by S. E. Rose
I release one hand from her ass and cup her cheek, tilting her head to give me more access. Our chests heave with each breath as we take the kiss to a whole other level. I’ve never kissed a woman like this…like I want to consume her, like I want to invade her body and claim it as mine.
I’m about to carry her into my house when her phone buzzes.
She looks down and curses.
“Sorry,” she mouths to me as she answers the call. I set her down and step back, running a hand through my facial hair that is starting to cover my face after not shaving for two weeks.
Tabitha
“Brix?”
“Hey.”
“Uh, what’s wrong?” I ask, looking at my phone to check the time. I realize it’s morning there and he’s probably just checking in on me.
“How’s Grandma and Pops? I haven’t gotten ahold of them in a few days,” Brix asks.
“Good. I need to get out there and see them,” I say to him. “I haven’t been in a few weeks, even though I’ve called them. Things have been a little busy.” I partly resent Brix for being able to travel the world, while I’m here. I don’t mind checking in on our grandparents. They were good to us. But they are sort of reserved and stuck in their ruts. My grandmother knits a shit ton and goes to bingo night at the local church. My grandfather hangs out at the VFW and exchanges war stories. We don’t have a ton in common, but I know they love me.
“I promise, I’ll get out there this week,” I reassure him.
“Yeah, can you? I’m sure they are fine, I just want to make sure,” he says with a sigh.
“You OK?” I ask, turning around to have some privacy. I hear Kent walk toward the house and unlock the door.
“I’m fine. I’m just…it’s been tough this time. Funds are low, patients are sick, there’s so many. I’ve never thought about coming home permanently, Tab, but I’ve been thinking more and more about it recently.”
“Wow, really?”
“Yes. I…I don’t know. It’s just a lot.”
“I bet. I mean, I’d love for you to be here. I miss you, Brix,” I say because it’s true. Brix is my closest family member. And I know at the end of the day if I needed him, he would always have my back if I asked him. It’s funny how things from your childhood dip into your present. Even though we aren’t little anymore, I still feel like it’s such a huge ask when I need a favor from him. We aren’t two little kids trying to survive anymore. I can ask him for help. I stop warring with myself as he answers.
“I miss you, too, Tabby. I just needed to hear a familiar voice from home. It’s been a long week. Lost five kids. And I’m pretty sure I’m gonna lose two more today.”
“Sorry, Brixy. That sucks. They are lucky to have you fighting for them though.”
“I just wish I could do more.”
“You’re a good man, Brixton. One of the best I know. Keep fighting the good fight, and I’ll talk to you after I visit Grandma and Pops, OK?”
“OK, love ya, Tabby.”
“Love you too, Brix,” I say as we hang up and head inside. My earlier desire for sex has been completely doused.
Thankfully, after I tell Kent about my conversation, we agree to put on an old nineties movie and curl up in comfy clothes while sipping tea. I lean my head on his shoulder as we watch the film, and something about how his body shakes each time he laughs makes me feel happier than I have been in a long time.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Tabby, that you?” Pops yells from the den.
“Yep, it’s me. Where’s Gran?”
“She went down the street to drop some bread off at Mrs. Johnson’s house. Mr. Johnson had hip replacement surgery last week.”
I walk in to find Pops in a flannel shirt and jeans, his feet up on an old ottoman, some sort of car race is on television.
“Sorry I haven’t been around. Works been crazy.”
“No worry, sweet cakes. Come have a seat.”
I sit down next to him and watch the race. I don’t follow racing, so I have no idea who’s good and who’s not.
“So, you talk to Brix lately?”
I nod. “He’s good. Just busy as usual.”
“When’s that boy back stateside?”
I shrug. “Not sure.”
“Tabby, hon, is that you?” Gran's voice comes from the front door.
I get up and walk over to hug her.
“Hey, Gran.”
She squeezes me and it’s the most affection I’ve had from a family member in so long, it almost makes me cry.
“How are you doing? Can you stay? I’m making meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”
“Sure. I’ll help you.”
We walk into the kitchen as Gran rambles on about the Johnsons.
