We looked over to see Ada and her mother standing close by.
“I want to go visit my childhood home, where I grew up,” I told them even though I could tell Perry wanted me to shut it.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Perry’s mother said.
I shot her a curious look, studying her. I met her eyes and suddenly I understood something that I’d been ignoring before. “Of course you would want to,” I conceded.
She gave me a slight nod. Though we never really discussed it, it was common knowledge between all of us that we were connected in more ways than just an upcoming marriage. When she and Daniel lived in New York City, her mother, Pippa, was there too, working as my nanny.
“I was there once,” she said to me, her accent gentle. “A very long time ago. My mother…she brought me over to show me where she worked. I met you, but you were very small. I met your brother too.”
I raised my brow. I had no idea that she’d actually been there, actually met me and my brother as a kid. This was officially getting weird than cum on a cracker.
“I hope I wasn’t a little shit, running around and kicking shins,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
She shook her head. “No, you weren’t. You were very quiet.”
“Never trust the quiet ones.”
“No,” she said, adjusting her purse on her shoulder, “I never do.”
Ada looked between the two of us. “So, like, this is kinda weird right? Mom, you actually remember meeting Dex when he was a kid?”
“His brother too,” she said and then cocked her head at me. “How is your brother? Do you keep in touch?”
I raised my brow and could feel Ada and Perry’s eyes on me. I guess she really didn’t believe my brother was the reason I was out here. “He’s reached out to me a few times. But we’re not close.”
She seemed to understand that and before we get into it further, Maximus and Daniel were at our side, looking hot and in need of a beer. “What is the hold up?” Daniel asked.
“Dex wants us to go visit the house he grew up in,” she said to her husband. I watched Maximus’s eye brows raise up to the heavens. “You remember where mama used to work right? It’s close to the hotel. It would be neat to see the place again, I remember she was so happy working there.”
Maximus was shooting me a look that was telling me I was crazy but he didn’t even know the half of it. I couldn’t explain it myself, just that I felt if I saw the house, I would be able to figure something out – why Michael had brought me here in the first place. It was like every instinct in my body was being pulled in that direction, and the more I entertained the idea, the more I knew it was something I had to do. And if everyone was going to come with me, then all the better.
Daniel groaned. “Can we do that tomorrow? We’ve only got a few days here before we head back and I thought we could at least have dinner in the theatre district tonight, maybe catch a show. You guys all like the Lion King?”
He was met with blank faces. Watching Broadway shows seemed terribly out of place at a time like this, but I had to remember that Perry’s parents were there only to get Ada and bring her back to Portland and were trying to sneak in a mini-vacation at the same time. They didn’t have to deal with our reality.
At least, Daniel didn’t. Now I wasn’t too sure about her mother.
“Sure, a show sounds great,” Maximus spoke up, smiling at them. “Might as well see something good while we’re here.”
Then he and Daniel started discussing the other plays in town and we all resumed our journey down the street.
The whole time, Perry didn’t loosen her grip from my hand. It was almost as if she was holding onto me for dear life.
I’m not going anywhere, I wanted to tell her. But the truth was, I couldn’t be so sure.