No Longer Alone

Chapter Twenty-Nine

*Nicole's POV*

    "So we all need to go."

    "Yes, we all need to go."  I looked over my shoulder at my mom. "But if we take both your van and my car, if the girls get tired or you do, you should be able to leave at any time."

    "Did they explain why?  This makes no sense at all and I never saw anything like this when I worked there."  My mom wanders away from the bathroom where I am removing the make-up I had worn.  "I know what you said, and I am really not looking for an answer, this just seems odd over all."

    "You're telling me?  But hey, free food, and maybe some free entertainment depending on how things go.  I almost feel sorry for those two if they try and talk with Hannah or Marie."  I grin thinking about this.  Marie will probably talk one or both of them into a coma, and Hannah being Hannah will either decide she doesn't like them and cut them to shreds with her wit before ignoring them, or she will decide she does like them, and continuously cut them to shreds with her wit.

    "That could be entertaining, and you are right, seems like a win win.  These are the same two though that Jen was telling me about before?"  I nod and finish brushing my hair out again after having changed clothing.  The downside of long hair, it tangles every chance it gets, and it makes it's own chances. "Well, third benefit for me, eye candy to look at."  I laugh at her comment, and almost hope that Alex makes the wrong comment around her, that would be the best entertainment of the night.

       ****At the dinner****

    We walk into the room where the event is, and I have to smile a little seeing my friends with their families.  Rose is holding onto my hand while looking around, Marie is of course asking a million and one questions and talking almost nonstop, and Hannah is looking around quietly until she spots Nick and David chatting and speed walks over to give them hugs, followed by Marie.  

    There are tables set up around the edges of the room, with a large area open in the middle where it seems most of our team and their families are socializing for the moment.  Mom mentions that she is going to find a place to sit for the moment, and I nod, picking Rose up, settling her on my hip for the moment and head into the room to talk more with my co-workers.  David and Nick see me coming with Rose and nod to me.

    "This your youngest one?"

    "Yeah, I know you guys haven't met her yet, since she is gone on weekends when you come by to help me.  Rose, these are my friends David and Nick, I know them from work.  Guys this is Rose"  

    "Hi!  Mom can you put me down.  I want to go say hi to that boy.  Maybe he will be my friend."  Rose points at a little boy close to her age, and I smile setting her down, she's getting too heavy to hold for long anyways.

    "Sure, but stay in this room unless you grab Grandma or me to go with you."  Hannah takes this moment to lean her head on me before telling me that she is going to sit with Grandma, and Marie follows Rose to see other kids that are off in one area.

    "You seem to have your hands full.  Beautiful children you have, but three girls must be crazy to raise."  A voice I haven't heard before comments, and I turn to see a couple standing nearby.  They are an absolutely striking couple, his hair is mostly black with some silver, and dark eyes, while her hair based on the rich reds and browns showing may not be natural, but is still striking with her green eyes.

    "They may be a handful, but I wouldn't trade them for the world."  I respond with a sincere smile.

    "I can imagine, I only ever had one, and a son at that, but I can understand.  I'm Val, and this is my husband Xander."

    "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Nicole.  I take it you are here with VXB?  I must admit I only thought we had the two guests and none of our team was aware that there would be an event like this, was this sprung on you as well last second?"  The couple looked at each other and smiled a bit, something seemed a familiar about it but I brushed it off.  I'd been confused for someone else often enough to not worry about it.

    "We work with VXB, and fairly closely with Alex and Damian, so we are used to sudden changes with them.  The nice thing about having a grown child is knowing you can travel at a moment's notice if needed.  Alex felt we should be here for our own look on things and we came."  Xander said with a smile.  "He trusts our feelings on people and different markets."  

    I nod and look around just in time to see that Rose has forgotten the indoor rules in her excitement, and is playing a game of tag with the little boy.  I feel a bit nervous watching her when my concerns are proven right, she trips on her own feet and falls, her knee and palms hitting hard.  Shaking my head I head over to her, my kids may be klutzes that can trip on thin air, but I still have to make sure she is alright.  I get to her as she is picking herself up, and the tears are starting.

    "Hey love bug, is the floor picking on you?" Rose sniffles and nods the tears coming down.  "Anywhere really hurt?"  She nods and points at the knee that hit first and then holds her hands up with her palms facing me.

    "I don't wanna play that game anymore.  My leg hurts and my hands hurt.  I fell hard."  I nod sympathetically for a moment, before smiling and kissing the palms of her hands.

    "That's why I tell you not to run in buildings, the floor isn't as soft as grass is if you trip and fall."  Scooping her up in my arms I try to be careful of her knee until I can look at it, her hands not being too bad.  "You should listen when I tell you something.  But let's get you to Grandma so you can sit and I can take a look at your knee.  Maybe get an icepack for you so it won't hurt as much."

    "We got one for you, we kind of saw what happened."  I heard Val's voice and as I stood holding Rose, I turned to see that they had joined me, Val holding an ice pack wrapped in a towel.

    "She looks like she might be getting a bit hard to hold, if she doesn't mind I can carry her over to your mother for you."  Xander offered with a smile, and almost a kind of wistful longing.  I'm guessing their son hasn't given them grandkids or they live too far apart to visit them.  I glance down at Rose and she's looking at them, her knee temporarily forgotten.

    "She has pretty eyes, and he is big!  I'd get to be higher than when you carry me mom!  It's okay I wanna go HIGH!"  Rose looks excited as usual.  She is a pretty fearless child, and Val and Xander laugh at her comments as Xander reaches over to take her from my arms.

    "Thank you, young lady, you have very pretty eyes, too.  And yes, he is big!" Val responded to Rose with a smile looking to me to lead the way.  

    I nodded a thanks to them and found where mom had set herself a corner table with plenty of chairs, her and Hannah having a talk about something when she noticed me coming with company.   I was about to call out to her when I heard another voice that I was hoping to avoid tonight.

    "Mom!  Dad!  I didn't know you were coming tonight!"  Now I knew why things seemed familiar as I saw Damian approaching with Alex.