It’s just that…well, Tobi, I really like being with you.”
“I like being with you, too,” she said hesitantly.
“I’m sorry, I’m not expressing myself very well,” Ryan said, glancing away.
Running her fingers down Ryan’s cheek, Tobi turned her face so Ryan was looking directly into her eyes. “Ryan, just say what’s on your mind. If you feel it, then say it.”
“Since meeting you, I’ve been the happiest I can recall ever being. I love spending time with you. I want to know everything there is to know about you. I think about you all the time, and I don’t know how you feel about this, but I have no desire to date other people, Tobi. I’d like to see where this goes,” Ryan blurted while ducking her head to look at her hands.
Ryan’s nervous rambling tore at Tobi’s heart. She knew what admitting her feelings cost Ryan. She was giving Tobi her trust, and now it was up to Tobi to honor it and not hurt her. Tucking her hand under Ryan’s chin, Tobi raised her head so she could see her eyes. What she saw made her smile. Ryan was chewing on her bottom lip, which the doctor had come to realize was a way for Ryan to deal with her nervousness.
“Ryan, I want that, too. There are so many layers and facets to you, and I’m selfish enough to admit that I want you all to myself.” Pausing, Tobi glanced off at the trees. Knowing that Ryan needed to hear the words, she looked back, intent on expressing her feelings. “I will admit that I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships. I’ve never had my trust and love steamrollered like you have. It’s just never been the right girl.
Without a doubt, what I feel for you is completely different from anything else I’ve ever felt.”
“You have no idea how scared I was to talk to you about this.
I wasn’t sure if now was the right time,” Ryan said, with an obvious slump of relief.
“I was scared, too; that’s why I’m so glad you said it first,”
Tobi said with a nervous chuckle.
Ryan shook her head, surprised that Tobi accepted her declaration so readily. Now, Ryan felt confident enough to broach the other subject she wanted to discuss.
“How would you feel about going with me tomorrow to meet my mom?”
“Is that what you want?”
“I’d really like you to come. Two of my brothers will be there, as well,” Ryan said hopefully.
“I’ll make you a deal. If I can make you breakfast in the morning, I’ll go to dinner at your mother’s in the evening.”
“What time do you get up on Sundays?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know, but you’ll be there, so just wake me when you’re hungry.”
“That’s your deal?”
“That’s my deal,” she said with a smirk.
Ryan tapped a finger to her chin and pretended to ponder the offer. When Tobi poked her in the stomach and stood to walk away, Ryan reflexively grabbed her arm, pulling Tobi back around.
“Sorry, um, it’s a deal.” Ryan stood and leaned in to seal it with a kiss.
Slowly pulling back from Ryan’s lingering lips, Tobi looked at her with a pout, then out came that beautiful smile. Ryan tucked Tobi’s hand in hers, and they resumed their walk.
here is nothing to be nervous about, Tobi, just relax,”
Ryan said, watching Tobi fidget in her seat as they T pulled into her mom’s driveway.
“I’m trying, but what if she doesn’t like me?”
“What’s not to like? Please, just trust me on this, okay? She’ll love you.”
Ryan walked around to Tobi’s side of the car and opened the door. She gave Tobi a reassuring smile and held her hand as they walked to the front door. Ryan knocked lightly before entering. As they walked down the hall, they were met by an attractive older woman who was a little shorter than Ryan but taller than Tobi.
Her hazel eyes were set off by fashionably styled salt and pepper hair.
“Hi, Mom,” Ryan said, wrapping her arms around her for a hug.
“Hi, sweetie,” she said before stepping back to look at Tobi.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet someone very special to me. This is Tobi, Tobi Drexler. Tobi, this is my mother.”
“Hello, Mrs. Thomas, it’s very nice to meet you,” Tobi said as she extended her hand.
“Please, call me Grace, honey. Now, get over here and give me a hug. Any special friend of Ryan’s gets more than just a handshake,” Grace said as she engulfed Tobi in an embrace.
Ryan rolled her eyes behind her mother’s back. Tobi grinned and returned the hug.
“Why don’t you girls come on into the kitchen and get something to drink? Ryan, your brothers will be here shortly. They ran to grab a couple of things from the store for me.”
Ryan took Tobi’s hand as they walked into the kitchen. She motioned for Tobi to sit at the table and walked to the refrigerator.
