Wow ya'll - when inspiration shows up, it really makes an entrance! This is like twice as long as normal, so I hope you enjoy it twice as much - let me know! :)
Alice pocketed her cell phone and announced to the group, "That was mom – they're leaving Food Lion now and expect help bringing all the food in when they get here in about five minutes."
The guys all nodded, barely looking away from the game, although Jackson did glance at April, silently asking her what he should do. She shrugged as she stood up and Alice took over the situation.
"Okay," she said in mock exasperation. "Us girls will bring in the first load and then you all can come down and help and won't miss as much of the game, okay?"
There were smiles and nods all around and Alice and April rolled their eyes at each other as they headed downstairs. As soon as they were out of the room and walking down the stairs, April looked questioningly at her sister.
"Well?" she asked anxiously.
Alice grinned, knowing exactly what she meant. Despite the nearly six-year age gap between them, Alice and April were possibly the closest pair in the various combinations of sisters. April suspected that it had a lot to do with their similar personalities in terms of drive and doing what you loved. Although her work in science and medicine was pretty much the polar opposite of Alice's dedication to the arts, they both understood what it was like to throw yourself wholeheartedly into your work, your passion. She just didn't have that connection with her other sisters – Libby, frankly, was boring and Kimmie – well, Kimmie was a whole other story altogether. Most of the time, April didn't really know what to think about her boisterous, fun-loving younger sister. Maybe she was the anti-Libby – so not boring, she was exhausting. There was always some kind of drama in Kimmie's life.
"He seems great, April," Alice said in reply and April smiled, looking relieved.
"Really? You think Daddy liked him?"
Alice laughed. "You really like him, don't you?" she teased. "You like him a lot."
April swatted her sister's arm. "Shut up," she muttered. "And yes," she admitted, cheeks tinged pink.
"Duh," Alice replied. "Oh, it's so cute to see you like this – I didn't think any guy would ever have an effect on you!" She ignored the dirty look April was giving her and continued, "Anyway – I don't know, it's only been like, twenty minutes. But he was pleasant and polite and he laughed at the appropriate moments, so that's good." She looked thoughtful. "You did warn him not to say anything bad about Ohio State, right?"
"Of course I did," April replied. It had been one of the first things she'd told him after the trip arrangements had been made. Their father's love for Ohio's largest university was pretty much legendary among their friends and family.
"He'll be fine then," Alice said cheerfully as they reached the ground floor. "Quit worrying so much."
April opened her mouth to protest and then closed it again without saying anything, knowing Alice was right.
"How'd you get to be so smart, little sister?" she asked instead as they sat down on the front steps.
Alice smiled. "Please. We all know you're the smart one, doing your awesome doctor thing."
April shrugged. "I don't know that I'm so awesome. I mean, I'm good, yeah, but I'm not spectacular, not like some. Some of the doctors I work with are so incredible. Even Jackson has had some - " her voice caught and her eyes clouded slightly as she recalled the terrible day when his quick thinking had quite possibly saved them all, but she shook her head to clear it of the bad memories and went on "—super-impressive, amazing moments."
"So?" Alice retorted. "Better to be a good doctor all the time, right? Instead of awesome sometimes and crappy other times?"
April laughed. "I think most of us just want to be totally awesome all the time."
"Well, even just good doctors still save lives and that's impressive to me," Alice said decisively. "It makes me feel a little frivolous, you know? You and Jackson, saving lives – me and Rob, dancing and singing – it kind of pales in comparison, right?"
April smiled. "No, not exactly. You're going to be teaching, giving those creative kids an outlet – sometimes that's just as life-saving."
Alice smiled back. "That's true. Guess you're at least as smart as me, big sister." She bumped her shoulder affectionately against April's and the girls laughed as another mini-van with Ohio plates turned into the driveway.
"Brace yourself," Alice whispered. "Here comes chaos!"
"Kimmie or the girls?" April whispered back and Alice laughed again.
"Both!"
Alice's warning was proven true as the van door slid open and Kimmie's daughters, four-year-old Lisa and two-year-old Kate, exploded out of the van.
