I let on an exasperated breath, and hoped she was right. Things were going so great. I didn’t want him messing everything up.

“You know if you want to talk about anything with me, you can.” She said as she took the seat next to me on the couch.

“I know, but there’s really not that much to say. You’ve met him.” I smiled.

“Unfortunately yes.”

“Exactly, I’m not ready to revisit those moments just yet.”

She patted my forearm. “I understand. I really do.” I could tell that she was sincere. I knew that she would be there for me no matter what. “Let’s talk about something that’s not so depressing. Tell me all about your first day on the job.”

I started to speak, but she stopped me. That was one thing I had already learned about Aunt Darcy. Her mind raced a million miles a minute, and sometimes it was hard for me to keep up.

“Tell me in the kitchen. I need to make us some dinner.” She waved me into the kitchen, and I followed.

I slid my bare feet across her floor so that I could feel the softness between my toes as I made my way towards the kitchen. The carpet on her floor was a nice change from what I was used to. It was warm and inviting. I actually walked around barefoot all the time here. Not like at home. At home you’d get splinters from the old hard wood floors.

“So, did you have a good day? Were they nice to you?” She asked.

“It was great. The job wasn’t too hard, and I caught on really quick. The computer is still a bit tricky, but I think I’ll get the hang of it.”

“You will.” She said.

“I think I even made a friend, a young girl about my age. Her name is Kennedy, and boy was she different. She was so nice though, and very pretty.”

Darcy turned around and gave me a quizzical look. I knew she’d be surprised.

“Look at you,” she smiled big. “I’m proud of you. You are so young and you should be making friends, and living life. This change of pace is going to be good for you. I can already see it.”

“You think?” I propped my elbows up on the counter and rested my head in my hands.

“Oh honey, I know.” She kissed my cheek. “Oh, I forgot to mention that Paul is going to come over for dinner. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

“Paul?”

Her face lit up when she spoke his name. I didn’t need to ask anymore. She loved this Paul guy. I could see it all over her face. Just saying his name made her all flustered.

“He’s so great. You’re going to love him, and he can’t wait to meet you too.”

The glow radiated from her skin. If she loved him this much, how could I not?

“I’ll go wash up a bit, and change clothes. Then I’ll be back down to help anyway I can.”

She shooed me away, and I hurried upstairs. I was actually thrilled. We were having a dinner party. It wasn’t something that I was used to. It was exciting and new. It made me giddy like a child. I hoped I wouldn’t make a complete fool of myself.

I dressed in my Sunday best. It was the nicest skirt I owned. It was crème colored and had very tiny lace work around the seams. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I smiled. I cleaned up nice.

Darcy gave me her seal of approval when I walked back into the kitchen.

“Will you set the table? Everything you need is in the china cabinet.” She pointed to the massive wooden cabinet against the far wall. “Oh, can you keep an eye on the food while I go change. He should be here any minute.”

“Sure.” I giggled at her. She was hopping around all frantic like. It was funny to watch. I wondered to myself if all people that were truly in love acted like that. My parents never did.

As I placed the last setting at the table the doorbell rang.

“Grace, can you get that. I’m in my underwear.”

I laughed. There was never a dull moment with that woman. Then for a brief moment my face fell. I had this mental image of Darcy cantering out wearing nothing but her underwear. Hopefully that wasn’t going to be a sight that I needed to get used to seeing. I shook off the thought.

I peeked out the side window near the door and saw a man standing there. He was holding flowers –very sweet, and I knew that it had to be Paul. I didn’t make him wait any longer. Opening the door, I found him standing there with a big smile on his face.

“Hello,” I said.

“You must be Grace.” His voice was deep, and there was a cute little dimple on his cheek. I nearly blushed. Handsome man and conversation, my social skills were about to work overtime. I looked down at my feet, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. He was older, clearly older than Darcy, but I could see her interest. He was a very good-looking man.

“It’s nice to meet you. Paul right?” I fumbled with my words a bit.

“That’s me.”

I stood back and let the door open wider. “Come in?”

“Thank you. These are for you.” He held the flowers out to me.

“For me?” I was shocked. I hadn’t ever gotten flowers before, and I was surprised that he’d brought them for me and not Darcy.

“Darcy told me that you were family. Like a daughter to her.” He leaned in a little closer and whispered, “I was trying to make a good impression.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “Great job. Your secret is safe with me.” I said, in return.

He already won me over, and I’d only just met him. I understood easily why Darcy was head over heels for him.

“Something smells great,” he said slipping out of his coat.

“Oh food! Excuse me.” I rushed into the kitchen. I could hear Paul snickering behind me.

Luckily nothing was burned.

Paul took a chair at the table while I rushed around.

“Do you have any kids?” I asked him. I was trying not to be too forward, though he didn’t seem to mind. I was just making conversation.

“Yes and no.” He answered.

I eyed him curiously, unsure of what he meant.

“I don’t have any of my own,” He said. “But I have a stepdaughter. My ex wife had a child from a previous marriage and I raised her from the time she was about five years old. She’s my daughter. I still see her all the time, even though she’s grown now.”

“That’s really great of you. What’s her name?”

“Carly,” he smiled when he said her name.

“Paul,” Darcy said as she walked backed into the room. Her face lit up, and so did his. Together, they made a handsome couple. They seemed perfect for each other.

“Hey babe,” he pulled her into a hug and they shared a kiss that made my face light up like Rudolph’s nose.

Whoa! I had to turn away.

“I heard you talking about Carly. Grace, I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s a wonderful girl, only a couple of years older than you.”

“That sounds great, I’d love to meet her.”

Darcy and I carried the food over to the table. She’d really outdone herself with all of this food. I was under the impression that she couldn’t cook like this, but that wasn’t the case. She just didn’t like to cook for just herself, and I could understand that.

We had such a great dinner. The three of us talked and laughed. I had never had such a carefree meal in all of my life. There were no unseen eggshells that we had to tiptoe around. There was no worry of saying something that may make someone else angry. It was light conversation and it felt normal, and real.

I told Darcy that I’d clean up the kitchen so that the two of them could take a walk. Walk was code for more kissing I was sure.

Cleaning up was the least I could do.

There was a dishwasher under the cabinet, but I opted not to use it. Hand washing dishes was the only thing I’d ever learned to do. We never had one of those fancy things at home. Manual labor was all I’d ever learned. My Dad wouldn’t dare spend the money for something that his wife and child could manually do. It’d be a waste of money.

Suddenly the thought of home had my mind lingering on what they were doing. I wondered mostly about my mother. Sure she probably wasn’t thinking about me, but I couldn’t help but think about her. Believe it or not, there were a couple of good things about her. Those memories were all in my childhood, but at least I still had them.