My heart kept beating harder and faster the closer I got to my destination. I was going to have dinner with Aaron and his kids tonight. The amount of scenarios that kept playing in my head was making me dizzy. But still, I wanted to make a good first impression on all of them. I was dressed in one of my fancier blouses and high rise pants. I just hoped that they would like me at the end of the day, or at the very least tolerated me.
This was probably one of the richest communities I’ve seen in Washington. Elaborate yard pieces, large houses, the whole enchilada. Thank God for modern technology, because I would be going in circles right about now. The directions Google Maps gave me lead me to a white two story house with a separate garage off to the side. It was surprisingly small compared to the others in this corner of the neighborhood. It made me wonder just how Aaron was able to keep ten whole children in there.
“Your destination is on your left.” Announced the app.
I pulled up behind Aaron's truck.
“Arrived.”
Well, this was it. It was show time. I took in and exhaled a rather deep breath. I kept my purse and lanyard close by. It was time to meet them.
From the corner of my eye, I could see someone from inside the house look at me come up to the door through the set aside curtains. They immediately retreated further into the house once they noticed that I was able to see them.
I went up to the door and rang the doorbell. I could feel my palms begin to sweat. The door opened before me, and I looked down to see a small girl with big brown eyes and light blonde hair.
“Hello?” She asked.
“Hi, I’m Miranda.” I introduced myself. “I’m one of your dad’s friends. You must be Vivian.”
“Yes, I am.” Vivian nodded. “Come in.”
I couldn’t believe how well spoken she was for her age.
“Shoes, please.” She pointed to the pile by the door.
“Oh, right.” I proceeded to take mine off.
“Miranda's here!” Vivian called out to the rest of the family.
The Inside of the home was actually rather spacious and tidy. To my left was the living room, where some of Aaron’s clan was on the couch playing Mario Kart on their big screen television.
“I won!” The youngest cheered.
I followed Vivian to the dining room, where Aaron was setting up plates and utensils for everyone. He turned around and smiled at me.
“Hey, Miranda! Glad you could make it.” He said warmly as he gave me a hug.
“Thanks for having me,” I hugged him back, trying to sound as confident as possible.
“Kids! Soup’s on!” Aaron called out for his kids. One by one, they began to trickle into the room. Their ages ranged from kindergartener to high schooler. They all greeted me with a mixture of curious eyes and shy smiles.
“Everyone, this is Miranda,” Aaron announced. “She’s a good friend of mine.”
“Hi, Miranda!” They all chimed in unison.
“You’re even more beautiful than I thought!” A girl with long blonde locks complimented me. “I’m Rachel, by the way!”
“Hi, Rachel!” I greeted as she shook my hand. She was quite the ball of energy, that’s for sure.
“And you already know Rebekah,” Aaron patted her back.
“Hello.” Rebekah waved.
“As for everyone else…” Aaron looked around.
As if on queue, everyone began to introduce themselves.
“Adam."
“Travis.”
“Monica.”
“Elisha.”
“Tommy.”
“Rachel.”
“Rebekah.”
“Danny.”
“Vivian.”
“Desmond!” The youngest shouted.
So many names and faces right in front of me. They all took their places at the dinner table, adorned with two Lazy Susans for the food. Adam even opened and closed my seat for me.
“Thanks.” I took my seat in between Aaron and Desmond. “So, what are we eating tonight?”
“Grilled chicken breasts with homemade rolls and grilled vegetables.” Aaron explained as he helped Desmond plate his food.
“Aww…” Desmond began to pout.
“Eat all of this and you can have a fudgesicle.” Aaron bribed.
That alone put a smile on the little boy’s face. As everyone else plated their food, that's when the questions directed at me started.
"So, what is it that you do?" Monica asked quizzically.
"I'm a labor and delivery nurse." I explained.
“So you help deliver babies?” She clarified.
“Pretty much. That, and I make sure the mothers are well taken care of.”
“Awesome.” Rachel smiled.
“Do you have any kids?” It was now Travis' turn.
“Yes, I do.” I answered honestly.
“How many?”
Starting off with a loaded question, huh? How in the world was I supposed to answer that? Everyone else was looking at me expectedly.
“I have eight.” I tried to keep my voice steady. I bit down into some chicken awkwardly.
All of the kids went silent.
“Well damn…” Travis was taken back by my answer.
“Travis, table.” Aaron scolded him for his foul language.
“That’s a lot of kids!” Desmond’s eyes were wide.
“Well, considering the size of our family, I don’t believe it’s fair to pass judgement.” Tommy announced.
“Thank you.” I nodded.
“That being said, that is a high amount of children.”
“And you ruined the moment.” Danny rolled his eyes.
“What? It’s the truth.”
I couldn’t help but giggle.
The kids asked me a few more questions, and I did my best to answer all of them truthfully.
“Do you have a husband?” Vivian asked.
“No, sadly.” I admitted. “Not anymore.”
“Did he die?”
“Yes. In a workplace accident.”
I was then given sympathetic looks.
“I’m sorry.” Vivian apologized.
“Don’t be.” I shook my head at her.
I could see Aaron’s expression change slightly at the mention of my late husband.
After dinner, Aaron’s kids scattered off to do their own thing. It was clear that they had a routine, and it was impressive how smoothly everything ran. I offered to help clean up, but Aaron insisted that I relax and enjoy myself. He gave me a glass of coke as he tended to the dishes.
“I hope you didn’t feel uncomfortable with all the questions earlier.” Aaron said, breaking the silence.
“No, not at all.” I replied honestly. “I’m used to it.”
“It’s just…we’re not exactly a conventional family.” He chuckled.
“I can see that.” I smiled. “But you have such wonderful kids.”
“Thank you,” he smiled softly at me. “They’re my world.”
I felt my heart skip a beat. Was he flirting with me? Or was I just imagining things?
That’s when I heard the radio turn on. Hungry Eyes, how ironic. I also had this on my playlist.
Aaron walked over to me and held out his hand.
“May I have this dance?” He asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I took his hand. We swayed to the music, not caring about anything else in the world. It was just us, dancing in the middle of the kitchen.
“I had a really great time tonight.” Aaron said, looking down at me.
“Me too.” I replied softly.
As our heads grew closer together, I heard some chittering from the corner of the kitchen. There, I could see Rachel, Vivian, and Desmond giggling at the sight of us dancing.
“Isn’t there some homework you should be doing, young lady?” Aaron teased.
“Yeah, but watching you two is a lot more fun.” Rachel beamed.
Aaron laughed, which caused me to laugh along with him.
As the song ended, Aaron and I pulled away from each other. I could feel my cheeks flush as I looked up at him.
“Would you like to come over again sometime?” He asked, his eyes sparkling.
“I would love to.” I smiled back at him.
“And may I do you the pleasure of coming over to your place sometime?” Aaron asked.
I felt myself freeze momentarily. His kids accepting me was one thing, but it would be a whole different matter with mine.
“Just make sure you bring a helmet.” I patted his chest.
Aaron guided me to the door as some of the kids came back down to say their goodbyes.
“Thanks again for having me over.” I hugged him goodbye.
“Anytime,” he hugged me back. “And don’t be a stranger.”
“Goodbye, Miranda.”
“Goodbye, Aaron.”
I stood there for a moment, feeling dazed and confused. Did that really just happen? Did Aaron just ask me out again? And were we just about to kiss?
As I made my way back to my car, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. There was something about him that drew me in. Maybe it was his charm or maybe it was the fact that he was such an amazing father. Either way, I knew that this wasn’t going to be our last dinner together. I was already mentally preparing myself for the worst case scenario when the inevitable happened.