The moment I stepped up to the doorstep my heart began beating rapidly in my chest. Up until this point everything had felt so surreal and now it was settling in just how very real this whole situation was. This was now my reality. No matter how much I pinched myself or tried to shake myself awake, it wasn't going to happen.
I jumped a little at the unexpected touch of Shane's hand on my back, in silent support and encouragement to knock. It was kind of him to be there for like family should be, but in the end he was just a stranger, someone I hadn't yet gotten to know.
I lifted my hand to the door and let out a long slow breath while I mentally prepared myself for this. Though, I'm not sure there was enough time in the world to be prepared.
My hand had barely tapped the door once before it came flying open, revealing two people standing in the doorway with wet eyes. It was clear they had been expecting us. I tried to take a minute to collect myself from the sudden surprise, but before I could, both the man and the woman came forward and pulled me into their arms.
Something was becoming abundantly clear to me the longer I was around this family. These people loved to hug.
The woman...my grandmother...sobbed loudly over my shoulder, while the man was more of a silent crier. If it hadn't been for the rise and fall of his shoulders, I would have never known. They squeezed me in a tight embrace and even though I really didn't know them yet, I hugged them back.
"Mom, come on. Let her breathe," Shane chuckled. "She barely knows us."
"Oh hush," she said. "Olivia is our family!"
They both pulled back at the same time and the older man took my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Olivia. I'm Jim, your grandfather." He looked beside him and then smiled at me. "And this is Edith, your grandmother." He clutched my hand tighter as if he couldn't believe I was actually there and brushed a tear away from his eye with his other hand. I don't know why, but I got the idea that this man wasn't usually the emotional type. "We don't mind what you call us, but it would mean the world if you would consider us Gram and Gramp." He patted my hand, "But that's up to you."
No pressure or anything.
"Uh, okay...gramps?"
He laughed. "Gramps! Even better."
It felt odd giving a stranger that title, but I didn't want to disappoint them. I saw Thomas shake with amusement out of the corner of my eye and I shot him a look. He was laughing at the awkwardness of the situation. It made my shoulders relax at some familiarity despite my annoyance.
He was Thomas. At least some things never changed while everything else fell apart. Like my world, for example.
"Come in, come in. I've made us some green tea and lemonade," Edith said ushering us in. She and Jim went in first, then Shane, and me and Thomas.
Almost as soon as I entered the house I was hit with the smell of fresh peanut butter cookies and apple blossom air freshener. The two scents together gave the place an odd feeling of home. It was a smell that I could get used to.
I followed them through the open entry way to the living room sitting to the right. A short hallway went out in front of us. I immediately wondered if that's where Andrew's room was. The one and a half story house was a little bigger on the inside than I expected. I guess the openness give it a larger feel than it really was. There was a connecting Kitchen that was just a little smaller than the living room. The dividing bar between the two held cookies and beverages. Edith picked them up and brought them to a short, long table in the living room that sat in the middle of the surrounding furniture.
"Take a seat," she gestured. "There is room for everyone."
And there was, barely, leaving only one seat left open.
"Did you have a nice flight in?" Jim asked, picking up a glass of lemonade wet with condensation on the sides.
"It was good," I told him.
"That's lovely to hear, sweetheart. Will you take tea or lemonade?" Edith asked sorting out the napkins for everyone to have.
"I'll take some tea."
She handed me the white tea cup filled with green liquid and I took a quick sip before sitting it down on my napkin. By the time I had taken a cookie from the tray and took a small bite and moaned internally at its deliciousness, everyone was staring at me. I shrank as small as Alice after she drank from 'drink me' bottle of unknown liquid in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
I detested attention.
"You are so grown up now, Olivia. And you're such a beautiful girl. We couldn't be prouder," Edith smiled.
She was a taller woman with broad shoulders and a little stooped frame from age, but she was by no means small or frail. She still carried herself well. Her golden white hair hung just above her shoulders in a short bob. Jim was a little smaller than her with a slight balding spot on the back of his brown and white covered head.
"Tell your mother thank you for the graduation tape. We enjoyed seeing it even though we couldn't be there for you."
I frowned a little in confusion. "My mom sent you my graduation tape?"
I was under the impression my parents didn't know my grandparents.
"Yes. She emailed it to us almost immediately after the ceremony. Anita really is such a sweetheart."
I started in surprise. "Oh."
Not my mom at all. She was talking about Anita. It felt too soon to hear after just finding out last night what our real connection was. I didn't know if that would ever feel natural. Anita going from my fun, carefree Aunt to Mom just didn't seem right.
