Free First Thing I See by Vi Keeland

as we made our way to the door that she was still standing
in front of.
                    “Mikayla” Kennedy nodded. 
                    “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your
little friend, Kennedy?”  She motioned to me but her eyes never left Kennedy’s.
                    Kennedy pulled me closer to him and put his
arm around my shoulders.  “Sure, Mikayla.  This is my girlfriend, Hope.  Hope,
this is Mikayla.   It was nice to see you Mikayla.  Enjoy your evening.”  There
was no time for a handshake, because Kennedy put his hand on the small of back
and guided me into the restaurant. 
                    The hostess seated us at a table large enough
for three more to join us, and Kennedy looked at me with stress glaring from
his face.  “I’m sorry about that.” 
                    I thought for a moment.  “Is it over with
you and her?”
                    “Yes.”  He spoke without hesitation.
                    It soothed me to hear him say it.  “Okay then,
what are we ordering, because you are going to need a lot of fuel for later if
you are going to top the evening we had last night.” 
                    I watched his shoulders relax and he smiled
a full double dimples smile at me.  He shook his head “No clue.”  He looked
down at the menu still smiling and shaking his head.  “Absolutely no fucking
clue.”
    ***
                    Franklin Jenner was the spitting image of
his brother minus four inches putting him at about five foot ten.  He also had
paler skin and lacked the deep dimples that made me knees week.  His wife,
Lauren was tall and thin with girl next door youthful looks and a smile that
said she was truly happy.  The little ballerina, Emily, had golden curls, pale
blue eyes and obviously had inherited her mother’s penchant to smile. 
                    Although the news of meeting Kennedy’s
family was only sprung on me two hours ago, it appeared that Franklin, Lauren
and Emily had less notice than I.  Kennedy introduced us all and Emily
immediately insisted on sitting between Uncle Kennedy and me.
                    “Hope, I can’t tell you how happy I am to
meet you.  I’ve heard so much about you in the last few weeks from my brother.”
Kennedy talked about me?  To his family?  I had been nervous about meeting his
family, but now I was excited to learn more about Kennedy from a different
view.
                    I smiled.  “It’s nice to meet you too.  I
hope some of it was good.”
                    He smiled and looked at his brother.  “Every
word.”
                    “Uncle Kennedy, are you going to marry
Hope?”  From the mouths of babes. 
                    Awkward silence for a moment.  I hadn’t been
looking at him, not wanting to make the uncomfortable question worse around
people I just met.  But when I looked up, Franklin and Lauren were staring at
Kennedy and Kennedy was staring at me.    He waited for our eyes to lock before
answering.  “If I’m really lucky, Em.”
                    Something in his voice was raw and I felt
tears well up in my eyes.  Lauren saw my face and smiled and threw me a
lifeline.  “Emily, you shouldn’t ask questions about people’s private lives,
honey.”
                    Emily took off her tiara and handed it to
me.  “Okay mommy.  But Uncle Kennedy never brings girls with him, so I just
thought that maybe he picked this one to marry.  Hope, will you try on my
tiara?”
                    I smiled at Emily and reached down for her
to place the tiara on my head.   “I’ll tell you a secret Emily.”  I quieted my
voice as if I was telling a secret, but still loud enough for the table to
hear.  “When I was about your age, my