Forbidden Urge

Parental Guidance

Heidi was getting ready to leave the house to go to work when Ana came from the library. "Darling, could we have you tonight at home?" she asked in a voice Heidi knew was concerned and could not be rejected.

"Mum, I..." she stammered.

"I assume you planned to meet your...friend, but Dad and I would really like to have you tonight for us. I guess you two could make an exception one evening?"

Heidi smiled. She loved her Mum for always talking to her in a calm manner, even when she would be reckless. "Of course, Mum. I'll come home with Dad."

She didn't have time to talk to Philipp. There was a lot of work to be done so they exchanged only few messages. He asked her not to admit anything without him. It'd have been cowardly from his side to let her take all the shock and potential anger and blame. Therefore they decided that she'd just talk to them, reveal enough to calm them down and promise she'd come back with more once they'd talked it all through.

Being in the car with Dad on the way home wasn't as bad as she'd feared. He joked, played music, as if everything was perfectly fine and usual.

However, when they sat at the table, he was the first to tackle the topic. "So, Heidi, when are we gonna meet this secret person?"

She took a sip of wine. "Soon."

"Why are they so secret?"

When she didn't reply because she started trembling, Ana stepped in. "Honey, it's completely fine to have a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, of any nationality, religion, social status... I thought you knew our attitude towards that."

"Age?" she uttered finally lifting the gaze from her plate.

Ana and Arnold looked at each other. "Well, if he...she...?"

"It's a he," Heidi giggled. She loved her parents' sense of humour.

"If he won't make us change his diapers, big or small, he's fine."

Ana burst out laughing at this Arnold's joke but Heidi managed only a weak smile.

"There's something else apart from age?" Ana asked. Heidi nodded, scared that they might conclude themselves everything. They weren't stupid, and they knew her well. "Huh, seeing you so pale makes me think he's our cousin, a war criminal or some underground gang leader."

"No, he's neither of those. He's... A good guy," Heidi's hands were shaking when she put them on the table trying to explain, so she put them back under the table. "It's just that I don't want to share it with you yet. You may get upset and worried, and if we don't last for too long, it'd be for nothing."

"You want to make sure you two are serious before telling us anything because he's somebody we know?" Arnold said, and it took Heidi's breath away. Her pupils widened and she couldn't utter a single word. Her parents knew what that meant, so she prayed they didn't already start listing the names of all their family friends and acquaintances.

"Heidi, darling," Ana said, "we're only worried. At the beginning it was fine, but now, it's been a month you've not been sleeping at home. We barely see you. You somehow avoid us, and at the same time you radiate happiness. Every parent would be concerned."

Heidi knew it all and understood them. Her parents weren't the type who would exaggerate or dramatise what wasn't necessary. Philipp and she would have to tell them soon, she knew. "Alright," she said. "I'll talk to him, and then I'll tell you everything."

"You don't have to tell us everything," Arnold said seriously but Ana burst out laughing again, making Heidi do the same.

"You two can joke just about anything all the time," Heidi said.