Lily took a deep breath and looked over at Kevin who was holding a sleeping Jeremy in his arms. She smiled shakily and Kevin smiled reassuringly back.
"You alright?" Kevin asked. Lily nodded but said nothing to betray the fact that she was incredibly nervous at meeting Kevin's family for the first time.
Kevin reached out and turned the door knob and opened the door to his mother's house soundlessly. He gently rapped on the door as he entered to try and get someone's attention but no one came forward. Kevin frowned as he entered the house and saw no one there. He knew he'd seen his mother's car outside. In fact, he'd seen quite a few cars outside. So where was everyone at?
They walked into the living room and expected to find someone there but just like everywhere else, no one was to be seen. Walking into the kitchen, Lily saw Kevin smile as he gazed out the door leading to the back door. His entire family, and many friends were gathered for a homecoming celebration barbeque.
Kevin opened the door, smiling as his mother came forward with a huge smile on her face to embrace him. She held on to her son for a moment before turning her attention to the baby Kevin was holding.
"And this must be little Jeremy." she said, still smiling. At Kevin's nudge, Jeremy sat up and took his first look at his paternal grandmother. He looked at her for a moment, silently studying her. When she smiled sweetly at him and held her hands out to him, he went to her readily, making everyone laugh.
After Ann looked at Jeremy for a few minutes, she finally turned to Lily. "Hi, Lily." she said in a sweet voice. "It's nice to finally meet you. We've all heard so much about you. Welcome to our family, sweetheart." She ended with a short hug and a sweet kiss to Lily's cheek and then she headed off in the other direction, cooing to Jeremy.
Lily looked up at Kevin to see him smiling broadly at her. "She likes you." he said, grinning.
"No kidding?" Lily replied "I just figured she treated all the mothers of your children that way." Kevin laughed and threw an arms around her shoulder, hugging her to him.
They tried to spend a few moments together but Kevin was swept away in the large amounts of people who wanted a piece of his time. Lily went to talk to Brian and his brother Harold for a few moments but Brian, too, had a lot of people vying for his time. She couldn't even spend time with her son for all the people who wanted to get to know the little one.
She wandered away from the group and sat alone at a picnic table. She sat there a few moments, sipping on her ice tea when she heard a voice behind her say "Hey, baby. Come here often?" She turned quickly towards the voice and saw AJ McLean sitting on the bench beside her.
"AJ! What are you doing here?"
AJ shrugged as he got comfortable on the bench and said "I didn't have anything else to do. My mom went on vacation with my grandparents and I was home all alone. Brian asked me if I wanted to come so I said: Why not? Maybe I pick up a few chicks. So what do you say, sweet thing? Wanna go back to my place for pizza and sex? No? You don't like pizza?"
Lily laughed heartily as he went on "Or how about this one: Hey, Lil, that shirt is very becoming on you. Of course if I were on you I'd be coming too." Lily couldn't control her laughter and giggles as AJ added a wiggle of his eyebrows to the last one.
The two of them were laughing uncontrollably together when Kevin walked over. "What's the joke?" he asked.
They only laughed harder but wouldn't tell him what they were laughing at.
Kevin glared at AJ unseriously for a moment and AJ threw up his hands in laughing surrender. "Ok, I'm leaving." he said and stood up, leaning down to kiss Lily on the cheek. "See you later, sweetie." he said with a wink before going off to find Brian to talk to.
"What was that all about?" Kevin asked as he sat next to her on the bench AJ had just vacated. Lily shrugged off the question with a smile and asked him if he was having fun. "Yeah," he said "It's good to be home. How about you?"
"Well, AJ was keeping me company for a while, but I'm glad you're here now." she said, sliding closer to him.
"Oh yeah? And why's that?" he asked huskily as he lowered his head and placed a sweet, loving kiss on her lips.
"Kevin Scott Richardson! I never would have thought it of you, you're a married man!"
Kevin broke off the kiss and looked up into three pairs of twinkling eyes, two of them very much like his own. He smiled and stood up embracing all three men. The four of them shared a male comradaree for a few moments before Kevin finally got around to introducing her. "Lily, these are my brothers, Tim and Jerald. And this is my bestfriend of many years, Keith, a.k.a Trey D." He laughed as he slapped Keith on the back. "Guys, this is my wife, Lily." She shook all three of their hands and Tim and Jerald automatically turned into the notorious charmers she knew their brother to be. They led her away from Kevin, talking sweetly to her, letting her meet their wives and children, and asking her to let them see Jeremy.
Kevin stood back with Keith and laughed, shaking his head. They stood together in companionable silence for a moment before Keith finally spoke. "She's beautiful, Kev." Kevin nodded his agreement as Keith continued. "How are the two of you doing together?" Kevin had told Keith the entire story of how the two of them came to be married, including the story behind Jeremy.
Kevin thought a moment before speaking. Gazing across the yard at his wife, he smiled. His chest ached with love for this woman and he longed to tell her but he was scared to move to fast. He didn't know exactly how Lily felt about him and he didn't want to scare her off. He knew that she was fond of him and cared for him but love him? He just wasn't sure enough yet.
"I don't know, Keith." he confessed "Some moments I think that she may love me and others I think that she's only with me so Jeremy will have a father. I just don't know." he repeated. "But I do know that I've never felt this way about another woman. Not even Beth. I loved Beth but when we broke off our engagement all I felt was a sense of freedom. But right now, I feel like if Lily left me I couldn't go on. I love her so much."
Keith nodded his understandment but quieted Kevin as he saw Lily approaching, holding Jeremy.
"Look who I finally go a hold of." she said, referring to Jeremy. Jeremy looked up and when he spotted his father, launched himself out of his mother's arms, towards Kevin. "Daddy!" he yelled.
Kevin felt tears stinging his eyes. It was the first time Jeremy had called him 'Daddy'. He and Lily smiled at each other while Jeremy looked on, unaware of the happiness he caused his father.
Neither of them saw Keith quietly slip away and leave the three of them alone.
