“I told her you were in one piece,” Mrs. Scott smiles tightly.
“I’m just here to see Caylen,” Hillary says flatly. She’s still mad.
Great. This is going to be fun.
“Uhm...is Chris here?” I ask Mrs. Scott. God, please don’t let him have been here to walk into this disaster without a warning.
“No, not yet,” Mrs. Scott says, giving me a reassuring smile and guides me over to the table to sit down.
“It’s so nice to meet your family, Lauren. We’ve been getting along wonderfully,” she assures me, possibly reading my deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, especially when Lisa waltzes into the room.
“So how did it go?” she asks me excitedly. Oh God, no. Lisa, do not say anything.
“What go?” I say tensely trying to give her the hint this is NOT a subject I want brought up with Hillary and Raven sitting here.
“Oh don’t worry, Lisa brought us all up to speed about the house you were looking to rent from her parents. And, your idea of possibly going back to school,” Hillary says with fake enthusiasm.
“I think it’s such a wonderful idea,” Mrs. Scott smiles genuinely.
“I would have loved to know when that decision was made,” Raven folds her arms across her chest.
God, Lisa! What the fuck!
“Nothing’s set in stone. It was just something I was thinking about. I was hoping to have a chance to talk to Chris about it. I haven’t made any decisions yet,” I say, reaching for the glass in front of me and downing it. I don’t even care whose it is.
“Where’s Caylen?” I’m looking for any excuse to get away from the pointed stares that are burning into me from my lovely surprise guests.
“She just fell asleep. We’ve really missed her. We missed both of you,” Raven says, her expression concerned. I hear the hurt in her voice and my guilt causes me to look away.
“I’ve missed you guys too,” I say sincerely. I have, it’s just that I haven’t wanted to talk to them until I had things figured out because, God knows, they will try to figure them out for me.
“Lisa, why don’t we give them some privacy,” Mrs. Scott can sense that this encounter is about to come to a head. When we hear the door quietly close, the tight smile on Raven’s face disappears.
“I can’t believe you guys showed up here like that without even asking me,” I say in a hushed tone.
“Oh, please, Lauren. You’re the one in the wrong on this!” Hillary states defensively.
“How could you consider moving here without even talking to me?” Raven adds.
“Since when did you let strangers help you make life-altering decisions? It’s like that Lisa chick is your new best friend,” Hillary continues.
“Stop it! No one is helping me make a decision here. Not Lisa, not the Scotts, no one but me. This is my life,” I tell them angrily.
“I don’t even know if I’m actually going to do it,” I tell them, lowering my voice, because it has definitely been rising over the course of this short conversation.
“Everything is moving so fast, Lauren. You haven’t even been here a month and you’re thinking about relocating,” Raven says in a hushed tone of her own.
“Chris’s bedroom game must seriously be off the fucking charts.” Hillary mocks me.
“Oh my God,” I say, covering my face out of embarrassment and anger.
“Hi.” When I hear his voice, I want to crawl under the table. How much did he hear? He picked the absolute worst time to show up.
“Are we interrupting?” When I hear her voice I want to vomit. Not now, not now. I turn around to see Chris looking on awkwardly with Jenna standing next to him, the same scowl on her face I’ve become accustomed to.
“This is my aunt Raven and my best friend Hillary. They came to check on me.” I smile weakly. I look over at Raven who seems to be scrutinizing Chris. They are both watching him, probably trying to see if he’s really Cal. It’s the same thing I did the first few times I was around him. Chris walks over to them hesitantly and sticks out his hand. Hillary only stares at him before giving him a small grin. He figures out his handshake isn’t welcome there and moves over to Raven. After a few seconds, she hesitantly takes it.
“Nice to meet you,” Raven says, awkwardly shaking his hand.
“I’m Jenna, Chris’s fiancée.” At that, I want die right here. I cover my face with my hands. There’s an awkward silence and I hear Hillary laugh.
“Oh, Lauren,” I hear Raven mutter under her breath.
That’s right.
Oh, Lauren.
Think of the most awkward day in your life. Now let’s multiply that by 100 and you’re still not likely to reach the level of discomfort I’ve experienced today. As if it weren’t bad enough for Chris to walk in amidst the talk of how good he is in bed, of all the days, Jenna decides to visit. To top off this ridiculous evening, here I sit, surrounded by my loving and not-so-loving family and friends.
In fact, the whole gang’s here; Hillary, Raven, Chris, Jenna, Mr. and Mrs. Scott, Lisa, and Aidan. The good thing is Mrs. Scott hasn’t brought out any wine. As much as I’d love a glass, I don’t think drinking will make this situation any better for anyone once it really sets in. Everyone has been pretty quiet so far. The only awkward moment was when both Raven and Mrs. Scott reached for Caylen, and she reached for Mrs. Scott. Raven’s had a pretty pissed to shit expression since that happened, even when Mrs. Scott tried to give Caylen back to Raven. She refused at that point, her feelings hurt, and of course, I’m to blame for that. Oh, and then the glorious moment when Mrs. Scott started to pray over the food and Hillary announced her preference to not participate instead of just keeping her mouth shut. Other than those two little moments, everything has been awkwardly wonderful. The good thing in all of this is that Mrs. Scott’s food is so good that once everyone starts eating, the mood lightens up a bit. Jenna still throws angry glares my way but I’ve become accustomed to that.
“What the hell is her problem?” Hillary whispers in my ear. She is not accustomed to it.
“Just let it go,” I mutter quietly.
“This casserole is absolutely delicious,” Raven says enthusiastically. She’s almost finished with her food.
“Oh, thank you. I can give you the recipe,” Mrs. Scott says cheerfully.
“Raven’s not much of a cook.” I laugh, and she nudges me in the stomach.
“I cook. I cook just fine,” she says defensively. I look at her like she has a horn growing out of her head. Maybe this is a new development.
“Thank you for being so accommodating at the last minute,” she says, glancing at both of the Scotts.
“Not at all. We’re like family now,” Mrs. Scott says warmly. I can’t help but notice Jenna roll her eyes.
“So, how have you been adjusting to fatherhood Ca—Christopher,” she says, quickly correcting herself. Aidan snickers and I see Lisa nudge him.
“It’s different, but thankfully, Lauren and my family have made it easier than I thought it would be. Everyone’s been great helping out, and of course, she’s pretty easy to fall in love with.” When Chris’s eyes find mine my heart almost jumps out of my chest.