Soulmate

7

The week passed by in a blur. Every day Isaac and I spent time together, and every day I could feel myself falling farther. In life there are some things that you just know are right, and this was one of those. I knew that the place I was headed was uncertain, but I didn't feel scared. I guess maybe that's how I knew it had to be right. As human beings we tend to fear uncertainty. We hate not knowing what life will throw our way. But I wasn't scared at all, in fact I'd never been less scared of anything. All I felt was excitement. I was so excited to see where this road, this new path with Isaac would lead me. And when I looked into his eyes I could see that he felt the same.
"Olivia!" My mom called, "are you almost ready?" It was Friday, and we were going over to Isaac's house for dinner.
"Yes mom, just a second!" I called back.
I grabbed my purse and took a quick look in the mirror. I was wearing a light blue dress with patterns of gold hummingbirds sewn onto the knee-length skirt, with a brown belt and matching boots. My hair was gently curled and my makeup was perfect.
Satisfied, I ran down the stairs and grabbed my keys. Isaac's family lived just across the park, so we weren't driving, but I wanted to make sure I could get in, just in case. My mom forgot sometimes.
"Oh honey, you look gorgeous." My mom said. "I with your dad could come with us tonight."
"I know, me too." I smiled wistfully. My dad was a cop in the city, and often had to work late. I knew how much he hated to miss things like this, but I was sure he'd meet Isaac soon enough.
"Let's go!" I cried, and we set off.

It wasn't a long walk through the park, and soon, we were there. I rang the doorbell, feeling anxious. We waited for a few seconds before the door opened.
"Hey Olivia!" Isaac said. "And you must be Mrs. Jacobs." He shook my mom's hand. "It's so nice to meet you! I'm Isaac Connoly."
Mom smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you too Isaac. And please, call me Kelly."
"Of course." He grinned. "Come on in! Everyone's waiting for you!"
We walked in and joined Isaac's family in the living room. A young, teenage girl sat on one of the couches, reading, and three more kids were playing on the floor. A tall woman stood to greet us. She had the same dark hair and green eyes as Isaac. She smiled and gave me a hug. "Olivia! It's so nice to finally meet you! We've heard so much about you already from Isaac. You're even more beautiful than he described.
I laughed, looking at Isaac, who was blushing furiously. "Olivia, I'd like you to meet my mother."
"Dinners almost ready." Mrs. Connoly said. "Mrs. Jacobs, would you mind helping me in the kitchen?"
My mom smiled and nodded gracefully. "Not at all." She stood and followed Mrs. Connoly into the next room.
Isaac took my hand and we sat down on the couch. "Sorry, I know she can be a bit much."
"Not at all, I thought she was sweet." I smiled, looking around. "Are these your siblings?"
"Yes, that's my sister, Grace, reading over there, and on the floor is Sadie, Noah, and Charlotte."
It surprised me how many siblings he had. Most of the family's in our neighborhood only had one or two kids, and his family had five.
"Would you introduce me?" I asked.
He grinned, "I'd love to." He pulled me off the couch and we sat on the floor. "Hey guys," he called, "come meet Olivia."
The three children looked up from their game curiously. "Hi!" Said Noah, the oldest looking of the bunch. "I'm Noah!"
"Hi Noah. I smiled. "How are you doing?"
Noah looked at me, then smiled. "We're playing a game!" He cried.
"No, she asked how you are doing, not what you're doing." Isaac laughed.
Noah shrugged, returning to his game. Isaac shook his head, laughing, and pulled the youngest girl onto his lap. "Say hi to Olivia." He told her, tickling her belly.
The girl let out a squeal of laughter. "Hi owivia." She said.
"Hello, what's your name?" I asked, leaning towards her.
"Wottie" she said. I looked at Isaac, confused. "What did she say?"
He laughed at my bewilderment. "This is Charlotte." He said, "we call her Lottie."
"Oh!" I laughed. I guess it's easier to understand kids when you live with them. "And how old are you Lottie?" I asked.
"Fowr" Lottie said, holding up three fingers.
"That's awesome!" I smiled, turning to the third child. "And who are you?"
She looked at me bashfully, and hid behind her older brother. "This is Sadie." Isaac said. "She's pretty shy."
I grinned as Sadie peeked out at me from behind Isaac. "How old are you Sadie?" I asked.
Sadie buried her face in her brothers shirt. "Eight," she said, quite muffled.
"Eight?" I asked. She nodded, face still hidden. "I remember when I was eight. I was pretty shy too."
Sadie looked up at me and smiled before returning to her game.
"You're good with them." Isaac remarks, surprised.
"I love kids." I replied. "I worked at a daycare over the summer and it was a lot of fun. I especially loved the little kids. They're adorable."
"Yeah, they are." He smiled, staring at me.
"So, how old are Noah and Grace?" I ask.
"Noah's 10 and Grace is 13." He replied.
"Quite the age gap between you and Grace." I remarked.
"Yeah," he said running his hand through his hair. "It's not so bad though. We like sharing books."
"That's cool" I said, as Mrs. Connoly walked into the room. "Dinner's ready!"