Double Lines
Chapter Eleven - Family Reunion

I dressed Tyler in this cute little outfit to meet my parents. It was a two-piece, with tan cotton shorts and a white short-sleeved dress shirt (Can you call it a blouse? Or do girls only wear blouses and boys dress shirts?). The outfit came with suspenders and a cute white and blue striped bow sewn to the collar.

“Awe, what a cutie!” Melina grins, peering over the changing table at Tyler.

“Did you pack a spare?” She then asks.

“Yes!” I smile, shaking my head. I always pack changes of clothes for Tyler. One time, Melina and I went to the mall to shop, and he did the biggest, wateriest… do I need to explain, or can you picture it? You can? Awesome. Anyway, as we were out, I couldn’t bathe him. Instead, Melina and I went to great lengths to wipe his body with baby wipes, trying to clean him in the mother’s room. And I had changes of clothes for him. Thank goodness! See, didn’t take the lord’s name in vain this time, wink wink. It was a nightmare!

I place a bib around his neck, sad that it now covers his cute bow. I pout.

“That was a let-down,” Melina comments.

“I know, right?” I agreed.

Melina grabs my nappy bag as I pick up Tyler, and we head for the car.

My parents booked a hotel to stay in for their visit, and we were meeting them at the hotel’s main restaurant for lunch.

Melina parks her car in the underground carpark and helps me set the pram up. It takes two to set up those prams; they’re not easy. I can’t wait until Tyler’s big enough to sit in an umbrella pram; those things look so lightweight.

“Does David own this hotel?” I ask, giving Melina a quizzical look.

“Maybe,” she blushes.

“Hmm,” I muse, pushing Tyler towards the lifts.

“Be quiet, you,” Melina says, making me smile. I love teasing Melina about David. He is absolutely head over heels for her, which anyone can see. But Melina is holding back. I know he’s already asked her to move in, but she’s said no.

Melina revealed to me after they first got together that she overheard the women at some snobby function they went to talking about her and calling her a gold digger. Yes, Melina doesn’t come from money like David, but she owns her own business and the building it’s in. I think that is pretty amazing. Regardless of those accomplishments, it still embarrassed Melina that others would think of her like that because Melina is not like that at all.

The elevator dings and opens into the hotel’s foyer.

“Welcome to the Summit!” a woman greets us as we walk out.

“Hello. Which way is the restaurant?” Melina asks.

“Just down the hall and to your left. It has a beautiful view of Brunswick Park,” the woman states.

“Thank you,” Melina and I both reply. The woman grins at us as we take her directions.

“This place is impressive,” I state, taking in the place’s ambience. The floors are a deep ruby red, and dark wood panels line the hallway.

“Have you been here before?” I ask. Melina laughs.

“Yes,” she replies.

“Oh,” I say, lost in the woodworking in the ceiling above me.

Tyler starts to babble, and I look away from the environment around me, seeing Melina and David hugging.

“Hi, David,” I greet, leaving the pram and walking over to him.

“Hello, Kaela,” David says, kissing me on the cheek before bending down to pram height to say hello to Tyler.

“Let’s go. Your sister is here,” David says, standing up and looking at Melina lovingly. I smile; I love watching them together. Melina absolutely besotted David, and I know Melina loves him.

David takes Tyler’s nappy bag off the pram as we walk towards the maître d.

“Welcome, Sir,” the maître d greets, “Your party is at the table already. Would you like me to walk you?” the man asks politely.

“No, thank you, Spencer, we’ll be fine,” David nods. The maître d looks surprised that David knows his name, but I know that that’s David. He tries to get to know all his employees.

I follow behind David and Melina as we walk through the restaurant. The restaurant is beautiful, with see-through shelves displaying different stemware inside and tall open wine racks. Everything has clean lines designed to let as much outdoor light in as possible. Tables were strategically spaced apart for privacy, each with a plush rug underneath. The restaurant was lit by a soft glow, and the floor-to-ceiling window looked towards Brunswick City Park.

Melina and David pause, and I see Mum stand up and hug Melina. I look over at David, who locks eyes with me and smiles. I’m not sure how much David knows, but he doesn’t seem surprised by all this happening. Dad stands up and walks over to David, shaking his hand. It’s Nichola who sees me first.

“Mikaela?” Nichola says excitedly. My sister walks over to me and envelopes me in a hug.

“Hey Nicky, you’ve gotten bigger,” I smile. Nichola had grown at least two or three centimetres and had longer hair.

“Micky Mack?” Mum says, making me groan.

“Hi, Mum,” I smile, pulling away from Nichola to give her a hug. Mum has cut her hair since I saw her last; it now sits at her shoulders, and I notice she’s made an effort to put a bit of a curl through her thick strands.

“I missed you,” Mum says, giving me a hug. I hug her back and then am hugged by my dad as well.

“Mikaela,” Dad says as he hugs me. I take their scents in. There’s nothing like getting a hug from your parents; they smell like home.

“Is this your baby? Can I hold him?” we hear Nichola in the background. My parents let go of me to look at their grandson.

“Mum, Dad, this is my son, Tyler,” I introduce them. Mum squats down to get a better look at him. Tyler grins his gummy smile and babbles at my Mum, who looks just like Melina but with shorter hair.

“You’re right; he looks nothing like Noah,” my Mum comments. I nod. Tyler looks like his father, except his eyes are blue.

“Can I hold him?” Mum asks.

