The Sanders

A short bonus post for your Monday/Tuesday :)
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I woke up way earlier than I needed to the next morning.  Brody was already up and I wandered downstairs to find him.  He was sitting at his kitchen table with his laptop.

"Good morning," he greeted me with a smile.  I frowned and walked over to his Keurig, searching through the K cups for something appealing.  "Sorry, I forgot I shouldn't talk to you before you've had your caffeine."

I turned and glared at him.  "Why are you so cheerful?" I grumbled.

"Because I'm home, and you're here, and I got to sleep in my own bed last night," he replied.  I selected a K cup and pulled out a mug.  When I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I went and sat across from him.

"Well, I guess that's a good reason," I admitted, smiling.  "Are you working already?"

"I was, yeah," he replied.  "I don't want to have to spend a ton of time at the office today."

I nodded.  "When everything settles down, you should take a vacation and go somewhere awesome that's not here.  Or Miami."

"We should take a vacation," he corrected me.  "You work your ass off too.  Where should we go?"

We spent the next half hour planning about 17 hypothetical trips, each one getting more extravagant and ludicrous, ending with a year long tour of every tropical island on the planet.  We made breakfast as we planned, but I was too anxious to eat much.  I tried to clean up after but Brody sent me up to shower.  I was nearly finished when his bathroom door opened and he joined me.  "You really must have missed me," I quipped as he wrapped his arms around me.  "I can't even get you away from me long enough to shower."

"I know, it's a good thing you have plans today or I don't think I'd make it into the office," he replied, sliding his hands over my wet skin and lowering his lips to my neck.

We stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out, then moved our party to the bathroom counter.

"Did you even get clean?" I asked him after, as I pulled a comb through my tangled hair. 

"Clean enough," he replied with a shrug.  I made a face at that and he laughed.  I quickly finished getting ready and then we parted ways, him to his office and me to the coffee shop I was meeting Nadine and Jonathan at.

I pulled up and parked at 10:23.  I debated whether I should sit in the car staring nervously at the clock or just go in and get a drink while I waited.  I decided to go in and I stepped out of the car at the same time an older couple stepped out of a car a few spots away.  We made eye contact and the woman's face immediately broke into a huge smile.

"Olivia?" she asked tentatively.  I nodded, mute.  "Oh, sweetheart, we are so happy to meet you," she gushed.  She looked as if she was considering hugging me, but thankfully she didn't.  "This is Jon, your--my husband."

"Hi," I said softly.  I cleared my throat nervously.  "It's nice to meet you."  Social skills.

"Let's go inside," Jon said in a gruff voice.  I nodded and led them in.  We got drinks and sat down at a small table in the corner.  Nadine was grinning from ear to ear and she looked so happy that I couldn't help but smile back. 

"So, Olivia," she said happily, "tell us about yourself.  How did you end up in Denver?  What do you do?"

I told them about my job, and about moving here for something new, and to escape the Wisconsin winters.  "Oh, they're the worst, aren't they?  The summers aren't much better!" Nadine agreed.  Her friendliness was infectious, and after I got over my initial nervousness, we spoke easily.  Jon was mostly quiet but would add a comment or question here and there.

When my stomach growled, I looked up at the clock was surprised to see it was nearly noon.  Nadine looked too, and made a surprised sounding noise.  "Oh, goodness," she said.  She turned back to me.  "Olivia, we can't thank you enough for taking the time to meet with us.  It really is a dream to be sitting here with you." Her voice was heavy with emotion, and she paused to collect herself.  "We have to pick up...well, I mean, we have lunch plans with our..."  She trailed off.

"It's okay," I said quietly.  "I know about his kids."

Her eyes widened, but then her face showed relief.  "You do?" she asked.

I felt my face get warm.  "Um, well," I started, not sure how to explain that I had them investigated without hurting their feelings.  "When you asked to meet me, I wasn't sure, and I, well, I have a friend who does investigation work, and..." I stopped, my face completely hot.

Nadine and Jon surprised me by bursting into laughter.  "Don't be embarrassed," Jon said.  "It was smart for you to do that."  I was relieved that they weren't upset.

"Do you want to meet them?" Nadine asked hesitantly. 

"The kids?" I asked, surprised.  "Do they...do they know about me?"  Nadine nodded.  "They're dying to meet you, but we told them they'd have to wait to see how things went today.  You could join us for lunch."  I paused, not sure if I was ready for that.  "Of course," she added hurriedly, "Don't feel obligated.  There's always another time, if you even want to meet them.  I understand this whole situation is probably awfully strange for you."

I thought for a second and then said, "Actually, I'd love to meet them."  They told me where they were going for lunch and I promised to meet them there.

When I got to my car and pulled out my phone, I saw I had a text from Lauren wishing me luck, and a text from Brody saying that he hoped it went well and to call him when I was done.  I texted Lauren back and called Brody.

"Done already?" he answered.

"No, actually, I'm about to go meet them and the kids for lunch," I replied.

"The kids?" Brody asked, sounding surprised.  "Really?  Wow.  So I take it it went well?"

"It did," I replied.  "They're really nice.  Nadine is so friendly and enthusiastic.  It was really weird at first, but it got less weird really quickly.  How's work?"

"Don't ask," he groaned.  "It's bad.  I'll be here for a couple more hours.  Can I stop by when I'm done?"

"Sure, I'm just going to go home and clean, come over whenever," I said.

"Okay, I will.  See you later then."  We said goodbye and I hung up and drove to the restaurant where we were having lunch, wondering if I was completely out of my mind to be meeting these kids.