You Had Me All Along

You Had Me All Along - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The Saturday morning quiet house that I was so used to was non-existent that weekend. Dylan and his new girlfriend, Sam, had gotten to the house the night before, with my parents. Dalton and Trinity had arrived early that morning. The house was full of people and was louder than it had been in years, when I made my way downstairs.

The very first thing I noticed was that my mom looked so happy. Her smile was just permanently on her face, spreading ear to ear.

"Oh, Arden! You're up!" she beamed, wrapping her thin arms around me.

"Uh, yeah," I hugged her back. It was after 8A.M.

"Did I tell you Granny Krank and Joe are coming? And Aunt Renee, with Tiffany?" she went on, already on the other side of the room.

I swallowed hard. She hadn't told me that my only grandparent - my dad's mom - and her partner were coming to our house. They lived down near Tampa but we rarely saw there. Dad's sister, Renee, lived just outside of Florida, in Georgia, but they'd had a falling out years ago. Renee's daughter was a few years younger than me, my only cousin, but we didn't really know each other well.

"Uh, no, you didn't -"

"Well, we figured it might as well be a big Krank family party," she said, smiling.

She was actually happy that my dad's family was going to be there, so I forced a smile back at her. I had never been told what the drama was that happened and we rarely even talked about them.

"And Dad is on board?" I asked, carefully.

"Of course, Arden," she said, shaking her head like I was out in left field for thinking otherwise.

I glanced around, noticing the kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off. She squeezed my arm, smiling again. "Load the dishwasher?"

I nodded as she scurried out of the room, not looking back. It was early, but there was a lot to do, I soon realized. I knew my dad would fire up the barbecue and mom had made salads and pastas and there was plenty of alcohol. But I knew in that moment the next few hours would be stressful.

Soon Dalton and Trinity were there, in the kitchen, suddenly surrounding me. Trinity was moving things around, clearing the table. Dalton flung his arm around my shoulder.

"Arden, are you ready for this?" he asked, then let out a laugh. He didn't give me a chance to answer. "All of Dad's family here, together. And Michael."

I shrugged off his arm. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Right." Dalton scooped up an armful of bowls off the counter, and I saw him grin at Trinity. "We're just here for the food."

Trinity laughed, but smacked Dalton in his shoulder. "That's not true."

My dad's family was the only extended family we had. My mom's parents lived in Seattle and she had no siblings. She always wanted a big family because she didn't have one growing up. But dad's family wasn't close. And we had very few get togethers over the past ten years.

"When do Michael and Rose get here?" I asked, for some reason assuming Dalton would know the answer.

"Mom said by noon. Party starts at 2P.M.," he replied, then added, "Where's Carson?"

"He's actually getting his new apartment today. He'll be here in a bit," I answered, without hesitation.

Dalton raised his eyebrows, then nodded, leaving it alone.