Count on Me

Chapter Eighteen: Dinner with the Parents

Climbing out of the car, Mesut stared up at the house where his girlfriend had grown up and tried to conceal his nerves about dinner with her parents; he had no idea what to expect this time. 

From the beginning when his counter had stopped Katrina's parents had been far from welcoming and while Mesut did understand that they were upset that she didn't have the man they had wanted for her; he thought he was better than what they had wanted. 

Mesut had worked hard to get what he had in his life, he wanted to share all of this with Katrina and he just hoped that one day soon things would have calmed down for them. 

They were slowly working things out and Mesut wanted nothing more than to make things work, she was everything that he had wanted and he dreaded to think that things would not work out for them. 

"Are you ready?" Katrina asked looking to her boyfriend, she was a little worried about what was going to happen; she had no idea how her father was going to take this. 

Kostas had been far from welcoming to the idea of her boyfriend and Katrina just wanted things to work out; she knew that tonight would be important to see what would happen next. 

Nodding his head, Mesut carefully laced his fingers with Katrina's before they started up the path to the house; he just wanted this to go well like dinner with his family had gone until his father had shown up. 

It was going to be an interested evening and they both just hoped that it would go a lot better than the last time that they had seen Katrina's parents; things were going well for them and they hoped to share it. 

Knocking on the door, Katrina offered Mesut a reassuring smile before her mother opened the door; she had no idea what to expect and she just hoped her father wasn't going to sulk during dinner.

Maria smiled pleased that they had come, she had been working in the kitchen all day to prepare for tonight; she was so happy that Mesut and Katrina had agreed to come to dinner after everything. 

She was still ashamed that she had let other people get to her on what should have been a happy occasion; Maria loved all her children and the last thing she wanted was to lose them. 

"It's a pleasure to finally met you Mrs. Portokalos," Mesut said offering his hand out for her to shake, it wasn't Maria that worried him it was her husband especially after how their first meeting had gone. 

Kostas had slammed the door in Mesut's face and it made him relieved that this time it was Maria that had opened the door this time. 

"Call me Maria please," Maria insisted with a smile, she was so happy and she was sure that dinner would go so well today; she had just about managed to keep this a simple dinner especially when Voula had heard about it. 

The entire family had nearly been invited and Maria had put her foot down, she remembered how horrified Toula had been when she had brought Ian's parents for a quiet dinner and the entire family was there to greet them. 

"Come in... come in, dinner is nearly ready," Maria said ushering the two inside, she didn't want to spend the entire evening on the front and she was sure that it would all work out fine. 

Peeking around the hallway, Mesut was glad that being here this time was different to the last time; he hated that the press had caused issues for Katrina and her family. 

"Kostas... they are here," Maria called up the stairs as she led Katrina and Mesut into the dining room which had been laid out perfectly.

It had taken her ages to get everything right and Maria was pleased with the finished outcome, she had been so worried about tonight.

"I hope you are hungry... I made a lot of food," Maria said smiling, she had gone as far as to find out about what Mesut might like to eat; she didn't want to make something that might offend him in anyway. 

Taking a seat, Mesut nodded his head taking note of how nervous Maria seemed; he didn't want her going out of her way for him when he'd happily eat whatever she provided. 

Kostas walked into the dining room with a frown set on his face, he didn't know why his wife had insisted that he dress up for this; he didn't see what all the big fuss is about. 

"I will go and get us some drinks," Maria announced only offering Kostas a look in warning, she wasn't going to have him causing them any grief. 

She would happily kick him out of their bedroom so that he would be forced to sleep on the couch, Maria had no intentions of allowing him to ruin this evening that she had planned out so carefully. 

"Allow me to assist you," Mesut insisted getting to his feet, he didn't like sitting around watching people wait on him; he was sure that this might ease Maria's mind even more. 

Maria nodded her head and showed Mesut the way to the kitchen while Kostas sat down at the table with Katrina; it was awkward once the two of them had been left alone together. 

"He treat you good?" Kostas asked lowly so Maria wouldn't hear him, she would accuse him of trying to cause trouble; he looked at Katrina knowing that he just wanted her to be happy. 

He might be old and set in his ways but that was all that he had ever wanted, he wanted Athena, Toula, Nick and Katrina to have good lives and be happy. 

"He does," Katrina replied making Kostas nod his head, he was happy with that answer and he was willing to move forward now; he just wanted Katrina to be careful and that was all.

***

"I hope you all have room for dessert," Maria said beaming as Kostas helped her clear the table about they'd finished dinner, she was so pleased that Mesut seemed to enjoy her cooking. 

Maria had done everything in her power to make sure that the food that she served was suitable for Mesut; she'd taken Voula shopping with her to get the food and she was so proud of herself. 

Sipping on her glass of water, Katrina held back a smile as her parents left the room; she had a feeling that her mother was going to ensure that Mesut came to eat here at least once a week. 

"I think your nutritionist is going to kill you," Katrina whispered to Mesut, he had sampled everything that Maria had set on the table often helping himself to seconds and they still had dessert to sit through. 

Mesut chuckled nodding his head, he was so full and he hadn't wanted to upset Maria by turning down her food; he was impressed when he had heard that she had gone out of her way to ensure that her food was suitable to his needs and beliefs. 

Leaning over, Katrina kissed his cheek knowing that it had meant so much to her mother that Mesut had enjoyed her food; it was Maria's thing even if she wasn't considered the best cook of the family. 

Cooking was everything to her and Maria was always happy to be in the kitchen, she had been the chef at the family restaurant before Nick had taken over; she adored having people to feed. 

Mesut grinned, he hadn't thought that this evening was going to be a good idea however he had enjoyed himself and he was glad that it had gone better than their last meeting. 

Kostas even seemed more welcoming since they had arrived and Mesut was sort of thankful for that; he didn't want any more family drama when things were finally going so well. 

He just hoped that when the two families met that everything would go just as well for them then.