Coming Home

I sat in the car, sweating in the insane heat. I sat watching the world go by. A tug on my hair made me turn around to the kids in the back.

“Auntie!” a little voice cried. “Cooper pulled your hair!” the girl in the backseat called.

“Tattle!” the older boy shouted, is finger up his nose. He pulled it out and waved it at his little sister. “Kiss it!”

“EW! Momma!” the girl shouted at her mother, who was driving the car. Sienna just smiled her eyes still on the road.

“I’ll put you on a plane to Aunt Zoe’s house in Britain if you two don’t behave.” She said as we drove down the dirt road. Both the children screamed no making their mother smile.

“What’s wrong with my house?” I asked wondering why my house was seen as punishment.

“It’s cold.” The girl said looking at me.

“And you don’t have no animals.” Cooper joined in his finger back up his nose.

“And it rains too much.” The girl said before her mother interrupted.

“Grace that’s enough.” She said holding back a laugh. “Why don’t we play the quiet game? Start now!” she said and both the kids instantly covered their mouths and looked at each other, and started poking each other. My little sister glanced at me.

“Sorry about bringing the kids, Noah was working.” She grinned talking about her husband. I rolled my eyes at the kids and turned forward. “He got a job at the zoo. He works with the country ya know.” She said driving us to our parents’ house for a family reunion.
I grew up here in Australia with Sienna and our parents, but I moved to Britain for work. Well that was my excuse. I wanted to get away from home honestly. I wasn’t as family oriented as my sister, or good with animals like my father was. I didn’t fit in, so I decided to move somewhere else.

“That’s nice.” I mumbled. I grabbed my bottle of water and started to take a drink.

“He’s coming to meet you tonight.” She muttered making me spew water. The kids cackled loudly.

“You’re setting me up again, during a family reunion?” I asked bewildered. My sister laughed.

“Well actually Noah is.” She said with a big grin.

~

I thought Noah had magically convinced my father to agree to his idea, but then I realized they were already friends. Apparently since it was brought up, my father had done nothing but measure the man up. Australia, or Cody Kirkland, had apparently moved into my parent’s heart already. When I arrived at my parents’ house, all they did was talk about how much I would love the man. At that moment I gave up, the cards just weren’t in my way this go around.
I sat ripping up pieces of lettuce for a salad, listening to my mother’s rant as we fixed dinner.

“You know you should have children by now. I’m getting older and I want to see your babies before I pass.” She said as we set the table. I just rolled my eyes and dropped the rest of the lettuce in the bowl.

“Momma, I have a good life. I’m just not looking for love right now.” I said taking the plates from her to set the table. She sighed and looked into my eyes with worry.

“You don’t have to look” she placed her hands on her hips. “Just don’t let it pass you when you find it.” She said in a serious tone that sent chills down my spine. She turned and grabbed the roasted meat and moved to place it on the table. “Besides the last time you had a date was high school wasn’t it?” she grinned placing the meat on the table.

“Momma!” I shrieked shocked she would even say that, no matter how true it was. I heard my sister laugh and saw her walking into the kitchen.

“Momma, don’t embarrass her in front of Cody, you might kill her.” She giggled grabbing some vegetables and placing them on the table. “The boys are about to pull in.” she said putting the last of food on the table. She fixed a few stray hairs around her face and headed back into the living room. I rolled my eyes and followed.

The kids were at the window, hiding in the curtains. They suddenly cheered, making my father jump out of his rocker. They raced to the door as my father opened it. Noah stepped through first, swooping Grace into his arms as he walked in.

“Good to see you boys again. You should come visit more often.” My father said tugging on his suspenders as the second man walked in. Cooper reached up and the man knelt down before I could even get a good look at him.
Cooper grinned as he ran his fingers on the fur ball on the man’s arm. He picked up Cooper, who was too busy playing with the fur ball to notice. The man rose and turned to me, and I stood a little shocked. He definitely handsome, he had a band-aid on his nose and his hair looked a little messy. He gave a crooked smile when his green eyes spotted me.

“This must be Zoe.” He walked up to me with Cooper in his arms. I got nervous as he took my hand with his empty arm. “I’m Cody Kirkland. It’s nice to finally meet you Sheila.” He said making Cooper turn and look at me. I must have zoned out because Cooper started calling for me brought my attention to him.

“Auntie” he said making me look his way. He was reaching for me, so I let him climb into my arms.

“Come on everyone. Let’s eat before it gets cold.” My mother said trying to herd everyone into the kitchen.
We sat around the table, the kids sat around a little table beside their mother. It was nothing but small chit chat about what had been going on lately. I just sat listening trying to fill in the blanks. I caught a glance my sister shot at her husband before she rose to her feet. All eyes were on her. She smiled looking at her husband.

“Noah and I have an announcement.” She said pausing for a moment. “We’re having another baby.” she cheered. In shock I knocked my drink into my lap.
~

My mother didn’t have any pants I could wear, so I ended up in a dress while she cleaned my pants. They were hung on the line to dry. I walked out awkwardly, holding down the fabric of the dress. Everyone was sitting around the table in the living room as my father pulled out his deck of cards. My mother seemed overjoyed as she sat at the table. I took the seat beside my date, holding my dress against my legs so it wouldn’t wrinkle when I sat. I felt his eyes on my but I ignored it and took the cards my father dealt. We played for a few minutes, Cody occasionally bumping my hand as he put down cards. It was my turn again.

“Auntie?” I heard Grace. I looked down and she was reaching up for me. I handed her my cards and picked her up. She sat in my lap and held my cards. “Can I help you play?” she asked.

“Yeah” I said before explaining the rules. I saw my mother smiling out of the corner of my eye. Grace placed a card down and the game continued.

“I wanna play!” Cooper yelled dropping his toy boat and running towards the table. He climbed into Cody’s lap. I saw the look my mother gave my sister. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my cards.