I’D NEVER BROUGHT anyone to something with my family and friends before and it felt monumental.
My Gram was quite enamored with her. I could tell. Janice also had an ear-to-ear smile, and I knew it was because she liked Tessa, Ian and Devon. Janice and Steve had always been great about Cole’s sexuality, but it had bothered them he’d never had a real relationship with either sex. I think it was fairly obvious to everyone in the family he was trying to embark on a relationship with both, which made us all happy.
Gram and Pop stole the spotlight at the table, as usual. The two of them were absolutely hilarious, and being with them always made me happy. I was glad the coming tour would be the last time I’d be away for an extended period of time.
Leaning forward, Pop addressed Tessa. “How long are you in town?”
Even though I already knew her answer, I hated it.
“I’m here for two more days. I’ll be back a month after, which is one week before the tour kicks off here.”
I couldn’t imagine not seeing her for a month. We were just at the start of whatever we were going to be, and I wanted… no, I needed her to be there. I’d never needed a woman before. It should have scared the shit out of me, but honestly, I loved it.
Pop jumped in and shared some details about his courtship with my Gram.
“Sylvia and I grew up in Boston. I was a steamfitter and my job took me all over the place. I met her just nine days before I was to leave for a two month job in Arizona.” Grabbing my Gram’s hand, Pop smiled and kissed her cheek before turning back to Tess.
“I hated the idea of the distance because I knew, literally the moment I laid eyes on her, Sylvia was it for me. I was afraid she’d find someone else while I was gone, but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. We talked on the phone once a week and wrote letters every day. The time apart let us get to know each other differently than we would have had we been living near each other. It was beautiful. By the time I came home, I knew Sylvia better than anyone in the world, and she knew me the same way. When I was leaving for those two months, I thought we’d never get through it. Fifty-three years later, I see the error of my thinking. We were twenty-year-old kids who didn’t know a damn thing about being in a relationship. Two months later we were married, and the rest is history. I love this woman more than life itself, and those months helped me realize it. I’m one lucky son-of-a-gun.”
Staring at my Pop I couldn’t help but grimace. My dad was right. I had learned at the knee of the master. Pop definitely knew about romance and keeping a relationship alive. My grandparents were in their seventies, but were still frisky. Like, seriously frisky. They cuddled, held hands, kissed in public and had no qualms telling my dad and me not to come over if they were planning to “make whoopee.” No joke.
Gram basically glowed while Pop spoke. “You really are a silver- tongued devil, Mason Rand.”
Oh crap. They were going to get frisky right at the table. While the rest of us were used to it, Tessa, Ian and Devon weren’t. I hoped they weren’t going to have an issue with it. Mary used to tell me my grandparents were disgusting, old perverts. It was just another thing she and I disagreed about. I thought my grandparents were awesome, and I found tremendous satisfaction knowing how in love they still were.
Instead of looking repulsed, Tessa was teary eyed. Turning to me, she smiled. “This is one of the most beautiful relationships I’ve ever seen.”
Reaching under the table, Tessa grabbed her small camera from her purse. In seconds, she was snapping pictures of my grandparents, and I felt myself falling for her a little bit more. She took pictures of everyone at the table, including some family shots of me with my family and Cole with his. I noticed she went out of her way to get some pictures of Cole with Devon and Ian, which suggested she’d picked up on the possibility of them being together. Tessa was smart and thoughtful, and I liked it.
Gram asked Tess for her camera and then she took a few pictures of us together. I couldn’t wait to get a look at those. Gram asked Tess to forward the photos to her and Tess wrote down her email.
She smiled sweetly at my gram. “I’ll get them to you right away.”
Gram couldn’t have been more thrilled. “You’re an absolute joy, Tessa. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see my Flynny-boy with a good girl. It’s all any of us have ever wanted.”
