Page 23 of The Lies
“Yeah, but Addison just said she’s not coming to lunch. Tell her to come, Dad.”
“I didn’t know if you’d want to come,” he admits after a staring at me in panic for a second or two.
If I’m honest, I’m not sure if I want to either. The last time I met my boyfriend’s parents it was a train wreck. Edward’s mum spent the whole time grilling me about what I saw my future being, when I wanted to get married, how many kids I wanted. I can only assume I didn’t come off that badly seeing as she allowed Edward to marry me. “It’s up to you,” I say in the end. “I understand if you don’t want me to go.”
“Sinead, could you please take your stuff upstairs?” he asks, not taking his eyes off me. Sinead doesn’t argue. She can obviously tell we need some time. We’re both silent as she leaves the room and climbs the stairs. Blake comes to sit next to me on the sofa and grabs my hand. “Of course I want you to come. I was concerned you’d think it was too fast. You’ve already got Sinead to deal with; I didn’t know if you’d think meeting my parents would be too much.”
I really want to say no, to run back to Aunt Addy’s house and hide in the kitchen making cakes, but the hope I can see etching its way onto Blake’s face stops me. “I’d love to meet them,” I say instead, with as much enthusiasm as possible.
“Really?”
“Really.”
* * *
“Addison, it’s so good to meet you,” Steph, Blake’s mum, says when I get ushered into her kitchen by Blake and Sinead. Her accent hits me immediately; it’s not what I was expecting because it’s not Irish but American. I guess that explains Blake’s slightly sketchy accent.
“You too,” I say, trying not to let my nerves show. I was relieved when we arrived to a gorgeous and homely old farmhouse. I felt comfortable before I’d even entered. “You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you. Rick should be here in a minute, I just sent him out with an armload of recycling to sort through. Do you all wants drinks?”
“I’ll do it,” Sinead announces. “Do you want tea, Addison?”
“Yes please, sweetheart.”
“Blake, you help Sinead. I’m going to give Addison the tour.”
“Be nice,” Blake warns, but thankfully he’s smiling and his mum seems lovely. If I’d had the same offer when I met Edward’s mum I think I’d have run a mile. Even once I knew her I didn’t want to be stuck alone in the same room as her.
“Those two have told me so much about you,” Steph says as I follow her to the garden room but she continues before I get a chance to think too much about both Blake and Sinead talking about me. “How are you finding being back?”
“I love it. I missed this place and my aunt. I think I was always destined to come back eventually.”
“Blake said you were a lawyer. This must be a bit of a chance of pace from that.”
We chat away as if it’s not the first time we’ve met as we wander in and out of the different rooms. This is a world away from my only prior experience of meeting the parents.
“Sinead said you grew up with Kayleigh,” Steph says, dragging me from my thoughts.
“Yes, she was a couple of years younger but we were as close as we could be.”
“Such a lovely girl. I remember the first time Blake brought her home. She was so shy, I was sure she was going to burst into tears at any moment,” she says fondly. “It was such a terrible time when she passed. It was way before her time.” Steph waves her hand about. “Anyway, enough of the sad stuff. It’s so nice to see Blake enjoying life. There was a time I didn’t think I’d see him smile again.”
“He’s quite a guy,” I say with a smile.
“That he is. He told me about the bakery. I think it’s a wonderful idea. I’m sure you’ll do very well.”
“I hope so. I still can’t quite believe it all.”
“I have to be honest, I was a little sceptical when he said he was going to give it to you just like that, but now I’ve met you and can see that wonderful things Blake and Sinead have said about you are all true, I know he made the right decision.”
My words get stuck in my throat. I had no idea I needed to be accepted properly into Blake and Sinead’s family, but the fact I have been means the world to me.
“Hey now, don’t go getting all emotional on me. Let’s go and see how those two are getting on with the drinks.”
“Is Uncle Jason coming?” Sinead asks when we start taking our places at the dining table. When I look up I see there’s an extra place setting. Now I’m confused. Uncle Jason? I wasn’t aware they were related.
“We never know really, do we?” Steph says with a laugh as she begins removing the lids from the dishes in the middle of the table. My stomach growls loudly, reminding me it was a long time ago I made pancakes this morning. “We’d better get you fed, Addison.”
