George made a snorting sound in the back of his throat. “Very responsible.”
Rosie stepped forward and slipped her arm around my waist. “Yeah, we all had a go. It was an old gun that was out of service, so it wouldn’t shoot or anything. I asked Nate to bring it around because we’d never seen a gun up-close before. Right, Nate?” she lied, smiling at me, telling me to play along. I nodded, wondering why she’d just said that.
“I still don’t think that handling a real gun is something that you should be allowing,” George countered.
Rosie shrugged. “Wasn’t your decision, Dad, it was mine. Nate said it was safe, so that’s good enough for me.” She held up the flowers to show her mom. “I’m going to put these in water. Nate bought them for me.”
Tracy smiled at me warmly. “Oh that’s sweet,” she gushed.
I laughed. That was probably where the word ‘sweet’ came from. I couldn’t help but wonder if George ever got labelled ‘sweet’. I flicked my eyes back to him. He was still watching me like a hawk with a stick up its ass. I winced slightly. Yeah that dude is as sweet as a fucking lemon!
I cleared my throat as Rosie walked off, leaving me in what felt like hell. I clung to DJ, using him as some sort of human shield from the death glare I was receiving. “So, how was the train ride? I told Rosie that I didn’t mind driving to come and collect you guys, but she said you were fine on the train,” I said, shrugging, trying to alleviate some of the tension.
Were they feeling this tension, or was it just me? Was it getting hotter in here? Maybe I should open a window or something…
“The train was fine. Rosie told us that you suggested that, but it just seemed silly for you to drive all that way when we could just as easily get the train. Thank you for the offer though,” Tracy replied. Her tone was warm and welcoming. Clearly it was only George that I needed to win over.
“It wouldn’t have been a problem.” I shrugged, and DJ wriggled in my arms, as he tapped on my shoulder to get my attention. I smiled down at him. “What’s up, Kid?”
“When we gets to the church, am I allowed to play on your phone?” he whispered, giving me the puppy dog face that I was yet to find a resistance to. DJ had developed a fondness for my cell phone lately; I now had more games downloaded on there than anything else. With the way he was going I was going to have to buy him his own one soon, before he overloaded my memory with drawing apps, drum sets and angry birds.
“Sure, Kid.”
“He has a name you know,” George interjected.
I smiled and nodded. Looks like I wasn’t getting anything right today. “Yeah, I should really use that.”
A couple of minutes later, Rosie walked back in and smiled. “Are we ready to go? It’s going to take a while to get there because of security,” she said, shrugging and grabbing her purse.
I nodded and set DJ down on his feet. “You been to the bathroom, Kid? There won’t be one there; you don’t want to have to pee in the bush in front of a load of cameras, do you? I did that once, it’s not fun,” I stated, nodding towards the back hallway. Rosie burst out laughing, and DJ skipped off. I grinned up at her, but then saw her dad looking at me with one eyebrow raised; he obviously didn’t find it funny. “That was a joke, I’ve never done that,” I added quickly.
“Hmm,” was all he said as he headed for the door.
When Tracy followed him, I turned to Rosie, looking at her desperately. “This is not going well,” I whined.
She shook her head and went up on tiptoes, pressing her lips to mine. “You’re doing great. I haven’t heard one pick-up line, or slutty comment come out of your mouth. That must be some kind of record for you,” she teased.
I sighed and pressed my forehead to hers, wishing today was over already. DJ skipped back to the lounge then, his shirt un-tucked, his hands still dripping with water where he hadn’t dried them. I laughed, and Rosie bent down to sort him out.
“After I go to the bathroom, you gonna do that for me?” I asked, as she pushed her hand down his dress pants, tucking in his shirt.
She winked at me. “If you’re a good boy.”
“Nate’s always a good boy,” DJ chimed in, making us both laugh.