“Tobi, what would you like? There’s tea, lemonade, water, Kool-Aid, soda, beer, and milk.”
“Hmm, is that all?” Tobi asked with a chuckle. “Tea would be great, thank you.”
Ryan got a couple glasses down and turned toward her mother. “Mom, would you like anything?”
“No, dear, I have something. Thank you.”
Ryan handed Tobi her glass and took a seat next to her.
Smiling, she winked at Tobi before taking a drink.
“So, Tobi, when my daughter is not dragging you around all over the place, what is it that you do?”
“Mom, we haven’t even been here five minutes yet!” Ryan exclaimed, almost spilling her drink.
Tobi, sensing Ryan’s discomfort, placed her hand lightly over Ryan’s and squeezed gently.
“I’m a radiologist down at Truman University Medical Center, Grace. For the record, though, I’m the one who has been dragging your daughter around,” Tobi said, laughing.
Grace smiled at Tobi and took a seat next to Ryan at the table.
“Do you enjoy what you do, Tobi?”
“I do enjoy it, most of the time. It has its ups and downs like any job, I suppose.”
“I’m sure it keeps you busy.”
“With after-hour call, it does. Sometimes, I have to make an effort to recognize what’s going on around me outside that place.”
“It’s good that you can stop to smell the roses sometimes, dear,” Grace said with a pat to her hand. “Ryan here hasn’t told me much about how you two met. How long ago was that?”
“It’s been a little over a month. Ryan was actually on patrol when we met.” Glancing over at Ryan, Tobi smiled.
With mock seriousness, Ryan’s mother said, “Well, I hope she wasn’t being mean to you.”
Tobi shook her head, “No, I was pulled over on the side of the road, and she had stopped to make sure that everything was okay.
She was very sweet.”
At this, Ryan rolled her eyes. Tobi was having a hard time carrying on a conversation with Grace because she had never seen Ryan so exasperated before. It was really quite charming.
“Good. At least I taught her some manners,” Grace said as she squeezed Ryan’s arm. The look of adoration on Ryan’s face revealed how smitten she was with Tobi.
Ryan heard a commotion at the front door and went to greet her brothers, leaving Tobi and her mother talking in the kitchen.
Standing in the hall, she watched them come through the door and close it before saying anything.
“Hey there, ’Trick,” Ryan said, as she walked over to give the big man a hug. Turning toward the taller blond man, she punched him lightly in the arm saying, “Hi, Mory.”
“Hey there,
RAT
,” the brothers greeted in unison, each wrapping an arm around her waist.
Elbowing them both, she turned around to see Grace and Tobi, with smiles on their faces, standing in the hall. She took Tobi’s hand to introduce her.
“Tobi, I’d like you to meet my brothers, Patrick and Morgan.
Guys, this is Tobi.”
“Hi, Tobi, it’s really nice to meet you,” said Patrick, shaking Tobi’s hand.
“Hello, Tobi. I have to admit that when Ryan told us about you, she failed to mention how beautiful you are,” Morgan said as he leaned in to place a kiss upon Tobi’s cheek. Ryan smiled happily at Morgan’s sweet gesture, which took Tobi by surprise.
“It’s really nice to meet you both. Ryan has told me a lot about you two,” Tobi said with a blush.
Although she didn’t
mention how strongly you all resemble each other.
Tobi thought it had to be the eyes because they were all the same bluish-gray.
Even Morgan with his curly blond hair couldn’t be mistaken for anyone but a Thomas family member.
“Okay, kids, dinner is about ready. Why don’t we seat ourselves at the table?” Grace called.
Ryan turned toward the kitchen and saw Tobi raise her eyebrows and mouth “RAT?” Ryan narrowed her eyes and glared at her brothers’ backs.
“Dinner smells wonderful, Mom,” Morgan said, reaching around her to grab a piece of roast and popping it into his mouth.
Grace, backhanding him lightly in the stomach, said, “Why don’t you put that on the table before you eat it all?”
Morgan leaned down to kiss Grace on the cheek, and as she smiled in return, he took the platter of meat to the table.
Glancing at the table covered with roast, potatoes, gravy, carrots, and green beans, Patrick said, “I see you fixed Morgan’s favorites.”
Ryan laughed before saying, “Stop your pouting, Patrick. If I recall, she fixed your favorites the last time we were here.”
Grace set a basket of rolls on the table and patted Patrick on the back as he grumbled good-naturedly. Of her five children, these three were the closest, and a Sunday dinner never went by without the teasing.
