Without You

Part 36 "Family Feud"

"It's grandma!" he says excitedly. He runs out of the kitchen, going to see her.

"Well, that's one down," Luke kisses my forehead.

"That wasn't so bad," I say, "Who's Daxton?"

Luke brings me into his arms and he leans against me. He leans down and connects our lips for a few seconds.

"Daxton is one of my cousins. He's the one that cheated on his girlfriend and he's just...he's fucked up," he shrugs.

I wonder what made Daxton like that. No one just starts out like that. Something must have happened to him.

"Have you met Aubrey, Sammy?" Ella asks Sam as they both walk into the kitchen.

"Yes, ma'am, she's very nice and her pie smells great," Sam nods.

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"Hi! I'm Aubrey!"

"Well aren't you a cute little thing!"

"Aw, such a sweet girl!"

"Luke, you've got yourself a great one!"

"Miss Aubrey, make sure to keep my nephew in line!"

"Welcome to the family hun!"

I've never felt so welcomed before in my life.

"Tell us honey, where're you from?" Luke's aunt Nyla questions me with a smile. Most of Luke's aunts and Ella are with me just sitting and talking in the kitchen.

"North Carolina. A base camp called Lejeune, my dad worked there when not away," I explain and Ella begins to rub my back knowing that talking about it is a tough subject.

"Oh that's neat!" Luke's great aunt Dorothy exclaims.

"What brought you up to Virginia then, hun?" Luke's other aunt Marianne asks.

"Well my dad was in the marines and unfortunately, he died in action a few months ago. After that, I had to move in with my mom who lives in Virginia," I explain and looks of sympathy spread across their faces.

"Aw, poor thing!"

"We're sorry for your loss."

"Such a strong girl."

I just smile and say thanks. I'm very thankful to be around such good people and I'm glad that it has gotten this much easier to talk about my dad.

"Let's go get some air y'all, it's a beautiful day outside! We can get some front porch talkin' in," Ella ushers us all outside. We walk outside and onto the front porch.

The older women take their seats on the chair and the swing while us younger ones lean against the railings or stand.

"How's Luke behaving up there?" Dorothy asks from her seat beside Ella, a small smirk settled on her face.

"For the most part he's behaving," I smile and they all let out chuckles.

"He's has a few little...bumps along the road but other than that, he's been fine," I explain further and they nod understandingly.

"That's understandable. Charlotte's passing was hard on all of us," Ella sighs sadly and the others voice their agreements.

"Poor thing, he was such a mommas boy," Nyla shakes her head.

"Thank God this girl came along!" Ella says happily, "I hadn't seen Luke smile in years until I visited about a month ago! She's really helped him, I can tell."