Henry said the BBQ was casual, so I throw on a pair of nice jeans and a cute floral top that shows off my figure without being immodest. I pull my hair up into a loose bun and get the salad and cake packed into one of my reusable grocery bags so they'll be easy to carry.
I'm just stowing my phone in my small, gray purse when Henry arrives. He knocks and lets himself in, scooping the grocery bags off my arm before I can protest.
"Let's go," he says cheerfully, grabbing my hand and pulling me out to his car. We chat as we drive to the outskirts of Charlotte. He tells me a little more about his extended family, especially the aunt, uncle, and cousins who will be at the BBQ. We laugh and I share a few stories about my extended family, most of whom live in Idaho or Utah.
When we pull up to the large, white house, Henry is chuckling over an anecdote about one of my cousins who was an avid second-hand buyer, seller, and trader. He traded his vehicle to a friend for three old, broken down farm trucks, which he fixed up and traded for, among other things, $1000 and a gun.
"He sounds like quite a character."
"Oh, he's great," I agree with a laugh.
"Well, here we are. This is Aunt Hazel and Uncle Cory's place."
"It's beautiful." The white, Victorian-esque house sits on a large lot with a few willow trees and a number of well-tended flower beds setting off the stately home.
"Thanks. I'll grab the food and we can head in." He gets out and picks up the bags from their spot in the backseat while I get out and look around in admiration. Before we can head in, a woman comes walking quickly out the front door and catches Henry in a hug.
"Henry! You made it!" she exclaims in a deep Southern accent.
"Of course, Ma! I promised we would," he answers, awkwardly returning her hug while trying to keep the bags on his arm from hitting her.
She pulls away quickly and turns to me. "And you must be Lacy!"
"Yes! It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I say. Henry's mom is blonde and blue-eyed like he is, but smaller and more delicate. I hold out my hand for a handshake, but she pulls me into a quick hug.
"Call me Ellen. Nice to meet you too, sweetheart. Come on in and meet the rest of the family."
She pulls me with her into the house while Henry follows behind. Instead of stopping in the beautiful front room, she drags me right to the large, bright kitchen where a woman who looks very similar to Henry's mom is cutting vegetables on the large island.
"Look who's here," Henry's mom says. "It's Henry and his girlfriend, Lacy."
"Nice to meet you," I say with a friendly smile.
"Welcome, darlin'," Henry's aunt answers. "I'm Hazel. We're sure glad Henry convinced you to come. We've all been dying to meet you!"
"Thanks! It's good to meet you too."
"Well, my yahoos are all out back if y'all want to take your food out and get settled."
"We'll do that," Henry says, stopping to give his aunt a quick kiss on the cheek.
I follow Henry out the glass-paned double doors onto a large deck with a grill and a small patio set. On the nicely trimmed green lawn below the deck, two large tables are set up. One is already hosting a variety of dishes while the other is surrounded by chairs.
Henry takes our food to the table and sets it out, giving me an appreciative smile as he removes the covers.
"This looks wonderful," he says, pulling me to his side and planting a kiss on my head. "Thank you for making food. I'm sorry I couldn't help."
"I understand. We've both got crazy hours. I'm just glad you were able to get off for the barbeque."
"Me too." He pulls me along to the other table where a bunch of adults are already lounging in chairs. They all smile as we approach and the oldest of the men stands, reaching out to give Henry a hug.
"This must be the Lacy we've heard so much about," he says, smiling at me.
"Nice to meet you," I answer, holding out my hand. He uses my hand to pull me into a hug.
"I'm Cory. These are my sons, Devin and Hendrick." He motions to the younger men. They both look like younger copies of their father with the same tall, lean stature, dark hair, and friendly golden eyes.
"My daughter, Lila," he says, gesturing at one of the women who has Hazel's lighter hair and blue eyes with her father's taller, leaner build.
"My daughter-in-law, Ruth." Ruth is a tiny, curvy woman with black hair, dark skin, and a bright smile.
"And my son-in-law, Bryan." Bryan is only a couple inches taller than Lila with white-blond hair and dark eyes.
"Nice to meet y'all," I say, looking around with a friendly smile and hoping they can't tell how nervous I am."
They all chime their returned greetings in a jumbled of voices before Cory motions for them to quiet down.
