Callie POV
I was sitting in the kitchen, playing with a rubber band. Mom was constantly checking on the chicken, waiting for the timer to buzz, indicating for her to take it out. She had just taken the rice off and put it in the bowl. The table was made, tablecloth was on. Tableware and glasses were all set, napkins folded.
This was a huge deal. I saw how nervous mom was. She couldn't even sit down and breathe for few seconds. Mom was like me the day I went to see Jude for the first time after 6 years. She has changed like 3 times already, she is constantly checking her phone every few seconds. Every time she heard a car drive by the house, she got all anxious and run to living room to see if Cooper has arrived.
There was another car noise. Mom turned around on her heel and looked to me "Did it stop? By our house? Was that by our house?" she said fast, I shrug back
Mom took off to hallway and few seconds later she called out "It's him! It's Cooper. He is here!" the nervousness was evident in her voice
I stood up and walked in the kitchen so I could see the front door. Mom was pacing in the hallway, shaking her hands in air, I could hear her do breathing exercise from here.
The doorbell rang and she froze for a second. She shook her hands one last time, then wiped them by her pants. Exhaled loudly, waited another second and then reached for the door handle to open the doors.
I straightened my posture and tilted my head slightly to once side, once the doors were opened. He was dressed casually – jeans, light blue sweater with grey shirt under. Cooper had flowers and chocolate in his hands.
"Hi, come in…" mom invited him in stepping aside. The timer by the stove beeped when he took the first step in.
Once mom closed the doors behind, Cooper handed her the flowers and leaned down to give her a small peck on her lips. Mom looked so happy for this simple gesture. She smelled the roses and looked up to him. They shared a quick, quiet chat that I didn't hear and then mom turned to me and waved me over to the lobby.
I fire the rubber band to the sink area before I walk over to them. This was beyond awkward, weird, strange...you name it. It was weird seeing mom with him. Seeing Cooper here, in our house. I was used to him always being in this sporty clothes. It was strange seeing them kiss, seeing mom kiss someone else after Aaron.
"Callie, you remember Cooper" she says when I stop 2 steps from them
"Hi, Callie" he raises his hand up "Nice to see you again" he said kindly with a smile on his lips
I contort mouth to one side looking at him. I don't say anything back for now, mostly because I didn't know what to say. I wasn't really sure what I should say, what am I expected to say in situations like this.
"Callie!" mom whispers back to me and nods towards him
"Yeah…um, nice to see you again too" I reply back just because mom gave a me a look. The tone in my voice was pretty cold, almost indifferent. Mom instantly relaxed once I spoke, but I did see how she picked up on my tone of voice.
I turn to mom "The chicken is ready. The timer beeped few seconds ago" I inform her and she instantly leaves us both standing there. Alone. With each other.
"Oh, um…I got you chocolate. Amy said it is your favorite" he handed me the box
"Thanks…" I said taking it slowly, looking at it
"It's a…you have a nice home" he says peaking a look inside living room. I replied with silence.
"How are you doing? How's your hand?" he asks nodding to my right arm. I take the chocolate in my left and raise my right hand up, looking at it I pull it in fist, then quickly release the fist
"It's good" I reply pretty dryly lowing my hand down "I'm good"
"Good" Cooper nods back "How's school?"
"Normal" I reply in the same dry manner
"So, um…you playing again?" I raise my eyebrow at him, I didn't know that he knew that I played guitar
"Guitar. Your mom said you used to play" he explains
"Uh, yeah-"I was interrupted when a call came from kitchen "Callie! Can you get me a vase for the roses, please? "
"Sure" I mumble back to myself and look up Cooper "You can probably head to kitchen" I nod to the end of hallway. He nods back before I walk to living room to get the vase.
I place the chocolate on the coffee table and walk to the cupboard to get the vase. It was a nice gesture of him to get flowers to mom and chocolate to me. I get a vase and slowly make my way over to the kitchen. I walk slower once I hear them talking, I stop just before I enter
"Amy, it's okay, trust me. We both pretty much figured that this will be a slow process" Cooper was trying to reassure mom
"She isn't usually this quiet or cold. She has these walls around her, but once you get pass them, she is the most amazing, loving and caring kid, who would do anything for people she loves" mom says back trying to explain me
"I believe that eventually we both will be okay. I will just have to be patient" he replied softly and I took the last two steps in the kitchen, to peak around the corner. They were now hugging. Once mom pulled out of the hug she placed a small kiss on his lips and turned back to the stove, where the chicken was now taken out. Cooper left hand was laying softly on her lower back.
