“What are we having, Mom?” Luke asked.
“We’re making Chicken Marsala tonight, and I have everyone’s job assigned,” she said as she pulled a white piece of paper from her pocket. “Tom, you’re in charge of pounding out the chicken breasts. Luke, you’re in charge of making the coating for the chicken, and Lily, you’re in charge of slicing the mushrooms. Maddie, you’re in charge of making the salad, and I will make the potatoes.”
“Grandma, what about me?” Charley frowned.
“You, my dear grandbaby, are in charge of helping me with the potatoes. Once I slice them, I need you to place them in the dish.”
Luke and I took our place at the counter where all the ingredients were laid out. I took the mushrooms and started slicing them while Luke prepared the coating for the chicken. Being a part of this gave me an incredible feeling. Annie was a breath of fresh air. She stood about 5’2” with a petite stature. Her chestnut colored, mid-length hair, softly framed her face. Her eyes were a deep brown, and her smile reminded me of Luke’s. From what I could already tell, her personality was bubbly and full of life. She was a real family person, and I took comfort in the fact that, for this night, I could be a part of it.
“I really like how your mom does this with dinner,” I said to Luke.
“It’s ok now, but it was kind of annoying growing up. Imagine your friends calling you to hang out and you telling them you can’t because you have to cook dinner with your mom. I was teased a lot.”
“Aw, poor baby,” I said as I put a mushroom in his mouth.
Annie put the potatoes in the oven as Luke handed Tom the coated chicken and put it in the skillet. Tom was a handsome man who stood about 6’0” tall with a muscular build. His short, sandy brown hair and hazel eyes reminded me a great deal of Luke.
“Ok everyone, the potatoes are in the oven, the chicken is in the skillet, the salad is made, and now you can rest until it’s ready!” Annie exclaimed.
Luke went to the refrigerator, grabbed two bottles of beer, twisted the caps off, and handed one to me. “Come on, babe; let me show you the house.”
He took me on a tour and up to his old bedroom. The blue walls were lined at the top with a football border. In fact, everything in his room was football themed, right down to the lamp that sat upon the dresser. A twin bed sat in the corner of the room with a blue comforter and matching pillow. There were pictures on the wall of Luke and his family. I scanned the room to see if there were any pictures of Callie, but there weren’t. My eyes traveled to the closet door where a poster of my father hung. He was sitting on a stool with his guitar. I walked over to where it hung and stared into his eyes. Tears started to fill my eyes as Luke came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I forgot it was still hanging up,” he said as he kissed my head.
“It’s fine,” I said as I wiped my eye. The anger I thought I’d buried when my father died began to emerge.
“Wait until I show you the backyard,” Luke said as he walked me out of the bedroom.
Just as we were going to look at the backyard, Annie announced that dinner was ready. Everyone took their seat in the dining room, but before Luke sat down, he poured some wine in everyone’s wine glass. He walked over to where Charley was sitting and pretended like he was going to fill her glass.
“Uncle Luke, I can’t drink wine; I’m not old enough.” She giggled.
“I’m so sorry, Madame, I thought you were at least the age of twenty-five.”
I smiled as Charley laughed at him. To see him with her tugged at my heart strings. You can see and feel the love when he’s around her. Luke looked at me and winked.
“Lily, tell us about your family. What do your mom and dad do? Do you have any siblings?” Annie asked innocently.
“Mom, not now,” Luke interrupted.
“Luke, don’t be silly, I want to know all about Lily.”
At that moment, Charley decided to chime in. “Uncle Luke spent the night at Lily’s. He answered her door this morning only wearing a pair of jeans and his hair was messy, like he just got out of bed.”
“Charley!” Maddie exclaimed.
Luke shot her a look across the table.
“Well, I’m sure Lily had him over for coffee,” Annie said.
“I saw them kissing in the hallway the other day, and he sent her pretty red roses today.” She smiled.
“Peanut, you need to be quiet and eat your dinner or I’m eating your dessert.”
“No you’re not!” she whined.
“Watch me!”
“Mom, tell him to stop it!” she whined.
“For goodness sake, the two of you need to stop and eat your dinner,” Annie said.
I leaned over to Annie and whispered to her, “I’ll tell you about my family after dinner. I really don’t want to do it in front of Charley.”
She patted my hand and smiled. “I understand.”
Dinner turned out great. The atmosphere was something I’ve always dreamed of. The Matthews are a tight-knit family who would do anything for each other. This is the kind of family I’ve craved my whole life. I helped clean up the table as Charley, Luke, and Tom went outside in the backyard per Annie’s orders. Charley came running into the kitchen, asking if she could change into her bathing suit and go swimming. Luke walked over to me and put his hands on my hips.
“Do you want to go swimming with us?” he asked as he put his forehead on mine.
“I’m going to hang back with your mom and dad so we can get to know each other better. You go and swim with Charley; I’ll be watching.” I smiled.
As Luke leaned in to kiss me, there was a knock on the door. Suddenly, we heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, Mrs. Matthews, how was your cruise?” Sam’s voice echoed through the hallway.
“Sam’s here?” I asked as I looked at Luke confused.
“Sam is mom’s second son, and she always invites him, but I thought he said he had plans tonight with Gretchen.”
Sam walked into the kitchen, gave Luke a high-five, and kissed me on the cheek.