Kent
I can’t wait to get home tonight. It’s Saturday and time for our weekly Moore family dinner. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins will be at this one. I want Tabby to meet the whole crazy family. It’s my mom’s birthday this week, so the weekly get-together is doubling as a family party. Thankfully, I didn’t forget with all the crazy team stuff going on. I had a bouquet delivered to her. I also got her a new team jersey with her name on it. And I promised her a mother and son day once playoffs are over.
With playoffs, I haven’t had to do anything other than invite my friends to the party. I feel a little guilty about that, but I also know my siblings have everything covered. Di and Lanie live for planning a good party. Plus, Tabby left with Lanie to help set up after the game. So, all hands are on deck.
I drive home thinking about Tabby. I probably shouldn’t because driving with a hard-on is not comfortable.
Tabitha
Lanie and I were sent to pick up food. We arrive back just as Kent is pulling into the driveaway. If I thought the Moores’ house was crazy last time, this time it’s on a whole new level of madness. Animals, children, and adults are everywhere.
I walk in behind Kent, using him as a human shield of sorts against the chaos in the house.
“Get over here,” Kylie yells from the deck. I practically sprint out of the crowded house and through the screen door.
“It’s crazy in there,” I whisper as I take the hard cider she hands me. It’s then that I notice the hot tub is filled with rubber duckies, like Bert and Ernie rubber duckies.
“Uh, what’s with the duckies?” I ask, pointing as though there are rubber duckies somewhere other than the hot tub.
Kylie giggles. “It’s a long story, involving us kids pranking my mom. Lanie ordered a butt load of rubber duckies and we kept leaving them everywhere. My mom thought it was the same rubber ducky. Anyhow, many years later, and it’s a birthday tradition.”
I give her a confused look, and she giggles some more. “Just know that Mom thinks fondly of rubber duckies now.”
“OK,” I say slowly.
“Checking out the ducks?” Di asks as she sits down.
“Yeah.”
“Sweeties, can you help me in the kitchen?” an older woman says from the door.
“OK, coming, Nana,” Di says. She turns to me. “Time for the ten-cent family tree tour. That’s Nana Betty, she’s Mom’s mom. And that older guy in the family room is PopPop Bob. He’s sitting next to Gran Tilly who is Dad’s mom. Dad’s dad, Grandpa Lou, passed away when we were kids. Mom’s sisters, Karla and Kara, are in the dining room. Karla is married to Uncle Jim and they have two boys, Aaron who is a psychiatrist and Brent who is a CPA. Aunt Kara is the cool aunt. She travels the world writing for a travel magazine. Dad’s brother, Uncle Justin, and his wife, Aunt Ally, are in the kitchen and that’s their daughter, Sadie, helping Nana Betty. Sadie is pretty cool. We hang out with her sometimes. Aaron and Brent live out of state now, so we only see them at big family get-togethers like this. And I think you met all the neighbors already. Lyla and Amery should be here with Gran Mill soon and, oh, Nate and Ward just got here. We all have friends stopping by. I’ll try to introduce you as they arrive. And there
will be a pop quiz on names later.” Di winks at me as she goes into the kitchen.
“That’s a lot of people,” I say to Kylie as Lanie walks out with a bowl of chips.
Kylie shrugs. “There’s always a lot of people around here. We were that house, you know the one, the one where all the kids congregate all the time. Plus, my parents always had the best neighborhood parties. Mom lives for that stuff.”
“That’s nice.”
“I suppose. Sometimes it’s nice when it’s just the immediate family, too, but I love having my grandparents over. Come on, we can introduce you to them,” she says standing and grabbing a handful of chips.
“Nana!” she calls out as we walk past Kent and one of the cousins.
“Sweetie, can you hand me a mixing bowl?” the older woman says as we enter the kitchen.
Kylie opens the giant double doors of the pantry and finds a mixing bowl. “Here. This is Kent’s girlfriend, Tabby.”
I pale at the mention of “girlfriend” as we haven’t discussed that.
“Oh, how lovely. Kent hasn’t mentioned this to me. I need to go scold him,” she says as she wipes her hands on an apron and walks over to me, pulling me into a giant hug. She looks like a slightly smaller, slightly plumper version of Mrs. Moore. “Now, call me Nana Betty, dear. It’s so nice to meet you. You sit down here and tell me all about yourself, while I whip up some dips.”