"Need any help?" he asked her, both of them were standing back turned to me
"I hope this is good" I announce myself loudly and pretend like I just walked in. Both of them look over their shoulders to me. Cooper takes his hand away from moms back quickly
"That should do the trick" Mom said and carried the chicken over to the table while I filled the vase with water. I placed the flowers in the vase and then carried the vase over to the kitchen table, placed it at the end of table, at the window side.
"Dinner is served" Mom said nervously and gestured for us to take a seat
Mom sits at the end of the table, Cooper sits at one side, I take the seat opposite him. There was a short moment where neither one of us did anything, we just sat, looking around to one another.
Cooper broke the silence "You aren't religious, are you?" he asks looking kind of scared to hear the answer
"No, no…not religious" Mom said back and handed the bowl of rice to me "It is getting cold, let's eat" She said handing Cooper the chicken. The bowls of food went around and when we all had food on our plates mom tried to start a conversation
"Callie did you know that Cooper grew up in—" I raise my hand shushing mom, I looked straight to Cooper
"What are your intentions?" I ask him seriously, never have I been this serious in my entire life
I have heard this line in so many movies, usually the father figure asks that, but I think I need to ask him the same thing too. Who knows how long will it take mom till she introduce Cooper to her parents.
Cooper is taken aback by the question and glances over to Amy for some advice or help.
"Hey! Eyes on me, Romeo!" I snap my finger in the air and point to my eyes. His head snaps to me
"Callie…" Mom tries to stop me
"This is between me and him" I tell mom firmly and look back to Cooper. She backs off and doesn't add anything, just glances to Cooper
"Well...I…um…uh…" He stuttered back "Uh, for now—"
"For now?" I question his choice of words
"I mean…um" he shifted in his seat, sat straighter up, cleared his throat. Sweat bead appeared on his forehead
"What I wanted to say was that, I like your mom. A lot. Because we have both agreed not to rush into anything, we are taking things slow and getting to know each other better. I can't say that I have pictured us in a far future, but I have thought about where I would want this relationship to be in 3 or 6 months..." He takes a small pause, not taking his eyes of me
"I still would like to be with Amy, I would want to be in a steady relationship with your mom. Also I would like to build a relationship with you too. I have no intention of hurting your mom…or you and I am not that kind of man that would just up and leave at the sign of first small argument or if things get more complicated."
To me, it seemed like a pretty decent answer, taking in the fact that they have been together for a very short time. It was obvious that both of them felt strongly about one another. I saw mom smile at Cooper, I think she was happy with the answer too.
"Have you ever been married?" I ask and eat some rice waiting for his answer
"Never been married. I was close one time, but I didn't went thought with it" he said and took piece of his chicken while I come up with the next question
"Why not? What happened?" I ask and scoop up some salad, I was keeping the questions short and my voice stern and serious. I needed to get the message thought, that I am not someone to be joked around
"Well, we were both 18 and we were in love since 10th grade, if I remember correctly. We were ready to fly to Las Vegas to get married before we start university, but both of our parents talked sense into us. We stayed together for few more months after, but broke it up because we both went to different universities…in different states. Long distance relationships rarely work. It didn't for us. We grew apart…and I am glad we didn't rush into marriage. I believe it would then have been set to fail" I explained back
"Are you still in contact with this woman?" I ask worried that she may come back in the picture
"No. I haven't heard from her in like 15 years. I have no idea where she is" he took a small pause and then added "I don't love her, I am not hung up on her, if that is what you are worried about. It was a very, very long time ago. I am over her, have been for a long time."
"How old are you exactly?"
"I will turn 42 this October" I nod back chewing
"What about kids? Do you have kids?" I waited till he finishes drinking
Once he places the glass back down Cooper answer "Don't have kids. At least I haven't been told that I have kids…" he chuckles awkwardly
"Why not? Don't you like kids? Kids are cool" I say and I hold the smirk to myself. Mom chuckles at that.
