"I am sorry I told you so suddenly."
[It's okay. I volunteered from the beginning. You're the one who said to wait, that we still had a lot to learn about each other. So I was a little surprised when you suddenly invited me to dinner with your family.]
"Let's just say it's better to get to know each other. Besides, this isn't really a family dinner. Not all of the family members are there. We're just having dinner out with my mom."
[I'm fine with whatever you say... I like that you referred to yourself by name.]
"...."
[Normally, there's always a distance between us. Even if you're willing to talk, you refer to yourself as "I" to show that we're not that close yet. But today, you called yourself "May," which means I've taken another step forward in this relationship.]
"You're very observant."
[See you tomorrow then.]
We both hung up the phone. I look down at my phone, slowly hiding my smile, knowing full well that I wasn't being sincere in the conversation. Did he really think I wasn't aware of calling myself 'May'? I did it on purpose to make him feel like we were getting closer.
Just so I could invite him to dinner without feeling awkward, that’s all. Lee is a meticulous person. I just added one small detail, and he happily accepted it, thinking I did it by accident, but that wasn’t the case.
He’s still a stranger to me.
The reason I’m taking him to meet my mother this time is so I can finally close the door on the idea that View B and I could be a possibility. It’s like running through a maze without finding a way out, obsessing over my sister every day, being irrationally jealous. And in the end, View B almost found out how I really felt just because I blurted it out in a moment of carelessness.
And that’s when I realized my sister was really afraid.
If I introduce a guy to Mom, View B will feel much more secure. The other day when we were playing, that girl may have just been joking to ease the tension, but she probably didn’t trust me completely. After all, no one in the family talks openly about liking someone, so no matter how much I try to explain, it still sounds suspicious. I have to emphasize even more that it’s the truth.
It’s not love, it’s not hate, but it’s just liking, which means “indifferent.”
.
.
Mom arrived about half an hour before the scheduled time because she wanted to talk to me before meeting Lee. She asked all sorts of contextual questions, as if today’s meeting meant he would propose tomorrow or something. And today was exactly as expected.
Mom took View B with her, since my sister doesn’t have a steady job yet besides writing novels, and my younger brother was on duty as usual.
Of course, Dad didn’t come either, so today was exactly as expected at all "How did Dad respond?"
"I asked, just to show some interest.
I think your dad wants to come,” Mom said speculatively.
“But he pretended not interested. So I just changed the subject. He’s been grumpy and restless all day, it was worth.”
I laughs and looking at View B, who hadn’t said a single word since she arrived. She just sit next to Mom with a blank expression, so I ask her a question to see if she is acting normal with me.
"What’s wrong? You haven’t said anything today."
"Well, I didn’t know what to say. You and Mom have already talked about everything."
