Hi. Hello. I can't sleep so I wrote this. Here's a slightly different one. I was in the mood for a Hunt family reunion.
(Simply) The Best - Tina Turner
Evelyn Hunt has never felt this kind of joy in a very long time. She's been through so much pain and grief from losing her husband and then her children going to the war and then losing her daughter and then getting her back. She raised them by herself for most of their lives and they turned out pretty well considering. There has been a lot of different emotions, some highs and some lows. But today, today was a different kind of feeling. The joy, the elation. It's a nice spring day in Seattle. Her whole family has gathered. They've gathered to celebrate. It's Mother's Day. They're complete for the first time ever.
She sits at the head of the table quietly observing her family. They decided on a little outdoor backyard barbecue because for once it's sunny in Seattle. Megan drove up with Nathan and Farouk. Owen and Teddy came over with the kids. Everyone is gathered in the backyard. Owen and Nathan were by the grill, talking. Teddy and Megan were sitting by Evelyn talking. She has no idea what they're talking about. It started with Allison learning to walk but now she has no idea. She was lost in her thoughts, taking it all in, basking in the joy of having everyone in one place. Not on FaceTime. Not just pictures. It was so nice to see her family together in person.
"Grandma look" Leo runs to her, interrupting her thoughts, handing her a little flower. It was just a little weed but they make the best flowers. "This is for you." He says, snuggling into his grandmother's arms.
"Thank you, Leo." She says, ruffling his unruly curls.
"You're welcome" He says as he runs away back to his sister and cousin who were crawling in the grass looking for four leaf clovers. Farouk was just telling his little cousins about what the four-leaf clover symbolizes. At first, it made Evelyn chuckle because Leo and Allison were definitely too little to really understand, but they were just as enthusiastic to crawl around the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers.
"Hey what about me, where's my flower?" Megan calls out to Leo, who stops dead on his tracks and stares at his aunt pensively.
"Okay" Leo just answers back and continues running.
"I want a really nice one, Leo" Megan calls out, but was ignored by her nephew.
Evelyn couldn't help but chuckle. Megan has always been the abrasive one. She's the joker. The fun one in the family. Evelyn often wishes Megan would move back to Seattle but she seems really happy in California. She deserves all the happiness and she deserves to have everything she wants. But Evelyn wishes she's around more often. She's the life of every gathering. She cracks the most jokes. She starts the practical jokes—mostly to the expense of her brother, but it's all in jest. And then there's Farouk, who seemed to have grounded Megan. He gave her life. He gave her a purpose. Evelyn will forever be indebted to him. Her first grandchild. She hasn't spent as much time with him as she spends with Owen's kids but she loves him just as much. Farouk calls her weekly, catching her up with his life. Telling her how baseball or school is doing. He seems to be excelling at both. She worried about him adjusting to a new country, a new school, a new life but he seems to be blending in really well. Then there's Nathan. He's always been Megan's one great love. Before Megan was kidnapped and held hostage, she'd always write Evelyn about Nathan. About how she had found the love of her life. When Evelyn first met him, she just knew he is the one Megan will ever love. When Megan was found and returned home, Nathan dropped everything for her. Evelyn had love Nathan even more. She just wants nothing but love and support for daughter. It's a long recovery for her, surely her PTSD creeps back in. Evelyn needed to know for sure that her daughter is taken care of, and she knows she has that with Nathan and Farouk, so that's one thing she doesn't have to worry about that much. And as for when they're actually getting married, who the hell knows. Evelyn doesn't ask.
Allison was starting to get fussy and Teddy pulls herself away from her conversation with Megan and picks up her daughter from the grass and takes her inside. Megan hurriedly sits closer to her mom with a cheeky smile.
"So what's up with those two?" Her daughter asks quietly, as if trying to get a secret out of her.
"Who? Teddy and Owen?"
"No, Daisy Duck and Donald Duck" Megan says rolling her eyes. "Yes, Teddy and Owen!"
"What do you mean?"
"Are they together? Is their wedding happening? Are they even together?"
"Why don't you ask them? You were just talking to Teddy"
"I figured I'd ask you first, a third party who sees them all the time"
"I don't see them all the time. I try to stay away from it. They drop off the kids, they pick them up. Sometimes together, sometimes just one of them."
