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The walls of the room were painted a light green and the bed had a large black metal bedframe. A white and purple bedspread was draped over top of us and a gray carpet covered the floor. There was a wooden dresser with a large mirror over top of it.

I woke up to a tingling sensation running down my arm. When my eyes fluttered open, I saw Jimmy sitting on the edge of the bed. He already had on a green sweater and a pair of jeans. How come I didn’t wake up when he did? Must be because there’s no alarm.

“Sleep well?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said sleepily.

“Good, but you need to get up now,” he told me.

I propped myself up on an elbow and he leaned down to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and got up onto my knees. His hot breath filled my mouth as he ran his hands down my back. He pulled away from me and grinned.

“You really need to get up now,” he told me. “We’re going you Uncle Noah’s for breakfast.”

“Okay,” I said, leaning in for one last kiss.

I got off of the bed and put on the clothes Jimmy laid out for me. I was surprised to see it was another dress. Jimmy must want me to look nice for the family. I slipped on the long white and black striped dress and tied my hair into a low bun. The dress had no sleeves so I rubbed my arms up and down trying to generate heat. Jimmy wrapped one of his grey sweaters around me and then leaned down for a quick kiss. I slipped my arms through the soft, thick sleeves.

When I was done, Jimmy grabbed my hand and I followed him as he walked out of the room and into what looked like a living room. Emme and Taylor were sitting down on the faded brown sofa. Emme still had the same light blue sundress she had on last night, but a large white sweater was over top of it.

“Morning,” Taylor greeted us.

He got up off of the couch and then helped Emme get up. She stretched out her bag and dragged her feet towards us. Jimmy had my hand in a tight grip.

“You ready to head to my Dad’s?” Taylor asked Jimmy.

“Sure,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Taylor opened up the front door and Emme followed him out. Jimmy guided me along beside him.

Taylor opened the door to the truck sitting in the driveway. Emme opened up the back door and slid in and I followed her. Jimmy sat in the passenger seat. The fact their truck had a backseat made it seem much bigger than ours. He revved the engine.

“So, you’re thinking about getting another house?” Taylor asked him.

“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “I want to find one before Julie gets pregnant.”

I subconsciously moved my hand over my stomach. It would soon be as large as Emme’s. She hasn’t been with Taylor much longer than I have been with Jimmy, so I should be pregnant soon. I wonder if Jimmy is thinking the same thing. He must be.

The truck shook violently. Emme had her hand up on the seat to keep her balance and I did the same. It stopped me from slamming into the window.

The drive was short and couldn’t have lasted longer than three minutes. I tried to ignore Taylor and Jimmy’s conversation. I couldn’t think about me being pregnant right now.

When the car stopped, I opened up my door and helped Emme get out of the truck. I looked up at the house to see it was much larger than either house I have seen. The dirty white paint was flaking off and the deck made of old wood surrounded the entire house. Long pieces of grass were sticking up from the gravel driveway.

A little boy, only about five-years-old, came running out of the house. He was skinny and had on a pair of jeans that had the bottoms of the legs rolled up. His shirt had a picture of Spiderman on it, and I wondered if he even knew who that was.

“Uncle Taylor,” he squealed as he flew down the stairs. Taylor picked him up as soon as he came near him and I watched as Emme entered the house.

“Hey, Buddy. You remember Jimmy, right?” Taylor asked him.

The boy nodded and a smile appeared on his lips. Taylor handed him over to Jimmy and he balanced him on his hip. Taylor went up into the house. Jimmy said something that I couldn’t hear, and then the boy looked over Jimmy’s shoulder at me.

“This is my girl Julie, Jared,” he told him. “Julie, this is Jared.”

“Hi,” he said quietly.

“Hello,” I said giving him a little wave.

“Are your parents inside?” Jimmy asked him.

Jared nodded and put two fingers in his mouth.

“Yeah, Mom’s helping Grandma,” he said. “They’re waiting for you.”

“Then we should go,” Jimmy said.

Jimmy put Jared back down on the ground and we watched as he ran back into the house. Jimmy put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close to him.

“Remember what I said yesterday. They do things a little differently, but it’s all okay. Just remember that I love you,” he whispered into my ear.

“I love you, Jimmy,” I told him.

I had no idea what he was trying to warn me about, but I knew it was alright. I have to have faith in my family and remember that everything they do is just to help me.

The porch creaked as we walked across it. Jimmy opened up the flimsy screen door and we walked in. Jimmy grabbed my hand and pulled me through their living room and into the kitchen.

Emme was standing beside the counter talking to another woman. She must be Lindsay. Her dark blonde hair ended just below her ears. She had large blue eyes that made her face and all of its features seem small. She had on jeans and the sleeves to her purple sweaters were rolled up. She was cutting apples and looked up at me and smiled. Emme must have been giving Lindsay her opinion on me. I was nervous about what that might be.

“Hello,” she said sweetly.

“Hi,” Jimmy said. He moved me so that I was standing in front of him. My feet skidded across the floor. “Julie this is Lindsay. Lindsay this is Julie. Do you know where Gabe is?”

“He’s outside with Tommy and Dylan.”

Jimmy let go of my hand and left the kitchen. He let go of me, so this must be where he wants me to stay. Lindsay wiped her hands on a towel and I slowly walked closer to them.

I didn’t notice the large curtain before in the kitchen. The flimsy plastic jutted out from the wall in a semicircle. It looked like it was a shower curtain. I have no idea why it would be in a kitchen.

“I need to hug you,” Lindsay told me extending her arms out towards me. I quickly opened up my arms too and we were embracing each other.

“Mom! Jimmy’s girl is here!” I heard Emme yell out.

I could hear a door open up and somebody walk across the house. Another room entered the kitchen. She was in her fifties, and her face was aging and her long grey hair was messily pinned up. Her face lit up when she saw me.

“You are a beautiful girl,” she told me. “I’m Jenny.”

She reached out her arms and I was caught up in another hug.

“Welcome to our home,” she said. “It’s always nice to have another girl around here.”

She put her hand on my stomach and I tried my best not to jump back.

“Are you pregnant yet?” she asked me.

“No,” I said shaking my head.

“Don’t worry. It’ll happen soon. It took Lindsay here two years,” she said patting my stomach.

She flipped my arm over and pulled up the sleeve of Jimmy’s sweater. She traced her fingers along my tattoo.

“It’s true. You did scar yourself,” she said. “It’s beautiful though. Why’d you get it?”

My lips curled into a smile because no one in the family has ever complimented it before. Jimmy said it was beautiful, but he wished that I didn’t get it.

“I got it for my birth family,” I said. I made sure to put the birth part in there.

“Why?” Emme piped up behind me.

“They died when I was little,” I told them.

Lindsay put her arm around my shoulders and leaned her head against me. I took in a quick breath of her sweet scent.

“You’ll always be part of our family,” she told me.

The hinges on the door squeaked as someone ran through the house. Jared came flying into the kitchen. He stopped in front of Lindsay and looked up at her.

“Daddy wants to know if it’ll be ready soon,” he reported.

“We’re coming out, but first,” she said getting down onto her knees. She pulled the small sweater crumpled up on the counter down. She forced Jared’s arms through the sleeves as he protested. She zipped it up and he pouted. “Now you can go outside.”

Jared ran outside and I could hear Lindsay start to chuckle.

“We better go outside,” she said. “Julie can you help us?”

“Of course,” I said.

She handed me a bowl full of fruit and she had a bowl of eggs in her arms. Jenny picked up what looked like a plate of meat. Emme had a pitcher of water and a pitcher of juice.

I prepared myself to meet the rest of Jimmy’s family.