You Don't Know You're Beautiful

I was so happy that Kris’ mom was so accepting of me and my relationship with Kris. She had taken me around the city of Pittsburgh. It was an experience for both of us. She hadn’t been to Pittsburgh for more than two days at a time. During those visits, she never had time to really explore the city. So, while Kris was at the arena for practices or morning skates, Christiane and I would tour the city. She also took me to the campus and went with me on the tour. I was happy to have someone with me, and as a bonus, I was bonding with my boyfriend’s mom.

I didn’t get to talk to Steph much while I was away seeing as we were both busy. Me with my tours and her with wedding stuff. When we did talk, it was as if we hadn’t spoken in years.

“Hey, how’s life down East?”

“It’s good. The venue for the rehearsal dinner today changed, and I’m going to Sid’s parents’ house to have a sleepover with Taylor. How are the tours going?”

“Good. Kris’ mom has been great. She’s so supportive of everything.”

“That’s awesome! I’m so happy for you. I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there.”

“I wish you were here. But, like you said, you already saw the campus, so I’m not sure my tour would’ve been the same. Besides, we have all next year to get re-acquainted with the campus.”

I heard her chuckle. “That’s true. Okay, I gotta head out. On our way to Halifax for the dinner, then I’m going to the sleepover. Have fun with Kris and his mom. See you in 5 sleeps.”

I laughed, then blushed at the thought of Christiane being my mother-in-law. “Thanks, you have fun with Taylor and the in-laws.”

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Kris’ POV

I was so happy to see my mom and Kaitlyn getting along. I knew that Kaitlyn was upset that Steph wasn’t with her, so having my mom go on tours with her was nice. I knew that my mom hadn’t seen much of Pittsburgh, even though she’s been to the city a couple of times, so the tours would be fun for her too.

After practice, some of the boys decided to go out for lunch. Knowing that Kaitlyn and my mom were out shopping, I agreed to tag along.

“So Tanger, how’s your mom getting along with your girl?”

I smiled over at Jordan as we walked into the restaurant.

“Awesome, actually. I can’t believe how well they’re getting along.”

“That’s awesome, dude. So, you’re not nervous about what kind of stories your mom could tell Kaitlyn?”

I shook my head with a slight chuckle. “No, my mom’s not like that. Even if she did say anything, it’s nothing that could drive Kaitlyn away, believe me.”

Max laughed. “Really? Even if the stories from juniors come up?”

My head snapped up and I glared at Max. “None of those would come up, because my mother doesn’t know any of them.” I snarled through gritted teeth. Sure, I did some things I wasn’t proud of in juniors, but I was a teenage boy being noticed by girls, it’s to be expected. Thankfully, I stopped that before I moved to Pittsburgh and I was only with one girl. That’s how I wanted it to stay.

“Hey, sorry, man,” Max defended, raising his hands. “I was just saying, there are stories out there that would drive Kaitlyn away.”

I bit my tongue from responding, hoping that someone would change the subject. Thankfully, the waitress came over to take our orders.

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Kaitlyn’s POV

Christiane was leaving after our shopping spree, and I was sad to see her go. When we got back to Kris’ place, we saw that he wasn’t there. I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed his number. I figured he went out to lunch with the guys, but I just didn’t want him to miss saying goodbye to his mom. He wasn’t aware that her flight got changed.

“Hey, how’s shopping?”

“We’re done shopping. We’re back home now. I’m sorry for calling you with such short notice, but your mom is scheduled to leave in about 45 minutes.”

“Oh, okay. Well, we’re just leaving the restaurant. I’ll be home in about 20 minutes, then we’ll all head to the airport, okay?”

I looked over at Christiane and put my hand over the bottom of my phone. “Kris will be here in about 20 minutes then we’ll all go together, is that okay?”

She nodded and I removed my hand from my phone. “That’s good with us, just try and keep it in the 20 minutes, please.”

“I’ll do the best I can. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” I hung up the phone and felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Christiane smiling at me.

“You are so good for him, you know.”

I smiled at her. “I try. Sometimes, it’s really hard being far apart, but we’ve been able to make it work.”

She nodded. “That’s good. I hope this is not the last I see of you.”

I nodded. “I hope the same.”

“Well, I should double check that I have everything packed up.” She left the living room and made her way to the guest room. I smiled at her, then turned my head to look at a picture on the mantle. It was the slideshow frame that I gave him for Christmas. I walked over and picked it up as Christiane’s words replayed in my head.

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Kris’ POV

When I got back to my place, I saw my two favourite girls laughing on my couch. I walked closer and heard my mom telling a story about me as a baby.

“He tried so hard, but bless his heart, he just couldn’t grab the cookie out of the jar. He was so upset.”

I rolled my eyes and walked up behind the couch. “Okay, I hate to break up this trip down memory lane, but mom, you’re gonna miss your flight if we don’t leave now.”

The girls reluctantly stood up from the couch and turned to face me.

“You’re right, Kris. You got everything, Christiane?”

My mom nodded. “Yes, dear. I’m all set.”

We gathered all of my mom’s luggage and left for the airport. Thankfully, we didn’t hit too much traffic on the way, so the drive wasn’t that long. When we walked into the airport, I turned to my mom.

“So, when does your plane leave?”

She pulled her ticket out of her purse. “In about 2 hours.”

“Oh, did you want up to wait with you?”

She shook her head. “Oh no, Kristopher, I’ll be fine. I thank you for the visit and letting me meet this wonderful young lady.”

I looked over at Kaitlyn, who was standing beside me, and smiled at her.

“You know you’re always welcome, mom.”

“And now that I’ll be living here in the fall, you could visit more often. I’ll need some girl time incase Steph is too busy with her classes while the boys are at the arena.” Kaitlyn smiled at my mom as she wrapped an arm around my waist.

“I would love that, dear, and I’d love to meet this Steph you’ve spoken so fondly of.”

I looked up to see which gate my mom had to be at. I saw that we were on the completely opposite side of the airport. I turned to the two girls.

“Uh, guys, we have to move. We’re in the wrong side of the airport.”

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Kaitlyn’s POV

Kris and I walked his mom to the other side of the airport. When we finally reached the right gate, Christiane turned to us.

“You guys can leave now.” Kris raised his eyebrow at her. It was adorable how protective he was over his mom. She sighed and chuckled lightly. “Seriously, Kristopher, I’ll be fine. It’s not like I don’t know where I’m going. I’m at the right gate. It’s all straight forward from here on out.”

He reluctantly nodded. “Okay, mom.” He pulled her in for a hug. “Je t’adore. I’ll see you soon. Only next time, I’ll be the one coming home.”

“You’ll bring Kaitlyn, yes?” Kris turned his head to look at me. His eyes met mine and I saw a smile grew on his face.

“Yes, I’ll bring Kaitlyn.” He pulled away from his mom and she walked over to me. She pulled me into a hug.

“I can’t thank you enough for making my Kristopher so happy.” She whispered. “I do hope to see a lot more of you.” She pulled away and took my hands in hers. “Please come with him when he comes back home in the summer. I’d love to show you around. Plus, there are pictures to go along with some of the stories I told you.”

I smirked at her, thinking of some of the stories she told me. “I’d like that.”

Christiane stepped away from me and grabbed Kris for one last hug. “Take care of this girl, okay?”

He nodded. “I plan on it.”

We waved goodbye and walked out of the airport hand in hand.

“So,” Kris started, “how was the week with my mom?”

“It was great,” I smiled. “I think I’m really going to like living here.”