"I find it hard to believe you don't know anything"
"I really don't. I do have a feeling something's not right for a while. But things are better now?" Evelyn shrugs. "Why don't you ask them yourself? Don't you talk to them."
"No one even told me Teddy was in Seattle. Let alone pregnant with my niece. You think they give me weekly updates on their relationship?"
"You know how your brother is—"
"Yeah but they're Teddy and Owen."
"They are."
As much as she feels at peace about Megan and Nathan, Teddy and Owen were the opposite. She loves Teddy. She has always loved Teddy like a daughter even when she and Owen were just friends. She had always been around. One holiday, during a leave from the military, Owen and Megan brought Teddy home with them. When Evelyn asked her daughter what role Teddy actually plays in Owen's life, Megan just shrugs and says 'Well, they're friends. But I'm praying to all the higher beings and deities and all the ancestors and the spirit guides to do their thing and erase Beth out of the picture and replace her with Teddy'. At first Evelyn rolls her eyes at Megan. Beth and Owen have been together forever. They had plans for the future. She already had treated Beth like a daughter and Beth's father had also taken Owen in. But the more she got to know Teddy, the more she felt some sort of maternal instincts towards her son's best friend. She actually somewhat agreed with Megan.
She try not to pry when it comes to her son's love life. So when Beth was out of the picture and he married Cristina, she was obviously wondering why it was not Teddy. She eventually just accepted that maybe Teddy is really just a friend. And then there was Amelia, who was…fine…but just seemed wrong for her son—but she's not going to meddle. She wasn't entirely surprised when he tells her his second marriage isn't working. When Megan returned home and Teddy flew to be by their side, she wondered again why Owen can't see that there is someone out there who truly loved him. She saw Teddy more than Amelia when Owen desperately needed someone to be by his side. Then not too long after Teddy's back in Seattle pregnant with his child. She really doesn't know what's going on between them now. She probably doesn't even want to know.
So Evelyn just watches from afar. She trusts that her son will figure it out. No need for her to give her opinion. She's just there to support him in whatever he decides to do with his life. She's there to help whenever she's needed. She doesn't mind watching the kids while the two of them work round the clock. She loves spending time with the kids. She loves watching them grow. That's enough for her. She tries not to worry about the 'postponed' wedding and the reason why it's postponed. She tries not to meddle, because at the end of the day the two of them are there for their children. Whatever is going on between them, their kids was the first priority. So she lets it go.
But she's glad they're both here today. She's been observing them and they both seem…happy and comfortable. That's enough for her for now. She knows they'll figure it out.
Teddy comes back out with a much happier Allison in her arms. Evelyn watches from her seat and Allison wriggles out of Teddy's arms and runs to Owen, who catches the tiny child with open arms. Allison is the perfect combination of Teddy and Owen. But there's so much Owen in her expressions. Her mannerisms. She was Evelyn's only biological grandchild. Her little surprise. Her little miracle. Evelyn watches her son snuggle his daughter. Allison, though growing big and tall real fast, looks small in Owen's arms. She—and Megan for sure—notice as Teddy stand by Owen. Her hand on his back, rubbing affectionately as they both talk to Nathan. It seemed natural, not like they're putting on a show. They just seemed naturally affectionate.
"Okay, maybe they are together? That seems intimate." Megan says
"Why don't you just ask?"
"Why don't you? You're his mother."
"You're his pain in the ass sister"
"Maybe later." Megan says as she dips a celery into her homemade dip. "I'm just saying something is weird. They were gonna have a shotgun wedding and not even invite me. Rude."
Evelyn just chuckles and lets it go. They don't ever talk about the night of the shotgun wedding. No one has brought it up again. Then the whole world shut down, so she figured it was just because of that. She does know though that the Hunt heirloom engagement ring is still with them, so that is a positive thing, she supposes.
"Nathan, what's taking so long. I'm starving" Megan bellows. Nathan, Teddy, and Owen just turned to look at her for a second and they went back to their conversation. "They don't even care." Megan mutters to her mother.
"Speaking of weddings…." Evelyn starts
Megan just scoffs and smirks "It's a marathon, not a sprint, mother"
"Okay."
