“I guess you figured out that that's my mom and that's my dad. This is my brother, Drew and my sister, Beth.” Beth looked like a younger version of Claire and Drew looked like a younger version of Braden, who looked like a younger version of his dad.
“Wow,” Drew said. “She's hot.” Braden turned and glared at him. “What? Mom said she was gorgeous!”
“It's great to meet you,” Beth broke in, and came over to hug me too.
“We're very pleased to have you, Gabrielle,” Braden's dad said, hugging me of course. “I'm Tyler.” Wow. I got to call Senator Pierce Tyler.
“Thanks for inviting me. It was very thoughtful of you.”
“They were thrilled to hear you were coming!” Drew offered. “They’re hoping Braden will finally settle down.”
“Drew,” Tyler said in a warning tone.
“What did I say now?” Drew asked, sounding exasperated. He started walking toward me when Braden stopped him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Everybody else got to hug her.”
“You already said hello.”
“Actually, if you’ll recall, I said that she was hot and you got all huffy.”
“Drew, please help me with their bags,” Tyler said, intervening. “Braden, why don't you help us while Mom and Beth make Gabrielle comfortable and get to know her better?”
“You need both of us for that? Maybe I want to get to know her better too.” His father and Braden both gave him a stern look. I was definitely starting to understand what Braden had said about Drew.
I followed Claire and Beth into the marble-floored entry and off to one of the dark paneled doors down a hallway to the side of a large staircase. It turned out to be a parlor with wide windows overlooking the rear lawn. The room was done in a combination of burgundy and cream, and although it was very tasteful, it also looked warm and inviting. There was a fireplace and above it hung a picture of a blonde man dressed in colonial garb. Yep, the Pierces had been here for a while.
“Please sit down and make yourself comfortable,” Claire said with a smile.
I sat down on a love-seat while Claire and Beth took the one across from me. We chatted for a bit and I filled them in on more details about my family and my life. I learned that Beth was twenty-five and working in the education department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and that Drew was a law student at Georgetown, just like Braden had been. Being in the middle, Beth was close to both of her brothers. She assured me that even though Braden and Drew bickered, they were close despite the four year age difference. Claire shared that she spent most of her time involved in charity work, and in running their family foundation. I had a feeling that being a senator’s wife also came with its share of responsibilities.
“So did you and Braden meet in court?” Claire asked.
“Yes, he and I have been assigned cases in front of the same judge frequently.”
“Is he a good lawyer?” Beth asked.
“Yes, he's a very good lawyer.” Beth and Claire smiled at each other and I realized that they were proud, which I found very cute.
“Is he as good a boyfriend as he is a lawyer?” Beth asked.
“We just started dating but so far he’s been really thoughtful and easy-going. He’s said some really sweet things too.”
“Braden?!” Beth laughed and glanced at her mom who was smiling happily.
Just then we heard the men returning from upstairs and Claire let everyone know that it was time to head in for dinner. We entered a formal dining room with a table beautifully prepared. We had all settled in and a housekeeper had come out with a soup course when Drew spoke up.
“So you two are sleeping together?” Beth dropped her spoon and Claire nearly choked on the water she was sipping.
“Drew!” All of the Pierces said in unison.
“What? I just meant are they sharing a room. Is it a secret or something?”
“What it is, is none of your business,” Braden said testily.
“I was just asking!” He ate a spoonful of his soup. “I was wondering…”
“The answer is no,” Tyler added.
“Why not?”
“Because your brother is twenty-seven and an attorney and you're twenty-three and a law student,” his father replied.
“And what? I have to make you worry that I'll never get married before you'll let me bring a girl home with me?”
“You can bring a girl home,” Braden answered. “You just can't sleep with her.”
“Okay Braden!” Tyler warned. “Please remember that you are twenty-seven.”
“Seriously, guys, this is not even close to polite conversation,” Beth chimed in. I actually found the conversation rather amusing, truthfully. Drew kind of cracked me up. Talk turned to the fundraiser, though, and we continued with that as the soup was cleared and dinner was served.
The conversation then turned to what everyone's plans were for the evening. Drew and Beth had planned to go out to a club with a group of mutual friends and Tyler and Claire were planning to go out and catch a movie. Braden and I were invited along with both groups but he politely declined on our behalf, citing a stressful week and our desire to rest up before the fundraiser the next day. Drew snorted derisively and Beth kicked him under the table none too subtly.
By dessert I was starting to nervously anticipate the evening ahead. The fact that Braden had been running his fingers along my inner thigh for several minutes didn't exactly help me to calm down. It was already past seven-thirty. It couldn't be long before the others left. When we were finished with our dessert and coffee Drew and Beth went off to get ready and Claire and Tyler retired to the family room, where Braden and I joined them. I was being quieter than usual, but so far during this visit, I hadn't done anything awkward and the Pierces were so nice that I had started to relax with them.
“You know, Braden, there will likely be a lot of familiar faces there tomorrow and I'm not sure you'll be thrilled to see all of them,” Claire said. “Marla might possibly be there for example.”
“Oh great!” He cringed and turned to me. “Marla's a shallow, narcissistic harpy who I used to date years ago. She still can’t believe that I broke up with her.”
“Can’t believe it as in ‘how could he have done that?’ or can’t believe it as in she thinks you’re still her boyfriend?” I asked a little nervously.
“She doesn’t think I’m still her boyfriend, but she refuses to believe that anybody wouldn’t want to be her boyfriend, including me.” I could tell that I was just going to love Marla.