It had taken two weeks before David and Spencer had had a free Saturday, and Erin had reached out to her children as soon as she knew that it was time to meet. Tabitha had eagerly agreed to have supper with them, though Karen was a little more reluctant, since she had wanted to go out with her friends that evening. Erin had promised her that they should be done early enough that she could still meet with her friends.
And now, David was putting the finishing touches on their meal while she was setting the table with the good china and her mother's lace and linen tablecloth. "Everything looks beautiful, Mom."
She looked up to see Karen coming into the dining room and gave her a little smile. "I didn't hear you come in!"
"Dave had the garage door up, so I came in through the kitchen. And whatever he's making smells delicious! This seems really fancy, do you have something to tell us? Did he finally ask you to marry him?"
Erin shook her head as she accepted Karen's hug. "No, but I don't mind it. We're still finding our way back to each other after everything that happened with John Curtis, and then the bombshell I recently dropped."
Karen stiffened in her arms before she pulled away to look into her eyes. "What sort of bombshell, Mom? Are you dying? Did that drug that that man forced you to drink have long term side effects that your doctor didn't catch until now?" The harsh tone of Karen's words pierced her heart, and again, she shook her head, unable to find the right words to allay her daughter's fears without spilling everything that this evening would be about.
"I'm not dying. You know, you're the second of my children to ask me that in the last two weeks. Am I giving off those vibes, or something?"
"I don't think so," Karen answered as she pressed a kiss to her cheek. "But what else could this bombshell be?"
"You'll find out after supper. Now, if you'd please fill the glasses with water, I'll go see how things are coming in the kitchen." Karen nodded, picking up the pitcher while Erin made her way to the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see Tabitha there, and she smiled at her as she hobbled over to their sides, slinging an arm around her baby girl's waist. "So, we're just waiting on Bruce and Spencer," she said, looking at her partner before resting her head on Tabitha's shoulder.
"I think they both just pulled in," David replied as he finished plating their food. "Tabby, if you want to start bringing in the plates, I'd like to have the table set and ready to go so that it doesn't grow cold."
"Of course," she said as she picked up the first two plates and sashayed from the room. Erin leaned against the counter and watched David work at their meal. There was something about the way that he moved which set her heart to fluttering, and she carefully made her way to his side before pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"Ah, bella, it's not time for dessert," he joked, giving her a cheeky wink. "Though I think that I might indulge in a few of those kisses if things go south."
"I'm feeling just as nervous about this, too. I mean, at least Tabby like him, so I am banking on that being a good thing." Erin paused as she heard the door from the garage open and close, two voices lowly talking. Another good sign, she thought, watching her sons come into the kitchen. "Oh, good, you're both here! I think, if you want to bring the last four plates into the dining room, David can help me hobble in there."
Bruce grinned as he nodded, reaching out to squeeze her good shoulder before picking up two plates and handing them to Spencer before taking the remaining ones and leading him out of the kitchen. David wrapped her up in a tight hug, his lips grazing her temple tenderly. "You really think that this will go all right."
"I have to believe that, David. Because I want my whole family together, and I don't know how I'll feel if they're all at each other's throats. And maybe they'll take mercy on me since I have this bum leg and arm."
"Are you really going to milk that?" he teased. She nodded before taking a deep breath and starting for the door. "Ever the sweet politician, my love."
"We have to use the tools at hand to achieve the effects we want. Now, take hold of my hand and bring me into the dining room."
She listened to his deep chuckle, taking courage from it as they stepped into the dining room together. All her children looked her way, and she tried to smile while carefully taking her seat. David made his way to the foot of the table, sitting between Spencer and Tabitha. Their eyes met, and he gave her a steady smile before holding his hands out to the others. Tabitha took hold of it quickly, while Spencer fumbled a little for David's hand before giving his hand to Karen.
Soon enough, their hands formed an oval, and Erin bowed her head, listening to the prayer David offered up to God, asking for a blessing for the food and fellowship they'd have that evening. Once finished, he spread his napkin on his lap and dug into the meal he'd made.
"So, why is this a family supper plus one of your team members? Shouldn't everyone be here? Or no one?" Bruce asked while cutting off a piece of his ham steak.
"There's something that we all need to talk about after we've finished eating. Your mother wants to have a pleasant meal, and I agree with her, after everything that she went through in the last few months. So, what was the best thing about your day?" He asked, giving Bruce a pointed look.
Her son frowned at the redirection, and she gave him a look, trying to quell whatever smart remark Bruce wanted to make instead. He gave her a small nod before picking up his water and taking a sip, clearly using the pause to think of something. "I set the curve for my history class on the latest test that we took. Doctor Schlosser made it clear that as long as we visited him during visiting hours, and did at least a cursory reading of the texts he told us to focus on, then we'd do well. I was the only one to receive higher than an eighty percent."
"And what was your grade?" Spencer asked, giving Bruce an inquisitive look.
"Ninety five, and apparently, it wrecked a few people. And he has the best tests I've ever taken. They're set up in six parts, you have to choose four to complete. I chose to match terms with definitions, wrote two short essays, and identified the texts that we had readings from. The essays were where I lost points, because I didn't make my point clearly enough on one of them, even though I had strong arguments."
Spencer nodded. "That does seem like a fair way of testing history students. Is that going to be your major, then?"
"Minor, actually. I'm majoring in anthropology, since my college doesn't offer a BS in archaeology. But I'm hoping with my grades, I'll be able to get into Bonn University. There's a professor there that I really want to work with for my Masters."
"Interesting. What drew you to archaeology?" Erin smiled as Spencer and Bruce fell into an easy conversation, and as things continued, she began to have a better feeling about how the rest of the evening would play out. If two out of her three children liked Spencer before they found out he was their brother, then, it would be all the more difficult to not like him once they knew the full truth. At least, her bruised heart wanted to believe that to be true, since the opposite would have disastrous effects on her heart.