Suddenly Daniel clears his throat, and I snap my head towards him. The smirk on his face tells me that I've just put my foot in my mouth again. “Oh no, don't tell me you do own the local country club as well?”
This time it's Jenny that corrects me. “Well, no dear. But we are members, and Will is on the board.”
“Wow, that's awesome. So are the other Winters children coming today?” I look over at the wall of the living room and see photo upon photo of Daniel and his brother and two sisters. Photos from high school, college graduation, family holidays...you name it, there was a photograph taken and displayed.
“No, not today. I didn't want to scare Mac with the whole family just yet. Daniel has just found her, I don't want her running off again.”
Sheesh, is there anything this woman doesn't know?
“Aww, look Superman, you were so cute!” Mac says excitedly, walking over to the photo wall to take a closer look. Surprisingly, she doesn't freak out over Jenny's comment.
“Superman?” Jenny asks inquisitively.
“Ah, yeah mom, Superman. It's Mac's nickname for me,” he replies sheepishly.
“I don't think I want to know why. I think we should move out onto the patio and start lunch. What do you think, Mac? Is my grandchild hungry?”
“Always, Jenny. I'm surprised I'm not the size of a house yet. Maybe even as big as this house,” she adds, fidgeting with her hands in a totally non Mac way. She's so nervous; it's almost cute.
I scoff at her, earning a scowl in my direction. I poke my tongue out at her, succeeding in making her grin.
“Oh rubbish. You're glowing. I swear, I didn't put on more than ten pounds when I was carrying Daniel, and I ate everything in sight. William can tell you all about that.”
I hear Daniel chuckle and see Mac look up at him incredulously. “And what are you laughing about?”
“Sorry, but I'm sure it was just last night you wanted to send me out for Tiramisu from that restaurant Kate was at, and I compromised by getting some Ben & Jerry's for you.”
“Shut it. Your parents don't need to know that about me,” she says in a low growl which just makes the rest of us laugh louder. I giggle when she crosses her arms across her chest, making sure that her displeasure is known to all, but it only serves to make Daniel laugh harder.
“Anything you want, any time you want it, gorgeous. Proved that quite a few times already.” He kisses her forehead and leads her outside to the patio, pulling out her seat and pushing it back in.
I follow behind them and sit down on the other side of Mac so that Daniel and I are flanking her, even though I'm confident that the chance of an epic level five Mac freak-out has greatly diminished.
Jenny follows us out on to the patio, taking a seat at the head of the table next to Daniel and pours herself a drink of iced tea. “Mac, that's nothing. You only sent him out for one thing? Darling, I clearly need to teach you some tricks. You need to get them to pick up a few options in the one trip. It covers all the bases.”
I see Mac smile and take Daniel's hand underneath the table. “Great idea, Jenny. I'll have to remember that for next time the mini super heroine demands something.” She looks over at Daniel when she says that, goading him.
“Mini super heroine?” William asks.
“Yeah, Dad. See, Mac here told me of a certain Superman fantasy and the nickname for me has kind of stuck. So now I'm sure we're having a mini superhero, but Mac is certain it's a super heroine.”
He chuckles. “Quite the character, Mac, aren't you?”
“That she is,” Daniel muses, lifting up Mac's hand and kissing it gently.
I shiver at the intimacy.
The only time I thought I was close to getting that was with Liam. He was gorgeous, kind, funny, thoughtful and so attentive...I thought I'd won the boyfriend lottery. In reality, six months of staying in and never going out in public together soon got old. He always wanted to come to my place, and not once did I ever see his apartment that he told me was just off Madison Avenue. Whenever I suggested we go out, he'd distract me with mind-blowing sex and loving endearments.
One night, Mac and I went out to a new bar that had opened up near the salon I was working at, and stumbled across Liam and his gorgeous, equally smitten fiancé as they were celebrating their engagement with friends. A face slap, and a drink in the face later, I was single again and a little mortified that I'd wasted six months on a man who was nothing more than the slime at the bottom of a frog's pond.
This is why I'm having trouble even talking about my date with Spencer. I feel totally stupid for falling for that shit for a second time, even if he did hide it well right up until that phone call. If you wondered what started my three date rule, there's your sign! And unlike the many dates I've had since Liam, it hasn't let me down since.
After a delicious and event free lunch, Mac visibly relaxes and fully engages with both of Daniel's parents. They talk about their country club, the gated community where they lived, and Daniel's two sisters and brother who I discovered are all older than him. His sisters are married with children, and his brother is thirty, single, and living it up large in New York.
“Well now,” Jenny announces, standing up and walking toward Mac and I at the other end of the table. “How about us girls go look at all of the embarrassing baby photos I have of Daniel, and we leave the men to talk about manly things.”
“Now this I've got to see,” Mac says, rubbing her hands with glee before she stands and grabs my hand, pulling me behind her as we follow Jenny back inside. “Come with me. You're my protection if she tries any super mom tricks on me.”
Okay, so maybe there is still a chance of a freak-out. But seeing naked baby Superman photos will soon make up for it.
Chapter 9: “Changes”
KATE
It's been a few days since Mac's successful and mainly incident-free meeting of Daniel's parents. I was actually very proud of her. For someone who has only recently opened her heart and her mind to a partner, she was herself. Albeit a little toned down, but she was still Mac, my funny, loving, and crazy best friend, and Daniel's parents clearly loved her.
I was sitting at the salon at lunch time, talking to my g*y boyfriend, Nathan, about my weekend, when I get a text from Mac asking if we could have a girls' night tonight.
Kate: Sure. Everything okay?
Mac: Of course. Just wanted to catch up. Oh, and I figured a Suits marathon was in order since I have recently developed a penchant for hot men in suits.
Kate: Riiiiiiight. Well, sounds good. Shall we order in then? What will the little superhero be requesting?