Everyone began arriving soon after Ivy, and before I knew what was happening, the house was full. I tried to act calm, but I was completely overwhelmed. The whole family was wonderful. They were all so positive and upbeat with undeniable magnetism. What's more was that they went out of their way to make me feel at home.
Wes's brothers, Owen and Daniel, were the first to arrive. Daniel brought his wife, Courtney, and their son, Kip, who happened to be the cutest thing ever, complete with ruddy cheeks and curly blond hair.
It was honestly a trip meeting Courtney Cole. I had flashbacks of middle school when I went to the mall and stood in line at the music store for her debut CD, which was a mega hit. I mean, just a few years ago, she had sold out three shows at the O2 arena in London. I remembered hearing about it on the radio. As far as pop music was concerned, Courtney Cole was the stuff of legends.
When I started feeling starstruck, I just remembered that Bible verse and told myself that God felt the same about all of us—that He, honest to goodness, loves us all equally. I imagined someone who was sick, penniless, disabled, depressed, disfigured, dismembered, whatever, and I realized He loved those people just as much as he loves Courtney and all of these other wonderful, magical Bishops.
If the guy who gets his meals at the soup kitchen and sleeps under the bridge was just as important to God as Courtney Cole was, then perhaps there was nothing for me to be nervous about. To my own amazement, this helped. It honestly helped. God's word is funny like that—one little passage can soothe you, give you peace, set your mind at ease, change your perspective.
Owen and Darcy showed up right after Daniel and Courtney. Darcy had a small frame, and she was almost full term carrying twins, so she waddled along, which was really sweet. Wes's grandparents, Ivy and Michael (known as Shug and Doozy to the family) arrived after Owen, and then others started to pour in, and just like that, the house was full. I would meet someone, shake their hand, and give them a hug, and then I'd turn around to find another new face.
Wes was constantly by my side. He would embrace everyone who came in and then instantly introduce me to them. He told them my name was Jolene but quickly added that they could call me Jo or even JoJo if they wanted. He explained to me that he did that because they would probably shorten it anyway, but I didn't mind one bit since I took it to mean he wanted them to think of me as family. Shug kissed me on the cheek and called me JoJo without hesitation.
Next, I got to meet Wes's Aunt Jane and her husband, Gray. They owned a personal security company, which was how Daniel met Courtney. They had a son named Liam who was also there. He and his wife, Taylor, arrived with Jane and Gray, and they were all so sweet and eager to see Wes and meet me. Taylor had lived and studied in London, and we talked for a few minutes about her experience there, comparing notes on the city. Jane and Gray explained that their daughter, Shelby, was currently living in Chicago but had plans to move back to Memphis with her family later that year.
Wes had already told me a lot about them, but I was still overwhelmed with trying to keep everyone straight, so I was glad they told me again. That's what made me remember the nametags. I pretty much had everyone straight, but I had put a lot of work into them, and I knew if I didn't use them tonight, they would never see the light of day.
Ivy was standing next to me when I mentioned them to Wes. He said that I should go get them, and he asked if I wanted him to go with me, but Ivy (who had heard the whole exchange) insisted that she wanted to.
I handed them to her as soon as I took them from my bag.
"Oh snap," she muttered as she flipped through the stack. That was all she said, but she was smiling and shaking her head, so I assumed she liked them. She continued looking at them as we walked back toward the kitchen. "Y'all will not believe these nametags Jolene made!" she announced as we came down the hall together. "Oh my gosh, these are seriously the best, y'all."
I hesitated once I reached Wes's side, but Ivy tugged on my arm, urging me to follow her. "Come on, let's pass them out to everybody."
I smiled at her and easily did as she asked. I didn't mind following her, but I was glad she had taken over because I hadn't really considered the responsibility of handing them out to everyone. I sort of just pictured myself setting them on the counter and letting everyone find theirs.
Rose was busy in the kitchen, and Shug and Jane were standing in there with her. Ivy went to them first. She stood next to Shug, who curiously looked over her shoulder at the stack of tags. She flipped through the stack until she found Shug's name. I watched as Ivy handed the little piece of paper to her grandmother. Shug extended her arm and pulled her head back in an effort to bring that tiny piece of paper into focus.
"Oh, goodness, I need my readers for this," she said.
"You left a pair here," Rose said. "They're over by the coffee pot. Ivy, grab that pair of glasses for Shug."
The glasses in question were in reaching distance for Ivy so she leaned over and handed them to her grandmother before turning her attention to the tags again.
"Aunt Jane, here's yours. And mom, I saw yours in here, hang on, yeah, here it is." Shug looked my way, and the movement caused me to glance in her direction. She curled her finger at me, signaling that I should come closer to her. I was only standing a few feet away, but I came to the spot right next to her, leaning against the counter like she was doing. She stared at the tag for a few long seconds, taking in the details.
"Did you draw this, sweetheart?"
"Look at Doozy's," Ivy said, thrusting a second tag into Shug's hand.
