Page 119 of Catch Me
“Ivy, I’ve heard so much about you.” She surprises me by pulling me into a hug.
“Mrs. Townsend, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for inviting me to your home and to celebrate your birthday with your family. These are for you.” I hold out the flowers and a fruit basket we picked up on the way from the airport.
“These are beautiful, thank you.” She takes the flowers and then takes a step back. “Come in. Come in.” She waves us inside.
“Stasi will be over soon for lunch,” she tells us before starting down the hallway.
I glance around the spacious entryway, noting the hardwood floors, and huge spiraling staircase that must lead to the bedrooms.
The splendor of the house doesn’t detract from the homey feeling made possible by the light-colored classic furniture and numerous family pictures on the walls and above the fireplace.
Mrs. Townsend asks us about our flights and the car that picked us up from the airport.
“We would’ve been more than happy to pick you up,” she says while escorting us down a long hall to an equally spacious kitchen.
“Traffic is terrible around the airport on Saturdays,” Andreas says. “It was easier to have a car service pick us up. We’ll pick up the rental tomorrow,” he tells her.
“Our driver from the airport was great, Mrs. Townsend. We didn’t want to bother you since Andreas said you have a full day planned for tomorrow.”
His mother smiles as she places the flowers I gave her on the kitchen island. “Andreas knows he’s never an interruption.” Then she looks at me. “You should know that, too.”
She squeezes my hand.
“We have peach iced tea, fresh lemonade, or sparkling water. What’s your poison?” Her gaze shifts between the two of us.
“Lemonade sounds great. I’ll get it, you two sit,” Andreas insists.
“Oh, I could?—”
Mrs. Townsend takes me by the arm. “Don’t bother, sweetie. He’s not going to listen. Let’s have a seat in the dining room.”
I follow her into the dining room and take a seat at the glass table.
“Your home is beautiful, Mrs. Townsend.”
That’s not me trying to suck up to her, either. The spacious living room and dining areas decorated in neutral, warm colors with pops of color here and there give the home a welcoming feel. It’s also much larger than I anticipated.
From what I saw driving into the gated neighborhood, all of the homes are especially attractive.
“Is it true all of your family lives in the area?”
She nods. “Not just the area. Aaron’s older brother is our next-door neighbor. His two other brothers live right around the corner.”
“So basically, we ran this entire community growing up,” Andreas says while entering and placing a sterling silver tray with three glasses of lemonade on the table.
“Him and all of his fifty-eleven cousins,” Mrs. Townsend jokes.
Andreas snorts. “Yeah, you and Dad were responsible for five out of those fifty-eleven,” he comments. “Why’d you have so many, anyway? I wasn’t enough?”
Part of me is slightly bowled over by the way he easily jokes with his mother. What’s more surprising, though, is how she takes it all in jest.
In the background, I hear the lock of the front door disengaging.
“Well, Kennedy and Kyle were a surprise. And well, Thiers came with a spare,” she jokes, smiling up at Andreas.
“That’s all I am is a spare?” His chuckle is cut off by a feminine voice.
“So, what was I?”
