"Thank you, Papa."

I can tell that she’s a little embarrassed and I reach over and give her hand a little pat.

"It’s nice to meet you, Kelsey. We’re glad you could join us for the holidays."

"It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Kingsley."

"Eh, that’s a bit too formal for my tastes. Call me Jonathan."

I smile and nod.

"Well, when you two get settled, come on down and join us for a glass of tea."

"We’ll be down in a few minutes."

I feel Harper’s hand on the small of my back as she guides me back in. "I’ll leave you to get unpacked. If you need anything I’m right through that door there." She gestures to the door that connects our room which I hadn’t noticed before. "If you need me, just knock."

"Uh, Harper why don’t we just open it now? I’ve got to be honest, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed here and I’d like very much to keep you close for a while."

Truth is, here in this setting, I’d like to keep you close to me and naked … oh shit … did I just think that? Reality, Kels. Reality. But hey! it could lend to an interesting fantasy or two. God knows, I have enough of those.

"Sure, we can do that." She moves to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open to reveal her room on the other side. "Now all you need to do is give a whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you?" She is teasing me, I can tell.

"Uh huh, put my lips together and blow. I’ve got that down. Thanks."


* * *

As I finish unpacking, I hear her clear her throat. "How you doing, Little Roo?"

"All finished," I offer as I close the door to the wardrobe.

"Great. Let’s go down and find my folks."

"Harper?"

"Yeah?"

Oh God, how to do this? "I want to thank you again for the invitation. You’re right, this is better than old movies and popcorn."

"It’s my pleasure, Kels. Thanksgiving is really fun around here. I think you’re gonna like it." She offers me her hand. "Come on."

As I slide my hand into hers, I take a moment to notice how right they feel together. How could I have been so stupid to push her away from me? If I had worked at it a little maybe things could have been different for us. Damn.

As we walk through the house, I notice more of the detail: the marble, the cut glass in the windows, the stained glass at the top of the stairs and over the entry. True beauty. Just like the woman walking in front of me. I screwed up. Damn.

Damn my own fears, and damn my parents for putting them there.

Harper leads me to the garden where her parents are. They’ve been joined by a young man and woman. The man is an obvious brother of Harper’s, being merely a male version of my partner. A small child is standing next to Cecile clutching her pants leg. Cecile stroking his hair as she speaks with the young man and gives him a hug.

"Well, look there," Harper yells as we enter the garden. I’m waiting for her to release my hand now that we’re nearing her family, but she doesn’t. Actually, if anything, I notice her tighten her hold on me. "If it isn’t the ugliest thing on two legs since the zoo got its new baboon."

The young man straightens up and turns our direction. "Ah, baby sister, don’t start what you can’t finish." He sprints toward us. My hand is released as they engulf each other in a fierce embrace, which resembles a tackle.

I watch them until I notice I’m being waved over by Cecile. I leave Harper and her brother, who are now joking with one another, and join her parents and the young woman. I notice now that she’s cradling a tiny dark-haired baby in her arms. "Ah, this must be little Clark." I smile as I look at the baby. "Harper hasn’t talked about anything else since we got on the plane."

"Yes, this is the newest addition to the Kingsley clan." Mama offers as she makes the introductions. "This is his mother, Rene, and his older brother, Christian." She gestures to the child clutching her pants. "Rene, this is Kelsey, your sister’s partner."

"How do you do, Kelsey?" She asks warmly as she adjusts the baby and offers me her hand.

"I’m fine, thank you. Nice to meet you."

I kneel down to the child and offer my hand. "It’s nice to meet you too, Christian."

He gives me an embarrassed little smile and turns his face away. He’s adorable. I brush my fingers through his hair before standing back up.

"Christian’s a little shy." Rene looks to her eldest. "But he’ll get over that soon enough. Christian, I want you to say hello to Ms. Kelsey."

He peers up at his mother, trying to gauge how serious she is.

"Say hello to Ms. Kelsey. You need to be polite, ma fils."

He nods slowly and then fixes his big blue eyes on me. Apparently the Kingsley clan specializes in big, blue eyes that make your knees weak. "Hello," he says softly, but clearly.

"Hello, Christian," I reply.