"Aunt Alice, Aunt Alice," Lisa was hollering, "guess what? We got ice cream!"
"Awesome," Alice replied, grabbing both girls and pulling them into a hug and then turning them to look in April's direction. "Look who's here, girls! Do you remember your Aunt April? She came to visit you up in Ohio last summer?"
Lisa nodded, going to give April a hug, while Kate hung back, a little shy and too young to remember April from her visit nearly eight months ago.
"Hi girls!" April said cheerfully. "Hi Kimmie," she added, as her other younger sister emerged from the back of the van.
"Well, look who showed up," Kimmie replied, giving April a one-armed hug and then handing her some grocery bags. "I wasn't sure you really would."
April gritted her teeth, but smiled anyway. "I wouldn't miss my baby sister's wedding," she replied brightly as her mother opened the passenger door and climbed out of the vehicle.
"April, honey, you're here!" she exclaimed, hugging her daughter tightly. "Oh, it's so good to see you. How are you – how was the trip?"
"Long," April replied, waving at Libby, who had just gotten out of the driver's seat and was unstrapping her son from his car seat. "But good. We had good flights, the drive was fine." She smiled and impulsively hugged her mother again. "I'm glad we're here," she said as she and Karen walked to the front door.
"'We'?" Kimmie stage-whispered to Alice. "So the 'boyfriend' really did come along? He does exist?"
"I heard that," April snapped over her shoulder. "Yes, he's real. He's upstairs with Dad and Brett and Eric."
Kimmie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Can you blame us for being skeptical?" she muttered to no one in particular and Alice made a face.
"Kimmie." Their mother's voice was quiet, but with an obvious warning in it. Kimmie made a face right back at Alice and then grabbed some grocery bags, calling her daughters over and giving them bags with hot dog buns in them, so they could easily carry them upstairs.
The afternoon disappeared in the chaos of kids and food preparation and catching up. April was too busy to be nervous about everything and almost too busy to worry about Jackson. She'd have a moment of panic, glance over at him now and then and, sometimes he'd be watching her already and if he wasn't, somehow – maybe he could feel her eyes on him – he would look up, meet her eyes, and smile – and everything would feel okay again. It was a lovely feeling, she thought, to feel so – connected – to another person.
It wasn't until after Rob and his parents, Scott and Joanne, and his younger brother Tim had arrived and they were getting plates of hamburgers, hot dogs and other cookout essentials that she even had a moment to talk to him again.
"Doing okay?" he asked her as they sat down at one of the tables on the massive deck. All three floors of the house had porches wrapping all the way around, with doors from each bedroom, but on this top floor, the porch gave way to a beautiful sun deck, with plenty of patio furniture. It was only March, but it was still 70-some degrees and sunny. Rob had told them they were lucky – you never knew what you might get at the end of March at the OBX. Sometimes it was 40s and rain. April was grateful for the sun – Lord knows they got enough of rain back home.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's good. You? Everyone being nice to you?"
He laughed. "Of course. It's been fine."
April smiled. "I had a realization – that it was a really good idea to bring you to introduce to them when there's so much else going on. Mom and Dad are too focused on the wedding stuff and getting along with Mr. and Mrs. Carson to worry about anything else."
Jackson nodded. "That is quite possibly very true," he agreed. "Very smart of you."
She laughed. "Dumb luck, more like, but thanks anyway."
Libby and Eric sat down with them then and they turned their attention to eating their food and making small talk.
It was a beautiful evening and the house was literally on the beach, so the group stayed outside for quite some time. There were steps leading down to the sand from the deck and eventually the girls were ready to go down and play. Brett followed them down the steps and Libby took the baby into the house to be fed and put to bed, leaving the rest of the adults in peace.
"I'd like some coffee," Karen said. "Anyone else?"
Several of them nodded in agreement and April stood up, picking up some dishes as she did.
"I'll make it, mom," she said, cutting her off before she could protest or get up. "I don't get to see you very often – the least I can do is help out."