"Oh, my goodness. Michael! Get in here and look at these!" She yelled at her husband who was in the next room, but then she smiled and focused on me again, speaking softly. "Are we supposed to peel these off and wear them? Because I don't know if I want to do that. It'll ruin it, don't you think? I might want to frame this." She looked around the kitchen trying to decipher if Ivy was handing one of them to everyone. "Did you make one of these for all of us?"
"Yes ma'am. They're just little nametags. I knew I'd be meeting a lot of you tonight, so I figured it was a good way for me to put names with faces."
She continued to stare at the tags with a look of amazement on her face. "This is me and Michael on this motorcycle, isn't it?" she said, inspecting her husband's tag.
"Yes ma'am, and if you look close, you can see it's got a—"
"Broken spoke," she said, finishing my sentence. "I see it. You drew a spoke missing right here. Michael!"
"I'm coming!" he called from the next room.
Wes had slowly moved in my direction. I had been watching him out of the corner of my eye. He stopped at the stove, saying something to his mom and tasting whatever she was cooking, but then he made his way over to me. I was comfortable around this family, but Wes brought me a sense of security that was undeniable. I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was coming to stand next to me.
And there he was. He put his arm protectively around my shoulders and smiled at his grandmother with his eyebrows raised like he was genuinely proud of me.
"How did you know about the broken spoke?" she asked.
"Wes played me the song and told me the story about how Mr. Bishop made you an impromptu engagement ring. I thought that was so sweet, so I had to draw it on his tag."
"Well, he's not wearing this, we're not wearing these, you know. These are just too special to get stuck on a shirt." She paused and looked around the kitchen giving everyone a disapproving glare. "I can't believe y'all are sticking these on your shirts! Are all of yours this good? These need to be framed."
I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.
"Shug, she can draw you something on paper if you want to frame it," Wes said. "These are just nametags. She wanted y'all to wear them."
Shug let out an uncertain sigh as she reluctantly peeled hers off and placed it carefully on her chest. "I guess I will," she said.
Michael came to stand next to her just as she did that.
"You won't believe what Jolene drew for us," she said, handing him his tag.
"What is this?" he asked.
"They're nametags, but they're special, Michael. She drew specific things about each of us. Thoughtful things. Check it out."
Michael stared intently at it for a few seconds before looking at me. "How do know all this stuff?" he asked with a sweet smile.
"Your grandson told me," I said.
"Yeah, and I don't tell just anybody about y'all," Wes said.
Michael glanced at Wes with a sincere, questioning expression as if wanting him to explain what that statement meant.
"I really don't," Wes said with a shrug. "I don't let just anybody in. I let nobody in, basically. Until Jo. I didn't set out to be a private person, but it ended up that way. Nobody even really knows I'm a Bishop over there. I mean, they know my last name, but they don't know I'm tied to—they don't know anything about me or my roots, really. I don't know why, but I didn't really share that stuff with anyone."
"I bet that felt good," Michael said. "Finally letting somebody in."
"So good, Doozy. You have no idea. It's like I somehow settled into living someone else's life for the past seven years, and then one day I woke up and decided to be me again. I wanted Jo to know y'all—know where I came from. And then I realized how good it felt to just—tell somebody the truth. Be myself. It had been so long. This all happened back when she and I were friends. I didn't even realize, at first, that the fact that I was able to be myself around her might have something to do with loving her. It took me a while to put those two things together."
I was stunned by Wes's heartfelt words. I wasn't even looking at him as he spoke. I couldn't, or else I would have cried. Shug was about to say something. I heard her open her mouth to respond to Wes, but just then, she was interrupted.
"Look at this one for Aunt Betty," Ivy said, rushing up to us again and handing another tag to Shug. "Jo drew crochet stuff on hers. Isn't that sweet? It's got yarn and a little basket. Oh, my gosh, look how cute this is. And look at these." I watched as Ivy handed Shug Betty's tag and then Jacob and Alice's. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Ivy asked, looking suddenly regretful. "Are you crying, Shug?"
Shug smiled as she dabbed the corner of her eye. "No. Your brother was just saying some really sweet things."
"Aw, I’m sorry," Ivy said. "I didn't mean to interrupt y'all."
"You're not," Doozy said. He wrapped his arm around his granddaughter just to reassure her.
"What were you saying that was so sweet?" Ivy asked, looking straight at her brother. Wes's arm had been resting around me, but he used this opportunity to get into a new position. He pulled me in front of him so that my back was against his chest. His arms came around me. It was as if I had shrugged into the world's most comfortable blanket.
"I don't remember," he said, talking to Ivy without looking at her. He remained focused on me, bending down to rub his cheek against mine. I stared at the floor, the cabinets, anywhere. I knew they were all watching us—watching him love on me. Wes did not care at all. He shamelessly gave me all his attention. He leaned in even closer, and the feeling of his face right next to my cheek and neck caused a wave of love and desire to wash over me. I got chills, and I tried my best not to shiver. I was almost certain everyone could tell that I was about to come undone right there in the kitchen.
"Was I being sweet?" Wes asked me, pretending not to remember.
I smiled, pulling back to glance at him for a second before looking at Ivy.
"He was being really sweet," I said.