Becoming Rory

chapter eleven

At twenty weeks pregnant, Rory got ready to meet Sadie's parents.

She had already told her father about her pregnancy the week prior, but now it was time to meet her girlfriend's parents. She was incredibly nervous since she had never had to do so before. When she started dating Noah, her parents were already like family to her. She didn't have to meet them and make a good impression.

Now, though, she needed to do great. She needed to prove to Sadie's parents that she deserved to date their daughter. She just didn't know how.

Sadie had reassured her time and time again that her parents would love her because they would. Her parents loved everyone, they were very relaxed. She knew that they would love Rory.

So, they made their way back to Sadie's hometown.

She had already told her parents that Rory was pregnant, which they seemed to be excited about. They always wanted a grandchild, but Sadie hadn't had enough serious girlfriends for it to be considered. Sadie had also wanted children but had never really settled down.

Rory's stomach churned. She had rehearsed everything that she would a million times but still felt unprepared. Sadie hadn't given her enough details about her parents for Rory to prepare enough. All she had told her was that her parents would love her, and they were very relaxed.

Soon enough, they stood ahead of the front door.

Sadie knocked, loudly, since they didn't have a doorbell, then swung the door open.

"Shouldn't we wait outside?" Rory asked, already thrown off.

Sadie furrowed her eyebrows, "No, they don't answer the door,"

"Why wouldn't they answer the door?"

Sadie chuckled, "The people that they invite know to just knock and come in, so whoever doesn't come in wasn't invited. The knocking just gives them a warning that someone is here,"

Rory nodded, feeling clueless about their entire lifestyle. She was clearly underprepared and unknowing about the way that they lived, completely different than her, so how would she even try to fit in? Suddenly, she felt much more nervous than before.

"Mom, Dad! We're here!" Sadie called out into the house.

Rory fidgeted. It was show time, but she didn't know her lines. How was she supposed to make a great impression when she didn't even know who she was impressing?

At that moment, a man and a woman stepped through a curtain of beads, a true cliché for hippies. Sadie's mother was originally for Venezuela, something Sadie had mentioned when they went through the story of how her parents met. She was a beautiful woman, showing where Sadie must have gotten all her good genes.

Her long dark curly hair flowed down her back, longer than her daughter's, which was already quite lengthy. Her roots were showing the beginning of greying but did not show a sure sign of ageing. Dark eyes that matched her daughter's and large freckles strategically placed highlighted the fact that she really was Sadie's mother.

Her father entered behind her. His hair was grey, but his face did not have a single wrinkle, save for his laugh lines. He had Sadie's nose, or rather, she had his nose.

The atmosphere was warm, a delightful aroma tingled all her senses and calmed her down. She couldn't believe that Sadie had grown up there. It was a vast change in atmosphere from the house she had spent the first eighteen years of her life.

There were knick-knacks that cluttered Sadie's childhood home, things that looked like memories. She saw figurines from different countries with years engraved, things that looked like souvenirs from trips that had taken.