I slept so deeply that night. I felt a sense of peace as I drifted off. I was where I was supposed to be.
I woke up before Jameson did- I slowly crept out of bed, put on my robe and went out to the balcony. I called Seth.
"How's my baby?"
Seth laughed. "Hello to you too. Tinkerbell is fine. She's been playing, eating and sleeping. I went by last night."
"Thanks. It's weird to be so far away. I- shit, it's five A.M. over there. Why are you up?"
"Couldn't sleep. I'm off. So I've been watching Netflix."
I chuckled. Figures Seth would spend an off night binge-watching. I twirled my long black curls around my finger as I curled up in a chair.
"Dude, I'm meeting his family today. I don't even know how I'm pulling that off."
I walked over to the glass door to see if Jameson was still asleep.
He was.
Good. I didn't want him to hear me freaking out over meeting his family.
"Like, I've talked to Leanne but that's it."
"You'll be fine," Seth said. He had a way of talking me off the edge. "Just be your amazing self and they will love you."
"True. I'll give it a good try. I'm gonna go so I can eat and try to look decent."
"Diva, you know how to look good. Make it work."
I laughed. "Like Tim Gunn. Thanks, diva."
We hung up.
I walked back into the apartment and started making breakfast. I could hear the shower running while I cooked. I didn't make much, toast and eggs. I was so anxious, I couldn't eat a lot. While I ate, I read my emails and took my daily meds. I may have crossed a few time zones but I didn't want to forget any of them, especially thyroid meds.
"Look at the beautiful lady," Jameson said as he walked into the dining area. I blushed and quickly drank my orange juice. I didn't know what to say, but I was used to this kind of effect from him.
Jameson looked wonderful- clear-eyed, smiling, dressed comfortably in jeans and a polo. He was barefoot.
"I'm just living my life."
I was awful at taking compliments. He knew this and played at it all the time. Weirdly enough, I liked it. I wasn't sure why. I knew he liked it- why else would he constantly make me blush?
I was myself, but better, when Jameson was around. Even 4000 miles away.
He sat at the table with me and watched me eat. He didn't make any food until he realized I was done.
"You're not eating a lot," he said quietly.
I sighed. "Just nervous about today."
"They will love you like I do."
We'd said "I love you" many times by this point but hearing it face to face meant a lot more.
"I hope so." I didn't know what I would do if his family didn't like me.
"Wanna go over everyone's names?" He laughed. "There's a lot."
Jameson was the second oldest of eight kids. He had four brothers and three sisters. All but Jameson had at least one child.
"There's Allen, Craig, Leanne, David, Michelle, Shannon and Ryan. They can intro their kids." We laughed. Inside, I was nervous.
I went into the bathroom to get dressed. I threw my long curls into a bun, put makeup on, but what to wear? I had more than enough clothes, but nothing looked right.
Finally, a pair of jeans, flats and a pink, black and silver shirt looked right. I sighed and glanced in the mirror for the last time. Jameson was sitting on the couch watching TV when I came into the living room.
"Finally," he said, laughing. "You look beautiful. Let's go."
We ran down the steps from the flat and got into Jameson's car. I watched the English countryside go by. I loved being here. The blue sky was a perfect background to the landscape. As we rode towards his parents' home, Jameson told me stories about himself and his siblings as kids. The stories were funny- he had a good upbringing and I was happy that he wanted to share his life with me.