The drive to the church took a long time, we had to stop a couple of times at checkpoints, they’d blocked off certain roads and you had to produce ID and an invite to get past. This was all because of Anna’s father. He was serving his second term in office, after all; the President of the United States had a lot of security.
By the time we made it to the church parking lot, I was in a bad mood. The whole drive George was nit-picking at everything I did. Complaining about my car not being big enough for five people, how I drove too fast, how I should have pulled out at a junction when I didn’t, how long it was taking. If he was doing it to piss me off, it was having the desired effect.
I sighed gratefully as we got out of the car, taking a few deep breaths. My peace didn’t last long though because Seth came wandering over with a big grin on his face. He knew I was nervous; I’d spoken to him about meeting the parents. He was definitely going to make this harder for me, I could tell by the wicked glint to his eye. I shot him a warning look as everyone else walked around to my side of the car.
Seth hadn’t officially met DJ yet, I’d spoken about him, of course, but this was the actual first meeting. I wasn’t sure how Seth was going to handle it, he really didn’t like kids. He smiled at me.
“This your girl’s sprog?” he asked, motioning towards DJ.
DJ frowned. “I’m not a frog.”
I laughed and patted his head as Seth stuck out his hand for him to shake. “Hey, I’m your uncle Seth,” he introduced himself. DJ looked at me curiously, and Rosie laughed. Seth turned to her and smiled his game smile. “Why do you have to be so damn fine every single day? Can’t you take a break and let me concentrate on something else for a change?” he asked, smirking at her.
“Still trying?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, willing him to disappear. “Seth, think we could give it a rest for today?” I asked, nodding discreetly at her parents that were standing beside me.
Seth grinned wolfishly and looked at Tracy. “You can’t be Rosie’s mother. Were you five when you gave birth?”
I’m going to to kill him.
Tracy laughed and blushed, looking at her husband uncomfortably. She obviously wasn’t as comfortable with chat-up lines as her daughter. “Well aren’t you the charmer,” she replied, looking a little embarrassed.
“We should get inside,” I suggested, looking at the five secret service agents that were standing guard outside the church door. I recognised a couple of them as Anna’s security guard detail when Ashton wasn’t around. I gripped Rosie’s hand and put my other on DJ’s shoulder, guiding him over to the security. I nodded at Patrick, one of Anna’s guards. “Hey, Patrick. Listen, that guy over there, he says he’s with us, but I don’t know him,” I stated, nodding at Seth, who was now hitting on another guest as she got out of her car. Patrick wouldn’t know who Seth was; he didn’t hang out at their place as much as I did so he didn’t know many of their security detail.
Patrick frowned. “The brown haired one?”
I nodded in confirmation, wondering if I had just gone too far. He would have his invite though; it would be easily sorted out. “Yeah. Can we head in? We’re all on the guest list; this is Mr and Mrs York.” I waved a hand at Rosie’s parents. Patrick nodded, and we all headed into the, already full, church.
Almost instantly I spotted my mother; she stood up from her seat, waving excitedly with her eyes firmly latched onto DJ. She seemed to push past everyone, and my dad walked along behind her, apologising to the people she almost shoved out of the way in a bid to meet her grandson.
She stopped in front of me, pulling Rosie into a hug. “Oh, you look so beautiful! That dress, it’s just incredible, sweetheart,” she gushed, smiling affectionately. She turned to me and pinche
d my cheek. “Poppet, you just look so handsome in your suit!” Rosie giggled, but I didn’t look at her knowing she would tease the life out of me because of the poppet thing again. I gripped DJ’s shoulder for support as my mother’s eyes went down to him. She bit on her lip, one hand over her heart as she looked at him like he was the cutest thing in the world. “Hi, DJ,” she whispered.
I crouched down next to him and smiled reassuringly, wondering what on earth the kid was going to make of my crazy ass mother. “DJ, this is my mom, Dawn.”
He smiled at her which caused her to whimper.
“You’re Nate’s momma? You don’t looks like Nate,” he observed, shaking his head.
