Forever And A Half

3

Week1:

"Tracey!" mum screamed as her friend rolled down the window.

"Nikki!" the lady called. She ran out of the car and hugged her friend tight, "It's been so long!" they hugged again and I stood to the side. "You must be Adalyn, oh my you've grown!" she then hugged me tight.

"Nice to see you, Tracey," I gasped as she released her tight grasp. She took our suitcases to the back of the car and we loaded them in.

"Joe is back at home with Graham. They're preparing dinner for you two," she beamed.

"I hope you guys ate before now, its past ten o'clock!" my mum cried. Tracey laughed and nodded. I climbed into the back seat of the car. It was really spacious in the back. The seats had some kind of fluffy cover to make it nice and comfy. There were eight seats in total.

"Tracey, why do you have such a big car if it's just you, Graham and the kids?" I asked. She laughed and said,

"There are more than just my kids. Joe has his little friends and so does Zoe. We looked for a bigger car but I thought the mini-van would look quite strange." I laughed at this comment. She started the engine and drove us to her house. It didn't take long. We all piled out of the car and went to the front door. "You can grab your suitcases later."

The night was really cold and dark in Perth, a lot different to Brisbane. She unlocked the door and a man greeted us. He kissed Tracey on the cheek and hugged my mum. He held his hand out to me,

"I'm Graham, nice to meet you..."

"Adalyn. I'm Adalyn. Nice to meet you too," he led us to the kitchen where a boy was setting the table. A camera was set on the counter so I stood quietly behind my mum.

"Joe! What have I told you about recording when we have guests coming? Turn that camera off!" Tracey ordered and he pushed a button to stop recording.

"Sorry mum, I didn't know they'd be here so soon," he said. He brushed his hand through his light brown hair and smiled at me. "I'm Joe," he said. I smiled and waved, suddenly really shy.

"Hi Joe, I'm Nicole, call me Nikki. This is my daughter, Adalyn," she said and stepped aside so I couldn't hide behind her. He smiled at me again and I blushed, moving to the table.

"Take a seat, love. The food will be ready soon," Tracey said. I sat down with my mum opposite me. Graham sat down, a space between them for Tracey. Joe came and sat beside me. I shifted a little bit in my seat. Tracey served dinner and we all ate. I felt nervous around Joe and didn't speak through dinner. "Joe, can you go get the suit cases out of the boot please?" his mum asked.

We both got up and headed for the car. He grabbed out my suit cases but I stopped him.

"I can grab them," I said and attempted to grab it from him. He pulled away,

"I know, but I wanted to," he said smiling at me. I nodded and grabbed my mum's instead. Together, we carried our suitcases upstairs. Joe showed me around all the rooms as I dropped off my mums gear. "This is your room," he said opening a door. I put my suitcases in the corner.

"Thank you, Joe," I said.

"No problem, Adalyn. My room is just across the hall if you need anything," he said. We both said goodnight and I changed into sweatpants and a tank top. I pulled my fluffy socks onto my feet and climbed under the sheets.