Tessa looked like a guppy as her mouth opened and closed and she tried to think of something to say. “Sylvia, we’re not… I don’t know if… Flynn might not want…”
Grabbing her hand, I pulled it to my mouth before pressing a kiss on her palm. Looking her straight in the eye I told her the absolute truth, and I didn’t whisper. Fuck it all, I wanted everyone to know she meant something. “I want, babe. Don’t even question it.”
Tessa stared at me wide-eyed but said nothing. It was like she’d been struck speechless. Luckily Gram plowed on.
“I always wanted a granddaughter—or a dozen of them. I wanted a large family, something really big. Mason and I were hell bent on having a little army of our own. Mason was a twin, but his sister passed away when they were babies and I was an only child, so both of us wanted a big family. Unfortunately, there were complications when I had Todd, and it caused me to hemorrhage. Additional children were out of the question, but it was fine because God blessed us with the best son in the world. Then Todd met Rachel. They knew each other for six hours before he came home and told me she was the one for him. They were both just nineteen years old and I know most people were stunned they got so serious so quickly, but when you meet your soul-mate, you know. We could all tell, too. It was impossible to be with them and not see how connected they were. When they got married two months later, Mason and I finally had a beautiful daughter. I knew she was going to give me a gaggle of grandchildren. She gave us our perfect Flynn, and he’s been the light of my life since the day he was born and his chubby hand reached out and touched my finger. We spoiled him rotten, but he was such a wonderful child. Through Flynn we got Cole, and I love him as one of my own. Todd and Rachel had been trying to have another baby, and I was so excited my family would be growing. I just knew granddaughters were in my future.
“And then, our Rachel got sick. My son lost the love of his life, my grandson lost his mother, Mason and I lost the daughter of our hearts and we all lost the chance to have a bigger family. Todd never remarried because he never found anyone who made him feel the way Rachel did. You can call me an old fool, but I’ve prayed Flynn would bring home someone for us to love. I just know we were meant to be a bigger family. I’ve always felt it. I’m counting down the days until this stubborn ass gives me some great-grandchildren to love. Flynn’s twenty-nine years old and you’re the first girl he’s ever introduced us to. Let me enjoy the moment, sugarplum.”
My gram had broken my heart with her explanation, completely ripped me open. I hated the thought of the people I loved hurting, and I knew only having one son and one grandchild wasn’t all she wanted because she had so much more love to give. I felt bad though, because I was sure she had to have made Tessa uncomfortable by sharing the way she had.
Instead of being uncomfortable, Tessa turned to my gram and pulled her in for a hug. “You’re an amazing woman, and I just know your future great-grandchildren are going to adore you.”
We were just past the twenty-four hour mark of knowing each other then, so it was pure insanity how I spent the rest of the time at the table imagining Tessa pregnant with our child.
Our dinner lasted for almost three hours. Everyone had a great time, and we all laughed and like my dad said we would, we ate entirely too much. Tessa and Devon fit right in. Ian was pleasant but less comfortable than they were. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed how anxious he seemed around Cole, although he was fine with Devon., I worried Cole was biting off more than he could chew with that one, but with how adamant he was about nothing in a one-on-one relationship, I knew my giving him shit wasn’t going to go well.
Hugs and kisses were exchanged as we made our way to the parking lot to leave. Tessa told Gram she’d email her the photos as soon as she got home and Gram reminded Tess to follow her on Twitter. Gram couldn’t seem to believe her ears when Tessa told her she wasn’t even on Twitter.
“What? My goodness, Tessa, you’re behind the times! You must make an account. Everyone does the Twitter these days, sugarplum.”
My father and grandfather both hugged Tess, telling her they wanted to see her at dinner in the week she was here before the tour started. Dad also told her she needed to come over for breakfast to eat one of his omelets.
It was evident to me that my family didn’t just approve of Tessa, they really liked her and were welcoming her.
It was just after eight but the night was still young. I didn’t want to take Tess back to her hotel and just drop her off. I wanted… no, I absolutely had… to spend more time with her. A lot more time.