In Love With You

TWO-2

The men start an animated conversation about the latest model of some video game, which loses my attention. I"m not into technology at all - except texting. I look to the side and see Jude down on the floor, playing with Pepper, Julie"s little dog. Jude is a serious boy. He must be about thirteen or fourteen years old, thin and long like Alan, with straight brown hair that falls over gray eyes like his brother"s. We met a few times and I think I only heard his voice when he said a shy hello.

helloI can"t imagine how hard it must be to not have mom"s presence in her life, especially at such a young age. I don"t know much about Alan"s life – in fact, none of us do. All he commented is that he raises his brother since he was little and that they have no contact with their parents. At that moment, Pepper licks the boy"s cheek, pulling a little smile out of him, which makes me feel a little calmer. Even if there are no other children here to play with him, the boy will be able to have fun.

Ding dong.

I head into the room the moment the doorbell rings.

- I"ll get it - I say to no one in particular. I imagine it"s Rafe, the only one left to arrive. Well, except Jenny, the doctor who helped Julie, when she found out about the pregnancy, and who George quickly took her under his wing. The doctor"s on duty today, and she"s not supposed to be here until later, around supper time.

This thought makes me smile. It"s amazing how the circle of life makes us change. Last year, everyone spent Christmas in a corner. This year, the family is the center of the celebration, not only the blood relatives, but the heart ones as well.

I open the door to Rafe, who greets me with a kiss on the cheek, and point out the male temple. Then I head into the living room, where George and Julie are talking.

male temple- Little girl, what"s going on with Danny Boy? - George asks, with a serious expression. I already know it"s bullshit. - Did he get a dental implant? Whitening? I have never seen this boy show his teeth as much as today!

Just like me, Julie bursts out laughing.

- Georgeee!! Stop!! - She brings her hand to her face, trying to pull herself together. George is debauchery personified. - He"s happy. That"s all.

- He really is - I agree. - I"ve never seen my brother like this.

George turns his gaze to me. Oh, s**t.

- Hmm... and speaking of happiness, Johanna- narrows his eyes. - Zach"s has had a little twinkle in his eye too. Do you, by any chance, know what is happening to him? - he asks, arching his eyebrow.

JohannaHe"s suspicious, I"m sure. I look at him indifferently and keep my tone of voice expressionless, even though I"m feeling uncomfortable.

- And why would I know, George? We"re not close. - We just stuck together for a good part of the week.

We just stuck together for a good part of the week.- You"ve been hanging out with the handsome guy for whom you"re not "close" to him - George says, and his look in his eyes almost makes me gasp. I swear he can see inside us. - I"m watching you, young lady. - He makes a gesture with his hand, pointing two fingers at his blue eyes and one at me. - Do not think that I did not notice that this is the second time you get a “ride” with him.

- Second? - My voice rises a little. Before I try to defend myself against anything and prove myself guilty, I shake my head in the negative. - You"re imagining things - I say and shrug. Julie looks at both of us, her mouth open.

- George, when you set your mind on something, you rarely get it wrong. But... Jo and Zach? Hmm... No. I think you got it wrong this time-Julie stands up for me and I"m grateful.

- I saw them cuddle when Julie got sick - he says and I open my mouth, trying to remember what we did to give George some hint that we"re together, but nothing comes to mind. - She even rested her head on Zach"s strong shoulders, little girl! - George says, as if telling a secret. Then he turns to me. - Afterwards, he took you home, because the poor girl was very tired...

poor girlThe debauchery, my father.

I feel my face turn completely red and I protest.

- What"s up, George! Stop the bullshit. Zach was only polite to me. You know that I was without a car that day and that his house is closer to mine than the place where Rafe lived at the time.

- Don"t be nervous, honey. I still haven"t figured out what"s going on. But I will, or my name is not George Preston - he declares, gets up and leaves the room with a flourish, as he does whenever he feels challenged.

I"m screwed.

Julie and I looked at each other.

- What was that? - she asks me, with an arched eyebrow and her hand on her belly.

- I have no idea. But he"s getting worse every day, don"t you think? - I ask, in a conversational tone, trying to disguise.

- You want to tell me something, Jo? - she asks, and I bring my hand to my chest and shake my head in denial. - Do not forget that I am your friend; you know that you can talk to me whenever you want.

- I know - I reply and look away, as I push a strand of my long dark blond hair behind my ear.

