When they got back to the house, Judge Carlson pulled him aside. “Andrew, Heather Benson stopped by this afternoon. She left a box of things for you. I put them in the study, just in case,” he raised his eyebrows as he said this.
“Thanks grandpa,” he said smiling.
Sara had already gone upstairs to their room, so Andy went up after her. She was laying out her clothing for tonight, and looking radiant. He stepped into the door and leaned against the doorframe, carefully considering his fiancé. After a bit, he spoke.
“Heather Benson stopped by and dropped off a box of stuff. I have no earthly idea what’s in it,” he grinned. “If you would be so kind, we should probably go through it together.”
The walked arm in arm downstairs to the study, and Andy saw a cardboard box with the words ‘Drew Stuff’ written on the side. He walked over to it, and let out a long breath. “OK, here goes Pandora’s box,” he said nervously.
Inside were numerous Groton hockey t-shirts and sweatshirts. Sara held up one and giggled. “I guess I’m not the first hottie to sit in a freezing ice rink wearing ‘DeGroat 51’ on my back,” she smiled at him teasingly.
“No, Bellissima. But you will be the last,” he smiled at her.
As they continued deeper into the box, they found his USA Junior Worlds sweater. It was the white away jersey, and he smiled when he saw it. “I had no idea where that thing had gotten to,” he said appreciatively. They also found his silver medal from that tournament. “How ‘High School Harry’ is this? I gave her this when I told her I loved her for the first time. We’d just gotten back from Germany, and we hadn’t seen one another for 3 weeks.” He smiled as he remembered their reunion.
At the very bottom of the box were a series of cringe-worthy pictures — at least as far as Andy was concerned. Their prom pictures from their junior and senior years were there, as well as a photo of Drew and Heather kissing at a party with the state championship trophy on their laps. Sara giggled, and Andy grew increasingly uneasy.
“Sara, I’m sorry. I should not have asked you to come down here,” he said nervously.
She went and hugged him. “Baby, it’s OK. When you were being Captain Drew the Groton hockey stud, I was an awkward 13-year-old who had never heard of Colton College, The Groton School, or Andy DeGroat. I’ve got some old soccer stuff in the basement of the apartment, but none with my high school boyfriend. ‘Sara from the block’ didn’t rate that kind of treatment,” she giggled.
Just then, Eden and Kail walked past the door. “What up my bitches?” asked Kail as she stuck her head in the door. Sara giggled, and asked them both to come in. She gleefully showed them Andy’s prom pictures, and he was the butt of good-natured ribbing from their friends. Eden held up one of the t-shirts. “Wow, she wasn’t very big. No way she could be a Misfit,” she mused. “Andy, did you used to date midget dwarf women?” she asked him teasingly.
Sara giggled, “Andy’s worried that he should not have asked me down here to see this stuff. His old girlfriend — the one I told you about from last night — dropped it off today.”
“So, the high school version of Kisses kept all this stuff?” asked Kail.
Andy nodded. “There’s a couple of things I’m glad to have back, but she could have pitched most of this.”
“She probably didn’t want her current boyfriend to see her going through the box,” said Eden. “She had a whole box of heartbreak and didn’t know what to do with it.”
“Well, you did get to see 17-year-old Andy in his prom tuxedo!” said Sara giggling.
Andy retreated to his room while the three continued to look through the box. On his way out the door, he paused and asked, “Are the two of you set for dinner? I’m sure we can add you if you like,” he asked Kail and Eden.
“No joy, Dreamy. We’ve got nada to wear at some swanky Boston steak house, and besides, Priya and Juliette invited us to have dinner with the four of them,” explained Kail.
Eden went to him and kissed him on the cheek. “We’re fine, Captain,” she smiled. “Thanks for thinking of us.”
_______________________________________________________
“Judge Carlson, welcome back. It’s always a pleasure to see you and your beautiful family,” smiled the Maître D. He led the party of 9 to their table at Abe and Louie’s. Try as she might, Sara could not get used to the Secret Service entourage that had to accompany them given Aunt Jane’s presence.
As they walked back, Andy squeezed her hand and smiled at her. She felt so special to be with him — to be seen with her man and his family out in public. She was dressed very conservatively this evening; Ellen had given her a heads up on that front. But she still giggled when Andy looked at her appreciatively when she came down the stairs. He had ditched his gray suit for a navy one, and she could not believe how good he looked. The cut of this particular suit highlighted his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Plus, the navy set off his eyes in a way she found irresistible. She had never had to pay attention to men’s clothing sizes, but with Ellen’s tutelage, she knew Andy wore a 46 long in a jacket. More impressively, she learned, the drop from his suit coat to his suit trousers was 12 inches.
Andy held her chair out for her, and received a kiss on the cheek for his trouble. He then turned and did the same for his Aunt Jane. She too kissed him on the cheek. Jane leaned to Sara and whispered, “Sara, I can’t get over how lovely the two of you look together. You’re absolutely striking as a couple. To be honest, I can’t wait to see your children.”
Sara smiled at her, “I can’t wait to see them either. Two of the wives of Andy’s high school friends are pregnant. Between the two of them and Jessica, I’ve got baby fever pretty badly right now,” she admitted.
“Well, there’s no need to rush. Besides, you’ve got five years of school left,” she said lovingly.
“Maybe,” she said. “I think that’s one of the things we want to pick your brains about tonight. I may not be going to law school right away.”
“Well, I look forward to it,” smiled Jane. “And, before I forget — I want to do this quietly, dear.” She slipped her an envelope. “You and Andrew can open that when you get home. It’s your birthday gift. He’ll need to explain some of it, I’m afraid.”
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