Girl Meets his Family:
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.
It had been an intense day of meeting and showing my portfolio to various people. It is a weird feeling being courted by a company, everyone telling me how amazing my work was and how much they loved it. It was a start up company with a lot of potential. I used to work with the CEO and he wanted me to come work for him. I wasn't quite sure though, it would be a big move and I wasn't quite sure if I was ready for the move. Moving coasts, up routing everything I had built. For a gypsy military brat, I had definitely become grounded in one place. But there were tons of reasons why this was a good idea. So here I am sitting on a subway going downtown to have another meeting, but this time it wasn't business, it was personal. I don't know why meeting his friends made me so nervous. Maybe it was because I heard how close they were, I could not even imagine what that was like. To know somebody that long and still be friends. I think I am more nervous meeting them then I was meeting Shawn's brother.
So here I am sitting on the train, hoping that this goes well. Two young girls get on the train and start giggling. I remember being that age, just starting to stretch your legs and get your freedom. I wonder what it would be like growing up here. One of the girls notices me and smiles. I smile back. There is something kindred there. Kindred, I remember growing up and hearing that term. Reading Anne of Green Gables and wanting to have that type of relationship with a friend. But that wasn't my life, every year or two I moved and I acquired a whole new set of friends. I never really got to have that kindred feeling. Even with my ex-husband. With him, it was much more he fit the picture of who I was supposed to be. But there wasn't much behind the image. It was shallow. Perhaps that is why we didn't last. We didn't grow together, the only common thread was our heritage and our daughter. We were good at that moment in time and then after that no connection.
The girls get off at my same stop and I let them run past. I am early anyway, no need to rush. It was different with Shawn. I had met him two years prior and we just started talking. Nothing serious, he would just call me sometimes and we would hang out when he was in town. I remember trying to explain our relationship to my mother, she didn't understand. It was like Shawn was my best friend, who I had known forever. There was something romantic there, but both of us were too scared to act on it. Then last year, after the holidays, something changed. He came back and it was something new. It was like he looked at me differently. I don't know what happened in New York, but he finally got the courage to try something. And at our first kiss, I did too. We both giggled after it and then I kissed him back. And that was that, we were now defined and I finally knew what kindred meant. We weren't alike, but we fit. Like you know how you go into a house and you get a vibe like this is meant to be. It makes you calm and happy all by just entering. That is Shawn. He just had to smile at me and I was happy. So now another holiday is here and I am thinking about moving across the country for a new job. I don't quite know what this would mean for us, all I knew was that I wanted Shawn with me. And that meant I had to get along with his friends.
I check my phone and I still have a couple of minutes, I pop into a small bookstore. I get another text from Noah with a question and then a cute picture. That would be reason number 2 for moving here, Ellie. It would be nice for her to get to know her dad. For him to see what being a parent was like. It was too easy for him with me in San Francisco. He could come in for dinner but leave in the morning, no commitment. The first night he stayed at my house, when Shawn was living with me was interesting. You would have never imagined that Noah was Ellie's dad and not Shawn. Shawn with Ellie just fit to. She liked him the very first time she met him. I remember one night before we had started dating, I had to work late and asked Shawn if her could pick Ellie up and take care of her until I got home. I didn't end up getting home until midnight. I came home to a quiet house with the tv was on and both of them asleep on the couch. Ellie was cuddled with a blanket around and Shawn was sleeping with his head on hers slightly. I got that vibe, that this man was right and I needed to work to make sure he stayed in our life.
I get another text, saying that they are already at the restaurant and questioning if everything was all right. I think Shawn was just as nervous as I was about this meeting.
I take a breath and leave the store and start walking towards the restaurant. Shawn said it was a local place they liked to go to sometimes. As I walk in, I see a large table in the back, with the two girls from the subway sitting with the Shawn and his friends. So that must be Riley and Miya. Shawn has his back to me and is checking his phone. It's not me who he is texting though. Corey notices me and smiles.
"You must be Natalie?" He asks as I walk closer to the table. He gets up and immediately hugs me. Its weird, 5 brothers and I think I can count on my hands how many times they have hugged me. But here is Corey hugging me like he has known me all his life. I wonder how much Shawn has told him. Next thing I know I being hugged, by who I am assuming is Topanga.
"It is so good to finally meet you." The woman says and smiles at me.
Shawn gets up and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "So this is Corey and Topanga." He points to them. "And their daughter Riley, her friend Miya and their son Auggie, who is 5." He rubs my back as he says this, Ellie is 5.
"Hi" I wave awkwardly at them all. We all sit down again and there is silence.
"So, I ordered you a beer, is that good?" Shawn says squeezing my leg a bit.
