Hidden Barriers (27 page)

“Who’s at the door, Jeremy?” Josh goes silent, as he appears in the hall behind Jeremy, his brother, whom I haven’t met, even after all this time.

“Oh, shit,” Josh says as he focuses on us standing in front of him.

Cara pushes her way into the house with me close on her heels. I still don’t have a good feeling about this. Josh clearly isn’t happy about us showing up. Usually, he’s greeting me with open arms if I stop in alone, and he doesn’t have company. Right now, he seems agitated, which is totally not like him at all.

Cara tosses her coat onto the hook before turning around to Jeremy. “So, who are you? And, why have I never met you?”

Jeremy gives her an amused look. “I’m Josh’s brother, Jeremy, and you two would be?” he asks, pointing between Cara and me.

“Well, I’m Cara. How is it you don’t know Sam?”

“Cara!” Josh scolds as he paces around, still not making any physical contact with me or even making an effort to introduce me. Am I some big secret from the family? I mean, I’ve met Courtney and heard stories about everyone else, but Josh has never mentioned me actually meeting any of them yet.

I’m at a crossroads as to how I ought to feel about this. Should I be pissed or sad? I don’t have time to process any of it because Cara chuckles before tilting her head to look into the living room, probably for Nick. Not seeing him, she looks back at Jeremy, who is still giving her a baffled look.

“Who’s Sam?” Jeremy asks her, clearly confused.

“You’re silly. Sam, you know, as in
Josh’s girlfriend
.” Cara points to me and laughs as she heads into the kitchen, grabbing a drink from the counter and finding Nick coming up from the basement with more beer.
Josh stops abruptly to face Jeremy as I stand here silently, not knowing what to do. Do I introduce myself? Does Josh have reasons for not telling his brother about me? Fortunately for me, Jeremy is the one who speaks first, as he looks over at Josh.

“Well, this just got interesting. Since when did you get a girlfriend?” Jeremy asks Josh.

Josh finally steps over to stand behind me. “Sam, this is my brother, Jeremy. Jeremy, this is my girlfriend, Sam Daley.”

Jeremy’s eyes enlarge with excitement. “It’s nice to meet you, Sam.” He reaches out to shake my hand before turning his attention back to his brother. “Dude, how long have you been keeping her a secret? When Mom finds out, she’s going to eat you alive!”
Josh pulls me closer as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind me, looking over at Jeremy. “Don’t feel bad. Courtney’s been keeping this a secret from her much longer.”

“Josh, what the hell? Have you told anyone about us in your family besides Court?” My voice is shadowed with a hint of anger.

Jeremy looks down at me with the biggest smirk on his face. “Well, Sam, I have a feeling we need to have you over to meet the rest of the family really soon. Our mother is going to have a field day when she meets you.”

I tilt my head up to Josh. “Should I be scared?” I ask. Worry flashes across my face, not knowing if this is a good thing or a bad thing anymore.

“Nah. Not unless you have any problem picking out china patterns by the end of the day.” Josh laughs.

“What?! Seriously?” I wail.

Josh moves to my side, so he’s between Jeremy and me. “If you don’t believe me, just ask this idiot. He’s the one letting our mom plan a surprise proposal and wedding in the same weekend.”

I look to Jeremy for confirmation.

“It’s true,” Jeremy says. “Mom and Emily have been inseparable since I brought Emily over to the house. Now, Mom’s taken over my entire surprise wedding weekend.”
Josh looks over at me and grins. “See, this is why I’ve kept you away from my mother all this time, but I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.”

I guess it’s time to meet the parents.

Well, I have to say, Jeremy finding out about Sam the way he did wasn’t ideal. I really wasn’t sure how to introduce Sam to the family. All I know is I was hoping I didn’t have to introduce her before the wedding. Another part of me was still unsure of how Sam would react around Sue. So, today, a week later, I’m going out on a limb and hoping to stifle the situation a little bit between the two.

I knew that only Mom and Dad would be at their house this afternoon. When I called them yesterday, I told them it was important for me to come by Monday afternoon. Mom seemed to be less concerned than Dad, but she was a little on edge with the big wedding weekend quickly approaching.

Sam and I are now making the drive to my parents’ house. Her hands fidget awkwardly on her lap. I turn down the speakers, silencing Matt Nathanson
and grab one of her hands, entwining my fingers with hers. Her eyes relax at my contact. “There’s no need to be nervous. It’s just Mom and Dad.”

“You say that as though it’s just something you do every day. Josh, you haven’t brought any girl home to meet them in years, and to top it off, you haven’t even told them you were bringing me over today.”

