Page 81 of Want You

“She is, isn’t she?” Her mom responded, smiling proudly up at her daughter. “I’m Joanna,” she said, already spreading her arms in preparation for a hug.

“Judy and Emma,” Emma said after they parted.

“Told you not to worry,” Scottie teased from next to Octavia.

Octavia hadn’t been worried so much as anxious to get this over with. She’d received an earful from her mother when she revealed how long she’d been seeing Nathan for. And now she was meeting his family before he met hers. So a few more hours of anxiety paved the road leading to the post-game meal.

Nathan started the game by scoring and proceeded to net another goal and two assists before the final horn went. By the time he skated out to accept the first star of the game, Octavia was vibrating with nerves.

“He really likes to play in front of you,” Judy said, squeezing her arm gently. “I haven’t seen him play like this since his dad was alive.” She sighed as she stood. “He looks like he’s having fun again.”

“I can’t say I knew how he played before. I didn’t spend much time watching hockey,” Octavia confessed.

Emma stood next to her mother and raised her arms above her head, stretching her body after sitting for so long. “Oh we know.” She laughed. “We’re naturally wary of anyone interested in dating him, but when he told us you had insisted you weren’t going to date a hockey player, we knew that we had nothing to worry about.”

“He wore me down pretty quickly. I’m a bit embarrassed.”

Judy laughed, gently patting Octavia’s shoulder. “Don’t be. He has a talent for wearing people down when it’s about something he really wants. I wanted him to play soccer and I tried my damnedest to sway him in that direction. And then one day there I was with my double-double, sitting with other parents while he zipped up and down the ice at the butt crack of dawn.”

“He’s annoyingly good at picking what to fight for,” Emma added. “His intuition is enviable.”

“Oh hush.” Judy scoffed. “All three of you have fairly good intuition. It’s nice not to have to worry about you all the time.”

Octavia’s gaze slid to where Scottie was chatting animatedly to Tyler. Nathan had told her all about how overbearing their mom had been about Scottie’s well-being after the accident, and she really couldn’t blame her. She imagined nearly losing a kid would do that to someone.

“Despite everything,” Judy whispered, “He does take after his siblings. He has just always been a bit quieter about it. I half expect one day to get an invitation to a wedding without knowing he was seeing someone.”

Scottie glanced back at them as they slowly made their way out of the stands, coming to a stop at the base of the escalator that would lead them to the family room.

“Nate wants us to meet him back in the family room.”

“I like that room,” Tyler piped up.

“Is it the activity area you maybe like best?” Octavia’s mother asked, earning a sly grin from her grandson.

“Do you want kids, Octavia?” Nathan’s mom inquired quietly.

Emma groaned, leaning into Octavia. “Ignore her. She is obsessed with the idea of having a whole hockey team worth of grand kids.”

“I don’t blame her, it’s pretty great,” Octavia’s mom said dreamily. “Even though I became a grandmother a bit sooner than I expected.” She lowered her chin and whispered, “Flora got pregnant in her senior year of high school.”

“Mom.” Octavia groaned.

“Oh sorry, is that not what happened?” She grinned up at her daughter.

“At this rate, I’ll be great-grandmother age by the time one of my kids gets there.”

Octavia was ready to hear a snarky response from Emma, but instead she watched as she blinked rapidly, as if warding off tears, before stepping off the escalator and taking the lead as the group moved toward the family room.

Their mothers continued to complain about a lack of grandchildren, seemingly unaware that Emma was obviously bothered by it. Scottie noticed though and picked up his pace, catching up with his sister quickly despite the slight uneven gait—the result of the neuropathy still present in his right foot.

Scottie said something and Emma glanced at him before shaking her head, a sad smile playing on her lips.

Emma’s husband had died a year and a half earlier, and Octavia imagined that losing her husband had something to do with her sudden change in demeanour.

“It’s really too bad your sister couldn’t make it,” Judy said. “I assume she’s single?” Her gaze moved from Octavia to Scottie and Octavia had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing out loud.

Flora hadn’t dated in years, she always said she wouldn’t until Tyler was out of the house. Between her job and being as present as she could be as a mom, she had no time to give to a relationship.