My Heart's in Alabama

21 - Kiersten

The crew and I huddle around the front-facing window, the one towards the road. Omg, come on, I think, put the pedal to the metal, girl. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. It's definitely a car and it's definitely coming our way. My heart jumps out of my chest. It's a blue car. It's a blue car!!

"Is that him?" I say, practically jumping out the window.

"Is it a BMW?" Drew asks excitedly from the couch.

He opted out of crowding around the window and took the much more dignified approach of watching from the Ring camera.

"How the hell should I know?"

Drew opens his mouth to say, most likely to dive into all the nuanced details of the manufacturing and distinctive trademarks of a BMW, but by that point it doesn't matter. The car slows out front and pulls into the driveway.

He's here. He's really freaking here.

I bolt out of my seat, push through the gang, not caring who I elbow out of the way. No one, no how is stopping me from seeing my Matty.

I run towards the door, whip it open, and full-on sprint towards Miss Chloe's car. The second he steps out the passenger side, I wrap my arms around him tight and tackle him to the ground like a linebacker.

I don't think he quite grasps what's going on at first, but it doesn't take long for him to wrap his arms around me right back and for both of us to break out into a fit of laughter. There's a brief little moment where we both catch our breath and he stares up at me in the sweetest, longing way.

"Hey, Kiers," he says softly and tucks my hair behind my ear.

My heart flutters. My life is a movie.

"Hey, Matty."

We get one more second to ourselves living in our own little cinematic experience before the rest of the crew comes barreling over to us and jumps on top of us dog-pile style.

"Oof, get off of me, will ya?"

Matt groans between the laughs, but I know he's loving every second of it.

"Good to have you back, buddy," Sal says, ruffling his hair as we all start to slowly peel away.

"We missed ya, kid," says Teddy.

"You owe Kiersten a lot of date nights, mister," Whitney warns.

"And a strawberry milkshake," adds Bridgette and playfully bumps him on the shoulder.

Matt pulls himself off the ground, smiling shyly as he dusts himself off. At that moment, we become acutely aware that we're being watched. Standing on the porch with a wistful smile on his face is Mr. Purdy. And standing next to him is the birthday boy.

"Drew! What are you waiting for? Get over here!"

With Matt's permission, an unusually timid Drew takes off like a rocket to his big brother. He jumps up into his arms and gets the biggest bear hug of his life. You can feel in that moment every bit of brotherly love that they missed out on while Matt was away. It was all coming back to them in full force, making up for lost time.

"Happy Birthday, buddy," Matt says softly in Drew's ear before setting him back on solid ground.

Drew takes a moment to cherish the reunion with his brother and then jumps back into excited birthday mode.

"Come on, you gotta see inside!"

Drew runs back to the house with us following behind. He steals Matt away, which I'm only a little jealous of, but hey, gotta give the kid his moment. He takes Matt all round, proudly pointing out every detail and decoration. It doesn't take long for Carrie and Marcie to emerge and join in on the fun. Me and the gang settle in the living room and wait out for our turn with Matt.

"Wait a second," Whitney says and looks around suspiciously. "Where's Mr. Purdy and Miss Chloe?"

Hmmm...we all think to ourselves. Now we look around and she's right. They're nowhere to be found.

"I'm gonna find 'em," Whitney says with pure, unadulterated nosy determination.

"Whit." I grab her by the sleeve knowing I've gotta slow this train before it leaves the station straight into crazy town.

But there's no stopping her. There's gossip in the air and she's sniffing it out like a bloodhound.

"They're probably just outside bringing Matt's stuff in," Teddy says, ever the voice of reason.

"You know what? You're probably right. It's the perfect cover. They're hiding away in plain sight. Away from everyone else - alone - but out in broad daylight so they don't arouse suspicion."

She quickly positions herself by the window, pulls the blinds to cover herself, opens up one singular blind and peaks out.

"Yep, they're out there all right."

Now she's got Bridgette sucked in.

"What are they doing?" She asks with bated breath.

"Talking."

"Oh, brother," Teddy groans.

"Shoot, they're coming this way."

Whitney abandons ship, turns on a dime, and ✨acts casual ✨.

When Mr. Purdy and Miss Chloe walk in, everyone kind of just..stops. And stares. Matt's eyes particularly are drawn to the two of the same together. I don't think he's even seen his dad in the same vicinity of another woman in at least 5 years. As we know, Mr. Purdy is a very, to a fault, loyal man. Or should I say was. He ain't looking too dedicated to Emily now with Miss Chloe's bag on his shoulder and his arms full of every last bit of what was in the car, sparing her from having to carry a single thing. Not gonna lie, it's big-time cute. Such a gentleman he is.

"Uh," Mr. Purdy stutters a bit, breaking the tension with full knowledge that everyone is watching him. "Where do you want me to put your stuff?"

"Um," Matt says, still in a state of shock at the sight. "Over there is fine."

Slowly, Mr. Purdy drops Matt's stuff on the floor. The awkward tension is at an all-time high. Cute as it is, I gotta admit, it is a little strange having Miss Chloe in the Purdy house, especially on such a special day. I think we all recognize the meaning behind it. It's more than her just coming to the party for some cupcakes. It's Mr. Purdy inviting her into his and his kid's lives.

"Do you want something to drink Miss Chloe?" Drew asks, breaking the tension once more.

"Oh, shit," Mr. Purdy mutters. "I'm sorry. I should have asked. You've had a long drive. I'm not being a very good host."

"Oh, that's okay. Maybe just some water?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure."

Mr. Purdy ducks out of the room into the kitchen, happy I think to escape his own embarrassment. Again, I gotta say him being shy and awkward around a girl like he clearly has a massive crush on? Big-time cute.

"You can sit down if you want," Drew says. "I'm just waiting for my friends to get here."

Miss Chloe gives a polite thank you and goes to sit down, but then right on cue, Drew's friends come barreling through the front door like a pack of wild animals.

"No way! Pixie Sticks?!?" Theo, Teddy's younger cousin and Drew's left-hand man, screams at the top of his lungs mer milliseconds through the door.

He lunges at the candy table with all 5 boys following ravenously behind. Miss Chloe takes a gentle step back as the boys literally start shoving their faces full of candy. Like full on shoving. She seems a tad shocked, maybe a bit concerned, but also incredibly entertained. Something tells me she's never been to a birthday party quite like this before.

All I can think is, Miss Chloe, you're in the jungle now, baby.