Chapter 8

“Thanks for helping us pack everyone. It’s much appreciated. We couldn’t have done it without you.” I said.

Constance then grabbed me in a tight bear hug, “Aww cuz it was the least we could do. Especially since you hired me on at the theater when I was fired for getting my new haircut. It let me meet my new girlfriend.”

“New girlfriend? I guess that’s why you were able to get along with Christopher and Susan while helping us move. And who is the lucky girl anyways?” I asked.

Constance had the silliest grin on her face that I’d ever seen there as she said, “She’s an employee at the theater. She also happens to be Susan’s younger twin sister Lizzy.”

“Wait Lizzy is Susan’s sister? Holy Cow.” shouted Elena.

“You think you were surprised just imagine how I felt when I learned that my ex-girlfriend was dating my younger sister. Talk about being weirded out. And I mean that in a good way.” said Susan.

“Tell me about it. When Susan found out about that I didn’t hear about it for hours. At first it was shock then it was amazement. She was thrilled that her sister was able to find someone special.” Christopher said in a way that almost sounded like it had been rehearsed.

We all said our goodbyes. As I was starting to drive away I saw my uncle Carson pull up to pick Constance up. He took one look at us and had a strange look on his face. By that point it was too late to stop and get out to find out what that look was for. The traffic was surprisingly good for this time of day so we were able to get into my home town in under the normal five hours. Elena had fallen asleep on the way. We were almost to my house when she woke up.

She rubbed her eyes and said, “How long have I been asleep for babe?”

I looked at the clock and answered, “About 3 and a half hours. You looked so peaceful I couldn’t wake you. Are you excited to meet your father-in-law? I know he’s really excited to meet you.”

She looked really happy as she said, “I’ve been looking forward to this since our first kiss. You have no idea how often I’ve regretted not meeting him when I had the chance on that first day when he helped bring your belongings to your place.”

“Well I know how you feel. I’m excited to meet my step-mom and her daughters. My dad has been talking a lot about how amazing they are. And then there’s your family. I can’t wait to meet them too.” I said.

Five minutes later Elena started acting really nervous. I thought it had something to do with meeting my dad. Then when we pulled into my neighborhood she got even worse. When we pulled up to my dad’s house I thought she was going to die of a heart attack. But she calmed down once we pulled into the driveway next door.

When she got out of the car I saw a young high school girl walk out of my dad’s house.

When she saw Elena I heard her call out, “Mom! Dad! They’re here early.”

It looked like she was going to say something else when she got a glimpse of me. Then her jaw dropped and she went pale. I took a look at my wife and I could tell that whom I guessed to be my sister-in-law wasn’t the only one that seemed to be in shock.

“Honey what’s going on? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Why did you bring us here babe?” she asked.

Before I could answer I saw a tall beautiful woman that looked a lot like slightly older version of my wife walk out the door alongside my dad. And her face also went from joy to shock. But then she was able to recover quickly. My dad on the other hand he just looked like his normal self. But in a slightly better mood.

My stepmom was the first to say something, “I guess you’re my step-son Erik. I’m happy to finally meet you darling. My name is Zoe.”

I walked up to her and she gave me an uneasy hug.

“I’m glad to meet you too. I’m so sorry to have missed your wedding.” I said.

“No worries. I’d like to introduce you to my daughters. This little angel to my left is Maxine Gomes. We’re currently working on getting her last name changed to my new married name instead of my maiden name.” She then lifted her hand and pointed behind me and continued, “And that is my eldest Daughter Elena Catherine Stokes-Callison. But I think you’ve already met.”

I turned to my wife and found that she hadn’t moved since she saw Maxine. Then it dawned on me. My wife was the eldest daughter of my new Step-Mother. How in the world had we not figured that out before now?

Then my dad spoke up, “On the bright side now you two won’t have to divide your time between two households this summer before going back to school for your junior year.”

That snapped Maxine out of her shock, “Really? Cool. Wait until I tell my friends about this. They are going to freak out.”

Zoe then grabbed Maxine by the shoulder, “Don’t you dare tell your friends about this young lady. Not before we have a chance to talk about this as a family first.” She turned to my father and in a loving tone asked, “Did you know about this?”

My dad looked as if he was going to try to deny any prior knowledge of my relation to my love but then I could see in his facial features that he gave up on that idea.

“Not exactly. Not at first anyways. I only figured things out during her last visit when she found out she was pregnant. It only took me so long to figure out because she was supposedly going to a completely different college.”

That’s when Elena snapped out of her shock, “You mean you knew I was in a relationship with my Step-brother and you didn’t tell me? You let us get married anyways?”

Because she was yelling by the end I thought Elena was mad and was going to attack my dad when she ran up to him. But she surprised us by giving him a huge hug.

“Well this is unexpected.” my dad stated.

“Thank you dad. I love you.” Elena then turned to me, “Erik is the best thing that has ever happened to me.” She looked down to her belly and rubbed it. “Erik and my baby.”

“William why don’t you help Erik to bring in their things to the house. I want to talk to our daughters alone for a while.” Zoe suggested.

“Yes Ma’am.” my dad said as he walked towards my car.

We watched the women go into the house. And as soon as they were all inside and out of earshot I turned to my dad, “So you knew the kind of relationship Elena and I was in when you asked about which woman was better in bed? That’s just bizarre. Not many men would want to know that about their own step-daughter.”