When Friday arrived, I made plans to arrive at his party on my own. I had bought a new sweater dress at the big mall in town with my mom the weekend before and I wanted to have her help me with my hair and makeup so I could surprise him a little.
Pulling on my big boots with the deep red dress, I stepped in front of the mirror and pulled the clip out that was holding the curls my mom had made atop my head. I shook out my hair a little and added a touch of the lipstick Sarah had given me. I was meeting Reed’s mom for the first time tonight, so I wanted to look mature and good enough for her son. Sadly, that meant I also wanted to look expensive.
I pulled into Reed’s driveway behind a few other cars. The only one I recognized was Sean’s, but I was relieved that he and Becky were already here. I decided to wait to give Reed his gift later when we were alone, so I moved it to the back seat of my car, making sure the paper was tucked nicely in the box and tightening the ribbon a little more.
As I shut the door I noticed a black Cadillac pulling in behind me. I turned and started to walk up the drive way and rang the bell. Within seconds, Buck was there inviting me in.
“Girlie, get on in here,” he wrapped me into a big hug, then whispered a little in my ear. “Don’t look, but that’s my ex-wife behind you. Just take a deep breath, and you’ll be fine. She’s a…handful.” He leaned back to look at me, winked and smiled.
I appreciated having Buck on my side, but I desperately wanted Reed’s mom to like me just as much as he did. I slid behind Buck and into the house before his mother made it up to the doorway. I could hear a bit of their cordial greetings behind me when Reed came flying down the stairs and scooped me up, swinging me around in a circle and planting a big kiss on my lips.
I giggled a little until we both turned and stopped to see his mother handing Buck a giant white wool coat and brushing the front of her dress with her hands.
“Reed sweetie, come give me a kiss,” she held her hands out, smiling at her boy. She seemed so proud of her son. She reached up to touch his cheeks and gave them a soft tap and held his shoulders to look him over before hugging him and kissing his cheek. “Oh how I’ve missed you, darling. You must come stay with me and Sam sometime soon, OK?”
Her hair was immaculate. It was short and blonde and cut to perfection. Her glasses were dark frames and pointed a little on the edges. She was all business and intimidating as hell. It was interesting to see her standing next to Buck, who was more relaxed and down-to-earth. She was a beautiful woman, but I thought to myself that must have been all the connection was for Buck, because at the surface, they seemed so very different.
Reed led his mother over to where I was standing and I gulped hard, waiting for this introduction.
“Mom, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Nolan,” my heart dropped at the word girlfriend, but I held it together and smiled, reaching out my hand. It could have been my imagination, but I felt a slight hesitation from Reed’s mom as she shot Reed a quick glance before she turned to shake my hand, giving me a tight, closed-mouthed smile and peering at me a little from the top of her glasses.
“What a pleasant surprise,” she said, looking between Reed and I. “I didn’t know you had a serious girlfriend, son. We haven’t talked enough.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I smiled, still shaking her hand. When she looked down at it, I pulled it away slowly, realizing how eager and desperate I was coming off.
“Please, call me Millie, dear,” she said, turning to set her purse and gift bags on the table by the door, almost dismissing me.
When Sean walked up to greet her hello I finally exhaled, relief washing over me that this part of my night was finally done. I followed Reed into the kitchen where Becky was waiting along with a few of his teammates. There was quite a spread laid out along with all of Buck’s barbecue fixings, a Johnson tradition. We all made a plate of food and headed out to the patio for a little more privacy.
There were a few other family members scattered around, uncles and aunts along with some UofA alumni friends of Buck’s. Everyone greeted me warmly, but it may have been that I was just imagining them to take to me more since my cold greeting from Millie a few minutes earlier.
Reed kept me close and at his side the entire night. His warmth was comforting, and despite having kissed him so many times now, I still got a thrill every time his arm wrapped around me or his leg brushed beside mine when we sat near one another.
About an hour into the party, Reed’s father called everyone inside for an announcement. We all gathered around the large dining table by the wall-to-wall windows that looked out onto the patio. One of Reed’s uncles started handing out champagne glasses to all of us. I took a tiny sniff of mine and was surprised when it was real champagne. Waiting, we all looked up to Buck as he coughed a little to get our attention.