Page 46 of This Time I'm Keeping You
“Hello!”A woman’s voice reached them.
“You have to be kidding me,” Nick muttered.He then placed a soft kiss on Poppy’s lips before he lifted her off his lap.“Brace yourself, Tinker Bell, we have company.”
“Anyone home?”The voice got louder.“Nicky, it’s your mom and dad.”
“Oh my God!”Poppy looked down at her pj’s.“I can’t meet your parents now… ever,” she added.
“In here, Mom,” Nick said, resigned.“Don’t try to run.You think I’m tenacious?You’re about to meet the person the word was created for.”
The doorway was suddenly filled with people.He saw his parents and Gracie.They were carrying to-go coffees and a large box that Nick knew would be filled with baking.
Clearly, Billy had been on the phone.
“There is no way you could have baked that since I spoke to Billy, Mom.”
Bernice Louise Atherton was a force of nature.Tall, willowy, with thick gray curls, she wore a ball cap, the habitual tracksuit, and a wide smile.She’d raised her brood with a firm hand and lots of love.
They’d nearly lost her, but after a double mastectomy and plenty of treatment, she was still with them.She was a fighter, and the hours he’d sat at her bedside had been some of the best and worst of Nick’s life.
“Well now, we thought you needed something to cheer you up, so I baked some cupcakes.”His mother’s smile was wide.“When our eldest child needs us, we’re there.Isn’t that right, Gerry?”
“Exactly right, Bernie.”
Gerry Leonard Atherton was a bear of a man in stature and personality and had the fashion sense of a five-year-old at a dress-up party.He laughed a lot and could put the fear of God into his kids with just a look.His father was the first man Nick had respected, and that had never changed.
He’d rebelled like most teenagers, but Nick had always known that he had these two people in his corner, and for a hormone-fueled boy, that had been needed.He also knew how lucky he was to have the family he did.
“And what the hell are you doing here, Gracie?”
“I have the day off and wanted to visit my big brother.”He didn’t buy that.She wanted to meet Poppy because Em had.
Poppy was frozen in place to his right.Nick placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.
“These are my parents, Gerry and Bernice, and my sister Gracie.None of them understand personal boundaries or a need for privacy.Family, this is Poppy Sylvester.”
“All true,” his dad said, lowering the tray of coffees to the table.He then moved to hug Poppy.“Hey there, sweetheart, I understand you’re having a rough time of things at the moment.”
The sob came out of nowhere, and then Poppy was crying all over the front of his dad’s highlighter-orange sweater.
Chapter18
Nick watched his father hug Poppy.He was a good hugger, always had been, but then he’d had a lot of practice over the years.His dad would simply move in and wrap his arms around you if he thought you needed it.It didn’t matter if you were angry, sad, or happy.A hug, according to Gerry Atherton, was one of life’s necessities.
“I’m sorry.”She pulled away.“Really.I don’t usually fall apart like that all over a stranger.I need to get dressed and pack.”Panic was written all over her sweet face.She ran then, out the kitchen door.
His mother made clucking noises when Poppy had gone.“That poor girl.She’s at her wit’s end.All pale and bruised.Her arm too.That must hurt.”
“It’s been a tough few days,” Nick added, taking the coffee his father handed him.“She’s running scared and not used to anyone in her corner.”
“I can’t imagine what that would be like,” Gracie said.
“Lots of people have no one,” Nick said.
“We don’t know all the details.”His father took a seat at the table, which to Nick suggested he was settling in for a nice long chat.
“I’m pretty sure she’d feel more comfortable if you guys left.I’m struggling to make her see reason about staying here as it is,” Nick said.
“We’re not going anywhere.You just told us that girl needs support, so we’re supporting her because she’s your friend.Now you sit, and I’ll tidy your kitchen and finish fixing breakfast for you and Poppy,” his mother said.
