All In by Marta Brown Page B

with her hair and then her
dress before looking at me with a tentative smile. “A little. Is
that silly?”
    “Nah, but you have nothing to be
nervous about. They’re gonna love you.” I hope. I’m not at all
worried about Grandpa liking Ashley, but Mom might be another
story.
    I pull into my neighborhood, or the
Campground as it’s known to both locals and Stays, and enjoy the
look of surprise on Ashley’s face.
    “You live here?” she says, her eyes
wide and sparkling. “It’s so… magical.”
    Each small house looks like a colorful
gingerbread cottage right out of a fairytale. It’s hard to see it
as anything but home, since I’ve lived here for so long, but even I
have to admit during the light festival it really does look
cool.
    I drive extra slow so Ashley can take
in each front porch decked out with paper lanterns, hanging in all
different shapes and sizes, glowing in the early summer
evening.
    “It’s pretty quiet here during the
year since only a few of the cottages have year round residents,
but during the summer the neighborhood has a real vacation
feel.”
    “I absolutely love it,” she says,
smiling from ear to ear. “My grandfather brought Andrew and me up
here once to see the lights, and I still remember thinking it was
something out of a dream.”
    “Well, home sweet home,” I say,
pulling up to my house. Ashley gets out of the car and straightens
her sundress. “You ready?” I ask. She nods, not seeming nervous at
all as we walk hand in hand through the front door.
    “Well, well, well,”
Grandpa says, getting up from his recliner. “This must be the Ashley our Lane here
can’t stop talking about.” He shuffles across the small living room
and takes Ashley’s extended hand in his. “I sure can see why he’s
so head over heels.”
    “Subtle, Grandpa,” I say
sarcastically, making both him and Ashley laugh. While it may not
have been subtle, it certainly did break the ice.
    “Hi, Mr. McCarthy,” Ashley says
politely. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
    “You too, my dear, but please feel
free to call me Grandpa Frank. All the kids do.”
    Ashley smiles up at me and then back
at my grandpa. “Well then, it’s very nice to finally meet you,
Grandpa Frank.”
    “Sweet this one,” he says to me while
patting the back of Ashley’s hand and it’s obvious she has him won
over.
    Irene pokes her head around the corner
from the kitchen and waves us in. “You kids come on in, dinner’s
almost ready. Your mama’s just pulling it out of the
oven.”
    “That’s Irene, Grandpa’s nurse,” I
tell Ashley as we walk into the kitchen, Grandpa close behind
us.
    “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Ashley,”
Irene nods, wiping her hands on a kitchen cloth.
    “You too,” Ashley says, seeming right
at home standing in the middle of my crowded kitchen.
    My mom sets a casserole dish in the
center of the table covered with tinfoil before untying her red and
white apron and tossing it over the end of her chair.
    There’s just a beat of silence before
I remember my manners.
    “Oh. Mom, this is Ashley Whitmore,” I
say, looking down at the girl on my arm and feeling proud she’s
somehow mine. “Ashley, this is my mom.”
    “Hello, Ms. McCarthy. It’s nice to
meet you,” Ashley says, giving mom a handshake. “Thank you so much
for having me over for dinner.”
    “Well, it’s very nice to meet you too
Ashley, and you’re very welcome. Please call me Jody.” There’s a
brief moment of silence while we all five stand smiling at one
another before a bell on the stove rings. Perfect timing. “So,
who’s hungry?”
    Grandpa pulls out a chair for my mom.
“For your famous meatloaf? You betcha.”
    “I hope you like meatloaf,” I whisper
to Ashley when we’re seated. I can’t believe I’d never thought to
ask if it was something she even ate. Stupid.
    “It smells amazing, Jody. Meatloaf is
one of my favorites,” Ashley says before giving my leg a squeeze
under the table.