Page 4 of Unsaid Things

“Lance, I need to go to the bathroom.”

He couldn’t help smiling at her, leaning close and keeping his voice low. “Want me to meet you in there? We could join the mile-high club.”

Her eyes went wide, and she smacked his arm. “Lance!” she hissed. “Shut up! No! I do not want to join the mile-high club.”

He laughed, but stood, the guy next to him realizing she wanted out and standing too. Lance smiled as he sat down, glad she seemed to be back to her normal self. He’d never expect her to agree to a quickie in an airplane bathroom. But hopefully she’d calm down and stop worrying about everything.

Abby gripped her armrest with one hand and squeezed Lance’s hand with the other as they made their final descent into Dallas. Lance squeezed her hand back. She’d done a good job keeping her nerves at bay for most of the flight, but this was only her second time on a plane—the first being the flight from Spokane to Seattle—and the feeling of taking off and landing made her nervous. That on top of her worry about her mom and her nerves about meeting Lance’s family.

She mentally went through what she wanted to do before coming face-to-face with his family. Her hairbrush and makeup bag were in her backpack, and she planned to stop at the first bathroom she saw to make herself look more presentable and less like a preteen. She did not need Lance’s family meeting her for the first time and thinking she looked younger than their youngest daughter.

The plane jolted and bounced as it landed, startling a squeak from her that had Lance grinning down at her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Not all pilots land as smoothly as the one in Seattle.”

She nodded, her body leaning forward with the momentum of the plane as they braked hard to slow down and taxi to the airport. Abby waited until the seatbelt light went off like the announcement said, even though everyone around her, including Lance, unbuckled as soon as they slowed, the sounds of everyone gathering their things surrounding them, rustling fabric and zipping bags. She pulled her backpack out from under the seat in front of her, tucking her Kindle back inside, and watched the front half of the plane slowly empty, waiting until their turn came to get off.

Lance held her hand on the jetway into the airport, and she diverted him to the restrooms just outside of their terminal. She felt better after wiping down her face with a damp paper towel and applying makeup for the first time that day, brushing out her hair, but leaving it down. Her hooded Marycliff University sweatshirt didn’t make for the best meet-the-parents outfit, but given the fact that she’d just gotten off an early flight, they couldn’t expect her to be dressed up, could they? Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself in the mirror, ignoring the curious looks from other travelers, and headed back out to follow Lance to the baggage claim and his waiting family.

They found their baggage claim carousel, and as they approached, three people detached themselves from the waiting crowd and came toward them. A woman with dark brown, chin-length hair and a smile on her face led the three of them, a large man with graying, close-cropped hair right behind her, his long-sleeved T-shirt stretched across broad shoulders and over a thickening waist line. A teenaged girl with long, dark hair matching the woman’s trailed behind them.

Abby let go of Lance’s hand as the woman reached up and hugged Lance, kissing his cheek, her smile growing wider. “Welcome home!”

Lance kissed her cheek too. “Thanks, Mom.” He pulled back and turned toward Abby, who stood wringing her hands, a small nervous smile on her face. He wrapped an arm around her, tugging her forward. “This is Abby. Abby, this is my mom, Elizabeth Kane.”

Abby cleared her throat and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Lance’s mom had her wrapped up in a hug. Abby stood frozen for a moment, this welcome so unexpected. Her own mom didn’t hug her often, and she was so thin that Abby always took care when touching her, afraid she’d break and blow away if she pressed too hard. So this open show of affection in the form of a tight hug from a woman she’d never met took her by surprise, but she managed to bring her arms up and squeeze back before the hug ended, her eyes searching out Lance, who stood off to the side, a wide smile on his face.

When Elizabeth stepped back, she kept her hands on Abby’s arms, the smile on her face matching Lance’s both in looks and intensity. Abby never would’ve expected Lance to take after his mom so much. “I’m so happy to meet you, Abby! Lance has told us so much about you, I feel like I know you already. I’m so glad y’all are here!”