“Oh! I was going to ask that!” Nichola cries, making Melina and I laugh. I nod and watch as Mum unstraps Tyler and picks him up.

Tyler giggles and buries himself into Mum’s neck, only to pull away and make a face at her.

“You mustn’t smell like me,” Melina says. Tyler makes another face and turns to look at Melina. His mouth drops open when he sees her before turning to look at Mum.

We laugh as we watch him turn from Mum to Melina and back, confused.

“Let’s sit down. I’m getting hungry,” David announces.

“Yes, let’s,” Dad agrees, touching my shoulder and steering me toward the table. Mum and Melina sit beside each other, and I sit between Nichola and David. A high chair has been put between David and me, where I sit Tyler.

“How old is Tyler now?” Nichola asks.

“He’s almost five months old.”

“Is he eating food?” she asks.

“Of course, he eats food,” I laugh.

“No… food like you and me eat?”

“That’s called solids. No, he’s not eating solids yet,” Melina comments. Nichola nods, looking at Melina.

“I can’t believe how alike you and Mum are,” Nichola says. Melina nods.

“I agree,” David comments.

“Thank you for helping Micky with this, Mel. You didn’t have to,” Mum says, looking at her sister.

“She’s family, I had to. Plus, you called her Mikaela. Thank you for that,” Melina replies.

“That was Pam’s idea,” Dad adds, smiling. Melina nods.

“Well, thank you,” she says.

After deciding what we wanted to eat, the waiter took our orders. David politely asks how Mum and Dad’s trip was here, which they tell us. They then talked about the reception at the hotel when they arrived. They had booked a single room with two beds, but when they checked in, they were told they had been upgraded to the presidential suite for free.

“Thank you,” I mouthed David as Mum and Dad discussed the upgrade. David just nods in response.

“You should see it, Mick; it has three bedrooms. I have my own bathroom attached to my room. And my room has its own ranchslider to the balcony that goes right around the suite!” Nichola gushes.

“It sounds cool,” I smile.

“Can you come over and see it?” she then asks. I look over at Melina, who shrugs.

“We can do that. I want to spend some time with you before you go,” I say.

“We could have a girl’s day, do some shopping, get our nails done,” Mum suggests. Melina nods, but I look down at my fingers, thinking.

“Nichola, what are your plans for university?” David asks. I smile. Nichola is four years younger than me and in her final year at high school.

“I’m doing a degree in English at Western City University next year,” Nichola says proudly.

“That’s interesting. What field are you looking into?” David asks.

“I’m not sure,” Nichola shrugs, “I was thinking a proofreader or book editor? I love to read, but Mum wants me to look at writing,” she continues.

“Nichola has had some of her stories published in the school magazine; she’s very talented,” Dad says as Mum smiles proudly.

“Really? They accepted some of your stories?” I ask. Nichola loves writing. When she started high school, she wrote a story about Fanta and Coke having a fight. Coke won.

“Congratulations, Nichola,” Melina says.

“Yes, congratulations. I would love to read your stories. I know the owner of Pinnacle Publishing. He’s always looking for bright young staff,” David says.

I raise my eyebrows at David when he says he knows the owner of Pinnacle Publishing, and Melina just watches him with a smile. He knows the owner, alright, because he is the owner.

“Seriously? I would love that!” Nichola exclaims.

“I would be happy to pass your details on,” David says.

“Thank you!” Nichola grins.

“Yes, thank you,” Dad adds.

Tyler gets cranky halfway through lunch, and I have to leave for the mother’s room to feed him. I can’t wait till he’s six months old and on solids so that I can wean him off breastmilk. I know they say breast is best, but it’s a big lie when they tell you it’s cheaper than formula. I swear I have spent more money on nursing pads than one would on formula. They’re uncomfortable, itchy and move in your bra. Although I’d rather wear nursing pads than walk around with two wet patches on my shirt.

After lunch, we retreat to my parent’s presidential suite. It is bigger than I imagined, with a stocked bar and even a fireplace.

“This place is cool,” I say in awe.

“I know, right?” Nichola grins.

David left us to return to work, but Melina stayed and spent the afternoon catching up with Mum, who had brought our baby albums to show her. When Tyler got cranky again, I fed him in the spare room and put him down to sleep in the middle of the bed with a pillow on each side of his body.

“We thought we’d order room service for dinner. Are you both keen to stay?” Dad asks us as he walks out onto the balcony. After I had put Tyler down for his sleep, I ventured out to the balcony with Nichola and joined Mum and Melina.

“I’ll text David, but it sounds like a great idea,” Melina replies. Nichola nods. She makes me laugh; one of the things she brought out to the balcony with her was the room service menu. Melina, being a foodie, discussed with Nichola all the unfamiliar items on the menu that Nichola hadn’t heard of.

“What did you guys order?” I ask when two bellboys wheel in trolleys laden with food. Nichola and Melina look at the floor with guilty looks on their faces.

“I… just… wanted to try a few things?” Nichola admits.

“Oh gosh, I hope this doesn’t come out on our bill,” Mum says, looking worried.

“Don’t worry about that. I paid for it. And there should be plenty leftovers for tomorrow,” Melina explains.

“Did you pay for this?” Mum asks.

“Yeh, es…” Melina replies, looking shyly at Mum.

“Well, I’m hungry,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

“You’re always hungry,” Nichola comments.

“She’s breastfeeding; leave her alone,” Mum chides.

“Did someone say food?” David says, walking into the room behind Dad.

“Yes. Let’s eat!” Melina smiles.