""Perfect." I smile back at him.
"So how was your day?" Everyone stares at me when he asks.
"It was good. They presented me with some interesting scenarios. Tomorrow they are going to send me the numbers, so we'll see." It was an interesting meeting, there was a lot of potential to grow and build something out of nothing.
"So what do you do Natalie?" The blond girl Miya asks me in a tone that feels a little like I am about to be interrogated.
"Watch it with this one, she's feisty." Shawn whispers in my ear. I smile at him. He has told me about her of course. How she reminds him of himself.
"I'm a brand manager. I take an idea and make it marketable and profitable."
"She's also an amazing artist, you should see her work." Shawn adds.
"Really." Topanga smiles at me. "Shawn said you went to art school"
"Yeah, I went to RISD for graphic design and then Northwestern for my MBA."
"And he also said that you traveled a lot as a kid."
"Yep, my dad was in the air force, so we traveled everywhere."
"What is the coolest place that you have lived?" Riley asks smiling. She has her mom's smile.
"Probably Iceland. I loved it there, it was a definitely a different experience. But Turkey was also nice."
"You lived in Iceland?" Auggie asks.
"Yep."
"Is it really all ice?"
"Not all, but there is a lot of ice." I smile at him.
"Wait so where have you lived?" Miya asks.
"Well I was born in Israel, and from there I have lived in Colorado, New Mexico, Turkey, Norway, Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, Iceland and then DC. But as an adult I have only lived in Rhode Island, Chicago and San Francisco."
"Wow, so that is what you and Shawn have in common."
Shawn coughs, "Actually she doesn't really like to travel much." I nudge him.
"I like to travel, just not all the time. I had my gypsy years and I like to stay put when I can." I shake my head at Shawn. "He says we don't travel, but we just got back from Chicago a month ago, visiting his brother for Thanksgiving and then mine in Utah for Hanukkah. And I am working on figuring out a trip to Iceland. One of my best friends lives there and I would love for Shawn to see it."
"I am not saying there is anything bad about not being a gypsy. But you would just think with all of your travels, that you would enjoy it more."
"Shawn doesn't get it. I went to 12 different schools when I was a kid, in 4 different continents. I was constantly reinventing myself. Every school I was something new and tried it out. I didn't get a choice where I wanted to go and we never fully unpacked. The only constant in my life was my family and I had 5 brothers, so I was always tagging around and being forgotten about. I used to dream of having the childhood that Shawn did. Growing up in the same town, with good friends who knew you and you didn't have to hope that maybe this was the year that you weren't the outsider. And I know Shawn dreamed of my childhood. So we are fair. I can live vicariously through his stories and he can live vicariously through mine."
"Wait you had 5 brothers?" Topanga asks.
"Yep and I was the baby. So you can imagine how that went."
"Must make for interesting holidays."
"Yep, all of my brothers are married with at least 2.5 kids. There is and will never be quiet at my parents house." The waiter comes by and asks if we are ready. I haven't even looked at the menu. Shawn has though and tells me about the kielbasa and pirogues. I smile and realize that they picked this place for me. He gets another text on his phone and just kisses my cheek as I try to look at it.
"So Shawn tells me that you are a lawyer Topanga?"
"Yep, corporate law."
"And Corey, you are a teacher?"
"Yeah I teach history."
"And you have Riley as a student? That must be interesting."
"Oh it is." Riley speaks up. She begins to tell me about their newest lesson and everyone chimes in. It was an interesting dynamic, very casual and close knit. In my family, dinner tables were always very serious. My father pop quizzed us and sometimes we had debates but it was always serious.
Shawn is talking with everyone and then notices that I have gotten quiet. He rubs my back and whispers. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I am good." I kiss him and lean into him. I notice Topanga watching and smiling. I don't see what Shawn mouths to her, but she smiles back at me.
The food finally comes and we are half way through eating, when Shawn gets a text and excuses himself from the table. I watch him walk outside on his phone. A few minutes later Shawn comes back with Ellie in his arms. She has buried her head in his shoulder. Her bag is in his other arm.
"Wait what?" As I get up and walk towards them. "Where is he?"
"I think we can give him an E for effort" Shawn teases.
"What happened, I thought they were doing good?"
"Noah just didn't want you to worry. Ellie kept texting me that she was bored. Apparently he had an emergency surgery and had to go in. So he brought her back."
"I just don't understand him… how can he" Shawn kisses me to shut me up. 'Not now' he mouths and I breath.
"So missy, have you had anything to eat?" I change my tone, so that she doesn't know I am mad.
"I had a hot dog." She says quietly. Still with her head buried in his shoulder.