"I haven't found the right person yet. I like kids, it is like you said, kids are cool and they are fun to be around. Always ready to take on the word" he smiles back at me
"Does your family know about Amy?" I ask next and continue to eat
"I um…my mother actually visited me few days back. Actually it was on Amy's birthday. And I did tell her that I was seeing someone and that this someone had a kid. And that I take this relationship very serious" He looked to Amy and gave her a small, warm smile, but then looked back to me "I do believe she has told my father. I am not sure about my extended family"
"Callie, how about we slow down with the questions a bit and let him eat…" Mom suggests before I could ask the next questions
"Just one more…" I replay back to mom reaching for my glass of milk. I lift the glass up, but before I sip it, I ask Cooper "What do you think about Amy being a cop?
"Um…what I think about cops or about guns and violence and all that comes with the job?" he asks to clarify the question
"Both"
"I have nothing against cops. They are doing a hard job and I respect them. And no - I am not dating your mom so she could take care of my parking tickets" he glanced to mom and winked at her. Mom chucked back softly.
"I am neither against nor for guns. I have held a gun in my hand. When I was about your age, my grandfather taught me how to hold and shoot a hunting rifle. But I wouldn't say I liked it. I don't think every civilian should have one. Trained people, who know how to use it properly, and don't overuse them - I have nothing against that. I guess I am a neural." He said looking between me and mom. He ran his tongue over his lips and continued
"About the violence, the less the better. I'm more of a talk it out or walk away guy. I don't like confrontation, but I will say this, if my life will be in danger, I will defend myself. The same goes if someone is about to hurt people I care about" I have no doubt he can throw few good punches, he looks pretty fit
"I guess, I feel this way, because, just shorty after I started working as physical therapist, I had to work with a guy, who had been in a coma. The guy needed to learn to walk again, he had lost most of his muscle mass. It was a hard, long process. He had been in a bar fight with few other drunk dudes and got really hurt...So to conclude, the less violence the better."
"Okay" Mom spoke up "How about we talk about something else, something more on a happier note, hmm?" she looks between me and Cooper, hoping I would leave Cooper alone for few minutes
Cooper takes the lead and speaks up "Um, so...Amy told me you are adopted. I-" I don't let him finish and just call out, surprising both him and mom
"What!" I place the fork down to plate loudly, my mouth drops and I turn with fake shock look on my face towards mom "I am adopted!?"
I had to hold my laughter inside when I saw how horrified Cooper looked. His mouth dropped, eyes grew big, pure shock and panic set in.
"When were you going to tell me!" I ask mom louder, faking a whimpering lip and I even got tears in my eyes. This was too much fun, for me. Cooper thinks he just ruined a family or something…
Cooper tries to save what he can "Oh my God…I thought…" he gestured to mom and then to me, he was stuttering badly, he didn't know what to say, to whom to apologize more "I thought you knew…you don't? Oh my God…I am so, so …sorry! Being adopted is nothing bad…Shit...I am so sorry Amy!" the panic he was in started to grow
"Where you ever going to tell me!? I can't believe you haven't told me! I had to find out from him?" I push back in my chair and gesture to Cooper
"Callie…I'm…"he shook his head back, he started to use inappropriate language "Fuck…Amy, I thought you have told her!?"Cooper tried to reason back, panic in his eyes, he looked so guilty "Fuck!" he blurred out and then he realized that he just cursed twice in front of a minor "Crap…I did not meant to say that either…Is crap a bad word too? Fuck" the last curse word he just mouthed
Mom was just too stunned about what was happening in front of her, she was left speechless. I bet the few seconds that have passed have been the worst for Cooper, most confusing to mom, but to me, this could be the best prank I have ever played out.
"Amy I'm—" Cooper still tried to apologize, but that was when mom just started to laugh out loud, I finally let out a loud laugh too. Cooper looks perplexed by what was happening in front of him.
"I'm sorry" Mom got out between laughs "Your face" her hand went up to cover her mouth, trying to silence the laughter
"Wait…what is happening?!" Cooper asks utterly confused, looking between me and Amy. A tear from the laughter fell down my cheek, now there was no sound to my laughed, I was just trying to catch a breath, my stomach was hurting from how hard I was laughing.