Kylie walks behind her grandmother, and I can see her smirk from across the room. “Well, I’m a photographer,” I start as I give Nana Betty the short rundown of my life. She nods and smiles as I speak, and asks the occasional question. She’s the most grandmotherly looking grandmother that I’ve ever seen. As we speak, the other Moore grandmother comes in to help.
“This is Kent’s girlfriend, Tabby,” Nana Betty says.
“Oh, well, hello there. I’m Gran Tilly, so nice to meet you,” she says as she hugs me. Gran Tilly is a thin, petite woman who is dressed very stylishly.
Then Gran Millie walks in and greets us all.
I remember watching this old movie as a kid, it was called The Electric Grandmother. I wonder what it’s like having so many grandmothers around. They are all so different, it’s crazy.
And so, I spend the next thirty minutes surrounded by older women, who ask me a million questions. I show them photos on my phone. I talk about the upcoming gala. I even talk about my brother. They are easy to talk to, and I find myself confiding in them in ways I normally never would with people I’ve just met.
I’m deep in conversation with Gran Tilly about a recent art show in the city when a hand lands on my shoulder, causing me to jump.
“It’s just me,” Kent whispers in my ear.
I raise a hand to my heart. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”
He grins and snags a carrot from the veggie tray on the island.
Nana Betty slaps his hand. “Now, I’m not done loading that up. You just hold up a second, sweet cheeks.”
I nearly choke on my drink. “Sweet cheeks?” I repeat, looking up at Kent who groans.
Kent’s face turns red. I smirk and raise an eyebrow.
“Don’t even think about it,” he mutters.
“Oh, I don’t know, I like ‘sweet cheeks.’ It’s…fitting,” I say to him with a grin.
“Who do we have here?” an older gentleman asks as he comes in and stands next to Gran Tilly.
“This is Kent’s girlfriend, Tabby, dear,” Nana Betty says.
“Nice to meet you,” he says to me with a warm smile. There’s something about him that just puts me at ease. He has this old movie star way about him, and I like him immediately.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“So, this is where the party’s moved to,” a younger woman comes in and wraps an arm around PopPop Bob.
“Oh, hi, I’m Sadie,” she says to me, holding out her hand.
“This is Tabby,” Kent says before I can get a word out.
I start to get déjà vu as I repeat this same conversation with every family member and some family friends. By the time all the food is out, I have a vague understanding of who is who, but I definitely won’t be acing any pop quizzes on names.
“You having fun?” Kent asks as we plate up some food and settle ourselves at the breakfast room table along with Amery, Lyla, Ward, and Nate.
I nod. “Your grandmothers are awesome. I had fun talking to them.”
“You should see them all when they have bridge night,” Nate says. “I’d be afraid to go to Las Vegas with Nana Betty, she seems all sweet, but she could take your ass down in a serious game of poker.”
“What’s that, Nate, honey?” Nana Betty says from the kitchen.
“Nothing, Nana Betty. Just saying how awesome you are,” he calls out with a roll of his eyes.
“That’s what I thought,” she replies, and we all snicker.
“So, you guys ready to bring home the title?” Lyla asks Ward and Kent.
“Fuck yeah,” Ward says. “We are gonna crush ’em, right, Kent?”
Kent nods but he’s rather reserved about answering that tonight.
“Nervous?” I ask him with a bump to the shoulder.
“No, just a little humbler than others.”
I giggle.
Mrs. Moore comes up behind Kent and wraps her arms around him, placing her head on top of his. “They’re ready. They are gonna do great.”
Kent pats his mom’s arm, and I smile at the show of affection between them. “Thanks, Mom.”
She kisses the top of his head. “You’re welcome. Now, who wants cake?”
“Uh, Mom, we haven’t sung yet,” Clark says from the dining room where he sits with his cousins.
“On it,” Lanie pipes up as she runs into the kitchen and has candles in the cake and lit before anyone can protest. Everyone gathers around in the kitchen to sing. Kathy blows out her candles. I laugh at the cake which has a giant rubber duck sitting on it as well as a rubber ducky motif in icing on the cake. Who knew the Moores would have such a thing for rubber duckies?
