserole dishes like she worked at a fifties carhop diner on skates. And Hal followed behind her with a six-pack of root beer tucked under one arm and a vase of the most beautiful flowers I’d ever seen.
Eli helped Maggie set her dishes down and then grinned as she fussed over him like he was still sixteen and crushing on the older, Mrs. Hayes. Travis’s shoulders eased as Hal squeezed Eli’s shoulder on his way to the counter to set his own loot down.
Trav’s parents didn’t just welcome Trav and Eli equally, they were loved and claimed without hesitation.
“Well now,” Maggie said with a grin that immediately made my nose prickle with stupid emotions, “You must be Frankie. I’ve heard so many incredible things about you from both my boys. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” She pulled me into an affectionate hug that felt like one my own mother gave me on hard days, and I struggled not to melt into it.
“It’s so nice to meet you.” I managed as she pulled back with an affectionate brush of her fingers against my cheek, before she turned to the two shadows hiding behind my legs. “And these little sugarplums must be the grandbabies I’ve been learning so much about.”
Emmie gasped and looked up at me with wide eyes. “Grandbabies?” She stumbled over her words in shock. “Mama! They think we’re theirs.”
Before I could figure out some sort of explanation to fit my kids' maturity, Maggie crouched down, tucking her long flowing western skirt between her knees so she was on Emmie’s level, eyes twinkling. “Honey, anyone who belongs to Trav and Eli, belongs to us too. You’re our family now, as long as that’s okay with you.”
Emmie, wide-eyed, leaned in closer to Trav’s mom and whispered, “Do grandmas always bring casseroles? Because my grandma can’t cook to save her life.”
Hal snorted, and Eli grinned from behind Maggie, cutting in to defend my mom’s honor, “Hey, Mrs. Blake might not be able to cook, but that woman makes the best baked goods.” He rubbed his belly for dramatic effect.
Maggie booped Emmie’s nose with a wink, “Sounds like your other grandma and me will be the perfect match made in Granny-land then! I’ll do the cooking, and she can bake because I can’t make a pie to save my life!”
“Neither can my mom!” Emmie cheered excitedly! “Eli and I ate half of her first experiment earlier!”
“Oh, my lord,” I groaned, and Maggie rose to her feet with a good-hearted chuckle.
Toby, not one to be outdone, puffed his chest out and stepped out around me, “I can burp the alphabet, want to hear it?”
“God help us,” I whispered under my breath.
But Hal threw his head back and laughed, a sound so warm and genuine it filled the whole cabin, “Boy, if you can do that, I’d be mighty impressed. But maybe after dinner?”
My boy was so happy to have found his part in the conversation that the kids ran off into the living room to sit at the coffee table, where their extreme game of Go-Fish had been paused before as the adults moved into the kitchen.
“These are for you,” Maggie said, sliding the vase into the center of the island, fluffing the bow. “Eli said you were a sucker for sunflowers.”
I glanced over at Mr. Sunshine himself with his schoolboy smile and gave him a thankful grin back. “I am, thank you so much.”
Trav moved behind me, rubbing his hand across my back as he put the root beer in the fridge while Maggie started laying out the side dishes, she insisted on bringing to dinner, and I took a deep breath, letting their easy comfort ease my fears.
How had I been so scared just a few minutes ago of these lovely people?
We all gathered around the long wooden table Travis had built with Eli last year, and I could feel the pride shining through his eyes as he took his seat at the head of it, watching us all share a meal around his hard work.
Maggie kept slipping extra helpings onto Toby’s plate, telling him he was a “growing boy who’d out skate them all someday,”while Hal teased Travis about the changes that a “woman’s touch” had on the home he built.
Somewhere between the laughter, the buttered rolls, and Emmie climbing into Maggie’s lap to whisper secrets, I realized my kids weren’t just comfortable. They were thriving.
We all were.
Toby leaned over into Hal’s bubble, looking up at him with complete trust. “Are you going to teach me to fish like Travis said? He swears you’re the best there is in the whole world.”
Hal ruffled his hair, “You better believe it, buddy. As soon as the ice melts, we’ll all head out.”
Toby whooped loudly in excitement, but as I looked at Hal sitting across from me at the table, the emotions on his face were shining so brightly, it threatened to make the ooey gooey stuff in my chest even worse.
Pride.