"Baby!" I hear Harper yell as she moves across the grass to us. "Give me the baby!"

Rene laughs as she gives up the child to the demanding hands of my partner. "Here you go, Tante Harper. Let me introduce you to Clark."

"Ah, little guy, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived, but, rest assured, if you ever need me, I’ll be here for you." She coos as she cradles the child in her arms.

Now there’s a sight. Harper Kingsley holding a baby.

She unwraps the blanket from around the small body and inspects the child. Finally, she looks up and grins at Rene. "Thank the good Lord above this one also looks like you, Rene." She leans down and kisses her sister-in-law’s cheek. "There’s hope for him yet. Despite having Robie as his papa."

"Hey now!" Robie protests good-naturedly. "I don’t see you providing Mama and Papa with any grandchildren."

"Well, I’m in the infertile brother, remember?" Harper replies and then the two siblings explode in laughter, apparently over an inside joke.

Little Clark lets out a small cry of protest at the noise, causing Rene to reach for her youngest son. Harper swats at her hand and nestles the boy closer to her.

"Don’t worry, Ren, I’ll be good around him. Now, let me bond with my nephew." She drops to a knee. "And, little Christian, get over here and give your Tante Harper a kiss."

The boy immediately obeys, throwing himself at my partner with abandon. She somehow manages to hold onto the infant and get an arm around the two year old. She pinches the small boy’s cheek, then kisses it. "Mmmmm, my little cochon de lait!"

He laughs, a big belly laugh, nearly doubling his small body over. "Tante Harper! I am not a cochon!"

"Mais, yeah!" she replies back. She leans forward and makes pig noises against his small neck, sending the small boy back into fits of laughter.

If this is Harper Kingsley, who is the person I know back in Los Angeles?


* * *

At supper, Harper insists on two things. She demands that I sit on one side of her and Clark’s infant seat is situated in a chair on the other. I notice that her family takes this behavior in hand as if her love of children is common knowledge. I obviously don’t know her as well as I thought I did.

Supper consists of andouille gumbo with sweet potato, jambalaya, and homemade French bread. It’s absolutely delicious. The family is loud and loving. I smile as I think how appalled my mother would be at the display before me: elbows on the table, people reaching across the middle, tossing pieces of bread from one end to the other.

Harper is equally attentive to Clark and me. She makes sure my plate is full and often asks me if I’m doing okay even as she is holding a bottle for the baby and following the conversation around her.

Christian, true to his mother’s words, has lost all shyness. Now Robie and Harper are taking turns challenging him to sing songs and he stands in his chair for each one, belting out classics like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Each round is greeted with cries of encouragement from the two siblings. "You sing, peeshwet."

Somewhere in the middle of the meal, I forget to be uptight and reserved and start enjoying myself.

Mama is bending my ear on one side, asking about work and how I got where I am. She brings up my family but drops the subject kindly when I’m reluctant to talk about them. Even though I’ve known her for less than a day, I’m certain the topic will come up again and I won’t be able to avoid it.

"Mama made sweet potato pie for dessert, Kels," Harper says, interrupting our conversation. "She makes the best pie so you better save some room." To her mother she says, "I have had such an envie for good food, Mama!"

Mama replies with a wide smile, full of affection of her youngest.

"Save some room? You’re the one who’s been piling food on my plate," I laugh.

Harper pats my knee and winks at me. God, she’s even more gorgeous here with her family.

"Hey," Robie calls from his seat across the table. "Quit flirting over there. You get to see Kelsey all the time. I think Clark needs his tante to hold him."

Harper doesn’t miss a beat as she reaches over to free Clark from his seat and cradle him against her. "Thank God I get to see Kelsey more than your ugly mug, Robie."

Clark fusses momentarily and I wave my fingers at him. He looks comfortable there on her chest. Of course, who wouldn’t be?

"You wanna hold him, Kels?"

I blink for a moment. Me? Hold a baby? "No, that’s okay."

"No, really." She’s already moving closer to me, pressing the baby into my arms.

"Maybe she doesn’t want to hold Clark, Harper," Robie chastises.

"Ça! Don’t worry. She won’t drop him on his head like Papa did you, big guy." Her blue eyes twinkle at me. "You won’t drop him, right?" she whispers.