"And when was that?"
"At lunch." I check my watch and it is 7. Seriously her father didn't feed her dinner.
"Well then I think some food is required." Shawn picks her up higher and walks back to the table, in which everyone is watching us. "Everyone this is Ellianna, Ellie for short. Ellie, this is everyone." They all say hi and Ellie smiles shyly. Shawn sits down with her on his lap and for the first time I notice what he had ordered. A grilled cheese sandwich with French fries. And only half is eaten.
"Did you know he was going to bring her?" I whisper.
Shawn smiles at me "I was starting to wonder, so just in case I wanted to be prepared." He then tells Ellie what there is to eat.
I mouth to him that 'I love you' and he winks back at me. "We were trying to have Ellie, stay with her dad this week. That was another thought about moving here. She doesn't get to see him much and it would be nice for him to get to know her a bit."
"So they don't see each other much." Topanga asks.
"No. He moved to New York when she was about 18 months. And his schedule doesn't really allow time for a lot for travel. So mostly he talks to her on the phone and facetime's her. But its just not the same."
"He tries." Shawn adds. I will never understand why Shawn always defends him. But he does.
"He kind of tries. Look Noah is a great guy, but his main concern has always been Noah. Looking back, we got married because it looked good for him and it was the thing you should do. We had Ellie because it made sense, but he wasn't every really…" Shawn squeezes my leg and I realize that Ellie is watching me. "He is just very busy."
"Ellie, what did you do today with your daddy?" Corey asks trying to help Shawn out.
"We went to the museum and saw a pyramid. But I didn't get a chance to really stay. Rebecca got bored and wanted to leave. Shawn can you take me back there?" I cringe at the name Rebecca, so that must be his new girlfriend.
"Absolutely."
"And Rebecca says there is a big tree that you can skate around. Could we do that too?" Shawn smiles. "Also there is a store with all of those dolls you got me, can we go there?"
"I think we will have to sit down and figure out what you want to see most. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so we will be spending a lot of time at home."
Ellie smiles at him and then says "Its my first Christmas" and then she looks at everyone at that table and says "Shawn said that he talked to Santa and even though I am Jewish, Santa will come and see me this year."
Ugh, if my family heard her now. We had a long debate about it with my family. Poor Shawn was not prepared for that discussion, he had briefly mentioned that we were coming here for Christmas and my whole family irrupted. You would think that he had told them that he was converting her to a cult. Instead of simply, having her spend an actual Christmas with his family. Then came the whole debate about Shawn not being Jewish and then my mother started talking about how wonderful Noah was. Luckily the only one in my family who still thought this was my mother. It became a whole debate about where Shawn and I were going with our relationship and that choices would have to be made. Poor Shawn, he was not used to his personal life being discussed so openly. But he was a trouper and let me talk. The whole time holding my hand. He finally said that he didn't mean to cause an issue. We were going to visit his family, he didn't want Ellie to feel left out. And then he said something that shocked everyone. He said that he wanted Ellie to feel apart of his life and to know about where he comes from. He is in her life now and that is never going to change. He then stood up and walked outside. My youngest brother Aaron got up and walked out to get him. Shawn and I had never really talked about the future before. It always seemed like a discussion we weren't ready to have. I had honestly never thought about him not being in my life or Ellie's. And for the first time, he voiced that he wasn't going anywhere.
I don't know what Aaron and him talked about, but they both came back in together. And when I left Aaron hugged me and told me that I should keep Shawn. He was good for us.
"Why would Santa not visit you?" Auggie asked. Ellie and Auggie then proceeded to have a long discussion about the difference between Hanukkah and Christmas. It was really cute. We all just watched and listened. Every once in a while Corey and Shawn would interrupt with a factual correction. But it was cute.
After dinner, we went back to their house. Ellie went to Auggie's room to play.
"She's adorable." Topanga said.
"Yeah, she is pretty great. She adores Shawn."
"And he adores her." She smiled. We both looked over at Shawn, who was sitting on the bench with Corey, Riley and Miya. They were deep in conversation.
"I am really glad we finally got to meet. Shawn talks about you constantly. Its hard that he is so far away."
"Yeah, me too. I had a hard time really imaging how close you all were. But I get it now."
"You do? Because I don't. Never have. It was always just what it was." Topanga adds. We then start to talk about our respective careers and it turns out how we have a lot in common. I don't even realize how late it is until Riley comes over in pajamas and kisses her mom. I look over and Shawn is still sitting at the window talking with Corey, but Ellie is now in his lap asleep. Shawn kisses her head and looks at me.
"We probably should go." I stretch and get up. We say our goodbyes and get a cab.