Mom slowly started to stop the laughter, her hand was over her stomach too "Oh…gosh" she breathed out, she was flushed from the laughing, as was I
"That was a prank?" Cooper said sounding little bit offended "You pranked me!? I thought I just ruined your life!" He said the last part to me "I can't believe this" he said leaning back in the chair, pushing his hands at the table, he was shaking his head at me
"Sorry, sorry…" Mom reached over the table for his hand "But she got you good…You should have seen your face, Coop" mom was still laughing
Cooper looked offended at first, but the longer he was looking at how mom was laughing, the more he started to relax and in the end even he started to slowly laugh.
"I will get you back" Cooper said playfully to me
"Bring it on" I get out between laughs
"I told you she was younger, Coop" mom said running her thumb softly over his palm "I didn't say she was a baby and didn't remember being adopted"
"I knew I had forget to ask something when you told me that" he mumbles back and looks to me once again "You won't see it coming kid…oh, but I will get you back. It may take days, weeks, maybe even months…but I will get you" I just grin back at him
Mom leans over the table, Cooper leans towards her and they share a small kiss on their lips. I wrinkle up my nose when they do that and look away "Ew…could you not. Please…I am eating here…"
They both let out a small laugh and end the kiss quickly, both leaning back to their chairs.
"Can we get back to dinner please?" Mom asks both of us. I glance to her plate, which is almost empty, my is half empty, but Cooper's has barely touched his food. I look up to mom
"Fine…but this is nowhere near to being over" I say letting him know there are many more questions coming. I dig in my food and glance up to see how Cooper reaches over the table for moms hands. Mom squeezes his hand softly, basically telling him he did good on the first day.
We enjoy the dinner and Cooper leaves shortly after he helps us clean up everything. I had a feeling I will be seeing him at him more often. I don't think I would mind that, actually.
While mom walks him out, I wait for her sitting on the stairs. She walks in and closes the doors behind. She looks happily to me and walks to the bottom of the stairs, places one hand on the banister and tilts her head up to look at me
"Well…?" she waits for my input, she looked anxious, tensed and worried to hear my thoughts
I shrug back "You two look cute together" I say and press my chin to palms, my elbows were pressing to my knees, "I'm not saying I am totally okay with this, but he earned a small plus point to his side"
"He is nice, isn't he?" Mom says and takes one step up
"He…" I lean back and scratch behind my ear
"What?" Mom senses my hesitation
"He seems too good to be true" I tell her honestly
"Callie-" Moms starts softly, but I cut her off "I know, I said the same thing about you and you really were that good. But you know I don't trust people as easily as you do, I have my trust issues"
"But he didn't set off any warning bells, did he?" I shake my head back at her "Then that's a start" she adds in much happier tone
"Yeah, a start" I agree and moms smiles warmly to me
"Wanna go play Novus?" she asks when I stood up, getting ready to head up to my room
"You ready to lose again?" I ask her with a small smirk
"Oh, please…I let you win" she said back once I started to walk back down
"Lets clear things out - 1:4 is not letting me win. It is you loosing hard" I say walking back down the stairs
"5 games. Looser makes breakfast tomorrow…in bed" Mom suggests and holds her hand out for me to shake on it. I don't hesitate to shake her hand on it "Deal!"
AN: I read all of your ideas, I may need time to incorporate them in the story, but don't worry, they are all coming. With that said - Callie hearing them having sex is coming...very soon! Also, I just want to make things clear - Cooper is never going to cheat on Amy(I just like Amy and Coop too much to do that), but don't worry, Callie will have some worries about him, she will have some trouble liking him.
I know the Adams Fosters haven't been in here too much for the last chapters, but I am planing a "thing" that will contain all of them, it will probably be after I finish the next two small stories that I have planned in my mind. Actually ( just to tease you :D ) there is a second huge story that I have in my mind for weeks now, that I am slowly planing out too, that most certainly includes Adams Fosters clan in HUGE way
Thanks for still reading and sticking with me. And thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites. You are the best :)