Abby couldn’t help smiling back at the genuine joy in Elizabeth’s voice. “It’s nice to meet you too. Thanks for having me.”

“Of course!” Elizabeth squeezed Abby’s arms once more before letting her go and stepping back, gesturing at the imposing man behind her. “This is Jonathan, he goes by Jon.” The man gave her a brief smile and shook her hand before stepping back again without saying anything. “And this is Gabrielle, who goes by Gabby.”

Gabby looked like a smaller, feminine version of Lance—the same dark hair, level brows, and expressive brown eyes. Would Marissa look just like them, or did at least one of them take after their dad? Before Abby could do anything, Gabby gave her a hug, too. No wonder Lance always wanted to touch her. He grew up in this family of huggers. Abby would have to get used to this.

“I think I see your suitcase, Abby. I’m going to go get it. Wait here, okay?”

Abby turned toward Lance, but before she could protest that she wanted to come with him, he stepped away, grabbing her suitcase with the distinctive neon orange tape around the handle for easy identification from the conveyor belt and waiting for his own. She stared after him, shifting her feet, not sure what to do with herself or these strangers she now stood with.

Gabby threaded her arm through Abby’s, drawing her attention. “I’m so glad you’re finally here. I feel like I know you already from what Lance has said about you and talking to you on the phone.” Gabby smiled widely, almost bouncing in her excitement. “Seriously. We’ll have to have a girls’ night while y’all are here. You, me, and Marissa, our other sister. You’ll meet her and her boyfriend Peter tonight. I hope you got enough sleep last night, because today might be a long day.”

Abby blinked in the face of this verbal onslaught. “Um, yeah. Cool. A girls’ night sounds fun.”

“Yay!” Gabby’s grin looked like it might split her face.

“Gabby, calm down.” Elizabeth placed a restraining hand on her daughter’s arm. “They just got here, and their flight left early this morning. I’m sure Abby and Lance will want to rest when we get home. You can bombard her with all your plans tonight at dinner, okay?”

Her smile fading, Gabby let go of Abby’s arm. “Sorry. I’m just so excited to meet you. Since you guys are so far away, I didn’t know when or if you’d ever come. Lance said your mom has some problems that make it hard to get away.”

Abby stiffened. She shouldn’t be surprised that Lance’s family knew about her mom. He talked to them every week. She’d heard him mention helping her mom with stuff that normal, functioning adults don’t need help with, like getting groceries, mowing her lawn, and clearing the snow now that winter had rolled around. But they were so far away, it didn’t matter. To be confronted with it now, a stranger discussing her mom’s problems so casually, had her freezing up even more.

“Gabby!” Elizabeth’s voice held a warning, and Gabby shut up immediately.

Lance came back then, making Abby almost sag with relief. The happiness on his face dimmed when he saw her, so Abby plastered on her biggest smile for him, not wanting him to worry, not wanting to make a scene here in the middle of the airport with a million people watching. And definitely not in front of his family.

She stepped toward him to grab her suitcase, but his dad beat her to it. “Oh, um, I can get that.”

Jon gave her a tight smile. “S’alright. I got it.” With that, he started for the door, leaving Abby’s hand hanging in the air reaching after her suitcase.

She turned to Lance, unsure what to do with herself. He wrapped her empty hand in his and tugged her along after his dad, Elizabeth and Gabby falling in step behind them.

The suitcases went into the back of a maroon extended-cab Ford, a flat cover snapping closed over the bed, protecting the cargo from the elements. Abby ended up in the back, sandwiched between Lance and his sister, who babbled on about her Christmas concert, where she was concertmistress. Abby knew that Gabby played the violin, but she didn’t know what a concertmistress was. It sounded important, though. She should ask about it later. Lance kept up conversation with his sister, asking about her upcoming college auditions, his arm around Abby, who snuggled into him, letting his body buffer her from the onslaught of conversation overwhelming her tired brain. She needed more coffee. Or a nap. Maybe she could take a nap when they got to the house.

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