"We'll be in the garage waiting."
•••
I hardly wanted to leave the house let alone go with Derrick and the boys to their relatives house. Yet, here we were doing polite greetings and cheek kisses and awkward hugs. The amount of squeals from older women talking about how big Riley had gotten was giving me a headache. Not to mention the way Cameron was reveling in the way everyone kept telling him how handsome he was getting. Carter had been swept away by some little kids who kept gawking at the "drawings" on his arms while Derrick stayed close by me helping to get acquainted.
I felt like I had met about 4 aunts and uncles, 20 cousins and still there was more people it seemed like. In laws, greats aunts, great uncles, they're children, they're children's children. God, there were so many children.
Derrick had a brother, I didn't know that. Truthfully, I never really cared to know but upon meeting him, Eric Phoenix, I wondered how they could even be related. He wasn't much older I think it was just a few years but you would think he was younger by a lot. He was wearing a brown sweater with a turkey on it that had really big and uncomfortable looking eyes.
"We have ugly Christmas sweaters so why not an ugly Thanksgiving sweater," is what he had said before laughing heartily and then going off on some tangent about how thanksgiving was actually a horrible holiday and we shouldn't be celebrating. He was a rambler, it was like his mind went in twenty directions at the same time but his husband just looked at him fondly and laughed when he said something funny.
It was a stark contrast to how Derrick just felt more serious but funny sometimes.
Derrick had been introducing me as just Aaron, nothing else. Not the foster kid. Just Aaron. No one asked for further information, they just smiled and greeted me. I take it either they all just knew that Derrick often fostered kids and so it wasn't hard to tell or Derrick probably sent out a huge email telling them I would be coming and not to pry. My guess was the latter honestly and still it was nice.
I liked being just Aaron. Nothing attached. Nothing worth telling a story about. It was freeing like I could just be me. I wasn't entirely sure on who that me was but I like to think she was a calm person who liked to read, listen to music, a person who was introverted but could be an extrovert depending her surroundings. She probably went out every weekend but her parents never worried because she always checked in and didn't stay out too late and on the off chance she did, she always made sure she was with people she trusted.
That was Aaron. Me, on the other hand, I'm not sure who I am.
"You staying with me or do you wanna walk around a bit on your own?" Derrick glances down at me and like a child I tuck myself into his side when a group of adults come by drinks in hand laughing about something.
"Staying with you."
"It's going to be boring, I'm warning you now, I know the kids and others around your age are probably in the basement playing games," I could tell he was trying persuade me to be social but I just can't. I shake my head muttering something about being fine with boring and he nods guiding us towards a fancy dining room area.
I remembered seeing Derricks mom and dad and pictures but it still felt weird seeing them in real life. His mom was kind of tall and his dad even taller. He looked more like his father but had his moms smile and eye color. His mother looked at me and gave me smile, "This is Aaron," I couldn't even blink before I was getting engulfed in a hug from Debra, then another from Roger.
"It's so nice to meet you, Dear," It was sincere. At least I think it was. I was smile back saying the same and then I tune out their conversation as she critiques Derrick supposed weight loss. She tells him he must not being eating home cooked meals enough and that was true it even makes me snicker which she took as me agreeing with her point. Roger rubs her shoulders a way of telling her to calm down and then rants about how he and the boys don't come visit or call enough.
