Chapter Twenty Nine
Meredith was on the couch with a glass of wine, and a bottle of beer sat on the coffee table. Alex entered the living room and joined her, having just read to Zola. She motioned to the beer.
"I figured you could use one after that." She raised her wine glass, and says on a laugh, "I know I do!"
He sighs softly and sits down next to her, picking up the beer bottle. He takes a sip and looks at Meredith. "She's a great kid."
"You were great with her, you know." She reached and squeezed his hand.
"Yeah, well, kids are easy. You just have to be honest with them." He didn't handle praise well. He never felt like it was deserved.
Meredith's phone buzzed. She read the message, closed her eyes and half chuckled. "Amelia and Maggie will be home in 10 minutes. She wants to know if the winds have died down."
Alex chuckled. "Do I have to have a talk with them, too?"
Meredith laughed. "I think you're gonna need another beer!" She stood to go to the kitchen, but he pulled her back to the couch.
His eyes softened. "All I need is right here." He leaned in and kissed her. They had been in mid kiss when the silence was interrupted.
"Oh my gosh!" Maggie had entered the living room, taking them by surprise. She stood before them, a shocked expression on her face. She quickly covered her eyes and turned away as Amelia entered the room behind her, clearly not surprised.
Alex and Meredith jumped apart quickly out of reflex, although it was far too late for that.
Maggie had turned back around to face them. "Mer, what is this? What's going on?"
Meredith takes a deep breath and begins. "We need to talk to you both "
With these words, Maggie utters, "dammit!" under her breath while reaching in her pocket. She pulls out a hundred and hands it to Amelia, who scoffs at her. "I told you!" she teases as she holds the money up to the light, mockingly checking it's authenticity.
Meredith and Alex look to each other, then back to her sisters. "So you knew", said Meredith.
"It was SO obvious" Amelia sat in the chair across from them, as Maggie still stood, confused.
"I don't see how it was obvious", she says. I never got that vibe from you guys."
"Neither did we... until we did." Alex said as he took the hundred from Amelia and pretended to pocket it.
She snatched it back. "When did this happen? How? No, I don't want to know that."
Maggie shuddered.
"Cut it out. It's not like that." Meredith retorted.
"Actually it was a lot like that.. like 5 times…" in true Alex form, which garnered a playful smack from Meredith.
"Look, it's very new. To both of us. I want to tell you because I need you to keep this to yourselves. I don't want to become fodder for hospital gossip. I've been through that enough. What I will tell you is that we are very happy, and just trying to figure this out. So please, PLEASE, be supportive, ok?"
The sisters look at each other. They can see how happy they are. They want that for them.
Maggie nods, and offers a weak smile. She is still unsure how to process this new turn of events.
Amelia is more vocal. "My lips, unlike yours," she scoffs at her sister in law, "are sealed." She offered them a true smile. "I'm happy for you guys." She turned to Maggie. "Come on, Mags. Let's give the lovebirds some space." They turned and went up the stairs.
