The End (completed)

Chapter Twenty-Two--Meeting the Families

"Are you sure they'll like me? I'm a little scared, Cathy," Shawn tugged on the collar of his polo as I tried to pull him out of the car.

"Shawn, we're going to get married in a few months. I've told my family all about you, and you've seen them plenty on Skype calls. They're all excited to meet you, there's no reason to be nervous."

We were visiting my parents' house back in Connecticut. My two older brothers were there too, and Shawn was really worried about meeting them in person for the first time.

Shawn hung his head and reluctantly got out of the car. "There's a good boy," I said, playfully ruffling his curly dark brown hair.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go, okay?"

I nodded and led the way to the house. I rang the doorbell and immediately heard our old dog, Schnitzel, barking. My oldest brother, Pete, opened the door, holding my 2-year-old nephew, Christopher, on his shoulders.

"Kiatrin!" he exclaimed happily, pulling me into a careful hug. I rolled my eyes at the old nickname. I always hated when he called me that.

"And you must be Shawn! Nice to meet you! Been treating my little sister alright?" he extended a hand, playfully glaring at Shawn.

Shawn laughed nervously and accepted Pete's hand, shaking it. "I would hope so," Shawn replied, glancing at me.

"He is," I threw in supportively. Then I ruffled Christopher's hair and asked, "How's my favorite nephew?"

Christopher giggled and tried to hide behind Pete, which didn't work very well seeing how he was on his shoulders.

"Come in," Pete said, laughing.

I entered the living room with Pete and Shawn, and Pete let Christopher down. Christopher immediately ran over to my other brother, Jon, who was chatting with my sister-in-law, Pete's wife, Maya, who was holding my 6-month-old niece, Nina.

"Cathy!" Mom jumped up off the couch and rushed over to hug me. "Oh, sweetie, we missed you so much."

"I missed you, too, Mom," I whisper back. I notice my dad sitting quietly on the love seat next to where Mom had been. I pulled a silly face over my mom's shoulder at him, and he glared at me, then made one back.

I pulled out of the hug and kissed my mom lightly on the cheek. Then I noticed Shawn was still standing awkwardly next to the door. I laughed and motioned for him to join us.

"Shawn! It's nice to see you in real life instead of on a screen," Mom joked, yanking him into a hug now as well.

"Nice to see you, too," he replied, practically gasping for air through Mom's tight embrace.

Jon had gotten up at this point, and after Mom let go of Shawn, Jon clapped him on the back. "Welcome to the family. You'll fit in well," Jon said, pushing Shawn's hair over out of his eyes a little.

He was right. Shawn and Jon both had the same dark curly hair and facial construction (but Jon didn't have dimples), and if I didn't know better, I would have thought they were brothers.

Jon was still single, though I wasn't quite sure why. Personally, I thought he was far too handsome to still be single, especially at 25.

We stayed for dinner and played a few games, then left at about 9 because the little ones where getting tired.

As soon as we returned to our hotel room, Shawn and I laid down on the bed, exhausted from the long day. "I told you they would like you," I said in his ear. He gave a small smile in response.

We got ready for bed and both fell asleep quickly, our breathing in sync.

-----------

We stayed in Connecticut for a couple more weeks, letting Shawn get close to my parents and brothers. He treated everyone even better than...you-know-who did. He got along great with Christopher and Nina, and loved playing with them. He was just great with kids.

After we left Connecticut, we headed to upstate New York, where Shawn's family lived. Shawn had a younger sister and two younger brothers.

I got along pretty well with his siblings, Sarah, Nicolas, and Theodore. They were all so sweet and his parents were just adorable. They were all so excited when he told them we were engaged. Sarah was squealing at such a high pitch, I was sure if she went any higher, only dogs would be able to hear it.

After spending a couple weeks up there too, we headed back to NYC. I was getting a little stressed, because not only was the wedding coming up, but so were the Godspell auditions.

"Shawn, I'm just scared that they'll reject me again," I told him as we made our way to the audition center.

"Cathy, how many times have you practiced your audition song? 10 times a day for the past month, that's how many. Don't worry your pretty little head, okay? It'll be fine," Shawn said right before they called my name. "Good luck, and sing your heart out in there."

I gulped, nodded, and followed the caller to the audition room. Here goes nothing...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys! A little shorter than last chapter, but, hey, I tried. Cliffhanger on the audition! I used that scenario because I was in my school's production of Godspell this year and I got SUPER nervous at auditions.

Hey, anyone want to follow me on Instagram? My user is cathy_sings4u. I do A Capella covers of songs on there.

Another couple chapters guys! I'll probably go to 25 total, possibly counting the epilogue.

Please, vote, comment, and follow!!