A warm and wholesome welcome

Darren walked me to his house.

"I don't know what to tell you to expect," he told me, "apart from Hellen hugging you. She's big on hugging. But I'd be grateful if you didn't get my family's hopes up, until you and Jess have had a good chance to discuss things."

I nodded. That seemed sensible. "That makes sense to me," I told him.

Darren smiled at me, a fraction more at ease. "Good man," he said to me. He opened the door.

"Hellen. We have company," he announced, not very forcefully.

Darren knew his wife well: he didn't need to call out loud when she was waiting just around the corner. She had a very slightly voluptuous build, on which a long floral dress was elegantly draped. Her red hair was tied in a bun but shone in the light just the same. She stepped into sight with a soft, hopeful smile.

"... Hello," she said. "Luke Sanders, I presume."

"That's right," I replied. "And you must be Hellen."

Hellen stepped towards me, and gently wrapped her entire upper body around me. Her warm chest pressed softly against me.

"I'm so happy you agreed to come," she said, with a slight sob. "Jess seems to think very highly of you. I hope that you can help us."

Darren cleared his throat. "Now, Hellen..."

Hellen pulled away, but took both of your hands. She looked to Darren. "I know, honey, I know. But a woman can hope." She looked to me, and beamed at me, squeezing my hands with excitement. "Just let me have my moment with Luke," she added, pulling me back into a warm, soft hug. She breathed deeply, sighing.

"I hope you didn't have anywhere to be in the next hour," a young male voice said.

Hellen pulled away again, and turned to the source of the voice, which turned out to be a young man with brown hair. She put her hands theatrically on her hips. "Maxwell Peter Gale," she scolded him without anger, "I will thank you to be respectful to our guest."

The boy smirked, without malice. "Hi, I'm Max," he said. "It's good to meet you." He extended a hand.

"Luke Sanders," I replied. I shook his hand. His grip was warm and friendly.

"Everyone has been hoping you'd come," Max reported. "I'm pretty curious myself. I... guess you know that I don't understand it, but I hope that I can learn, somehow."

I nodded. "We'll see. I'm not an expert in Conceptual Neglect, but I hear that Jess has been working on some ideas."

Max nodded. "She's been looking forward to today for months. It's been... a bit odd at times. I hope that you'll forgive her if she acts a bit intense today."

I knew a bit about how Jess could be, actually. I'd encounter her from time to time in study areas, where she might be doing anything from tensely cajoling a study partner to grasp some concept, to forgetting that the outside world even existed. But outside of her studying, I always found her pleasant to talk to.

"I'm sure things will go okay. Let's just see what she has to say."

Darren looked to Hellen. "Should we call her down?"

Hellen shook her head. "We'll call her for lunch if we need to. She's been thinking about today for a long time. Let's give her a little while longer to be ready."

There was a sound of feet on the carpeted stairs. "Is he here?" a young, high- pitched voice asked.

"Kelley," Darren called back firmly, "come introduce yourself to our guest."

A slightly smaller version of Hellen came into sight, wearing a loose-fitting yellow dress that came just past the knee. She looked to be a couple of years older than Max. Unlike her mother, her red locks curled slightly and hung down to her shoulders. Her chest was substantial, and I was surprised to see that the top couple of buttons were undone. This, I discovered when she did a low courtsey, opening up her cleavage more than I'd usually expect at a conservative family home.

"I'm Kelley," she said. "You must be Luke," she said, standing back up. "It's nice to meet you." She offered her hand, palm down.

I took her hand, and kissed it gently. "It's nice to meet you too," I replied. Kelley giggled, and Darren and Hellen chuckled.

Hellen looked to you. "I'm making a roast for Sunday dinner. I hope that's alright," she said uncertainly, eager to impress.

"Mrs. Gale," I told her, "I'm a University graduate student, and grateful for an invitation to lunch. I'm sure that I would enjoy anything you put your mind to in the kitchen," I assured her.

The Gales laughed gently, apart from Hellen. "I won't have you calling me Mrs. Gale. I'm grateful that you agreed to come talk to Jess. 'Hellen' is fine." She smiled at me again, and gave me another big hug. "It really is good to meet you, Luke. I'm looking forward to our family conversation after lunch." She let me go again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare in the kitchen."

Darren looked to Max, Kelley, and me with a tentative smile. "Shall we go to the livingroom?" he said, more of an instruction than a question.

We sat down on the sofas, and chatted a little about University studies and interests. Darren listened, not intruding on the discussion between us 20-somethings but making sure that things went smoothly.

After some time, the commotion in the kitchen started to build. Darren stood up, and Max and Kelley automatically followed suit. I stood as well.

"Max, Kelley, please help your mother set the table. I'm going to retrieve your sister."

"I'm coming," said a familiar voice at the top of the stairs, as footsteps started padding down. Soon, Jess came into sight.