They were in dense clouds, circling over Kennedy airport for a landing. Maya was in the middle seat of the three they filled. Her twitching and wiggling had not ceased the whole flight except for a short nap. Allie and Jeff had a drink with their meal, but teased Maya about being drunk when she met Robin for the first time. She punched both of them and had one anyway. Maya was drawing all the attention, but Allie was nervous too. Earnest and Diane Lansdowne had insisted on driving from New Haven to pick them up, so the first meeting was only minutes away. When Robin found out about the pickup at the airport, he took a break from training and jumped in the big SUV as well. Jeff and Maya were keeping this a secret.
As soon as they landed, Jeff was on his phone, checking in with the folks, who were circling the airport. Outside, the March rain had turned to sleet, and Maya wailed, "Oh my god, I am going to freeze!" Allie poked her, "Serves you right, coming to the east coast at the beginning of spring." Jeff frowned as the two dissolved into more giggles. Grown women acting like teenagers, he thought to himself.
They had only carryons, and dashed from the plane to the curb, meeting the SUV seconds later in a quick rendezvous. Throwing bags over the seat, the three piled into the back, hardly wet from the sleet and rain. Everyone said hi and sat back as Jeff's dad maneuvered out of the airport toward the Whitestone bridge and I-95. Maya didn't know it, but Robin was hiding in the third seat, waiting for a signal to emerge.
Jeff said, "Dad, I understand you have some excess baggage in the back?" Robin slowly sat up and brought his hands forward to cover Maya's eyes. She jumped a mile as he said, "It's nice to meet you, Maya."
She screamed and scrambled wildly over the seat into his arms. "Oh, you scared me. No fair!" He pulled her into his lap, leaning for a chaste kiss, which didn't stay that way for long. Allie looked back and said, "Hey, no making out in the car!"
Everyone was laughing as there was a lot of wrestling going on in the third seat. The college kids finally sat back, smiling and holding hands. Robin said, "We're just getting organized for our joint programming project."
Maya, with an almost straight face, added, "Yes, it requires close coordination!"
When they arrived at the beautiful home in a faculty area near the campus, it turned out that Robin had prevailed on Diane to let Maya and himself stay at home, since the arrangements at his dorm would be awkward.
Allie and Maya found themselves on the third floor, with a low ceiling in an open space with twin beds. They were excited, wrestling around. Allie sat up and said, "You'd better behave, or your head is going to hit that ceiling!"
The brothers watched from the top of the stairs, laughing. Robin asked, "There is a lot of body contact out west?"
"Wait until you see them in the pool. It is like a pod of dolphins. Very friendly dolphins."
The women looked up, "Don't mind us, we are just excited to be here."
Each male advanced and gathered a body into his arms. "We are excited to have you visit, but we need to go down to lunch or Mom will be after us. We have strict instructions to behave!"
Diane had just started up the stairs when she saw them descending. "Oh good, I have hot soup and ham sandwiches." She had turned around when four bodies pressed tight, hugging and kissing.
"Stop that, you devils." Her face was pink as they entered the kitchen, exclaiming, "I don't know what we are going to do, Ernie, there is so much energy with four of them here."
Allie still had no ring, and was self-conscious about her lonely finger. Jeff had told her the problem was being taken care of in the east, and refused to say anything more.
Munching on a sandwich, Robin mumbled, "Maya and I have to work this afternoon. We would like to show you something this evening." The two of them were side to side, using elbows.
Earnest said, "We've invited the Andersons to join us for dinner, is that ok? The sons nodded enthusiastically, "That's great, Dad, your sister is always fun. Allie said to Diane, "I will help with dinner."
Robin and Maya washed their dishes at the sink and disappeared. Diane whispered, "I've never seen anything like it. He has been working night and day on his machine with the big screen. Coach called me and asked if there was something wrong because he skipped three workouts."
Jeff smiled at his dad and said, "Mom, you used to complain Robin had no room for girls in his life. You are unhappy that he has found a friend in Maya?"
Diane laid a hand on Allie's. "She is so beautiful." Jeff added, "And so talented. I can't wait to see what they have to show us tonight."
"Yes," Allie chimed in, "this one is just the dumb lawyer who keeps us out of jail!"
She went on, wailing, "I love him dearly, but he promised me a ring, so I removed my IUD. That was almost a month ago and I might already be pregnant!" Allie waved her bare left hand and heaved a huge sigh of frustration.
Diane grabbed Allie, saying, "You poor dear." Her glare was intense, "Ernie, you promised..."
Jeff and Ernie smiled and said, "Patience will be rewarded, soon!"
Diane seized Allie. "Let's go for a walk. I'll show you some of our campus sights."
Walking down a neighborhood street in New Haven, the sun breaking through clouds, Allie teased Diane by opening conversation in French. "Jeff says your French is very good. I was raised in Geneva and it is almost a mother tongue to me."
They held hands companionably. Diane's response was rapid and fluent. "My boys are very dear to me. They are smart and work hard. Ernie and I are blessed to have them. Jeff told me the story about your dad and the Santa Barbara house. It is so sad that he didn't have more years to enjoy it."
"He knew his heart was failing. I was lucky to be able to be with him those months in California. The Rodrigo family has been a world of support for him and for me. You must come out and meet Maria and Manuel. They put the lie to every stereotype about Mexican immigrants."
"Maya is a marvel. She and Robin have really clicked, haven't they?"
"Diane, it is scary how the two of them are already into each other. They could get hurt. Maybe the two of us will have to be the nasty chaperones!"
The older woman had her arm around Allie. "Yes, and we won't get very far, will we?" She stopped for a hug. "You are so good for Jeff. I can't believe I am getting one and possibly two daughters-in-law. I was an only child and then I had two boys. It is a complete thrill to meet you, Allie."
"Jeff says you work too hard. When we have the wedding, you and Ernie must stay in California and play!"
Diane mumbled, "Yes, play." Allie smiled to herself. Diane had no idea how much play was in her future.
There was drama before dinner. Unknown to Allie, a conspiracy had been at work on the ring problem. Maya came from the shower to the attic bedroom and said, "Um, Diane says we have to dress up because there are guests for dinner."
