By My Side [JENLISA FF]

Part 24

After a long bath Jennie joined Lisa and his family in the living room. Sheila was moving back and forth between there and the kitchen, preparing dinner for all, when the doorbell rang. Before anyone could get up Mrs. Manoban ran for the door and her happy voice sounded into the living-room

"Graham, Loretta," she exclaimed.

"Mom," Jennie heard a deep male voice. And then after a while they all appeared in the doorway of the living-room. Graham was completely different from his father, he was not as tall, he was blonde and had his mother's blue eyes. On his arm he held a little boy who seemed sound asleep. His wife was a tall red head, whose curls fell almost to her waist, and she was holding a little girl.

Graham greeted everyone with a wave: "Hi everyone. We'll see you soon, just tucking the little ones into the bed." With this he and his wife accompanied by Sheila disappeared again, while another head came through the door.

"Gavin," Lisa greeted her brother-in-law with a smile. 

"Hi," the man greeted back. He walked over to Georgie and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. She smiled at him: "Tired, love?"

He shook his head and gently touched her swollen stomach: "You're alright?" The concern was apparent in his voice.

She rolled her eyes: "Of course. I had only some spasms recently. Stop hovering over me."

Gavin sat himself beside his wife and then looked at Jennie: "Hi, I'm Gavin," he greeted her, reaching out his hand. "I've already heard a lot about you."

"I see," Jennie smiled with a short glance at Lisa. "I'm usually not that bad," she joked.

He laughed, a free, careless sort of laughter, Jennie liked immediately: "She never said something like that," he replied, looking at his sister-in-law as well. "I'm glad everything worked out okay. We had a really bad night, before she left. I had a headache for two days," he winced thinking about it. Gavin was about the same age as Lisa, Jennie guessed, he was very tall, but not as athletic and had black hair. In contrast he had pale green eyes, a very interesting combination.

Georgie looked at her husband: "Did you bring the bags," she asked.

He nodded: "I did."

His wife glanced at Jennie: "We're all staying here for two nights," she explained. "Mom likes to get the whole family together over Christmas." Then she grinned at her father, who was reading in his newspaper: "And Dad too although he'd never admit it."

Daniel looked up: "Sorry, what did you say?" he asked innocently.

Georgie made a face at him, then gazed back to her sister and her girlfriend: "See what I mean." She patted her father's knee: "We love you nevertheless Dad."

He cleared his throat: "Hope they get the little ones soon into their beds. I'm starving and this smell coming from the kitchen gets my stomach into overdrive."

Everyone laughed when the others appeared again. Daniel stood up to hug his son and daughter-in-law. Georgie and Gavin did the same. Then Graham and Loretta embraced Lisa and looked at Jennie.

Lisa wrapped an arm around her shoulder: "Graham, Loretta, this's Jennie, my girlfriend." 

His brother extended an arm and shook Jennie's hand while the women only nodded at each other. Jennie liked Loretta, who seemed a little bit shy. "The children were completely exhausted," Graham told the others. They were so excited on the plane and little-Sheila was admired by everyone. All the people around us saved their chocolates for her and Sam." He rolled his eyes: "We had to put it away after a while and then we had to get them changed. They looked as if they'd fallen right into it."