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“Damon!” the woman exclaimed as she seized Damon’s face in her hands, kissing both of his cheeks. She had to be twice my age and yet I was jealous of the physical contact she’d just had with Damon. Foolish? Yes. Could it be helped? No.
“Hi, Auntie Lynn,” Damon greeted the woman with a hug. Seriously, I needed to get in on this action.
“And you must be Ella?” Auntie Lynn turned to me and pulled me close so she could kiss my cheeks as well. Oh, we were here in our relationship already. But she effused so much warmth I didn’t mind.
“I am,” I affirmed, not knowing whether I should stand or sit or what. She seemed to be someone important in Damon’s life and I wanted to make a good impression.
“This is Auntie Lynn,” Damon introduced.
“I kinda picked up on that when you said, ‘hi, Auntie Lynn,’” I responded with a grin.
“Oh, I like her. Sassy. You’d better watch out, Damon,” Auntie Lynn said, matching my grin and then stepping back.
“My sons are forever telling me to give them some space. I’m sure you’re thinking that same thing right now,” Auntie Lynn said.
I quickly shook my head and Damon did the same. Honestly, I wasn’t. I was loving Auntie Lynn’s warm nurturing.
“Well, you two are too sweet to be honest.” She patted my shoulder and then turned to Damon. “I take it you want the works?” She raised an eyebrow in challenge.
“Bring it on,” Damon said, crossing his arms over his chest. And what nice arms they were.
Auntie Lynn winked at me and I swore she could read my thoughts.
She turned away before I had time to feel embarrassed.
“So that’s Auntie Lynn,” Damon said as she walked away. “She isn’t actually my aunt by blood. But she’s my mom’s best friend. They’ve known each other since they were eight.”
“Wow,” I said. A friendship like that was almost more than being related by blood.
Damon nodded. “Jax and I grew up with her sons. And even though Auntie Lynn isn’t an actual aunt, she feels like it.”
I knew those kinds of relationships. I felt them for the Russos, Changs, and Murdocks, along with my girls at Aurora.
“So your parents live close?” I asked, assuming that if Auntie Lynn was near, her best friend would be too.
Damon drew in a breath. “My mom passed six years ago.”
My eyes went wide and my stomach filled with dread. How had I not known this? We’d talked for hours and his mom had never come up?
“Before you go blaming yourself for not knowing, I avoided talking about my mom on purpose. It’s always a hard and strange thing to tell people. I usually try to time it right. Introducing you to Auntie Lynn and then telling you about my mom felt right,” Damon said. He rubbed a hand against the table, giving me time to process.
I felt tears stinging my eyes. I wasn’t sure why I was ready to cry, other than the fact that I mourned for Damon. I couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a mom. Mine drove me crazy but I wouldn’t trade her for the world.
“I’m so sorry,” I finally said.
“I am too. She was the best. She was beautiful and funny. She was always making us laugh. And she cooked the best Chinese food under the sun, even though my dad is the one who’s Chinese. But my ahma, my dad’s mom, had told my mom before she’d married my dad that a good Chinese wife cooked good Chinese food. It didn’t matter that my mom was Caucasian. So she learned, and even surpassed my ahma’s skill. Although that was a doozy for Amah to admit.”
I giggled. I could just imagine Damon’s grandma, proud of her skills, having to admit that her daughter-in-law had surpassed her.
“It was hard to lose her but it wasn’t all bad, afterward. Auntie Lynn stepped up. So did my mom’s siblings. And my dad’s. Ahma and Yeye moved in with my dad. Jax and I moved back home for a few years too. It helped us draw closer together. It reminded us that while family is forever, time with them can be fleeting.”
I nodded. I knew I took my own family for granted.
“So tell me more about your family,” Damon said, his voice a little too cheery. I could feel his need to change the subject.
“Not much to tell. You saw us in all of our peculiar glory,” I said with a grin. “And I’m sure Alex has shared all manner of unflattering details.”
“The dinner was a blast. Kind of like when my family gets together,” Damon said.