"I'll come with you," Jackson said, grabbing some more of the dishes and following her inside to the living room, past the dining area and through the swinging door into the kitchen.
April found the coffeepot and the coffee and set about getting a pot brewing.
Jackson leaned against the countertop, watching her with a grin on his face.
She frowned as she looked at him. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. It's just – you really can't help it, can you? Being the helpful one, running around doing tasks and stuff."
April shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "I really can't. It's just how I am." She sighed, turning on the kitchen faucet and filling the sink partway with some soapy water. "Sorry," she added, not really sounding apologetic and he laughed.
"Sorry for what?" he asked. "It's not necessarily a bad thing – you've just gotta be careful, right? Don't get taken advantage of, don't stress yourself out." He crossed the room, coming up behind her and gently rubbing her shoulders. "This is technically a vacation, remember? Don't forget to relax."
She smiled, leaning back against his chest for a moment before turning her attention to the dirty dishes. "Thanks," she said quietly.
"Anytime," he replied, finding a towel and moving to stand beside her. "Here, if you insist on being clean-up crew, I'll help."
April smiled as she passed him the first clean plate and they worked in companionable silence for a moment. They'd gotten a pretty good routine going when she went to hand him a plate and it slipped right out of his hand, sliding back into the full sink and splashing water all over April.
She let out a small shriek.
"Oh crap," Jackson said, trying not to laugh. "I'm sorry – it was an accident –"
April pulled the damp t-shirt away from her body and wrung the little bit of excess water out of it. "Accident – sure –" she said, hiding her grin as she cupped her hand in the sink and sent some water flying in his direction.
"Hey!" he complained good-naturedly. "I said it was an accident…"
April nodded. "So now we're even, right?"
Jackson grinned and shook his head. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said slowly, leaning across her to reach the water.
She shrieked again, trying to duck, twisting away from him, but he grabbed her arm with his other hand, pulling her back around to face him. Their eyes met, that self-assured grin of his spreading across his face and the next thing she knew, she was in his arms, kissing him as if her life depended on it.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed herself against his chest, his hands tangled in her hair as he pushed her back against the kitchen counter.
April dropped her arms, just for moment, so she could push herself up onto the kitchen counter and wrap her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Somewhere, in some tiny, far-off corner of her brain, a small voice was wondering what the hell she was doing, but that little part was totally over-ruled by the way she felt when Jackson was kissing her, the way that being that close to him was still so intoxicating she simply couldn't think straight.
Her arms snaked back around his neck as one of his hands slid up under her t-shirt and he moved from kissing her lips to kissing his way down her neck.
And that's when the kitchen door opened and her mother walked in with more dirty plates, Kimmie right behind her.
"Did you find the coffee mugs, Apri –" her voice trailed off as she took in the scene in front of her.
"Oh. Em. Gee," Kimmie exclaimed, sounding obviously delighted.
Jackson took just the slightest step back, keeping his eyes on April, who immediately went totally still at the sound of Karen's voice. She couldn't look at her mother and certainly didn't want to see the look of undisguised glee on Kimmie's face. She let her head fall forward until her forehead was touching Jackson's shoulder.
He was the only one who could hear her as she muttered, "Shit."
"I think the coffee's done," Karen said calmly, crossing the kitchen to the cabinet where the mugs were. Pulling out enough mugs, she handed some to Kimmie and carried the rest herself. "Go ahead and bring the carafe outside. There's sugar on the counter there and cream in the fridge." With that, she pushed Kimmie through the kitchen door and went back outside.
April looked shell-shocked as she slowly slid off the counter, Jackson's hand still on her waist, steadying her.
"I – we – wha – what just happened?" she asked, sounding confused.
Jackson shook his head. "She's your mother," he replied. "Is that how she does things? Just sweeps it under the rug like that?"
April shook her head. "No, not really. I – that was weird." She stood there for a minute and then shook her head as if clearing out cobwebs. "Okay, we better get the coffee out there before she comes back." She grabbed the carafe and Jackson followed her back to the porch, hoping this wouldn't become a blight on what had so far been a pleasant weekend.