“Spring is too far away,” my aunt replied with a huge sigh.
“It’ll go by quickly,” I said. “And I’ll be all done with school.”
“Good,” she said. “You should plan on coming home to stay. Your family is here. Your life is here.”
She continued on as I climbed in the truck and smiled at Alex. He smiled back but didn’t say a word, since I was on the phone. My aunt continued to talk about how I needed to go back to New York as we pulled back onto the street and headed toward the airport. Alex’s hand found my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, and I couldn’t imagine a time when I’d want to move thousands of miles away from him.
“Auntie, I’ll have to call you back,” I said when there was finally a break in her reasons why I should leave Missouri.
When I got off the phone, I dropped it in my purse with a dramatic sigh and turned to look at Alex.
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” he said. “How are your aunt and uncle?”
“Good.” I grinned. “Mad that I’m flying off to Oregon with you when I could have flown home to New York for the weekend.”
“Oh no,” he murmured, glancing my way.
“It’s silly. I wouldn’t have flown there for the weekend, anyway,” I said.
“Well, I’m glad you’re coming with me,” he said happily. “Do we need to stop anywhere before the airport?”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “I need to stop and get my nails done. Maybe a haircut?” I lifted my hair and pretended I was searching for split ends.
“I meant for food or something, smart-ass.”
“Nope.” I dropped my purse on the floorboard and got more comfortable. “I’m all set.”
“A few hours and I’ll be back in the Northwest again,” he said excitedly, letting out a deep sigh. “Just wait until you see it. Everything’s green—a million different shades. And the rain makes the air smell incredible.”
“I’m excited to see it,” I replied, smiling at his animated description.
“You’ll like my family, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. They’re impossible not to like. My dad is kind of quiet, mellow, you know?”
I nodded.
“My mom’s the outgoing one. She’s going to love you.”
“I do have a winning personality,” I said easily, making him smile.
I was a lot more nervous than I let on. Meeting new people was always a little nerve-racking, but meeting Alex’s family was in a whole different universe. If they didn’t like me or I didn’t like them, it would be disastrous for our relationship. I’d like to say that our families didn’t have any say in our lives, but I was a realist. Our families were really important to us. Their opinions mattered.
Checking in at the airport was relatively simple, and we made it to our gate with time to spare. Alex was the best person to people watch with. He pointed out things I’d never have noticed, like the woman who was looking at a crying toddler in horror but was holding a parenting magazine.
“I’d bet money that she was pregnant,” he told me jokingly as we filed onto the plane and found our seats.
“No way. She probably has kids at home who are perfect angels,” I replied, sitting down while Alex put our bags in the overhead bins.
“She had that deer-in-the-headlights look,” he murmured, sitting down next to me. “Like Oh shit, what have I gotten myself into?”
I stared at him incredulously.
“Plus, her coat opened a little and I saw the belly,” he said, laughing.
I scoffed and swatted his arm. As we settled into our seats, Alex said, “I hate flying.”
“Really?” I reached out and laced my fingers through his.
“Just the landing and takeoff,” he muttered. “Those are the most dangerous times.”
“Shh,” I whispered as a woman sat down on Alex’s other side. “Don’t start freaking people out.”
“It’s a widely known fact,” he said, leaning his head back against the headrest.
“That doesn’t mean people want to hear about it,” I said, smiling at our row mate.
Watching Alex try to stay calm while the airplane taxied made me like him more. I felt a kind of tenderness toward him in those few moments. I gripped his hand tightly, rubbing my thumb soothingly over the skin. He was unnaturally quiet until we were safely in the air, then as if a switch had flipped, he opened his eyes and grinned at me.
“I can’t wait to be home,” he said with a happy sigh.
“Are we renting a car when we get there?” I asked, smiling when his eyes lit up and he shook his head.
“Nope. My brother’s going to pick us up.”
“Abraham?” I asked. I was nervous to meet his twin, but I was pretty curious about him, too. I couldn’t imagine two Alexes running around in the world.
“Yeah, Bram. He hates driving in Portland, so I made sure to ask him specifically,” Alex joked.