Finally, at 5:30, Zac and Cara pulled into the driveway in front of his house. They were half an hour late, but glad to be there. Zac got out of the car and walked over to Cara’s side, opening her door.
“Are you ready to enter the mad house?” Zac asked, smiling. He took her hand as he helped her out of the car.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she responded. They walked to the front door and Zac pulled out his key and unlocked it. He let Cara go in first, the followed her, shutting the door behind himself.
“Mom, Dad! We’re here!” Zac yelled.
“Hold on a second, sweetie!” a female voice called from another room. Suddenly, a tall, blonde haired woman appeared, wiping her hands off with a dish towel. She was very pretty for someone being close to 50, with blue eyes that were shaped like Taylor’s, and Zac’s full mouth. “Zac!” She gave him a hug. “How are you, son?”
“I’m great!” he replied. “Mom, I’d like you to meet - .”
“Have you been doing your laundry?” she interrupted.
“Yes, Mom,” he answered, turning a little red. “Now, Mom, I’d like to introduce - .”
“And taking showers regularly?” she interrupted him again.
“Yes.” Zac’s face became even redder, causing Cara to start laughing. It was then that Diana noticed her presence in the room.
“Oh, mercy me! I’m sorry! Here I am asking you about laundry and showering, when you’re obviously trying to introduce me to your friend!” Diana exclaimed. “This must be Cara.”
“Yeah, Mom. This is Cara,” he said quietly.
“I’m Diana Hanson, Zachary’s mother,” the woman said. She shook hands with Cara.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Cara responded. “Zac’s told me so much about your family. I can’t wait to meet everyone.”
“Well, Zachary has told us all about you, as well, so I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” Diana said.
“Mom, where is everyone?” Zac asked.
“Isaac and Andromeda are at a doctor’s appointment. Andie’s having one last ultrasound done before the baby comes. She thinks the baby’s going to be a girl, while Isaac just swears it’s a boy. You know how they are. Always having opposite opinions on everything,” Diana said. Zac nodded, chuckling slightly. “Your father is out back, mowing the lawn. Taylor and the others are upstairs in the rec room watching a movie. As for your aunts, uncles, and cousins. They won’t be here until later this evening.”
“Alright. Well, I guess I’ll take Cara upstairs and introduce her to everyone,” Zac said. “We’ll get the luggage inside later.”
“Okay. Sounds good to me. But, I’ll just get your father to bring your things in, okay?” Diana suggested. Zac nodded. Diana turned to Cara again. “Once again, it was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to get the chance to talk to you more later. Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have to go finish cleaning up the kitchen.” She walked off leaving Zac and Cara looking at each other.
“C’mon. I want you to meet everyone,” he said, taking her hand. He led her upstairs and down the hallway to an open door. Inside the room sat five people watching Titanic: The Aftermath (This is a made up movie, maybe a sequel to Cameron’s Titanic. Okay?) “Hey, guys!” All five people looked up.
“Zackie!” a little girl with curly blonde hair exclaimed. She ran over to Zac, and he scooped her up in his arms. A little boy Cara assumed to be Mackie attached himself to Zac’s right leg. The other three just stood there staring. Out of those three, there was only one Cara recognized, and that was obviously Taylor.
“Hey, Zac.” Taylor said. At 20, he hadn’t changed much, except his features were more defined, his blond hair was shorter, and he’d gained some muscle, which showed through his cream-colored sweater. To any girl, he was definitely a sight for sore eyes. “Is this Cara?”
“Yeah. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand. “Taylor, I’m assuming?” He nodded, smiling.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he responded.
“Cara, this is Zoe,” Zac said, referring to the little girl he was holding. She looked at Cara for a moment, then buried her head in Zac’s shoulder. “She’s almost five, and she’s a little shy.”
“Obviously. And who’s this little guy on your leg here?” Cara asked, kneeling down to the little boy’s level.
“I’m Mackie, and I’m 10,” the little boy said quietly. He was the spitting image of Taylor, with long blond hair.
“Well, I’m Cara,” she said to him.
“You’re pretty, Cara,” he responded shyly. He looked up at Zac. “I like her, Zackie.” Cara blushed, laughing a little. She stood back up and turned to the two teenage girls.
“I’m Avery,” the smaller of the two teens said. She had short, wavy blond hair, and she looked more like Mackie and Taylor than she did Zac, Zoe, and the other girl. “I’m 13.” Cara shook her hand.
“And I’m Jessica,” the other girl said. “I’m 15.” This girl had long, wavy, platinum blonde hair, and she was almost as tall as Taylor. She also had the same striking brown eyes that Zac had. It was obvious that she was Zac’s sister, simply because her features were so much like his, as well as Zoe’s. Cara wondered how much each of them looked like Isaac, since he wasn’t there to compare them to. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Cara.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you all. Zac’s told me so much about each of you,” Cara said, smiling.
“Nothing bad, I hope,” Taylor said jokingly. Cara laughed. She was going to like being around these people.
