Alex and Annie: A Bad Jokes Spinoff

Chapter 18 (Annie): Heart And Soul

"I brought you something."

Every time Alex said those words to me over the last four months, I wouldn't let him see how they affected me, but I swooned every time.

Just a bit, though.

His offerings weren't expensive, they weren't over the top, they were just little odds and ends that told me I'd been on his mind. That he knew me and what I liked. He never stopped by or took me on a date without bringing me something, usually food. Even on those rare occasions we didn't have plans, he stopped by my desk every day with something for me.

Most importantly, he brought a new attitude. No more idiotic, unthinking, immature, bulldozing Alex; he was all about maturity with a side helping of goofy that I found both hilarious and sweet. He made me laugh as often as he was serious with me. 

Right after we looked at houses for the first time, he took me out to have dinner with his parents.

"My mom wants to do this at a restaurant," he'd explained. "She said she never forgot my dad's parents having home court advantage at their house the first time she met them and she'd been scared as hell heading to the Matthewson's estate. So she promised herself that the first meeting of a significant other of one of her children would be at a neutral location to put them at ease. You OK with that?"

"How many girls did you bring to a restaurant to meet them?" I asked, feeling like I knew the answer.

"Just you, Annie," he said. 

I'd been right, so that just exponentially increased the pressure I was feeling. I was the first woman Alex was bringing to meet his parents. No big deal. In a panic, I sent pictures of my possible outfits to my friends for feedback, wanting to strike the right note for this first meeting. Alex was useless to ask for an opinion. Everything I tried on for him was either gorgeous, hot, stunning or beautiful. Most of the time, all four.

"You look great in everything," he'd said seriously, wondering why I'd laughed at him when he'd proven to be no help in selecting an outfit.

But the night finally arrived and Alex held my hand as I gripped it tighter and tighter the closer we got to the restaurant doors. His parents were already inside, and although his father, Bridge, shook my hand and smiled warmly, his mother, Mercy, grabbed me into a hug immediately.

"Annie! I've heard so much about you and every last bit of it was good! It's so nice to finally meet you -- I feel like I already know you because you're all Alexander talks about! And Gracelyn and her cousins have been singing your praises ever since they met you."

Admittedly, that wonderful greeting ratcheted down my anxiety by about a million percent. 

Looking back, I'm not sure Bridge and Alex even needed to be at the dinner. Mercy talked with me the entire night, asking me questions but in such an honest, open way it didn't feel at all like an interrogation. 

While she talked and listened to my answers, Bridge couldn't take his eyes off his wife. If ever there was a couple who epitomized relationship goals, it was Alex's parents. They'd been holding hands when Alex and I had walked into the restaurant (and we had also been holding hands), and they gave each other heated looks across the able. Alex, very used to their behavior, made a couple of silly faces across from me.

But when we left the restaurant, with warm hugs from both his parents this time and a promise to stop by their house soon, Alex took my hand and we walked to his car.

"They loved you, Annie," he said, and I felt happy inside. Every woman hopes for parental approval and it seemed I'd achieved it.

"Are you sure?" I asked teasingly, but I was actually serious.