"We just… we're working on us first. I'm working on me. And then we'll think about weddings."
"But things are good with you two?"
"Things are good because we're doing the work. Unlike the Dum-dums over there—"
"Megan—"
"What? They are! I just don't understand. It seems so obvious, and they just… they don't see it"
"They do. But maybe they're also working on them"
"But they don't talk about it"
"Maybe they're not ready. It's fine. They're both here. They seem to like each other."
"That's true. No one can fake that, I guess" Megan says, pointing at her brother and Teddy, who were standing millimeters apart. Teddy throws her head back laughing at something Owen said, Nathan chuckling.
"Auntie Megan" Leo says running to her aunt. "Here's a flower for you."
"Oh my gosh, Leo. Thank you so much. I love it."
"Yay" Leo says as she hands Megan one flower. His other hand clutching three little flowers.
"What about those other flowers? Are those for me too?"
"No, these are for mommy" Leo says squirming away from her and runs to Teddy.
Megan just looks at Evelyn with a raised eyebrow. "At least Leo likes Teddy? And calls her mommy?"
"Yeah that's nice." Evelyn says. Truth was, she was worried that Leo might be confused at first. There was a lot happening in his orbit. There was Betty and Amelia and Teddy, but he seemed to have attached himself to Teddy as soon as she came into the picture, so Evelyn had some peace of mind. Teddy treated him like her own child. There was no question about it. She went from having no children to have two small ones. She admires her. It couldn't have been easy for Teddy. This wasn't something she had been preparing for. Her son knocked her up and she packed up her entire life and moved to Seattle and has an instant family. She reaches out to Teddy to check in every now and then, but everything seems to be okay. She loves Teddy like she's her other daughter. She loves Teddy enough to give Owen her engagement ring, She can sense when things are right. Whatever is going on with the two of them, she has faith that she'll figure it out because like Megan said, they're Teddy and Owen.
They all gathered around the table to eat. The conversation was light and easy. Megan was telling stories, animated as always, but Evelyn keeps an eye on Teddy and Owen. Trying to make sense of what's going on between them. They're sitting next to each other. They seem couple-y—couplier than any of Owen's ex-wives. Teddy putting a scoop of potato salad on Owen's plate. Owen leaning in to whisper something in her ear. Whatever it was it made Teddy smile and tuck her hair behind her ear. He pours her a glass of wine and he shifts his attention back to his sister.
"And I thought Nathan was paying attention, so I threw the ball but he wasn't so the ball hits him in the head—" Megan says laughing
Owen just laughs and turns to Farouk "what position do you play?"
"Second base. I really want to be a short stop." Farouk answers shyly.
"He's really good too. Definitely better than Nathan" Megan boasts. "Farouk you should play catch with your Uncle later you have a better chance of learning"
"Or me, I'm a really good pitcher" Teddy says
"Oh god here we go" Owen says chuckling
"What? I'm a good pitcher!"
"You're as good as Nathan catching"
"No way—you've seen me pitch—"
"Yes, and it was not great. And we lost. Plus that was softball. Entirely different pitching technique"
Teddy just pouts and turns her attention to Farouk, shaking her head and mouthing 'I was the best'. Farouk just laughs at her aunt.
"Farouk, you're out of luck with this family when it comes to baseball" Evelyn says, interjecting.
"We are a family of soccer players" Owen says, making a valid point.
"That" Megan exclaims "that is true. I can't speak for Nathan though"
"Hey—" He protests "I just wasn't into sports growing up"
"Speaking of your extra curricular activities, your uncle Owen can teach you how to play the bagpipes…" Megan jokes.
"That was one time—" Owen laughs, blushing. Teddy just reaches for him laughing and gives him a pat on his shoulder. Owen gives her a look. Evelyn can't help but notice the sparkle in her son's eye.
"What about you two? Have you started putting these two into sports or whatever. Apparently that's a thing. All the moms in California have been throwing their children into swimming lessons and lacrosse or whatever before they can walk."
"Allison literally just started walking." Owen says, rolling his eyes. "But we're thinking of putting Leo into t-ball. Or probably soccer, as this conversation has enlightened us"
"Will this be before or after your wedding—"
"Nice, Meg" Nathan says chuckling, shaking his head. "Smooth segue."
