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We spend the next of couple hours at his parents, sharing stories of Tyler growing up. They talked about how adventurous he’s always been. Always on the go, seeking his next adrenaline rush, and terrifying his mother at every turn.
“Seeing him settle down, happy and completely content feels like the greatest gift. I have no doubt in my mind that he’s going to be an amazing father.” Tyler’s gaze meets his mothers, and they share something I think only the two of them understand. I don’t ask and I won’t, because the moment is theirs.
Later we end up sitting in the living room his mother and I, while the guys make their way out to the garage. I settle in on the couch and she breaks out the baby photo albums. I get lost in all the sweet images of Tyler from birth until he graduates high school.
They've obviously loved him and the pride they have can be easily seen in each photo.
It reminds me of my mother, never wanting to miss a moment of our childhood, so there was always a camera in her hand.
“Who is this?” I ask, when I find the page with one single photo in the middle. The woman is beautiful, and there is something familiar about her eyes.
“That is Tyler’s biological mother,” Cheryl settles in at my side. “He doesn’t like to talk about her, and I can’t blame him. She is Matt’s sister, and though I’ve been around for years she is always a touchy subject in their household. Not that they didn’t try to help her, in fact they tried everything they could. But in the end someone like that has to want your help for it to actually make a difference. So eventually they had to face the fact that she didn’t want help.”
“Where is she now?”
“No one truly knows,” she stares at the image on the page. “After she gave up Tyler, she walked away, and no one has heard from her since. I like to think that maybe she finally got help and is living a good life somewhere, it helps. I don’t like to think the worst. But what I do know is that no matter what I could never truly hate her, because she made me a mother and for that I will always be grateful.”
The sound of the back screen door squeezing as it opens and then shuts interrupts Cheryl and my moment.
“I see we’ve broken out the embarrassing baby photos.” Tyler flops down on the couch next to me. “Promise me, we will never do this to our kid.”
“Nope, sorry, I can’t do that,” I smile, flipping to the next page of images and finding one of Tyler with a little naked butt. “I’m going to be one of those moms that photographs everything.”
He cups the back of my neck with his hand, and I look over at him, just as he leans in and kisses the corner of my mouth. Relaxing against him he thumbs through the albums laughing when a memory strikes him. Which of course leads to another story, and I am completely enthralled with each and every one.
* * *
“Hey mom,” I step up behind her and kiss her cheek. “How’s your day?”
“The girls are fighting again, Your dad ducked out to avoid the drama and I’m two-seconds from muzzling them both and locking them in the closet.”
I laugh because she’d never do that.
“What’s the newest issue?”
“Lauren is getting tired of Leah’s things all over the floor. Leah then decides to toss a few more things around just to piss her off more, so it's never ending. They are both bitching about not having their own room. I swear their number one goal is to drive me crazy.”
“You said that about me and then about Tucker, though I’m not sure Tucker ever stopped. He’s twenty-one and still a handful.”
She laughs, but doesn’t deny it, because she knows it's true. My brother is a man child.
“How are you feeling?”
“So far so good,” I tell her sitting down at the table as she joins me with two glasses of tea. “I’m still able to wear my pants, so that’s a plus.”
“You just wait, you're going to go to bed wearing one size and wake up needing another, before you know it. I know with all you kids I felt like I ballooned up overnight.”
“Great,” I mumble, as I take the tea and lift it to my lips. Nothing is better than my mother’s sweet tea, well maybe her peach pie, but it's a close race.
“How are things with Tyler?”
“Going really good,” my mother was the first person I went to when Tyler mentioned moving in together. She is the first person I call when I need reassurance. I remember that day she looked right at me and said, stop questioning that man at every turn, he drove across several states in the middle of the night to tell you he loved you, what more do you need.
“Did he get everything out of his place?”
“Yes, their lease is up in eight weeks, but Liam is still there and Ty gave him his portion of the rent through the rest of the agreed term.”
“I still can’t believe you moved him in with you,” I turned around to see my brother entering the kitchen. “Don’t come crying to me when that backfires.”
