Page 48 of Level Me Up

Chapter Twenty-five

Morgan

We pull into the driveway of a house smack-dab in the middle of a sub-division. The sub-division is older, so the houses each have more character: less cookie cutter and bigger yards. Dex's house has a farmhouse look but doesn't negatively stand out from the rest of the houses.

This house reminds me of my own growing up, and just looking at it causes a tiny ping of sadness in my chest. My mom took such good care of our home, and it's evident that Mrs. Roberts does the same. This house is more than just a house; you can tell it’s a home.

The two-story house has a big, long wrap-around porch with a glider in the corner, a set of comfy chairs and a table in the middle of the porch in front of a double pane window. The door is painted a soft purple which matches the tan siding and white painted pillars of the house perfectly. Baskets of full, beautiful flowers hang from the ceiling of the porch.

As I unbuckle, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I don’t want my nerves to get the best of me. I need to get them under control before I meet his family.

"Hey, you'll do great. My parents are pretty cool, and plus, they already like you."

I chuckle, "How do you know?"

"Because both Link and Bernie told them all about you," he says.

"And I quote, ‘I already like her!’ is exactly what Joan said," Link informs me as he opens the back door and climbs out. Guess it's time for me to get out, too.

Dex grabs my hand once again, and a sense of calm overtakes me. How can he have this kind of effect on me? I’ll think about that later, but for now, I need to focus on the task at hand. I need to not make a fool of myself. I notice as we head to the house, Link and Simon have already opened the front door, so we follow them inside. We are standing in a foyer that extends down a short hallway into what looks like a dining room. There is a set of stairs going to the second floor, and there is a small bathroom to the left. I barely have the door closed behind me when Dex is immediately greeted by a black lab. Greeted might not be the best term, more like mauled with big paws and a very wet tongue. Dex calls him Gus and laughs as he pets the dog and scratches his ears.

From the room to the right of the stairs, a study maybe, I hear a deep, older man’s voice say, "Down, Gus. At least let them in the door!" Dex gently pushes the dog off but continues to pet him. Now in my view is an older man who looks to be in his early fifties, and I see Dex in almost all of his features. His smile is warm as he nods to Simon and Link but then continues to Dex to give him a hug.

They embrace in a way that makes it obvious that their father and son relationship is strong.

"Hey Dad," says Dex, as he takes a step back from the hug.

"You must be the famous Morgan we keep hearing about," Mr. Roberts says to me with a fatherly smile.

"I am. It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Roberts."

"Well, welcome to our home, and please, call me Max."

He turns towards the hall and gestures, "Come on inside."

We walk down the short hall into the dining room, and Link and Simon have already wandered into another room. I look around for them and I have an idea where they went, but there stands a woman in the kitchen with a look of pure joy on her face. She has short brown hair and green eyes. She is petite at about 5'3” tall. She puts her dish towel on the counter and rounds the corner.

"Morgan, I'm so happy you made it today. I’m Joan. Don't even try calling me Mrs. Roberts," she says, and instead of shaking my hand, she engulfs me in a hug.

I don't remember the last time I was hugged by a mom. While she doesn't wear the same perfume as my own mother did, her smell reminds me of my mom. I fight back the tears that threaten my eyes. This is stupid. It's just a hug.

"Hi. Thank you for inviting me," I say.

She steps back and looks at me thoughtfully, almost like she still can't believe I'm here. She then looks at Dex.

"You were right, she is beautiful," she says. This puts a smile on my face, but redness creeps up Dex's cheeks.

"Ah, yeah, thanks, mom." He drops my hand to step in and give his mother a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

"Well, lunch will be ready at noon, so go ahead and join the boys in the sunroom. There are snacks and some lemonade already in there.”

We walk through the slightly darkened living room and enter the brightly lit sunroom. Three of the walls are covered in windows, and all the blinds are open. Simon and Link stand around a tall table filling small plates with cheese and crackers.

~~~

We stayed at Dex's house for several hours after lunch. The whole visit ended up being so much more enjoyable than I expected. The lunch Mrs. Roberts prepared was fantastic. I was able to get her homemade barbecue sauce recipe, with hopes of talking Ruby into making it. I’m not a good cook.

Dex's brother, Wade, had arrived about five minutes before we sat down to eat, and he was just as charming as his father and brother. No wonder Bernie has a crush on him. She didn’t come out and admit it the other night, but with her blushing then and my meeting him today, there is no doubt in my mind that she has a crush.

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