33. Meg: Meeting the Siblings

Chapter thirty-three

Meg – Meeting the Siblings

Once everyone is enjoying their drinks and each other's company, Chef Thomas calls us all to find our seats when he serves the meal of the most tender barbecued chicken, rice, seasoned cabbage, and buttery sweet rolls. After dinner is done, Mia turns on music and the guests go back to mingling with as many people as possible.

Drew and I are passed around to everyone several times with well wishes on the wedding, our marriage, and everything after that. It's not until I feel someone come up behind me that the cycle stops for a moment.

"I get dibs on her next!" Mona says as she links her arm around mine, pulling me away from Mia and Susan, the front desk clerk. "You've all had plenty of time to catch up."

"Fair enough," Drew says as he kisses the back of my hand before letting Mona lead the way outside where it's much quieter.

"I don't mean to pull you away like this, but I know how busy you're going to be tomorrow," Mona says, as she and I find a quiet spot just outside the inn to talk.

"That's okay," I assure her. "I'm really happy you were able to fly in. I know how much it means to Drew that all his siblings are here."

"Me too. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've seen my little brother this happy. I had to meet the girl responsible." She smiles.

"You know, Troy said something along those lines too, about seeing Drew this happy. Has he always been so…"

"Stubborn? Uptight? A stick in the mud? Yes, for longer than I think he'd ever admit," Mona chuckles. "But then he met you and you seem to have had quite the effect on him."

"As much as I'd love to take all the credit, I know that being somewhere like the beach has to add some magic to the mix. Do you know why he was so grumpy before?" I ask.

She lets out a long breath. "Well, despite the appearances of the family name, Drew hasn't always had the best time finding and keeping people he cares for. He's been the lone wolf type for most of his life."

"What do you mean?"

"He unfortunately learned early in life that people can suck and a lot of them often have a hidden agenda when they find out you're from a certain family," she starts.

"Every time he thought he'd found a genuine friend or even a girlfriend for that matter, they all ended up trying to gain something from him."

"At one point, I think it was his freshman year of high school, he decided to only focus on schoolwork and nothing else. He didn't want to make friends or go out with new people. He just studied and that was it. College was no different."

"Really? I thought he would have been the fraternity kind of guy at one point," I say.

"Funny you should mention that." Mona winks as she finishes her wine. "He always hated that he automatically got hit with the rich kid stereotypes, and the frat guy partying with daddy's money didn't amuse him. He never drank in college, and when he did, if he did, it was always in private."

"You're kidding. That surprises me, Mona, really?"

"Yep," she shakes her head. "Even now, he'll have a glass of wine over a family dinner but he won't risk having paparazzi snap a shot of him with anything but water in his hand in public."

"I had no idea," I reply. Thinking back, Drew never ordered drinks during any of our dates, even when we went to the pub. Even tonight, he only had one cocktail, sticking with water the rest of the evening.

"And if it wasn't the stereotypes keeping him in check, it was our father. He told us that everything we do is a reflection on the company and the Bellamy name. Drew has always had to prove himself to either our dad or his peers."

"Yeah, I guess it would be pretty hard to loosen up with those kinds of expectations," I nod. "It makes sense that he didn't mention having many friends before."

"We all had some friends leave us after our parents died," she explains. "Our supposed family friends made their intentions very clear when they realized they couldn't get what they wanted from our parents after they died. That, of course, everything would be split among their four kids, the company included.

Suddenly, they knew it was useless to try to get their hand in the cookie jar when you have four people to get through instead of two."

"Oh, my gosh, that's terrible." I shake my head, thinking of how alone Drew must have felt nearly his whole life. "So, he really only had his siblings, huh? I can actually relate to that. Mia and I have been each other's rock for as long as I can remember."

"Siblings are good like that, aren't they?" she agrees.

"So, it was just the four of you then?"

"Pretty much, but it wasn't all bad, I promise," she says. "Because of Drew, the company grew to what it is today, and that's something. But I'm glad to see him finally loosen up and get away from work. He acts like it's his whole life. He can be a bit stubborn that way," she chuckles.

"I can't say I've seen too much of that," I admit.

"Oh, you'll see more of it soon, but in little batches," Mona says, holding her thumb and forefinger together.

"How so?"

"Drew is the kind of guy who will go along with most things as long as it makes sense to him. However, when something comes up and he doesn't feel right about it, or wants to take a different direction, he'll argue for it. He rarely does it unless he's in negotiations for something. If Drew won't fight for something within the company, it gets passed over for something he will."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," she nods. "He won't fight you on a lot of things but if he does, it means he's thought about it a lot, and really cares about what he's fighting for. Once he's at that point, he's relentless in getting what he wants.

"That's why I had to meet you and find out who this girl is and why he is so insistent on fighting for the inn."

It was at this moment that it finally made sense as to why Drew fought so hard to get me back after he told me who he really was, that he lied about his name, and his reason for being at the inn.

He could have just let me go, forgotten about me and the inn altogether, and moved on with his life but instead, he fought tooth and nail to make things right.

If he fights for something, it means he really cares about what he's fighting for.

Mona continues: "You know, I've admired Mom's ring since I was a little girl. I was almost heartbroken when she said it was going to the girl Troy marries. I always wondered what kind of girl would end up wearing Mom's ring one day." She smiles, nodding to the engagement ring. "I think it's no coincidence that you would share similarities with her."

"What do you mean?" I ask, pressing my thumb into the inside of the band as it turns around my finger.

"Our dad was stubborn—even more stubborn than Drew—but our mom always knew how to handle him. She brought the fun out of him when he tried staying in grumpy businessman mode when he came home from work.

I don't know how she did it but seeing her bring out that smile in him was like magic." She grins, and I wish I could witness the memory. "It's interesting to see you have that same magic that she did."

"You think so?" I smile at the ring, thinking how wonderful it would have been to have known Drew's mother.

"She was also a bit of a hippie at heart. Her favorite place was the beach," Mona adds. "Hell, she probably had something to do with bringing him here from beyond the grave," she giggles.

"I guess it's true that men find women who are similar to their mothers," I chuckle.

"It's easy to see why he fell in love with you so quickly. I'm really grateful he found you, Meg."

"Me too, and I am so happy to be getting to know all of you as well. Mona, I've really enjoyed getting to know you and hear some insights on this wonderful man I'm going to spend my life with."

"Wow, I have two more sisters!" I can't resist a big hug for Mona as we walk back inside.