ignoring me.
The last person I had never met before. He had a mop of curly sandy brown hair and green eyes the color of freshly-mowed grass. He looked up past Marco and directly at me. “It’s nice to finally meet the lady who tied my best friend down. D’you know that you’re the reason my days of keg parties and club-hopping are finally over?” His voice was smooth and rich like good coffee. I offered up an easy smile.
“Glad to be of service,” I said. Marco laughed loudly as he pulled my chair out for me and sat me down right next to his friend.
“I’m Blaise, by the way. I came armed with hundreds of embarrassing stories about your fiance for your personal enjoyment.”
I didn’t think that I was going to like Blaise. His humor was corny and his charm was practiced, but as the night unfolded, he became my crutch. It appeared to me that Marco’s parents intimidated Blaise just as much as they did me. He eventually settled down and I realized that he was actually genuinely charming and hilarious. I have to admit that without Blaise, I wasn’t entirely sure that I would have made it through dinner. It was as if I had rekindled an old friendship. I even had a bit of fun!
Marco, however, spent the entire dinner nodding along to his mother’s instructions about how our wedding was to be. She seemed to have quite a few ideas of what it should be like almost of all of which she concluded with the declaration that they were not negotiable details followed by a sweet but pointed giggle. Marco just stuffed his face and laughed or nodded or responded when the proper cues arrived. He seemed content to let her plan the whole wedding. Part of me really didn’t care what the wedding looked like. I was sure Alondra was a wonderful party planner. She’d more than likely been doing it her entire life. But I was hurt that no one even thought to pretend to want my opinion about anything. It was my wedding after all.
“Now, Tegan,” Marco’s mother began just at the end of dinner. “If it’s alright by you, I’d like to steal Marco for the next few months. It just doesn’t sit right with me that you two would be living together so close to the wedding.” I smiled at her, but my stomach sank. I loved Marco and I wanted to be around him as we prepared to spend the rest of our lives together. But I also knew better than to poke the bear.
“That’s fine by me. I wouldn’t want to disrespect any of your traditions. In fact, why don’t you go ahead and bring him home with you all tonight. Blaise can come over and help me pack him some things and bring them over later tonight for the movie?” The old lady’s face lit up at the suggestion. I couldn’t help but wonder if she planned to use her time alone with her son to convince him not to marry me. Part of me worried that she might be successful.
On the drive back to my house, Blaise acted a little bit weird. He was fidgety and took several seconds to reply to anything I said. He seemed incredibly nervous. It was the polar opposite of the person he had been at the dinner table. Even though I had only met him that day, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and asked, “Are you feeling okay? You’re acting weird.”
He seemed caught off guard by my question. “What d’you mean?”
“You just seem nervous, is all. Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all.” He glanced at me and chuckled. “I actually really like being around you. You’re fun.”
“Really? I never would have thought so. I own and run my own business. I don’t have time to be much more than an overworked old woman.”
“Although you’re definitely overworked, I wouldn’t call you
The last person I had never met before. He had a mop of curly sandy brown hair and green eyes the color of freshly-mowed grass. He looked up past Marco and directly at me. “It’s nice to finally meet the lady who tied my best friend down. D’you know that you’re the reason my days of keg parties and club-hopping are finally over?” His voice was smooth and rich like good coffee. I offered up an easy smile.
“Glad to be of service,” I said. Marco laughed loudly as he pulled my chair out for me and sat me down right next to his friend.
“I’m Blaise, by the way. I came armed with hundreds of embarrassing stories about your fiance for your personal enjoyment.”
I didn’t think that I was going to like Blaise. His humor was corny and his charm was practiced, but as the night unfolded, he became my crutch. It appeared to me that Marco’s parents intimidated Blaise just as much as they did me. He eventually settled down and I realized that he was actually genuinely charming and hilarious. I have to admit that without Blaise, I wasn’t entirely sure that I would have made it through dinner. It was as if I had rekindled an old friendship. I even had a bit of fun!
Marco, however, spent the entire dinner nodding along to his mother’s instructions about how our wedding was to be. She seemed to have quite a few ideas of what it should be like almost of all of which she concluded with the declaration that they were not negotiable details followed by a sweet but pointed giggle. Marco just stuffed his face and laughed or nodded or responded when the proper cues arrived. He seemed content to let her plan the whole wedding. Part of me really didn’t care what the wedding looked like. I was sure Alondra was a wonderful party planner. She’d more than likely been doing it her entire life. But I was hurt that no one even thought to pretend to want my opinion about anything. It was my wedding after all.
“Now, Tegan,” Marco’s mother began just at the end of dinner. “If it’s alright by you, I’d like to steal Marco for the next few months. It just doesn’t sit right with me that you two would be living together so close to the wedding.” I smiled at her, but my stomach sank. I loved Marco and I wanted to be around him as we prepared to spend the rest of our lives together. But I also knew better than to poke the bear.
“That’s fine by me. I wouldn’t want to disrespect any of your traditions. In fact, why don’t you go ahead and bring him home with you all tonight. Blaise can come over and help me pack him some things and bring them over later tonight for the movie?” The old lady’s face lit up at the suggestion. I couldn’t help but wonder if she planned to use her time alone with her son to convince him not to marry me. Part of me worried that she might be successful.
On the drive back to my house, Blaise acted a little bit weird. He was fidgety and took several seconds to reply to anything I said. He seemed incredibly nervous. It was the polar opposite of the person he had been at the dinner table. Even though I had only met him that day, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and asked, “Are you feeling okay? You’re acting weird.”
He seemed caught off guard by my question. “What d’you mean?”
“You just seem nervous, is all. Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all.” He glanced at me and chuckled. “I actually really like being around you. You’re fun.”
“Really? I never would have thought so. I own and run my own business. I don’t have time to be much more than an overworked old woman.”
“Although you’re definitely overworked, I wouldn’t call you
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