Page 76 of The Facilitator: Part 3
She walked straight past me and into the living room, removing her coat as she did. She held that coat out for the young man to take. He had me chuckling as he rolled his eyes and bowed to her.
“Ah, here she is,” Mary said, and Rebecca, having met Mary a couple of times, crawled over to her. She giggled as Mary picked her and swung her onto her hip. “Look at you, my lovely. You’re gonna have the boys on their knees, my girl,” she added. “Alex, tuck your shirt in, you look like a tramp,” she finished with.
She introduced herself to May and Sally, ignored Greg, and hugged Elaine. They were like peas in a pod. They grew up in the same area as children, they had sat in the past talking as if they were old school friends. They knew the same pharmacist and gossiped about his many affairs. She sat on the sofa next to Elaine and played with Rebecca while she spoke. Soon enough, Rebecca wanted to be put on the floor with Dominic.
I had placed the gift bag on a table with other gifts, not that we had asked for them, of course. It was nice of Mary, though.
The afternoon rolled on and more friends arrived. Jerry brought hisfriendas he introduced her, and I was pleasantly surprised. She wasn’t his usual fling but a nice woman; a barrister that I just knew was likely to keep Jerry on the straight and narrow. I fetched drinks, I opened dishes of snacks, and I cleaned up Rebecca’s chocolate-covered face. Lauren and I passed in the hall, the kitchen, or the living room, and we’d smile or brush hands, but other than that, we were surrounded by our friends. The one I was waiting on, the surprise guest, was yet to arrive but, as I anxiously checked my watch, I knew she wouldn’t be far away.
When I heard a car pull up outside, I snuck away. I opened the front door and beat Darren to the rear passenger door. I open it and waited for my sister to climb out. She bounced on her toes and reached out for a hug.
“Hey, you,” she said, kissing my cheek.
“Hey, you,” I replied. It had become our usual greeting.
“I’m so excited to meet Rebecca,” Kelsey said, and I took her hand to lead her to the house.
Darren opened the trunk to fetch Kelsey’s luggage and followed us.
“Lauren, we have a guest,” I said.
Lauren had been standing at the back of the room and Kelsey and me by the door. Lauren turned andsquealed with delight. She rushed over and wrapped Kelsey in her arms, both women laughed and rocked from side to side. When they finally parted, Kelsey spotted Rebecca. She walked toward her, sat on the floor, and crossed her legs. Rebecca was enthralled with new people and she immediately crawled into her lap. Kelsey held her and smiled.
Rebecca did something that probably wasn’t intentional but it silenced the room. She reached up and touched Kelsey’s eyes. It wasn’t immediately obvious to us all that she’d wiped a tear until she did it again.
I needed to step back. I felt overwhelmed with emotion. My sister, someone I hadn’t known all her life, was sitting with my daughter, someone I hadn’t known all her life, either.
Now, my family was totally complete. I had my friends, my wife, my child, my sibling, and in-laws. I had Gabriella and her family; even Veronica had become a close friend to us.
From being a solitary and fairly lonely individual, I was surrounded by love.
I felt a hand snake into mine and I looked down. Lauren stood beside me.
“It’s all a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?” she whispered.
I nodded and swallowed hard. “Sometimes, I just love you both so much right now.”
She smirked. “Onlyright now?” she asked.
I laughed and squeezed her hand. “Right now, tomorrow, forever.”
“Come on, you’re absence is noticeable,” she said.
“I just needed a moment,” I replied.
“I know.” She smiled at me.
We walked back into the house and immediately were surrounded again. People chatted, laughed, drank champagne, and we toasted Rebecca, who repeatedly reached for my glass as I held her.
“No chance, young lady,” I’d tell her and she’d laugh.
Guests started to leave and only Gabriella, Alex, Dominic, Kelsey, and Elaine were left. They were staying over that evening. I had a meal planned and we had set up a second bed in Rebecca’s room, which was between the one Gabriella and Alex would be in, and Lauren and mine.
While the women took the kids to bathe and settle them in bed, I slumped on the sofa and Alex sat beside me, looking like he’d been dragged through the mud. I chuckled as he popped the cap off two beers and handed me one. We clinked our bottled and took a draw.
“Fuck me, I’m exhausted,” he said.
“Same, although I wasn’t rolling around the floor with two kids hanging off me.”
