Chapter 27

I could hardly believe it. I was finally going to meet other families. My palms were sweaty, my heart felt as if it was going to jump out of my chest any minute and I was just so nervous. I had told mom that Lucas supposedly wanted me to go back over at his apartment for some reason and I would stop by later. That was the excuse I could come up with in order not to raise any suspicions or spoiled the surprise.  

As I made my way down to meet my family for the first time, all I kept thinking about was whether or not they were going to be as accepting when we finally meet. Were they going to judge us in anyway? I wasn’t sure what to expect. The minute I was in the lobby, I immediately knew which sets of people were my family. There were six individuals there, an elderly man and a woman, a younger man and a woman around his age and two teenage girls. No one needed to tell me that these people were my grandmother and grandfather, uncle and I'm guessing his girlfriend or his wife and the two girls were their daughters- I couldn't be far off.

I tried calming my racing heart and my emotions as I took my time walking towards the group but as soon as I got closer, I saw that I wasn't the only one who was getting emotional at the moment. As recognition dawn on their faces, the older lady covered her mouth with both hands as she stared at me. There were smiles as well as looks of surprise and disbelief on the faces of the others.

"Oh my God." The lady breathe out as she met me half way.

"Hi," I whispered shyly.

This feeling was overwhelming. That was how I could explain this feeling I was having as I was finally standing face to face with my grandparents.

"You look so much like her." The older woman said emotionally as she put both hands on my cheeks. "She looked so much like our Marie... I can't believe it. This is just so..."

"So hard to believe. After over 20 years... It’s great to finally meet our other...our first granddaughter." The older man said standing behind his wife. "I'm Devon Stewart, your..."

"Grandpa." I finished with a smile as my eyes welled with tears of joy. "I don't know what to say."

"Oh my God..." The older lady sniffled as she pulled me into tight hug.

I couldn't resist hugging her back as well. When we pulled away she started sobbing again and pulled me back to her. As I closed my eyes, reveling into the hug, I felt my grandfather wrapped his arms around the both of us. I wasn’t sure how long we spent like that in that hug but when we pulled back, the others were right behind us as well.

"Sweetie, you’re so beautiful, just like Marie. And look at those pretty blue eyes. Oh god, It’s such a shame we are just meeting now after all these years." My grandmother said to me while wiping her eyes.

"I understand why this happened. Marie must have felt as if we put too much on her. She probably hated us so much. God She must've been so mad at us that..." My grandfather started but I cut him off.

"She doesn't. Mom doesn't hate you. In fact, she has always missed you guys and felt like you were too disappointed in her because she.... because she got pregnant with me." I said to them.

"Oh no." Sonia said covering her mouth.

"I can hardly believe how much you look like Marie." The other man said as he came up to me. "Maybe if we weren't so hard on her when we found out she was pregnant, we wouldn't have missed out on knowing you all these years. I'm your uncle Marten."

"Mom told me about you. You were the one I tried getting in contact with. I searched the directory... I'm so happy I finally get to meet you." I smiled as I hugged him.

"We're just so sorry this is happening years after, when we should have never been separated as a family in the first place. I think we were the ones who caused Marie to leave." Marten said to me.

"It’s okay. We meet now."

"I want to introduce you to my wife Brenda. And our daughters Sanya and Selena. Sanya is the oldest." he said to me.

"Hi, nice to meet you." I said as his wife hugged me and the other two girls. "Sanya? Are you the one I spoke to on the phone?"

"Yeah, that was me." The older girl replied smiling. "Why didn't you just tell me who you are? I would have called grandma and grandpa immediately and gave them your number instead of waiting until they get back."

"I just couldn't. I needed to be sure first." I said to her.

"You're really pretty. Is auntie Marie this pretty too? We've always heard of her." Selena asked.

"Uh, thank you. I guess you could say so." I smiled at her.

"Where is Marie? I thought she was going to meet us too?" Uncle Marten asked.

"Does she not want to see us after all these years? I know she probably hates us." Grandma said saddened.

"If she's still mad at us, I wouldn't blame her. We did...." Grandpa started before I cut him off.

"No! It's not that. It’s just that... She still isn't aware that I was finally able to contact you guys or that you're even here." I told them honestly.

"What? Oh no. Then she's probably going to be mad when..."

"I wanted to surprise her. I'm sure she'll be happy that she is reunited with family after all these years." I said to them "How about I show you to your suite? Lucas, the owner for the apartment complex is my...friend. He had a family suite reserved and prepared for you guys."

"Okay, that sounds great. But we can't wait to see our daughter once again." Grandpa said.

After I led my family to the suite Lucas had reserved for them, I helped them settle in before talking and getting to know each other more. It was all so surreal, this whole thing was just so...'dream like'. I mean everything that happened, me growing up without any other family, then mom getting sick and my step father selling me and everything we had just for drugs. Then me working as a stripper without any other choice, becoming hooked on drugs, meeting Lucas, witnessing murders- including that of my first serious boyfriend- then me living with a mafia underboss, and now meeting with my family whom I never knew for twenty- two years, it was a lot to take in at once.

