We were the first to arrive, since we were so early. When Seth offered to get me a beverage, I said, “Just water, please.” He nodded and left me standing alone in the doorway. My hands were clammy with nervousness. When I heard footsteps coming up behind me, I could tell by the gait that it wasn’t Seth.

“Abby,” Seth’s mother, Janice, said politely. “So glad you could join our family today.” She enunciated the words ‘our family,’ as if pointing out that I wasn’t part of it. I wondered for the thousandth time what she would think about my baby joining ‘her family.’

“Thank you so much for having me.” I returned her brittle smile, and we stood there awkwardly for what seemed like an eternity. I was just wondering where the hell Seth had gone to get my ice water, when he finally returned.

Janice’s face lit up in true happiness when she greeted Seth. They hugged and started chatting. Just then, Jessie, Seth’s usually friendly sister arrived and warmly hugged her mother and brother. “Hello,” she said stiffly to me.

“Hi Jessie,” I smiled at her, but she did not return the gesture.

“Where’s Katiedid?” Seth asked her, obviously disappointed that his niece wasn’t there.

“She’s with her dad today,” Jessie responded. At Seth and Janice’s surprised looks, she elaborated. “It’s not his normal day, but he wanted to take her to his new church. He’s been pretty reasonable lately, so I figured it would be a nice gesture to be a little flexible with the schedule.”

“How out-of-character and oddly nice of you,” Seth teased her.

“Yeah, well, now he owes me,” she grinned at him.

“Ah, the truth comes out,” Seth responded.

The siblings stopped ribbing each other abruptly as Sutton Davis, the patriarch of the family, entered the room. His powerful presence literally changed the way the room felt. I didn’t know how to describe it because I’d never encountered anything like it before. It must be similar to how it would feel being in the presence of a President or other great leader. All eyes in the room were focused on him. “Hello, everyone,” his booming voice filled the entire space.

He strode over and took a seat at the head of the table. That must have been the queue for us to sit down because we all followed suit. Seth and I sat beside each other with our backs to the door, which would not have been my preference, although it would make it easier to bolt out of here, if needed.

I looked around the table. To my left, sat Mr. Davis. Janice was seated at the other end of the table, next to Seth. Jessie was on her mother’s other side, directly across from Seth. Beside Jessie and across from me were two empty chairs with place settings.