“Cake?” Kent asks as he hands me a plate.
“Sure,” I answer as I take it from him and grab a fork.
As soon as the cake is served, people start leaving. Eventually, it’s just the Moores and me, again.
“Hot tub time?” Clark asks.
I look at him.
“Hot tub time?” I repeat.
Kent takes me by the arm. “Come on, we all go sit on the edge of the hot tub.”
I follow him out and everyone grabs a seat along the edge, rolling up their pants and taking off their shoes until we are all soaking our feet with little duckies bumping into our legs.
“That was a great party. Thanks, everyone,” Mrs. Moore says as she leans against Mr. Moore. They are like the most ridiculously cute couple ever, even though they look very different. I pause in my thoughts because Kent and I look different, too. It makes me wonder if we could ever be like that.
“Cat got your tongue?” Kent’s voice breaks me out of my inner thoughts.
“Huh?”
Kylie giggles. “What’d you think of the rest of the family?”
I blush. “They’re great. I had a nice time. Thanks for having me.”
Kathy reaches over and pats my hand. “It was a pleasure. You are always welcome in our home, Tabitha. Anytime, OK?”
I nod, feeling more loved than I have in…well, in all of my life. As I sit there surrounded by the Moores, Kent’s arm around me, his mom’s hand on mine, the love is palpable, and it excites me as much as it terrifies me. The thing about love is, that when you don’t have it, you have nothing to lose, but when you do…well, you have everything to lose.
Kent
Tabby is quiet as we drive back to my house. I’m sure she’s tired. Being around my family can be a lot for anyone but especially when you aren’t used to them.
“You OK?” I ask her as we pull up to the house.
“Yeah,” she answers with
a yawn. “Just tired. It’s been a long week.”
“Me too. We should get some sleep,” I say, opening the door for her.
“You want some tea?” she asks me.
I grin. “Sure, let’s go make tea and put on an old movie.”
It’s quickly becoming a routine with her that I love. I don’t even care if she wants to watch a cheesy old eighties movie, I’d watch anything with her.
“Let’s watch Field of Dreams,” she says.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I feel like we need a classic movie that we both will enjoy.”
“I like it.”
She grins as she sets about making tea in my kitchen. I sit down on a barstool and watch her. She moves so easily in my space. It’s like she’s always been here. She chats comfortably with me as she places the kettle on the stovetop and sets up mugs. I smile as I watch her. She’s so different yet she’s just perfect. I can’t even understand what I’m feeling except I know I don’t want her anywhere but right here with me. I’ve never felt this kind of ownership over someone. I want to scream to the world that she’s mine and back the fuck off. It sounds barbaric even as I say it in my head. But I can’t help it. I want everyone to know she’s with me. I loved how everyone introduced her as my girlfriend tonight. I could see it made her uncomfortable and that’s partly my fault because we haven’t talked about that yet. Not a real talk, anyhow.
She hands me my tea, and we go and sit down in the family room. She stretches her legs out and I lift them and place them on my legs. I pull a blanket down and wrap it over her legs and my lap. We settle into watching the movie. Eventually, she rolls onto her side and I know what’s coming. She’s going to fall asleep on me. I watch from the corner of my vision as her eyelids grow heavy and begin to droop and then finally close. Her breath comes in little puffs, her body twitches slightly with dreams. I don’t dare to move because I love how her body feels, curled up against mine. Long after the movie ends, I sit there and watch her. But eventually, I grow tired. I gently move her legs and wrap her up with a blanket, not wanting to wake her from her sleep.
“Sleep tight, kitten,” I whisper as I kiss her forehead. She stirs slightly but doesn’t wake up as I head to my room, glancing back over my shoulder at her. I want so badly to pick her up and carry her into my room, to lay her on my bed, and to curl up behind her, wrapping my arms around her and sleeping with her all night long. But I know we aren’t ready for that yet. Yet. I smile as I fall asleep knowing that this woman has somehow weaseled her way into my heart, and I think I’m alright with that. She’s everything I didn’t know I needed, and the fact that my family likes her means she is perfect.