"Have you thought about collages yet? I do hope you'll stick close to California. We would love to have you around as much as possible."
"Mom, she's just met us. Let's not overwhelm her with our expectations so soon."
"No, its fine," I said. "Actually I am going to go to University of San Francisco this fall."
"Oh, that's not too far. It's better than across the country," Edith smiled.
At that point Jim decided to speak up. "Tell us a little about yourself. Anita has told us so much, but we'd like to hear it from you."
"Oh. Well, there's really not much to tell." I told them as much as I could think of. Where I went to school, what I liked to do in free time and even introduced them to Thomas. They greeted him pleasantly, but quickly returned their attentions to me.
"I almost forgot!" Edith said jumping to her feet. "I still have to give you your birthday present. I know it's very late. I wanted to have your mom mail it to you, but when she told me you were coming for the summer, I decided to give it to you myself."
I wanted to tell her that I was still referring to my aunt by her name, but to do it in front of everyone felt rude so I didn't say anything that might embarrass her.
"You wait right here and I'll go get it," she said and hurried off to another room.
"Another cookie," Jim asked motioning to the plate on the table.
"I'm okay," I told him at the same time Thomas said. "I don't mind if I do."
Shane was reaching for another one too when Edith came back into the room.
"Here you go." She handed me a small gift wrapped box, the kind you know most likely held jewelry or something like that. I touched the pink bow in the middle and smiled at them. "Thank you."
"We hope you like it. It's something of your dad bought for you. We know he'd want you to have, even if you can't wear it now."
He bought me something? The father I'd never known? Curiosity tugging at me, I immediately started tearing the paper away and pulled open the white box. Under the white tissue paper that rested inside, there lay a tiny pink baby bracelet on smooth red silk. It made my heart thump hard.
It was made up of small pink pearls and silver beads with a heart shaped clasped at the back. On the small heart ,the name Olivia was etched onto one side. I pulled it from the box and laid it in my hand. My baby bracelet. Andrew bought it for me before he died. Had Anita known about this? Did she see it? Maybe it was supposed to be a surprise.
I felt my eyes start to water and it took me by surprise. I hadn't even expected it to happen. I tried to brush it off and placed the bracelet back into the box. I didn't want my family to see me cry. I didn't know them well enough.
"It's beautiful. Thanks. Really." I cleared my throat to sound clearer.
"You are very welcome, sweetheart. We didn't find it until it was too late. I was going through some of Andrew's things, putting his stuff away in his closet, when I found it in one of his coat pockets. By that time, you were already gone." Her eyes watered. "But at least you're getting it now. It's better late than never."
A quiet settled across the room then. Shane and Jim were both looking down at the floor in silence. I had a feeling that they often got quiet when someone was talking about Andrew. I closed the box and placed in my lap and reached to take Thomas's hand.
He gripped it to let me know he was there.
"Well," Edith said after the short silence. "How about a tour of the house?"
'I immediately tensed up. I knew exactly what a tour would entail and after what Anita said about Andrew's room being a shine, I wasn't sure I was ready for that yet. Just meeting my grandparents was a big enough step for today. Just one thing at a time.
I slowly stood. "That's okay. I should portably get back. But I would definitely like that tour soon."
Edith and Jim smiled and everyone in the room stood with me. "Okay, sweetie. We can certainly do that later. Though, I wish you didn't have to rush off so soon after getting here."
"I know. I just...I feel like I need to talk to Anita. I promise to come back as soon as I can." I still had a lot to process and I needed some air.
"All right," she smiled, though I could see past it to the disappointment she was hiding. "Let me show you out."
I didn't like the feeling of disappointing the family I've known for a little more than five minutes, but I felt like I might suffocate if I didn't leave soon.
Edith and Jim walked me to the door and each gave me another tight hug before allowing me to leave. They stood on their porch and waved at us as we drove away from their house. After we were out of their sight I was finally able to breathe again.
Shane didn't mention taking me to meet his wife again; probably thinking I had had enough for today, which would be correct. Instead he drove us back to Aunt Anita's beach house in a respectful silence.
I had a lot to think about.
————————————————————————————————
A/N
Sorry for the short chapter. I don't even know if it was good. I've had to work on this chapter for a week on and off since having to spend a lot of my time in the hospital with my Nanny (my grandmother). It has been a very hard week. :(
Thanks for sticking around. I don't know when the next update will be, but please be patient with me. I'll work on it when I have some free time.
Thanks for reading! Comment, vote and follow.