A Beautiful Forever(44)
I practically collapse onto the couch next to Elliot. You'd think we would be sick of sitting but after a whole day of travel, we’re both too exhausted to move. We just need to make it until dinner time before we can safely close our eyes to ward off jet lag.
Kathy returns with the receiver for a baby monitor in hand and places it on the coffee table, offering us something to drink. She bustles about in the kitchen for a bit and brings in a tray laden with coffees and slices of cake.
As I take a sip of the coffee I’m grateful for the nourishment, the cake tastes wonderful, it’s a simple madeira cake but everything tastes different from the food in the UK, and I realise how much I’ve missed it.
Elliot
“I hope you don’t mind, but I've invited friends and family around for a bit of a BBQ this weekend. I wanted to celebrate you coming home and introduce Paige and Grace to everybody,” my mother says, clasping her hands in front of her and looking at us earnestly.
We’ve been at her house for maybe ten minutes, and she’s already dropped this bombshell on us. I reach my hand over and rest it on Paige’s knee. She seems a bit frightened by all of this family attention.
“I don’t know mum,” I start. “We just got off the plane, and Grace won’t be used to the time change yet…” I was trying to think of some sort of excuse to get out of this. I know my mum is excited, but Paige has been on her own for so long – that many people may be too much for her.
“Oh,” she says, looking down trodden, “I just thought…”
“It’s fine Kathy, if you’ve already invited everyone, it’s fine,” Paige interrupts. I look at her briefly, having one of those facial expression conversations with her to make sure she’s fine.
Paige
As much as I don’t want to be bombarded with so many people, I know I have to meet them all eventually – it can’t stay just me, Elliot and Grace forever, no matter how much I’d like it to.
Elliot keeps looking at me, trying to make sure I’m ok. He understands how hard I worked just to be on a first-name basis with my own mother and father without feeling anger and resentment every time I look at them. So he’s worried that having all of his supportive family and friends around me might be hard for me.
I try to give him my best, ‘I’ll be fine!” smile as Kathy says, “Really? Oh thank you Paige, they’ll all love you, and of course, they’ll love Grace!” she exclaims.
“I’m sure I’ll love them too Kathy, thanks for going to so much trouble for us,” I smile at her. Elliot’s arm goes protectively around me as he hugs me towards him.
At that moment Grace’s cries burst out of the monitor. “I’ll go and get her,” Elliot says rising from the couch. He returns quickly handing Grace to his mother, who is more than eager to accept her. I smile at Kathy’s easy loving nature. She is such a kind woman, and I’m actually looking forward to spending more time with her.
“Mum, do you mind watching Grace for a bit while we get settled into our room?” Elliot asks.
“Of course! I think I might just keep her,” Kathy replies, focused only on playing with Grace while she squeals and giggles from her grandmother’s attentions.
I go and help Elliot with our bags and drag them to his old room, when he opens the door, I breathe out a little as I take it all in. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about the collage,” I say, as my eyes travel over a large cork board covered with every single photo we took together that first three months in the UK.
His arm goes up as he rubs sheepishly at the back of his head, “Is it too much?”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Elliot, my whole flat had framed photos of us together. I love this. Can we take it with us when we find our own place?”
He walks over to me and slides his arms around my waist pulling me towards him. “Of course,” he whispers, closing the distance and kissing me softly. I whimper slightly as his tongue slides against my own, I don’t think I could ever be tired of kissing this man in front of me.
Sighing, he rests his forehead against my own. “Are you sure you’re ok about this BBQ? I don’t want to bombard you with a bunch of strangers trying to hug and kiss you.”
I slip my arms through his and pull myself tightly against his chest, resting my head on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine, Elliot, as long as they don’t use tongue – I think I’ll cope.”
Sighing, he gives me squeeze. “Alright, as long as you’re sure…Do you want to grab a shower at all?” he asks releasing me.
“Why? Do I stink?” I laugh.
A grin creeps over his face as he winks at me. “ A little,” he says.
I slap him good naturedly on the arm as we laugh, and he pretends I hurt him. He shows me where the bathroom is and leaves me to clean up. The thought of a hot shower is heaven right now. Besides a little extra cuddle time with my husband, I’d love nothing more than to wash all of the travel grime away.
Elliot
After leaving Paige in the bathroom, I walk back out to the lounge room where my mother is walking around with Grace, showing her pictures on the wall and talking about them. Grace is rapt. She's either grabbing at my mum’s face or trying to pull the pictures down with her chubby little baby hands as she coos out her response to my mother’s chatter.
“Oh look, it’s daddy!” my mother says to Grace, who claps her little baby hands and beams at me. The moment I get close she reaches out, so I take her off my mum and bounce her against my side, while she plays with my ear and drools all over my shoulder.
“Is Paige ok?” my mother asks.
“She’s fine. She's just taking a shower.”
“I’m sorry about the BBQ. Everyone is just so excited you’re home.”
“It’s fine mum. I just didn’t know how Paige would react. She's never really done a big friends and family BBQ before. Remember her upbringing was a bit different to mine?”
“I know and I didn’t think. Will she be ok?”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine mum. It'll be fun,” I say, hoping that it will.
Chapter 37
Paige
Today is the day of the big BBQ, Elliot and his step dad, Steven went out early this morning and came back with a mountain of meat and bags of ice.
I spent the morning in the kitchen with Kathy helping to prepare salads and platters for nibbles. I’ve never been a part of a big family BBQ before, not even when I was a kid. Besides it being a little daunting, meeting everyone who is anyone to Elliot and his mother, I’m kind of looking forward to it.
After all, this is the reason we came back to Australia to give Grace the great Aussie upbringing like Elliot had.
“Lucky you have such a big back yard!” I exclaim to Kathy as we start to lay the food on some fold out tables.
She laughs a little as she surveys the food. “I may have gotten a little carried away with the invite list.” Turning to me, a look of concern on her face, she takes my hands in hers. “Paige, I know this is a lot for you to take in, but I want you to know how excited I am that Elliot has you. I have never seen him happier. Plus, I really want to show you off. You're such a special girl, and I’ve always secretly wanted a daughter you know.”
Tears prickle the back of my eyes as her words touch me. “Thank you Kathy… that means a lot.”
She pulls me towards her and gives me a quick hug, releasing me when we hear Grace start to call out over the baby monitor.
“Can I go and get her?” Kathy asks me with a hopeful look on her face. As much as I want to go and get my daughter myself, I nod my head and let Kathy go in. Grace is lucky to have a grandmother that cares so much about her. My own mother has been present in her life so far, but there is always an awkwardness present between us that I don’t think will ever go away. With Kathy, it’s different. She's always been a loving person towards her son and is naturally loving towards both myself and Grace. I guess we’re both lucky to have her.
Elliot
“Steve, I don’t think we’re going to fit all of this meat in the fridge, have you got a spare esky?” I ask. I think my mother has invited every person she has ever met since the day she was born, there is so much meat in front of me.
“Yeah mate, here you go,” Steve says, walking towards me with a blue esky in hand.
I nod thanks as I take it from him and fill it with a bag of ice, placing the meat on top before closing the lid and sliding it out of the way.
“Sounds like people are arriving,” Steve comments as voices filter from the house out to us. He starts walking inside, giving me a friendly slap on the back as he passes. “Time to put your game face on.”