As we walked into the house, I heard laughter coming from the living room. I led Ryan through the hallway and into the living room, where I got my first look at Travis's wife-to-be. She was beautiful. In one glance I noticed her perfectly straight, short blonde hair, her clear, pale skin, and her bright blue eyes. She was well-dressed: she wore a black pencil skirt, a fitted white blouse with a skinny black belt looped around her waist, and the cutest black pumps I had ever seen. She was sitting next to Travis comfortably on the love seat while my parents sat across from them on the couch. They had just heard what seemed like another of my dad's jokes.
"Care!" Travis exclaimed, his eyes brightening, "I didn't know when you'd be home."
"Hey, Trav. Hey Mom and Dad."
My mom smiled and rose to greet us. She kissed me on the cheek and gave Ryan a huge hug. "Hey Care Bear," my dad said. "Ryan, how 'ya been, man?" My dad had been trying to talk "cool" ever since I started dating Ryan. He wasn't succeeding.
"I'm great," Ryan said, holding in a chuckle.
"Caroline, this is my fiancée, Grace," Travis introduced us, still smiling. "Gracie, this is Caroline, my baby sister."
I waved awkwardly at the woman I would soon be related to. She smiled genuinely and waved back. She didn't hit me with the "I've heard so much about you" crap. She simply said, "Hi Caroline," in a sweet, kind voice.
"And, Grace, that's Ryan, Caroline's boyfriend," he added. Travis had begun to like Ryan more and more lately. Whenever I pulled into my driveway after work, I saw Ryan's truck in its usual spot and I could count on Ryan and Travis in Travis's old room playing video games.
Ryan hopped over to Travis and Grace and shook Grace's hand seriously, saying "Nice to meet you," and then shifted over to Travis, where he suddenly started a secret handshake the two must have made up in their alone time.
"Are you serious?" I asked them, laughing.
"Just wait," Ryan said, concentrating hard, "it gets better."
Just after I rolled my eyes in response, I saw Ryan make a fist and aim it at Travis's face, and then Ryan's voice and fist worked in tandem as he said "BAM! BAM!" and his fist rocketed towards my brother's face. Right before Ryan actually hit him, Travis jerked his head backwards like he was getting punched. I was impressed by the fact that Ryan looked like he was actually punching Travis. My dad immediately jumped up and ran over to them, wanting to join in.
"Sorry, Pops, but we aren't making any changes," Travis said, suddenly serious. Grace, my mom, and I were all laughing at how ridiculous the whole handshake was.
"That whole charade took you two clowns about five minutes," my mom said. "Are you going to do that every time you see each other?"
Travis and Ryan looked at each other for a second, then back at my mom and said, in unison, "We already do!"
I laughed again. Ryan walked over to the other love seat and raised his eyebrows at me. I took his hint and sat down next to him. His arm found its way around my shoulders and I felt my body relax. We sat and talked with my parents and Travis and Grace for about an hour until my parents announced that they were going to be late for their dinner reservations. The four of them said their goodbyes and headed out the door.