We are silent for a few seconds, until Julie changes the subject.

- Shall we finish putting the tree up? - I smile, agreeing. We stand up together and I run my arm over her shoulder as she smoothes her belly with her right hand. - This year we have a lot of gifts to arrange!

We approached the large Christmas tree and began to place the gift boxes that we all brought, arranged around it. Suddenly she stops and starts to get up.

- Hey, where are you going? I ask, confused by the sudden rush.

- I need to call Daniel - she replies, and the tone of haste in her voice makes me alarmed.

- What happened? Are you feeling bad? Do you want me to call Jenny? - I ask, worried. Julie looks at me and laughs.

- No, friend. I"m fine - she says, and I must have made an expression of doubt, because she puts her hand on my shoulder and smiles. - It"s just that seeing the Christmas tree reminded me of the food that Mary made and left me wanting to eat codfish fritters with strawberry ice cream.

- Wouldn"t it be codfish fritters and strawberry ice cream?

and- No, no. It"s codfish fritters with ice cream!

- Arghhh... how disgusting - I say, looking at her with a frown, and she laughs.

- Let"s go. I need to find Daniel before my baby is born with a codfish fritters face. - She barely lets me get up and pulls me towards the door. - I need to find the only man capable of understanding my food cravings.

***

The day is being amazing. We laughed a lot, enjoying the company of friends and our family, as we haven"t done in a long time. The afternoon is coming to an end and the night is almost falling, but the party remains lively and now the family is complete. Finally, everyone arrived, including Jenny, with her little girl, Maggie. The doctor was adopted by our group, thanks to Julie and George, who gave her no chance to walk away – which was great, as she became a dear friend. The thin woman, with dark hair that falls over her shoulders, is discreet and shy, speaks softly, but has a sweetness in her voice as I have seen in few people. And her daughter is the most adorable child I"ve ever met. A little girl of five, with plump cheeks that makes you want to squeeze, with dark curls like her mother"s, but who speaks through her elbows and that no one can resist picking her up and squeezing her.

I look around the room and see Alan chatting excitedly with Ben. The guitarist of The Band was responsible for the playlist of the party and, from an early on, Daniel"s echo dot is playing the songs that Alan has selected. In the other corner of the room, Rafe and Zach talk, but his gaze immediately meets mine. I disguise and quickly avert my gaze. Jenny is sitting in an armchair watching Jude teach George a move on his portable video game, which he got as a gift from Alan.

echo dotMy attention turns to Julie, who is standing near the dining table, staring out into the center of the room. Following his gaze, I see my parents, who are dancing with their arms around each other. Her head is resting on his shoulder, which is with his eyes closed. They are lulled by the raspy voice of Rod Stewart singing “The Way You Look Tonight”. I smile at the image. It is beautiful to see the two together and so united, even after so many years of marriage. The love of my parents is something rare, very difficult to find. I shift my gaze back to Julie, about to head in her direction, when I see her eyes fill with tears. I tilt my head to the side, puzzled by the reason why she"s crying. She blinks, seeming to try to push away the tears, and picks up a glass of water that is on the table and takes a sip, as if trying to rebalance herself.

My parents move more to the side, getting my attention, and that"s when I see my brother. Daniel has his back to me, swaying to the music, which intrigues me, as I would never have guessed that my brother was the type to dance alone. Come to think of it, I think I only saw him on a dance floor at his engagement. Then, he turns around a bit, and that"s when I see a chubby hand holding his shoulder. I move closer to the window, which causes him to face me, allowing me to see him with his eyes closed, dancing with little Maggie who is on his lap, seeming to love the swing.

Seeing my brother dance with Maggie, holding the little girl with such affection and care, makes me sure that it doesn"t matter what s*x the baby is, because he will be a wonderful father. With a smile on my lips and a lump in my throat of emotion, I look back at Julie, who is running her hand over her belly, protectively, as tears fall. I grab my cell phone and take some pictures of Daniel and Maggie. The scene is so beautiful, it deserves to be recorded forever.

I can"t hold back the emotion as I see how he has changed and matured. If I had any doubts, however small, about the future of the two of them, they ended here and now when I saw the man Daniel was turning into.

I can"t deny that at certain times, I felt worried about him. I often wondered if it was not too big a change for a "conqueror of hearts". But seeing him with our family today, made me realize that he is really committed, in love and happy.