Chapter 11

Michelle called me on December, twenty ninth early in the morning and asked me if I wanted to go to a New Year’s Eve party hosted by one of her aunts, her father’s sister. She did tell me that Beverly and Stan Woods would be there and possibly Robin, but she wasn’t sure. Since we had both crawled out on this narrow limb together why not test the waters right away? I agreed to go and asked her about how to dress. She said it was a very casual affair nothing really fancy.

I picked Michelle up around seven thirty on New Year’s Eve and we drove about forty-five minutes to her aunt and uncle’s home. Michelle looked great in a pair of tight jeans, boots and a pull over sweater. I had worn a pair of jeans as well, a pull over shirt with a light jacket. We were left in immediately by her aunt who I was introduced to at once. Several seconds later, her uncle arrived and introductions were made.

This was the first time most of the extended family had seen Michelle since she joined me at the gym and everyone was complimenting her on the transformation. She acknowledged to everyone that I was her training partner and the one who pushed her so hard. I had already been told that her Aunt Pam, her father’s only sister, was a real cut up. It did not take long for me to find that out.

“Michelle, I’m not sure where you found him, but I want one just like him. My god child, you are some fine.” she stated, trying to embarrass me.

“Um darling, I’m right behind you.” her husband laughed.

“Damn it, we will talk later.” she said, winking at me and walking off.

“Don’t pay her no mind son, she’s harmless.” Michelle’s uncle replied.

“It’s ok sir, not a big deal.” I responded.

“What do you do for a living son.” he asked.

“I work at Butler, Land and Reyes, a law firm in town. I’m a certified public accountant and run the financial floor for them.” I replied.

“Isn’t that where your sister works, Michelle.” he asked.

“That’s a long story that I sure my mother will tell you all about tonight.” Michelle replied.

“Nice to meet you son.” he stated, shaking my hand again.

We made our way around the house and Michelle introduced me to several family members. Michelle couldn’t stop getting compliments of her appearance but how could I blame them. We finally took a seat on a small sofa in the large living area. About twenty minutes later, Stan and Beverly Woods walked into the room and noticed us. As usual Stan came across and hugged her younger daughter with Beverly gingerly walking behind him with a distressed look on her face. Stan shook my hand and then moved across the room to greet his sister and her husband. Michelle quickly hugged her mother then I followed with the same.

“Are you two actually dating now?” Beverly asked.

“I guess we actually are mom, although this is only the second time we have been out together.” Michelle replied.

“Your sister will be here soon with Jeff. Please don’t start any trouble.” Beverly asked.

“Mom, if anyone starts trouble you know it will be Robin. Tim and I talked about this situation for days on end. Neither one of us cares what Robin does or thinks. We won’t be the problem.” Michelle responded to her mother.

Beverly looked at me expecting me to say something, but Michelle had said everything that needed to be said. I sat back down and Michelle sat next to me grabbing my hand with hers. Beverly walked away following her husband across the room. I leaned over to Michelle and whispered in her ear.

“We can leave anytime you want. I don’t want you to have to deal with all this bullshit.” I said softly.

“Fuck that bitch, Tim. She’s not going to make me run away.” Michelle whispered back.

We were still on that small sofa talking about the future and the fact that Michelle had always wanted to cook for a living. We were talking about several schools Michelle had researched about becoming a chef. The problem was trying to keep her small business afloat and going to school would be overwhelming. That was always the sticking point of why she had always put it off. We were brainstorming the issue when I noticed Robin and Jeff heading in our direction.

“Hey guys, how are you?” Robin asked.

“We are great Robin, good to see the both of you.” I replied, getting up hugging Robin then shaking Jeff’s hand.

“Hey sis.” was all Michelle offered.

“We will be back in a while, need to tell everyone hello.” Robin replied, grabbing Jeff’s hand.

We went back to our conversation and I was soon oblivious of anyone in the room except Michelle. Michelle was so sincere and honest that it was not surprising she had become my best friend. She cared about what I did for a living but couldn’t care less about the money. She never asked for anything and everything you did do for her, she thanked you. Nothing was expected other than the fact that we were together.

It was close to ten o’clock when Michelle asked if I wanted to go get a cup of coffee somewhere. I told her that was fine with me and we got up and found Stan and Beverly Woods and told them of our plans. They were surprised we were not going to stay until midnight but let it go quickly. We also said goodbye to her aunt and uncle, then Robin and Jeff.

We made our way back to the interstate and a twenty minutes later pulled into a gourmet coffee shop and ordered. We sat at the table for almost twenty minutes talking before Michelle hit me with a bombshell. She reached out and took my hand in hers intertwining our fingers together.

“Baby, I want to end this year and start the next in bed with you.” she whispered softly.

“Michelle, we don’t need to rush into anything. I want you to be sure, I can wait as long as I need to for you to be comfortable.” I offered.