We talked about everything. I also found out that we had other relatives back in Barbados, which includes grandaunts and uncles as well as cousins. I also found out that Sanya was now eighteen and Selena was fifteen. Uncle Marten met their mother back in university and have been married for 19 years. It was like they didn't want me to leave but they were all so anxious to see Marie.I told them I had to go get her prepared for such revelation. Grandpa was determined that we should all go out for dinner tonight. I couldn’t help wondering if they weren't tired after their flight and all, but they insisted that we should go out as a family tonight. I was still nervous about how the reunion with mom was all going to turn out, especially since I haven't told mom anything as yet. And the fact that I was supposed to start my new job that Lucas gave me at the club tonight- I just hope that he would understand and let me off the hook for tonight.

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"Amy, what is this all about?" Mom asked as I we walked out to the taxi. "What is this surprise?"

"Mom, I can't tell you what the surprise is as yet. You'll just have to wait and see. If I tell you what it is, then it won't longer be a surprise will it?" I said to her. "Just promise me you won't freak out and you'll be happy."

"How can I promise you when..."

"Mom please, just promise." I plead with her.

"Okay, fine." Mom sighed. “I promise…"

"Yes! Thank you." I smiled at her.

"...that I'll try to not freak out and I'll be happy." Mom added. "I can't promise that exactly but I can try. I don't understand what the big deal is. You said we're going out to have dinner then get me this dressed up- I think too dressed up- all for some surprise? This better be more than good Amy."

"I promise you it'll be good mom." I smiled at her though I was nervous deep down.

After I had left my family earlier, I went back to Lucas' apartment and called him. I practically begged him to excuse me not being able to work tonight but that my family was here and wanted us to go out for dinner. I didn't want to disappoint them by telling them I couldn't. Surprisingly, Lucas said it was okay -which I was thankful for. Lucas really seemed to be getting a bit softer with me. Although I wasn't planning on getting used to it because I know he can be unpredictable. I told mom that we were going out for dinner tonight to celebrate us being close to each other once again and her on a road to recovery. I also told her that I had a big surprise for her.

I remembered asking her the other day how she would react to seeing her family once again, and mom said she wasn't sure but she would probably be so overjoyed and speechless she'd cry. So I was looking forward to the tears. I'd even prepared for it by using waterproof eyeliner and mascara. Mom was looking really beautiful tonight. She was wearing one of those black dresses which had long sheer sleeves and tight at the top with flare at the waist along with gold tip pumps. I had gotten dressed in a black dress which was a few inches on my thighs and had a wide v-cut neckline with the straps of the dress crossing in a pattern over my chest along with black heels.

I remembered mom telling me that her parents were somewhat overbearing Christians which had me wondering if they were going to have an issue with our outfits for dinner. I was hoping that over the years, they had toned it down a notch and eased up a bit from all the strict rules or else they were going to be super offended by our dresses and also the fact that their daughter had gotten tattoos. Mom had two tattoos; one around her ankle and one in her back and both of them were visible enough if one is paying close attention. After minutes of driving, we had finally arrived at the restaurant.

"We're having dinner at Cajeeni's? Amy isn't this restaurant a bit too... I don't know... pricey for us?" Mom asked looking at me unsure.

"Well maybe, but I think I can afford us dinner her for one evening." I replied. "Come on, let's go inside."

"Good evening ladies, do you have reservations?" The hostess asked.

"Yeah, it’s actually a family table for Stewarts." I said to her.

"Oh sure, this way." She smiled as she began walking in the direction of our table.

"You obviously put a lot of thought into this whole dinner thing haven't you?" Mom asked me.

"I actually did." I smiled. "I just thought we deserved this."

"Okay ladies, this is your table. A server will be with you guys soon alright?" The hostess announced.

"Oh, thank you." Mom and I thank the hostess as she turned to leave.

"Oh, You're here." A voice said drawing our attention to the table.

Mom who hadn't figured out that we were meeting anyone finally looked to the table. A million emotions crossed her face at seeing who was there.

"Oh my God." Mom said choking up. "I... I don't... Mom? Dad? Marten?"

"Surprise." I said to her.

"Mariean..." Grandma said standing up. "My baby girl?"

"Hi sweetheart." Grandpa said to her.

"I-I don't believe this." Mom said in disbelief tears already running down her face.

"It’s been a long time sis." Marten said smiling.

"It’s you guys." Mom said crying.

"Yeah, it’s us." Grandpa said as they pulled mom into a hug.

I couldn't help the tears that escaped from my eyes at the scene in front of me. As mom hugged both parents and brother crying, I knew she wasn't mad but in fact overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotions. I could only imagine how much emotions she was feeling at the moment. I've experienced my share already. I just know that tonight was going to be a night that mom won't forget and it'll take more than a couple distance to separate us fully like that ever again.