“There’s Melanie,” Mom said, rushing over to the kitchen area as if she were greeting her best friend of fifty years. She smooched Melanie’s cheek before setting her foil-covered plate on the counter. Gabe would bet his favorite drum kit that Mom’s infamous lemon bars were under that foil.
“So good to see you, Kathy,” Melanie said, and it warmed Gabe’s heart that she actually seemed to mean it. “This is my friend Nikki. She’s visiting from Kansas.”
“You mean people still live in that state?” Leslie asked.
“A few,” Melanie said. “You have to be one of Gabe’s sisters. You look just like him. That Mohawk of yours is a dead giveaway.”
Leslie’s eyes popped wide before she realized Melanie was obviously joking about the Mohawk, and then she laughed. “I love you already,” she said. “I’m Leslie, since my brother is too rude to introduce me.” She scowled at Gabe, who was standing behind her, waiting for an opening.
“Not rude,” Gabe said. “Just can never get a word in when the room is full of Banner women.”
“You got that right,” Dad said, offering him a high five.
“So are you the doctor doctor or the professor doctor?” Melanie asked, eyes narrowed slightly as if she were trying to read Leslie’s mind.
“The doctor doctor.” Leslie elbowed Gabe in the ribs. “What have you been telling her about me?”
“Nothing,” Gabe said, and he wasn’t lying. He didn’t talk about his family much, and suddenly wasn’t sure why. They were pretty terrific people.
“Are you hungry?” Melanie asked. “I made lasagna. There’s plenty for everyone.”
“We already ate,” Dad said, “but I never say no to lasagna. Especially when these two think I can live on salad.”
“It’s good for you, Daddy,” Leslie said, but she took one look at the deep dish lasagna on the counter and got in line.
The Banners filled their plates, and they all moved to the dining room, which could easily seat twenty people. Gabe was suddenly imagining holidays with his family, his wife, and future kids. When had he become so domesticated? As he watched Melanie talking to his parents and his big sister as if they’d known each other forever, he realized it had happened the moment he’d met her.
“Melanie and I have an announcement.” Gabe broke into their conversation about Leslie’s high school frog dissection.
“I was wondering when you were going to explain that ring!” Mom said.
He could never get anything past the eagle-eyed heart surgeon.
“Uh, yeah,” Gabe said, his announcement now more of a confirmation. “We’ve decided to get married.”
“And I get to help plan the wedding,” Nikki said.
“I knew you two were the real deal,” Mom said. “From the moment I first saw you together, I knew it.”
“Is that why you practically skipped out of my house the night you met her?” Gabe teased.
“I do not skip,” his mom said.
Gabe snorted. “Yes, Dr. Katherine Banner, you do.”
“Don’t tease,” she said, reaching over to slap him playfully. “I thought I’d end up dead before I was blessed with grandchildren.”
“Oh, I’m not pregnant!” Melanie blurted.
“But you do want babies, don’t you?” Mom asked, actually looking depressed.
Melanie exchanged an uncomfortable look with Gabe. Way to put her on the spot, Mom.
“In a few years,” Gabe answered for her.
Mom brightened. “I think I’ll still be alive then.”
“Oh, stop,” Leslie said. “You’re still young, Mama.”
“And you’re well over thirty,” Mom said to her eldest daughter, giving her an appraising look. “Your eggs are starting to spoil.”
“Katherine, we didn’t start having children until you were older than she is,” Dad reminded her.
Mom glowered at him. “Because . . .”
“The exact same reason she hasn’t settled down,” Dad said. “Becoming a surgeon is hard, and you have to dedicate your life to it, especially in the beginning.”
“And how hard do you think it is to find a nice normal girl when you’re a musician?” Mom countered.
“Since when is Gabe the star child of this family?” Leslie asked.
Gabe chuckled. He and his sisters were highly competitive for parental approval. Only recently had he realized his parents loved them all no matter their faults and real or perceived level of accomplishment. But he got where Leslie was coming from. When both your parents were highly successful, brilliant, and hard-working, it was hard to live up to their standards. Even if those standards were mostly imagined.
“Since I convinced this wonderful woman to be mine,” Gabe said, reaching for Melanie’s hand and kissing it just below her new diamond.
“Didn’t take much convincing, to be honest,” Melanie said, leaning in to steal a proper kiss from his lips.
“I’m responsible for them meeting in the first place,” Nikki said.
“Oh?” Mom asked. “And how do you know Gabe?”
“I’m a huge Sole Regret fan,” she said, her face slightly flushed. “I convinced Melanie to go backstage to meet the band. She had no idea he was the band’s drummer when she started talking to him.”
Melanie cringed. “I think I even insulted the band at one point.”
Gabe’s family thought that was hilarious. He laughed along with them because it had been Melanie’s not knowing he was famous that had inspired him to pursue her initially.
“So no romantic prospects of your own,” Mom asked Leslie, her gaze hopeful.
“No, but I do have a family announcement to make,” Leslie said. “I just wish Jennifer was here to hear it too.”
“You’re pregnant!” Mom said, wriggling excitedly in her chair.
“No, God no. Mom, will you please stop with the baby talk.” Leslie shuddered. “I didn’t come to town just for a visit. I have an interview at Houston Methodist this week. If I get the job, I’m moving back to Texas.”
“What?” Mom said. “But what about Boston General? It’s one of the best hospitals in the entire country. I thought that’s why you worked so hard to get your second residency there.”
“Houston Methodist is the best in Texas,” Leslie said.
“Which makes it the best in the world,” Dad said reasonably.
“Obviously,” Gabe agreed.
The two ladies from Kansas gave them odd looks while Leslie pled her case.
“I miss my friends. I miss my family. I miss Texas. And Houston isn’t too far away from home. I’d get to see you all a lot more often.”
“You can take the girl out of Texas,” Dad said, “but not Texas out of the girl.”
“Are you disappointed in me?” she asked Mom.
“Of course not!” Mom said quickly. “It’s just . . . Boston General, Leslie. I would have given anything to have been in the position to work there at your age.”
“But Daddy wouldn’t have been happy in Massachusetts.”
“And you aren’t happy there,” Daddy guessed.
Leslie lowered her eyes. “Everything is just so fast paced. And I’m not talking about the hospital. I can handle my work being crazy-stupid challenging, but when I have a moment, I’d like to be able to freaking breathe, you know?”
“And you think you’ll find that in Houston?” Mom asked.
“She thinks she’ll find that here,” Gabe said. His roots were equally deep. He completely understood why she’d want to come home for good. “Good luck, sis. I hope you get the job.” He reached over the table to pat Leslie’s hand—her brain surgeon hand. How weird was that?