“Let’s eat,” Grace said.
Tobi listened to the lighthearted banter that continued while plates were being fixed. She was hard-pressed to find a reason why she would ever feel uncomfortable around Ryan’s family.
Like Ryan, they were warm and welcoming. As she looked around the table, her eyes fell upon twinkling hazel ones. She smiled in return as Grace winked at her. Under the table, Tobi felt long fingers tangle within hers as she looked into Ryan’s smiling face.
Dinner went surprisingly well, and Ryan was happy that Patrick and Morgan were on their best behavior and genuinely seemed to like Tobi. It wasn’t until they were drinking coffee and eating dessert that she could have killed them both.
“Patrick, I noticed when you guys first got here that Ryan called you Trick, and Morgan, Mory. Is there a story behind that?”
Tobi asked.
“See, when Ryan was little, she had trouble saying our full names; that’s what they were shortened to so she could call us by name. After all these years, it’s stuck,” Patrick explained. “She never had trouble pronouncing Jack’s or Raef’s name, though, so they are just Jack and Raef.”
“So when you called her ‘
RAT
,’ that was because…?” Tobi inquired.
Patrick and Morgan burst out laughing. Patrick looked to Morgan to explain.
“Well, that has something to do with Ryan’s middle name…”
Morgan started.
“Morgan,” Ryan said in a threatening tone.
“Ryan, you don’t scare me, so pipe down,” Morgan said, chuckling.
Ryan sat back in her chair and pouted while Morgan continued with his explanation.
“Ryan’s middle name is Althea, and when she was younger, we used to tease her about it. One day, she told us that she’d rather be called
RAT
, her initials, than ever be called Althea. From that day on, we have called her
RAT
,” Morgan finished as he and Patrick burst out laughing at the look on Ryan’s face.
Poor Ryan
, Tobi thought to herself as she laughed with Ryan’s brothers. She couldn’t help but giggle and was relieved to see a slight smile edge the corners of Ryan’s lips. Morgan leaned over and placed his arm across Ryan’s shoulders and bent down to whisper something in her ear. Ryan started laughing and shoved him away to sit up.
“Ryan, you know we love you,” said Patrick, still smirking.
“Yeah, yeah! I love you, too.” Ryan glanced at her watch. “On that note, I think it’s time for us to get going. Mom, dinner was delicious, as always,” Ryan said, standing. They all walked to the door to say their goodbyes. Patrick and Morgan were giving Tobi a hug as Ryan embraced Grace.
“Thanks,” Ryan whispered in her mother’s ear. “I love you.”
Grace rubbed her back as she said, “I love you, too, honey.”
Giving both Patrick and Morgan a hug, Ryan waited for her mom to finish talking with Tobi.
“It was really nice to meet you, Tobi,” Grace said while still holding Tobi’s hands. “Please don’t be a stranger, and feel free to come by anytime.”
“Thank you, Grace, that means a lot.”
On the drive home, Tobi was a little quiet. Ryan wasn’t sure whether to ask her if everything was okay, so she said nothing.
Fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.
“Your family is very nice, Ryan. Thank you so much for sharing them with me.”
“Yes, they are, and you are more than welcome. Thank you for going with me. Even if they did betray me, the little finks.”
“So, Althea, huh?” she said. Ryan knew she was trying to contain a laugh.
“Don’t even start. It was my aunt’s name, and I was lucky enough to be the next child in line for the name to be passed down to.”
“Was?”
“Yes. She passed away when I was very young. I really didn’t get much of an opportunity to know her. She was my father’s sister.”
“In which case, you probably feel it’s an honor to carry on her name.”
“Precisely,” Ryan said. She nodded and continued smiling.
How does she seem to know me so well in such a short time?
“So it must make you feel really special to have your father’s middle name and your aunt’s name.”
“It does. You know what else makes me feel special?” Ryan asked.
“What’s that?” Tobi replied, turning slightly in her seat to face Ryan.
“You. It really means a lot to me that you came with me today. I could tell my family really likes you.”
“You
are
special to me, and I really enjoyed myself this afternoon.”
Ryan pulled into the driveway but left the engine running.
With both of them working the next day, she knew it had to be an early night. Turning to face Tobi, she was surprised to see Tobi had already unfastened her seatbelt and turned all the way in her seat toward her.