My mom laughed. “Nate looks like his dad,” she replied, crouching down in front of him. “I have some gifts for you in my car. I brought one in with me because it was small, but the rest of them you’ll have to wait until after, deal?”
“You boughted me a present?” he said excitedly. She nodded and reached into the bag that she had in her hand, pulling out a couple of packs of Toy Story stickers and a sticker album. DJ’s eyes lit up as he looked at it. “That’s mine?” he cried happily. She nodded as she held it out to him. He took it, grinning from ear to ear. DJ turned to me. “Nate, you have a really nice momma! Look what she boughted for me!” He held it up in example, and I smiled, faking enthusiasm.
“I’ll help you stick them in if you want,” my mom offered.
He nodded eagerly, and she sighed happily. My dad was watching, grinning too as my mom introduced him to DJ, and they opened the packs of stickers.
Ashton wandered over then. As he shook hands with George, he was afforded a warm smile. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous, but then again, Ashton wasn’t a threat because he wasn’t the one trying to get in Rosie’s pants.
There was a commotion by the door; I could hear heated talking and a couple of seconds later Seth walked in, being escorted by two secret service agents. “I’m invited! I’m friends with Ashton!” Seth grumbled.
I choked on my laughter as Ashton quickly went over to sort it out. That’ll teach the prick for hitting on my possible future mother-in-law! I looked at DJ hopefully. “Think I could have one of those stickers, Kid? I’ll buy you another pack to make up for it,” I asked.
He nodded and handed me one. “I’ve gotted two of this one anyways,” he answered, shrugging.
I smiled and peeled the back off it, before quickly heading over to Ashton and Seth who were talking to the agents, explaining that everything was fine. I slapped Seth on the back as I got over to him.
“You just can’t help but cause a scene, can you? This is a church, Seth, show some respect,” I teased, patting my hand on his back lightly. I grinned and turned heading back to my group, leaving Seth with a Lotso Hugging Bear sticker on his back.
Payback’s a bitch, my friend!
Chapter Thirty-One
As I headed back to the group that I arrived with, I heard Rosie doing the introductions between our parents. I had no idea what George was going to think of my mother and all her craziness.
I stepped to Rosie’s side just as they all finished shaking hands. Rosie turned to me and smiled. “You’re mean to him,” she whispered, slipping her arm around my waist, nodding at Seth.
I laughed and shook my head. “No I’m not. He hit on your mom,” I replied. I looked back to my mom who was still crouched on the floor next to DJ, looking at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread. “Don’t scare him with your weirdness, Mom.”
She beamed up at me happily. “I’m not scaring him, we’re doing stickers. Right, sweetpea?” She nudged DJ gently.
He grinned and nodded, pulling out more of them. Ashton wandered back with Seth next to him. I stifled my laughter at Seth’s disgruntled face as he complained about the security. “What was that about?” I asked, nodding back to the door.
Seth frowned, straightening his suit jacket. “No freaking idea. I should put in a complaint. Did you see the death grip they had on my arms? I’m an invited guest, and they thought I was some sort of terrorist!”
“That might have something to do with your friend telling them that you weren’t invited,” George chimed in, nodding in my direction.
What an asshole!
Seth’s accusing eyes snapped to mine. “What the fu-”
“Fudge!” Rosie interjected loudly, just as Seth was about to curse in front of DJ.
Seth’s frown deepened as he looked at her like she was crazy, until she motioned at DJ. Understanding crossed his face as he nodded slightly. “Okay, so what the fudge did you do that for? That wasn’t funny, dude! You’re an ass…teroid,” he stated, frowning as he tried to come up with an insult without cussing.
“An asteroid?” I repeated.
“You know what I’m trying to say, don’t make me say it in front of the frog.” He laughed as DJ shot him a ‘I’m not a frog’ face. His expression clearly said that he thought Seth was crazy.
