[✓] 𝐶𝐼𝑁𝐷𝐸𝑅 | 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝟐𝟑 | 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓-𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑

— 𝒞 —

"𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄?"

"Spence, I am sure. There's no reason why my parents wouldn't love you!"

It was three weeks into October, and Charlie and Spencer were in Pennsylvania. Her parents had invited them over for dinner, and besides wanting Spencer to meet them, Charlie was excited to show him around her hometown. Was she a little nervous for her parents to meet Spencer? Yes. Did she think it was too early? Of course. But considering that her parents were getting antsy ("You're nearly thirty! How come you're not married yet? At your age, I was pregnant with James!"), she decided that this was probably for the best. 

They had caught an early train, and she had spent the majority of the ride sleeping. Then, she showed him her favourite places growing up—the library a few blocks away from her home, the bookstore at one of the malls, a café that was near her high school, and a park she would visit every now and then when she needed some fresh air.

And as the day drew to its close, they began their journey to her parents' house.

And just as she had imagined, Spencer was having his doubts.

"There are plenty of reasons!"

Charlie sighed, pressing on the brake pedal as they approached a red light. She turned to face Spencer and raised her eyebrows. "You're worrying too much, sweetheart. Relax. They'll love you."

"I don't know," he mumbled, now twisting the hem of his sleeve. "What if they don't?"

"Okay," she humoured him, "say they don't. Then what do you think'll happen?"

Spencer sighed while the light turned green, and he began to talk as she stepped on the gas pedal. "I don't know, maybe they'll tell you to break up with me!"

"Spence, I am an adult!" she laughed. "I make my own decisions. They can't tell me to break up with you."

"But what if they do?"

"Trust me," she reassured him, glancing at him to send him a smile. "I've had far worse boyfriends than you, and my parents never made me break up with them."

Spencer nodded, though she could tell he was still unnerved as he tapped his foot and chewed his bottom lip.

A smile came onto her face as she parked in the driveway of a home she hadn't visited in so long. It was a two-story brick house, with a large archway that extended over the black front door and the radius window just above it. The windows at the right side of the house had its floral curtains open, so she could easily see the living room, though no one was in it.

The real extravagance, however, was the garden full of blooming flowers that her mother had laid out in the front yard. Smaller, colourful flowers were planted along the home, with taller tropical plants hanging over them. A tall, proud-standing tree sprouted from the middle, tall enough to block a few of the windows, including her old bedroom's.

Charlie grabbed her purse before getting out of the car, and she immediately sent a reassuring smile to Spencer, who had suddenly become frantic in fixing his clothes.

"Everything will be fine, babe," she laughed, pulling his hand away from his buttons and interlacing her fingers with his. "Come on."

The front door opened before she could even knock, and they were greeted by her mother's grinning face.

Her mother was a five-foot-three woman with short, greying hair and crow's feet apparent next to her brown eyes. She wore a red apron over her clothes, and her hands were dusted with flour, though she quickly wiped it onto her apron as greeted her daughter warmly in Korean: