She chose her clothes and make-up carefully the morning after; she wanted to look perfect for Justin’s parents. Her dress was flowery and showed her tummy, but nothing else, her hair was in a pony tail and her make-up discreet.

It was so important for her that they liked her, and she didn’t want to look like the tramp she was.

She had set the table out in the garden, Monica had bought some flowers to decorate it with. She was waiting for the catering to show up any second, this was one time she really would have liked to be able to cook herself. She had ordered Spanish tapas, hoping to God that was something they liked.

She looked in the mirror any chance she had, making sure her hair wasn’t out of place. What if they didn’t like her? She used to be good with people, but these were Justin’s parents. She had no idea what he had told them about her, but she was sure they weren’t thrilled with the situation.

‘These are your grand parents, my little one. There will be none from my side, and I’m sorry for that’ she told her tummy while rubbing it, feeling once again a kick and yelled out in joy. 

She was standing by the window for almost an hour waiting for them, eager to see Justin again. After her conversation with him she was sure Jessica was exaggerating his repulsion towards her. And she would do anything she could to change that opinion anyway, she’d be the perfect woman, the perfect mother, a perfect host for his parents… Maybe he eventually would see her in a different light. Maybe he’d even… No, that wouldn’t happen, but at night she allowed herself to dream that Justin was there, holding her, stroking her hair, telling her that he loved her. But every morning she knew it was another woman in his arms instead of her.  

She buzzed open the gate and watched Justin walk out of his car, opening the door on the passenger side for his mother. She smiled to herself; he was such a gentleman. She was stunned by the resemblance, tall and typically southern, with the same clear blue eyes, but with longer blond hair. Her face looked tense, though, and she could see Justin taking a firm grip around her shoulder, whispering something comforting in her ear. Paul walked a step behind them, concentrating on staring at the pavement. She didn’t know what to make from the scene. 

Her heart was beating fast as she opened the front door to greet her guests. She gave them her brightest smile and shook their hands.

-“Hi, I’m Jordan. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

-“Same to you, my dear. I’m Lynn, this is Paul” she held her hand on her husbands arm.

Justin was standing behind Lynn and winked before he moved past his mom and pulled Jordan into a hug and kissed her forehead.

-“How’s my little girl doing? Any more movements?” He kept both hands on her tummy, rubbing gently.

-“She had a bit of a show going on last night. I think she’ll be a strong one”

He took his arm around her and walked with her out to the garden.

-“It’s a beautiful place you’ve got here Jordan.” Lynn smiled.

-“Thank you, that’s nice of you. Sit down, all of you, and I’ll bring the food”

-“Nonsense” Lynn continued. “You’ve done more than enough. A woman in your condition needs her rest. Justin can go get the food. Right, J?”

He smiled and kissed his mothers cheek.

-“Of course, mom” He started to walk towards the kitchen.

-“Bring out a bottle of wine, will you, Justin?” Jordan called after him, and he just waived back to let her know he had it all sorted.

Now she was alone with his parents, and her nervousness started to show. Lynn put her hand on her arm.

-“Thank you so much for letting us come visit. It means a lot to both us and Justin.”

-“Of course. I know this situation is a bit…unconventional, but we’ll make the best out of it”

-“I’m sure you will, dear. So how are you feeling? Tired and nauseous?”

-“Nah, sore legs in the evenings, but that’s about it. I’m actually sleeping better than I have in years.”

-“Consider yourself lucky! When I was carrying Justin I was pretty much lying in bed for the last 5 months. Timberlake babies have a reputation for being difficult, from foetuses to grown-ups”

-“Hey!” Justinn pushed his mother playfully walking into the conversation with several plates of food. He put them down at the table and went back to get the rest. He seemed so comfortable walking around making himself at home in her house, she almost felt like he lived there and the in-laws just came to visit.

-“So, I hear you are a Harvard graduate?” Paul said, making her smile.

-“I am, sir” She nodded

-“What did you major in?”

-“Business and administration.”

-“Wow, that’s impressing! Did you hear that, Justin?”

Justin laughed as he opened the bottle of wine and poured it into the glasses, pouring water into Jordan’s.

-“Is this another ‘Justin never went to college’ speech again? Let’s just hope the little one gets her mom’s intelligence.”

-“Please, let’s all pray for that” Paul chuckled. “So how did you end up in the entertainment industry, then?”

-“I did a bit of acting while at school to pay for my tuition, and by the time I left college I got offered the lead in a Sam Mendes movie. It kind of spun from there.”

-“You’re an amazing actress, I love all your movies.” Lynn said.

-“Thank you, that’s sweet of you.”

They started to eat and the conversation flowed. She couldn’t help to think how different they were from her own family. They seemed so close, laughing and pulling jokes in such a loving way. And they were so open to her, really interested in getting to know her. Not only did Lynn resemble Justin in looks, she definitely could see the similarity in personality. She was bubbly and outgoing, telling it like it was, not much of a filter despite her southern upbringing. Paul was a little quieter, but Lynn would never let silence stay long enough to be awkward.

-“So, where are you from, Jordan?” she asked.

-“Born and raised in North Dakota.”

-“A farmer girl?” Paul joked.

-“Nope, more like a trailer park girl. Quite different from the way I’m living now” she smiled.

-“What did your parents do?”

-“Dad…” Justin started, he knew how uncomfortable she was talking about her parents. Jordan put a hand on his thigh.

-"It's okay, Justin. My mom was a cashier at daytime and a bartender at night. My father was a truck driver. Not very exciting.”

-“The eye of the beholder, dear. Do they still live up there?”

She swallowed hard and tried to figure out the best way to answer the question.

-“My mom died when I was 22, and my…dad…was gone right after…”

She could see how Lynn and Paul glanced at each other, not sure whether to leave the subject alone.

-“I’m so sorry, that must have been hard.” Lynn looked at her with genuine concern in her eyes.

-“I moved to California not long after, and haven’t been in Dakota since. I was an only child, and so were both my parents, so I didn’t really have any family left to visit.”

Justin was surprised how quickly she opened up to his parents, she was speaking more freely than she ever had with him. Lynn put her hand on her arm again and smiled.

-“We’re your family now, if you let us. You are carrying my first grand child, and for that I will always love you. I admit that I wished the circumstances were a bit different, but we will be there for you all the way. I know Justin will, but you can always count on the rest of us too. However much you’d like to bring us into your life, we are very grateful, I want you to know that. And if you ever need to talk, woman to woman, you can call me anytime of day. I brought up this little brat, so I’m sure I can at least tell you what not to do.”

Jordan felt her lips trembling after Lynn’s kind words, and she had no idea how to respond.

-“More wine anyone?” she managed to get out, lifting herself from her chair, holding on to her back as she started to walk inside. Justin jumped up after her and put his arm around her.

-“I’m sorry about my mom, she’s very intense, and she speaks her mind. But she’s honest, she meant what she said.”

-“Your parents are wonderful, Justin.” She looked up at him with sad eyes. “You’re a lucky man”

-“I know” he nodded. “I know” 

While the men were ordered by Lynn to clear the table, the women stayed out in the sun talking.

-“So, Jordan, I have to once again thank you for the way you have treated Justin through this whole thing. I’ve seen how he slowly has changed, and where his priorities are at the moment. He thinks the world of you, he really does.”

-“I think the world of him too. You have really brought him up to be a remarkable young man”

-“He is, isn’t he?” she looked towards the house, smiling dreamily. “He’s done it well considering the coldness of the industry. I’m very proud of him, but don’t ever tell him that. His head will get even bigger than it is.”

Jordan laughed, but stopped as she felt another kick.

-“Oh…She’s playing soccer again!”

Lynn’s face lit up.

-“Oh, can I…” she nodded towards her, and she smiled and took Lynn’s hand and put it on her tummy.

-“Oh, my God, she really does!” her eyes filled with tears. “Justin! Justin! Get out here!”She laughed while she called out for him louder. Suddenly both Justin and Paul came running out of the house.

-“What’s happening? Is everything…” he stopped when he saw his mother with her hand on Jordan’s tummy, laughing through tears. “Is she kicking?”

He ran towards her, pushing his mom away and getting down on his knees in front of Jordan.

-“Oh, my God!” he laughed, almost mirroring his mother’s reaction, which made Jordan laugh with them.

Suddenly Justin got up, and before thinking he took her face in both his hands and kissed her lips.

Lynn looked over at Paul, a bit surprised, but soon breaking into a big smile. She watched them closely as Justin pulled back, but if he was stunned by his own actions, Jordan looked absolutely shocked.    

 Justin stood up, clearly embarrassed. His face was bright red and he ran his hand nervously through his hair. She stared at him with open mouth, not able to move yet.

Justin turned around to his parents, finding his mother hanging on to Paul’s arm, smiling at her son.

-“Ehm… We…should probably get going…” he said, not able to look at Jordan anymore.

-“Oh, Justin, we’re in no rush.” Lynn said, taking a seat again. “Let’s get some coffee first. If that’s okay with you, Jordan?”

Jordan nodded slowly and got up. “Of course” she mumbled and walked into the kitchen.

As soon as she got there she more or less fell down on a chair, breathing heavily. What just happened? Justin kissed her! In front of his parents!

She knew it wasn’t a planned kissed, it was more an impulse, an instinct after feeling this connection with the baby, but it was still a kiss. And those lips felt so good, so much better than she could remember. 

-“Hey, you okay?” She jumped when she heard his voice. He looked a bit awkward as he was standing in front of her shifting his legs.

-“Oh, sorry, just a bit tired. I’ll get right on the coffee…” she got up from the chair and walked towards the coffee machine.

-“Listen, I’m sorry about… I don’t know why…” he started.

She turned around and smiled at him, but he knew her well enough by now to see it wasn’t totally genuine.

-“Don’t worry, I know it was just a reaction to…you know…the kicking, and… Don’t worry, Justin, I’m not reading more into it. It’s okay.”

-“Yeah, ‘cause I don’t wanne like…mess things up between us, or…something…” Damn, he should have planned his words a bit better before he decided to come after her, not he just sounded like a stuttering fool.

She walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek, stroking his chin with her thumb.

-“No harm done. I love how excited you are about our baby.”

Our baby… It was the first time she had referred to it as ‘our baby’.

He took her hand away from his face and kissed it.

-“You’re so great, do you know that? And thank you for being so open to my parents, they adore you.”

She smiled shyly.

-“Yeah? I’m just glad she’s gonna have these fantastic grand parents. I really want her to be able to spend time with them, it’s just a shame they live so far away”

He kissed her forehead and held her close to him. She could feel his heart beat and wondered if he could feel hers.   

They walked out again to his parents, Justin carrying a tray with coffee cups.

-“So, back on tour again next week, then? Europe was it?” she asked, just to say something, she already knew the answer.

-“Yeah, but it’s only for two weeks, I’ll be back in no time. We can finish the baby room when I get back”

She nodded.

-“Sure.”

-“And I’ll come over Tuesday night, making sure you are okay, and if you need anything…”

-“You don’t have to do that. I’m not sure your girlfriend will appreciate it if I occupy her boyfriend the night before he’s leaving. Jack and Monica will take care of my needs.”

-“Oh, she’s…she’s actually…coming with me…” he got surprised how embarrassed he felt telling her that.

-“Oh, I just assumed… never mind…Of course she’s going with you…”

-“Jess is going with you to Europe?” his mother interrupted, not even trying to hide how much she disapproved.. Jordan had a hard time hiding a mischievous smile.

-“Yeah, she…uhm…decided we needed to…She wanted to get some pictures taken of us, she’s a bit upset about the press lately…She wanted us to show ourselves together, putting a stop to the rumours…”

They had all read the tabloids, everyday was a new story about Justin and Jordan, and how he’s neglecting his girlfriend in favour of the mother of his child, pictures of him driving up to her house, or pictures of him and Jess arguing.

-“She actually wants the paparazzi to take pictures of you?” Jordan said surprised. His face turned red.

-“Well, it’s just because…she’s just…she needs…”

-“Oh, Justin!” Lynn shook her head. “What about what you need? I can’t imagine you’d invite the paparazzi to follow your every step. What’s next? You'll be the next Newlyweds-couple on MTV?”

Jordan giggled and put her hand over her moth to try to cover it. Paul wasn’t that subtle and laughed out loud. Justin’s face turned even redder. He looked at his mom and bit his teeth together.

-“I’m not discussing this with you again, mom. Just leave it, okay?”

Lynn just shrugged and winked at Jordan.

-“Okay, son. Whatever you’re comfortable with” she smiled.

-“It’s more to a relationship than a big booty, you know” Paul said, making both women laugh out loud. Paul didn’t talk much, but when he did he’d make a comment like this. Justin’s eyes darkened and they could all see how angry he was. He just got up and started clearing the table. When he was out of ear shot, Lynn turned to Jordan again.

-“I know I shouldn’t say this, but I really don’t like that girl.”

-“I have to admit; neither do I” Jordan smiled at her like they shared a secret.

-“She’s too much of a girl. A whiny, spoiled, attention seeking little girl who knows what she can get out of a relationship with my son. Justin needs a woman; a strong, independent woman, a woman that can be close to him, but still keep her identity. Someone to love him without being clingy and needy. I just don’t understand him sometimes.”

-“He’s just not thinking with his brain or his heart” Paul said. “He’ll get over it. It’s just a phase; chasing after the same girls he did when he first bacame successful. He’s confusing it with the real thing, but he has to grow up soon and see there’s more to it”

-“What was he like growing up?” Jordan asked.

-“Oh, he wasn’t much different then now. A little more arrogant, maybe. And going through his share of ladies. There’s no secret we want him to settle down, but not just with anyone who’s flavour of the week.”

-“She does love him, though” Jordan started, almost feeling the need to defend him.

-“But he doesn’t love her!” Lynn claimed with confidence, grabbing Jordan’s hand and looking at her sympathetically. "He doesn't love her. Believe me on this"