As Seen On TV

22. Sweet Home Colorado

The heavy door swung open to reveal a large, beautiful blonde woman, a burly, bearded man clad in a red flannel who looked eerily similar to Andrew, two short boys with ash-blond curls and startling blue eyes, and a large black dog that immediately pounced on me.

The thing must've weighed at least 100 pounds, and, standing on its hind legs, it was almost as tall as me. I stumbled backwards, both from the weight and the shock, as the dog licked at my hands curiously and panted.

"Hendrix! Down, boy! Down!" The bearded man shouted out, and the dog eventually got off of me and ran back inside the house, shaking snow that had accumulated in his fur during his brief stint outside all over the front area of the house.

"Well?" The woman looked at me, beaming expectantly, a genuine and welcoming twinkle in her blue eyes. They were the same eyes as those of the two little boys who were staring up at me in fascination. Her blonde hair shone so brightly under the porch lights that it looked almost artificial. "Come on in out of the cold, dear! We're all so excited to meet you!"

I stepped over the threshold carefully, and was immediately engulfed in a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm Ada Mae, Andrew's mother. It's so, so delightful to finally meet you," she said it with sigh of relief, sounding so content that I fully believed her. Her voice was honey-sweet, falling over the consonants and vowel sounds in ways I had only heard in old Southern movies. If it wasn't for the fact that Andrew had told me that his parents were originally from Georgia, I would have said she was faking a Southern accent; it was that exaggerated.

Normally, I would find this annoying, but, in conjunction with her sweet, rounded face and her loving attitude (along with the fact that she was my new boyfriend's mother), I now only found it endearing.

Andrew came in behind me, closing the door and taking off his coat, offering to take the light jacket I had brought. It was actually the only thing I'd brought- I was now regretting just how much I had underestimated the temperature change from California to northern Colorado.

The bearded man stepped forward. He was slightly taller than Andrew, but they had the same solid build and broad shoulders. This man's hair was slightly more brown than red, but still had a russet tinge to it.

"Theodore Hastings, the second. But my friends just call me Teddy. And these knuckleheads all call me Junior. I'll let you decide which you'd prefer," Here, he winked. His voice lacked the syrupy sweet Southern twang of Ada Mae's, and instead was gruff and clipped, the type of voice you would associate with a man who doesn't like to use more words than absolutely necessary. "You could frankly call me anythin', just so long as you don't call me after 12. My newborn will be sleeping. Ever so pleased to meet you," the man took my hand and kissed it, bowing to me in a mock old-fashioned gesture. Andrew bristled beside me.

"Alright, brother, that's quite enough. I'd like to think I could at least introduce my girl to my family without you trying to make a move on her first."

"You forget that I'm already married. Rach would damn well cut my eyes out if I so much as glanced at her."

"Better for you if she did, then maybe you wouldn't have to be so disappointed every time you look in the mirror," Andrew responded, only half-jokingly. I tensed, unsure of the relationship that the two had. But I relaxed as both men began to laugh, deep, chest-rumbling laughs, before they embraced and slapped each other on the back heavily. You could just feel the testosterone in the room.

"And I'm Carter!" said one of the smaller boys, making their way timidly around their mother to look up at me in wonder.

"And I'm Cooper!" said the other, smiling widely. They were incredibly adorable. I hadn't realized it until that moment, but I hadn't seen any younger people, much less small children- nor had I interacted with them- in a very long time. My younger sister, Olivia, was a senior in high school, and she hadn't been small in a while. On the show, I was always spending time with people my age and older. And- for some admittedly odd reason- there didn't seem to be very many children at all in California.