Page 8 of A Little Thankful

“It’s been way too long, my sweet girl. Next time, you’ll have to fly out for a long visit.”

“Sure, Mom, whatever you say,” I told her, still in her embrace. I had to admit, it felt wonderful to be in her arms. She had a way of making me feel loved and protected that no one else in this entire world could do for me… not even my dad.

When we finally moved apart, she took a step back. “Let me look at you.” She gave me a once over, and I knew she’d either say something about my wearing Yoga pants, which in her mind were not suitable street clothes, or she’d comment on the fact that I’d put on about five pounds. Those were lingering baby pounds that I couldn’t seem to shake, but we hadn’t gotten to that part yet. “Oh darling, what’s going on? You look tired. Was the drive taxing? Is something bothering you? Either way, you’re here now and you don’t have to do another thing. Just come inside, and your dad will drag in your things.”

Then she slipped her hand around my waist as if we would be walking inside.

Little did she know we weren’t going anywhere without Autumn.

“Not yet, Mamma. There’s someone I want you to meet first,” I told her and immediately my heart started thumping against my chest.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out as I swung open the back door, and gently reached in for my baby girl.

She stirred, and when she opened her big blue eyes, she smiled up at me like she always did whenever she saw me. She wasn’t one of those babies who cried when she first woke up. Instead, she liked to play with her feet, which she only recently discovered, and giggle, like the world was a fabulous place to be, and she couldn’t wait to explore it.

“Hey, pumpkin,” I fussed. “We’re here. You get to meet your grandma Martha. She’s going to be really surprised, so be prepared.”

Autumn kicked out her legs and held out her chubby arms, like she understood me and couldn’t wait.

I picked her up and turned around to face my mother’s wrath, prepared for the absolute worst, and what I got, shocked me.

“Who’s this?” she asked, grinning like she might be meeting one of my friends. “What an adorable baby. And all those red curls. She looks like…” she stopped in mid-sentence, as if reality hit her without my having to say another word.

“Mamma, this is Autumn, my daughter. Autumn, this is your grandma Martha, my mother.”

There was a moment of silence when no one said a word or moved or breathed. Even Autumn didn’t move or babble.

Then, like some miracle, my mother grinned, and held out her arms. Baby Autumn squealed with excitement and leaned across my arms for my mom.

As soon as she took her, Autumn instantly rested her head on my mom’s shoulder while my mom rubbed her back and cuddled her, something my mom had always been good at.

“Why didn’t you… When did… Oh my God, is she really yours?”

“Yes. Can’t you tell by all that red hair?”

“She’s beautiful, but Sage, what’s going on? How can… Why didn’t you tell me? All this time I could’ve been with you. And where’s your husband? You do have a husband, right?”

I knew that would be the first place her mind would go. One of the reasons I hadn’t told her or anyone. I hadn’t been ready to get married or be part of anything other than my pregnancy.

My head flooded with excuses that I knew wouldn’t appease her or anyone else in this family.

“I’ll tell you everything once we’re in the house.” My heart kept right on racing.

I turned back to my SUV and unfastened the car seat to bring it inside. It served as Autumn’s chair as well. I also grabbed my diaper bag.

“Whose baby is this?” I heard my dad ask while I was still trying to wrestle with the car seat.

“We’ll talk about her once we get inside,” my mother assured him. “Can you grab some of her things out of the trunk?”

I sucked in a breath, pulled out the seat, and turned to face my dad. And when I did, I noticed my grandma Iris, my mom’s mom, coming towards me, along with Aunt Sylvia, my mother’s older, more spontanious sister and her entitled teenage daughter, Sami.

“Mom, you didn’t tell me everyone would be here. I thought you said this would be a quiet Thanksgiving?”

“It is, sweetheart. I invited your father’s family, but fortunately, they’re still renovating their vacation house in Florida, so they couldn’t make it.”

“Well, at least that’s something,” I mumbled, but as it stood, there were far too many family members to explain things to.

My father had two brothers who both owned vacation homes in the Florida Keys. His dad lived with his brother Bill, who was divorced with grown children. His other brother Fred was on his third wife and had no children. Although I liked my dad’s side, I wasn’t prepared for that much family intrusion. It was enough that I now had to spill everything to my mom’s side, which was more family members than I’d anticipated.

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