"Oh Megan" Evelyn says rolling her eyes.
Teddy and Owen just laughs it off. "Definitely before your wedding though, that I know" Owen responds.
"Just please invite me to your actual wedding and give me enough time to fly to Seattle"
"See if you just move back to Seattle—"
"Here we go—"
"Okay, okay. Sorry."
"Will you two knock it off" Evelyn says calmly. It's nothing new to her. She's used to Owen and Megan bickering. This is nothing comparatively.
There was a brief silence before Megan bounces back and starts talking about something else. Evelyn looks watches Owen who just looks at Teddy. Teddy gives him a look, almost apologetically, but she reaches for his arm and gives it a squeeze. Evelyn's maternal instincts can't read the looks between them, but whatever it is it seems loving so she lets it go. They seem okay enough.
"So what's going on with the two of you?" Megan confronts Teddy while the three of them were in the kitchen getting the desserts ready. Evelyn just shoots her daughter a look.
Teddy just shrugs as she turns on the hand mixer to make homemade whipped cream. "We are… working on it."
"Are you two together?"
"We're not not together? But we're not …. Together?"
"Why?"
"It's a long story. I don't want to get into it now."
"But—"
"Megan" Evelyn warns
"Here's the short version of the story—we are friends. Some days we are more that friends. We live together. We sleep in the same bed. We…co-parent. We are working on anything else more than that."
"Did something happen?" Megan asks, almost child-like.
"Clearly, and she's clearly not ready to talk about it" Evelyn says giving Teddy an out. She dips a finger into Teddy's bowl of fresh whipped cream to taste it. "This is good. Did you make the pie too?"
Teddy just chuckles "Oh god no. This is from the market."
Megan just pouts "I just want the two of you together" she says.
"We will be. Don't worry." Teddy says, smiling at Megan. "Now try this whipped cream and stop aggravating your brother."
Evelyn is grateful to have Teddy in her life, in her kids' lives. It doesn't matter if she and Owen don't end up together, she knows she'll always be in their life. She'll always by Owen's side, even Megan's.
They go back outside to rejoin the men. Farouk and Leo were playing catch but the ball and gloves were abandoned at the sight of dessert. Allison nestled and asleep in Owen's arms.
"I can take her inside" Teddy offers as she puts a slice of pie in front of Owen.
"It's okay, you know she'll wake up if we move her" He says as he rubs his daughter's back. Teddy just sits next to him and gives him a squeeze on the thigh. Evelyn thinks they're overly touchy for people who claim to not be together. She makes eye contact with Megan, who was also clearly watching her brother and Teddy moving through the world.
"Let it go" Evelyn mouths to Megan. Her daughter does have a stubborn streak.
"Fine" Megan mouths back and shoves pie in her mouth.
The sun was starting to set and everyone is entering the state food coma state, the adults mostly. Farouk and Leo were back to playing catch. Farouk teaching his little cousin how to throw and catch. The conversation still flowed. Everyone settling into their seats. Teddy, hugging her leg, leaning against Owen. Owen, holding their sleeping daughter also leaning against Teddy.
Evelyn loved listening to their stories. They had plenty from the war. Plenty of stories she never heard before. They seemed to have fun stories to counter all the bad. But it was nice to hear everyone laugh. The way they talked and laughed made the war sound like summer camp. She knows it wasn't all fun and games, but it was nice to hear Megan laugh even after everything she's been through. She listens quietly, picturing the four of them in the dessert, just trying to survive. But Evelyn thanks the heavens every day that her children found their people. She thanks the heavens that they're all gathered now. Happy. Healthy. Just doing their best.
It was nice to have her family together. She hopes for this more often, especially now that there seems to be light at the end of a very long virus-filled tunnel. Hopefully next time it's for someone's wedding. She chuckles at the thought of both her children. So different yet so alike. She hopes that one day they would just get their shit together and get married. She knows this time her kids are for sure with the right people. She hopes for a wedding soon, but for now, she'll settle for this. Both her kids and their families in her backyard, laughing and telling stories. This is the best day she's had so far.
ALSO PS: thank you for all the reviews in the last chapters. you guys are the best. lol I'm just so happy people are still reading my fics :) I mean, either way I will still write them because the world needs more towen content. lol.