“I was just kidding around with the guys outside, I didn’t realise they would take me seriously,” I lied. I turned to Ashton, wanting to change the subject. “You all set up? You’ll tell me what I have to say, right? Do I have to make a speech or…” I trailed off, wincing at the thought of it.
He laughed and shook his head. “No, the guy will call us up to the front at some point. They’ll give you a card to read from. Then he’ll dunk Cameron’s head in the water, we sing some hymn that Anna’s chosen, then we’re done. You are then free to get wasted at the after party at the hotel,” he answered.
Rosie looked at me, a small horrified expression on her face. I frowned, slipping my arm around her waist to comfort her. “What’s up, Stripes?”
She winced. “You’re going to mime the hymn, aren’t you?”
“I’m an awesome singer,” I protested jokingly.
Ashton choked on his laughter. “Dude, you sound like a bag of drowning cats when you sing,” he corrected, shaking his head, still laughing. George laughed too and patted Ashton on the shoulder in congratulations; he obviously liked me being insulted. Jerk.
DJ frowned. “What does a bag of drowning cats sound like?” he asked, looking a little confused as he sorted through his stickers again.
Ashton grinned at him. “Just listen to Nate sing and then you’ll know,” he answered, winking at him and slapping Seth a high five.
I groaned and closed my eyes. “Shall we go find a seat before they’re all taken?” I suggested, wanting to change the subject.
“I saved some seats for us, Poppet,” my mom said, standing upright and then smiling at DJ. “You want to sit next to me, sweetpea?” she offered.
“Okay. Nanna Tracy can sit with us too; she can help with the stickers. Right, Nanna?” he asked, smiling at Rosie’s mom lovingly. She nodded in agreement. “Did you getted to see Toy Story 3, Nanna? I have it at my house; Nate boughted it for me. We can watch it after the party if you want.”
George looked at me curiously, and I waited to see if that made any difference to him accepting me. His jaw tightened, and he looked away without saying anything. Again, apparently nothing is going to help me win this guy over, I was doomed to be hated by him forever. Perfect.
“I’d love to watch it, DJ,” Tracy answered. “Maybe tomorrow though, we won’t get back from the party until around your bed time.”
He frowned and looked back to my mom. “Want to watch it with us? We could get popcorn!” he enthused.
She looked like her insides melted into a puddle as she put her hand over her heart, looking like a proper woman in love with her grandchild. “I’d love to, sweetpea, but Evan and I live a little way away so we’ll be going home after the party. Maybe you could bring it to my house when you come for a visit,” she suggested.
He nodded enthusiastically and let her lead him off to the pew that she had saved for us. Rosie and I sat on the end because we would be getting out to go up the front during the service anyway. My parents and Rosie’s b
oth scooted down the pew, talking easily amongst themselves, chatting about where they were from and the ride into LA.
The ceremony went without a hitch. We stood up the front with the little candle and made the vows to look after Cameron and guide him through life. I held Rosie’s hand tightly as we did our thing. It was nice. I felt immensely proud to be included in such an important thing in my best friend’s life. I, of course, mimed the song as I always did at things like this. Very few people got to hear me actually sing; friends and family only.
When it was over, we all split up into our respective cars and headed to the posh hotel that had been booked for the after celebration. Again, I ignored George nit-picking about my driving on the way there. He was seriously getting on my last nerve. When we got there, we headed into the function room at the back. Both sets of our parents decided it would be fun to get a table together so I reluctantly sat down, trying to ignore George who was still regarding me as if I’d stepped in something awful. I silently wished that I wasn’t driving so that I could just get drunk and block him out.
I glanced at the bar longingly. “Anyone want a drink?” I offered, standing up, wanting to be away from here already. After they reeled off their orders, I headed to the bar, leaning on it heavily as I frowned down at the counter.
A hand touched my back. I tilted my head up, seeing Anna smiling at me sympathetically. “He’s a nice guy. Don’t write him off, okay. He’s just being hard on you because of Josh, just push