"I'm sure we're all very happy to meet Henry's girlfriend. We're also here to celebrate Devin's new job," he says, motioning to the unmarried son. "He just started as an engineer for XYZed in Charlotte."
"I have a friend who works there," I say, thinking about Dante. It's been a while since I've seen him, though I still see Kim every Saturday. I make a mental note to set up a double date with Kim and Dante. She's been asking me to for a while.
We all sit back down and talk about Devin's job until Hazel and Ellen come out, carrying a few final dishes.
"Are the ribs done, Hun?" Hazel asks.
Cory stands. "I reckon so. I'll got fetch 'em." He heads to the smoking grill and transfers the ribs to a large plate, which he adds to the cluttered food table.
When he rejoins us at the table, he sits and joins hands with Hazel and Lila. Everyone else quickly joins hands and Hazel offers a prayer over the food. Tears prick my eyes at the reminder of home. I haven't had a big family prayer in a while.
After the prayer, we all migrate to the food table and load up plates with baked potatoes, ribs, a variety of salads, and fluffy homemade rolls. I settle into my seat while Henry heads back to snag us some of the strawberry lemonade at the table.
Once everyone is again seated, we all dig into our food. I'm between Henry and Ellen and across from Hendrick and Ruth. They dive right into the getting-to-know-you questions and I spend most of the meal telling them about Lovebird Café and about my work there. Somehow talking about the café leads to talking about Jeff and my recent war against him.
When I mention his visit to my house to berate me about the article, Henry's face darkens and his fists clench. I quickly change the subject to Hendrick and Ruth, asking them how they met and how long they've been married.
I finish my food and am preparing to go back for dessert when Henry stops me.
"Keep your tin foil," he whispers, looking at the crumpled ball of silver that was wrapped around my potato.
"Why?" I ask softly, confused.
"Just trust me, you'll need it."
I tuck the in foil next to my napkin and my drink with a shrug, then grab some dessert. On top of the cake I brought, there's also cheesecake and a surprising variety of cookies.
Soon everyone is eating dessert and I'm getting lots of compliments on my carrot cake. Ellen especially layers on the praise and tells me how long it's been since she had carrot cake and how much she's missed it.
"I can see why you own a restaurant," she says with a sigh. "You're so good with food! Your potato salad was amazing and this cake is to die for!"
"Thanks," I answer shyly. "I'm not really chef material, but I can follow a recipe."
"Don't be so modest," Henry admonishes me, then turns to his mom. "Lacy is an incredible cook. You should taste some of the food she's made me!"
I blush at all their praise and focus on my plate. It feels nice, but I'm not used to getting a lot of compliments on my cooking. Having been with a chef for so long, my food was never really on display.
Everyone slowly finishes their desserts and conversation at the table starts to wind down. I'm wondering what the plan for after dinner is when something smacks me in the shoulder. I look down in surprise and find a crumpled ball of tin foil on the ground under my chair.
"Tin foil fight!" Devin calls, diving behind his chair and launching his tin foil at his father. Suddenly understanding why Henry had me keep mine, I grab it from next to my drink and slide off my chair, peeking up to toss it at Ruth. Soon tin foil balls are flying in every direction and everyone is scrambling around, dodging shots and scooping up more ammunition to launch. There are no teams. It seems to be very much everyone vs. everyone.
As the shots slow down, I collapse next to Henry on the lawn, laughing so hard my ribs ache. Hendrick and Devin are the only ones still fighting, each of them hiding behind forts made from chairs and launching balls back and forth. Ruth and Lila are working to keep them supplied and Bryan seems to be the acting referee.
"That was so much fun," I gasp as Henry pulls me against him.
"I'm glad you liked it. I was a little worried that you might get upset. I didn't expect them to attack you first."
"It was just my shoulder. Shoulders grow back," I answer laughingly.
Henry furrowed his brow and chuckled in confusion.
"It's something my dad always says," I explain. "He's always telling us when we get hurt that random body parts grow back."
"Oh. That's funny." His chuckle is less confused this time.
"Your family is really great," I say, breaking into laughter again as Devin's chair fort collapses around him.
"Thanks. I think so too," he answers, leaning down to kiss my cheek.
"Well that's good."
"Yeah, I guess it is," he laughs.