Snippet: Scene with a family in it
Snippet from Executive Decision by Mandy M. Roth
“Stop being a baby and come on,” I said, pulling on Dale’s arm.
He didn’t budge. “I’m nervous. Really nervous.”
It was cute that Dale put so much into his first meeting with my parents. It meant that he cared what they thought of him. “How about I go to a hotel for the night and then meet your father at his party tomorrow while there are a lot of other people around to keep him from strangling me.”
“Please, Dale. I want him to meet you. I want them all to meet you.”
“Why?” he asked, finally moving a few steps. I took a moment to look at him with the ivy-covered barn as his backdrop. It didn’t matter where you set Dale, he was still gorgeous to the point you thought you should look away but knew you couldn’t.
“I want you to meet them because you’re … you’re you and I … uhh … I want you to meet them, Dale.”
“But you can’t even figure out what I am and what I mean to you how are you going to explain it to your parents?”
This was insane. “Dale, it doesn’t matter. They know we pretty much live together and….”
“And we keep telling them we’re just friends.” He was getting agitated and that was never good. “And it matters to me, Liz. I care what I am to you.”
“Oh, sugar, if you haven’t figured out what you are to her then you never will,” my mother said, appearing from the other side of the tall bushes that ran to the house. She stood there smiling at Dale with her long brown hair down. She was in a pair of white slacks and a white sleeveless shirt. The brown basket she held had various greens, ivy and such laying in it.
Dale nudged me and whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “That’s your mother?”
Confused, I nodded. “You’ve seen her picture.”
“Yes, but I thought it must be an old photo because I guessed her age and she looked at least twenty years younger than that in the picture. Good God, the woman looks half her age! She’s beautiful.”
I could tell he was being honest. My mother had shocked him. I glanced at her and smiled.
Looking Dale up and down, she smiled and came towards us. “Well, after a comment like that I’m fine with him being part of the family.” She took hold of his upper arm and turned him back and forth slightly.
I sighed. “Momma, what are you doing?”
She kept turning Dale who didn’t say a word as he let her twist him and pull on him. “Sweetie, I’m trying to picture my grandbabies that’s all.”
Groaning, I dropped my head into my hands. This wasn’t happening to me. It really wasn’t. I would wake up any minute and find out it was all a freakish dream.
Someone wrapped their arm around me and then yanked it off quick. “Liz, you’re soaked and you smell funny. Ha, so I see you ran into Zachary.”
“Thanks, Scott. And yes I did happen to run into him,” I said, secretly wishing I had a garden hose to soak my brother with. Scott was the middle child and it showed. Always the attention getter.
He laughed when he saw our mother turning Dale more. “Momma,” he said. “Stop sizing the man up for his reproductive qualities. I’m positive that had a part in Lisa walking out on me.”
My mother let go of Dale and stared at Scott. “Lisa left you because she’s a selfish little girl who never grew up enough to marry let alone be a mother. And you, should be happy she did leave.”
Scott chuckled. “Yes, Momma. I’m thrilled my wife walked out on me and left me with a child to raise on my own. Speaking of which,” he looked behind him, “Beth-Ann! Aunt Liz is here! And she brought someone special with her!”
“She brought him?” A tiny scream was followed closely by hysterical laughter. I looked at Dale for help, he shrugged and smiled. Trust a guy from Park Ave. to be clueless when it comes to children.
I spotted the dark head of spring loaded dark curls and smiled as Beth ran full force at me. Her little yellow sundress went straight up in the air, showing off her yellow ruffled panties. Laughing, I shook my head. I used to be just like her.
“Liz, Liz, Liz!” she screamed as she wrapped her tiny frame around my leg and squeezed it tight. “Eww, you’re wet and you smell funny.”
“You don’t say?”
She looked up at me with wide, confused brown eyes. “But I did say it.”
Dale laughed and Beth zeroed in on him. Her eyes narrowed as she walked over to him. Crossing her arms, she motioned for him to bend down. Dale looked at me and I nodded. He was so tall that he had to practically sit on the ground to be eye level with her.
Beth stuck her face right against his and began to look him over thoroughly. When she began to pull on his lips and I couldn’t hide my laugh. The urge to touch his lips apparently ran in the family. Beth gave me a stern look and I stopped laughing. She looked back at Dale and put her hand on her hip. At five she was quite the diva. “Smile.”
“What?”
“Smile.” She stamped her foot for effect. “I said it slow. Any man should be able to understand.”
Scott started to correct her but Dale put his hand up and stopped him.
Dale smiled wide and laughed softly. “You are just like your aunt.”
Beth squealed and tossed her arms around Dale’s neck causing him to lose his balance a bit. He touched the ground to stay up with one hand and patted Beth on the back with the other.
“I didn’t know if it was you or if Aunt Liz tried to sneak someone else in. I promised you that I wouldn’t let her do that and I didn’t. Was that good, Uncle Dale?”
Uncle Dale?
I couldn’t have been more surprised if I tried. “You put my niece on spy duty?”
Beth nodded proudly as Dale looked at the ground. “Yep and I’ve done really good. The last four times,” she held up for fingers just in case I needed a visual, “you’ve been home he had me do it.”
“You’ve had her spying since she turned four? Isn’t that against child labor laws?”
Dale grinned and pulled his wallet out. “I think that you did such a good job that you’ve earned a reward.” He pulled out a hundred dollar bill and went to hand it to her. Scott and I both moved forward.
“Dale, she’s five!”
“Right.” He nodded and pulled four more out to go with the first one. I shoved them back in his wallet and grabbed a one dollar bill instead. I handed it to Beth-Ann who smiled just as wide as she would have if it would have been a hundred dollar bill.
Scott looked at me and I knew what he was thinking. Was this guy for real?
“Thanks, Uncle Dale!” She beamed as she hugged him tight.
My mother hid her laugh and put her hand out. “Come on Beth, Nana needs help with the green beans.”
Beth ran after her and my brother put his hand out to Dale. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“You too.”
Scott looked back at me and laughed.
Jerk.
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