“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Foster. Yes, I’m a hugger,” April stepped forward and the pair embraced.
“Please, Mrs. Foster is my mother-in-law, call me Fiona.”
April smiled with a blush on her cheeks as she was introduced to everyone one-by-one as they sat around the table for dinner.
It didn’t take long for her to fall for the two young girls who asked numerous questions about her ringlets, her dress, and every fact about tennis they possibly could - once it had been explained to them that her job was to play and win tennis matches.
Willow, the quieter, younger one, kept looking around the table and back to April. Specifically, her hair.
“Wills, what’s wrong?” Jade quietly asked the shy girl sitting to her left while April sat on Jade’s right.
“Um, I don’t know how to say it.” Her cheeks went scarlet as the chatter that had been filling the room had dampened with hearing her soft voice.
“Do you want to whisper it to me?” Jade leaned down after Willow had nodded.
The young girl cupped her hand around Jade’s ear, and April watched as a small smile spread on Jade’s face, while a sympathetic look showed in her eyes.
Jade leaned down and replied into Willow’s ear while the chatter around the table grew again.
April waited a few minutes before asking Jade what it was about.
Jade leaned in close to April so Willow wouldn’t hear, “She wanted to know why everyone at the table had wavy or curly hair except her. Even you have super duper curly hair, but she’s the only one with straight hair.” Jade said with a sad smile. “So, I told her that she’s the lucky one having straight hair because she gets to have any kind of fancy hair style she wants, and doesn’t get nearly as many tugs in her hair as we all get in ours when it tangles.”
April’s heart fluttered in her chest both for Willow’s worry, and for Jade’s perfect response to reassure the young girl.
Evan tapped his fork against his glass to get everyone’s attention, a smirk on his face as he looked across the table toward Jade. “I just wanted to check, are we all going to ignore the elephant in the room that is Jade’s current impression of a human pineapple?”
April watched as Jade’s fork froze on its way to her mouth, while her panicked eyes shot over to her mom.
“I don’t know why you’re looking like a scolded kid, Jade,” Fiona said through a chuckle. “You’re a grown woman, if you want to cut your hair, cut your hair.”
The look of shock and relief on Jade’s face made April chuckle.
“Seriously? All that worry I had about telling you, fornothing?” Jade said through a laugh, along with the rest of her family.
It made April think: is all of the worry she’s carrying for coming out to her family blown out of proportion too?
Chapter 30
Jade
It was going well, wasn’t it? Jade thought so. So far, anyway.
Dinner had gone by without any major issues. April had been nervous at the start, but that was understandable. Jade knew this was the first time for her to be somewhatoutaround others. Although Jade was dying to take April’s hand in hers. Or drape her arm around the back of April’s chair. Or feel April’s hand wrap around the back of head and play absentmindedly with her newly shaved section like she had in the car. Because,damn,it felt like absolute heaven when she did that.
Jade had always been a tactile person. That’s why she chose a career path that centered around using her hands. It helped ground her.
“How are you holding up?” A voice came from behind her while the table got cleared before they’d return for dessert in an hour.
Jade smiled as she turned her body toward April and was met with Cleo’s face just over shoulder. Jade raised her eyebrows at April to encourage her to answer first.
“Not as bad as I had built it up in my head,” April admitted with a blush.
“Meeting my parents, or spending time with multiple people who know we’re a couple?” Jade asked with a wink.
“Yes,” April said with an eyeroll, and swatted a playful slap to Jade’s thigh, which Jade caught with her own hand and held there with a quirk of her eyebrow.
April froze, but Cleo saw the exchange and placed her hand gently on April’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. April visibly relaxed at the show of support. Jade had never loved her sister more than she did in that moment.