I inhale a deep breath as we continue to drive along the back roads where hints of spring are starting to show. I pull into the driveway of the two-story Cape-style home in which I grew up. It’s now or never. I can only hope this goes well. Jeremy is going to keep Emily away from the house for the night with Sue and Dave while they go to dinner and a movie. Courtney had one of her evening cooking classes, so I knew it would just be us four for the night. I glance over at
Sam, who is taking in the house in front of her, and ask, “Ready?”

“Am I ready to meet the parents of the guy I’ve been dating for over two months who hasn’t once mentioned me? Absolutely!” she says with sarcasm clearly directed toward me.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry, but it’s not as though I was hiding you because of embarrassment. I just wasn’t sure when I could finally handle what I know my mom is going to do once you step through those doors,” I say as I grab the door handle to get out of the car.

Sam gets out of the car, and we meet on her side to grab the bouquet of colorful flowers and food we brought over for dessert. She made sure her purse was stocked with at least a full bag of candy to help with her nerves. She’s already eaten about half of the bag on the way over here.

Sam hands me the apple pie from the backseat as she grabs the bottle of wine she brought as well. She shuts the door, and we start walking toward the house as she responds, “I don’t know if I want to hit you or run from you.” She pauses.” What am I walking into in there?”

After walking up the front steps, I open the door and am instantly hit with the aroma of Mom’s cooking. I keep Sam safe behind me as she follows my lead. “Mom? Dad?” I ask, as though I know they aren’t already in the kitchen.

Mom’s voice sounds from the back of the house. “In the kitchen, dear.” I continue walking until I stand in the doorway to see Mom pulling a spiral ham from the oven and Dad mashing the potatoes on the stovetop. Sam remains behind me, out of sight.

“Hey, we’re here,” I announce
our
entrance.

Mom places the ham onto the counter, still not looking my way. I pull Sam from behind me, so she stands at my side. “Josh, what do you mean ‘we’re’?” my mom asks before turning to see the two of us in front of her.

“Mom…Dad…I’d like you to meet Samantha Daley, my girlfriend,” I say as I softly push Sam forward with my hand at her back. Her feet scuffle forward as my mom moves closer. Her confused eyes pass between the two of us. Dad remains standing, but no longer mashing the potatoes.

Mom wipes her hands on her apron before pulling it off and tossing it onto the counter. She comes over to stand in front of Sam before she reaches out to hold the sides of her face in her hands. “Well, you have to be something incredibly special to my son if he has decided to bring you to meet us.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Page.”

“Oh, dear, call me Grace, and that man over there is Travis,” she says, leaning her head over to Dad. “Travis, put down those darned potatoes and come meet your son’s girlfriend.” Dad starts walking over to stand behind Mom as he reaches out a hand.

“Nice to
finally
meet you, Sam,” Dad says before looking up at me. “So, how long have you been going out with Josh?” he questions her as if knowing from Sam’s statement that she’s been around a while.

I quickly clear my throat, which grabs everyone’s attention instantly. “Mom, we brought wine and some pie. Should I just put it on the buffet in the dining room?”

“Yes, that’s fine,” she says as she turns to Dad. “Travis, why don’t you go help Josh in the dining room? This dinner requires the fine china.”

I turn my gaze over to Sam who looks at me with a silly grin on her face. “See, I warned you about the china.” I laugh as I continue into the dining room with the pie.

Dad cuts me off mid-stride just as I’m walking into the room. “Josh, how long have you two been dating?” he questions as he begins taking out the china from the cabinet to set the table.

“Dad, really, it’s not a big deal. I just didn’t want to introduce her if I wasn’t completely sure she was the one.”

“The
one?
” Dad startles, as the sound of china clinking heavily on the table ruffles
through the room. “What is going on around here? First, Jeremy, and now,
you?
You know you can’t tell your mother, right? Have you seen how she’s been with Jeremy’s wedding plans? I’m surprised she hasn’t picked out my damn underwear color yet.”

“Dad, trust me. I know. But, we need to keep this on the down low. You can’t let on to anyone that I love Sam. If Mom finds out, she’ll have me getting married in a month right next to Jeremy, and
that
is not going to happen!” Grabbing some of the plates from Dad, I help set the other two plates for dinner.

As we finish setting out the plates, Dad slaps my shoulder from behind me. “So, how did you meet that gorgeous creature in there?” he asks as we make our way back toward the kitchen, where soft laughter filters through the door.

“Well, Dad, that’s an interesting story. We actually met the night of the accident at the hospital.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re telling me you’ve known her for nearly three months, and you’re just now bringing her over here?” Dad asks, shaking his head as he pushes me forward in front of him. “If your mother catches wind of that, you won’t live to see your next birthday.”

That is exactly why I need to make sure the girls don’t find out about Sam until after Jeremy’s wedding. Just another three weeks and I’ll hopefully figure out exactly how to introduce my first love to my true love.

Easier said than done.