Count on Me

Chapter Twenty-One: The Parents Meet

Smoothing out her blue printed dress and shrug, Katrina tried to ease her nerves as she moved to open the door to her parents; she wasn't sure how this meeting would go but she hoped that they would like Mesut's parents. 

The awkward tension in the living room was starting to build and Katrina hoped it wouldn't affect everything about this evening; if things went well they planned on announcing their engagement that night. 

Maria smiled throwing her arms around Katrina, she was happy to see her daughter and she couldn't believe that it was time to finally meet Mesut's parents. 

Things had been going so well recently and Maria couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen now for the young couple; already things were falling into place for the future. 

Kostas slowly followed his wife into the house that Mesut had, he couldn't help but look around almost amazed at the size of the place. 

Katrina hadn't moved her things back in yet but both her parents knew that it was only a matter of time before she did; it was no secret that she and Mesut were hardly apart when he wasn't away playing. 

Moving into the living room, Katrina couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen; she was worried that they would find something to argue about. 

"Mama, father... these are Katrina's parents. Kostas and Maria Portokalos," Mesut said introducing Katrina's parents to his, he could already see that his father was going to be a problem at some point tonight. 

Gulizar moved to greet them while Mustafa hung back, he stared at Katrina's parents knowing that his son could have done a lot better. 

If he'd had his way, then Mesut would have settled down with Mandy when he'd had the chance; Mesut could have done so much better than a waitress for a soul-mate.

***

Sipping on his wine Mustafa couldn't help but stare across the table at Kostas and his wife; he was almost amused as he listened to them talk about the restaurant that they owned. 

They were pretty small fish and Mustafa doubted they had any idea about what living in Mesut's world would be life, the media would eat them alive every time there was some important news about the couple. 

"So what team do you support?" Mustafa asked interrupting Kostas, he didn't even apologise as the other man glared at him; he didn't care if he was being rude. 

Their conversation was boring him and Mustafa wanted to make sure that things went in his favour; he might have been the reason that Mesut had found Katrina but that didn't mean he was going to accept their relationship. 

He had been watching the couple closely since Mesut had found Katrina and Mustafa couldn't ignore the fact that while his son was happy that Katrina had nothing to offer in the shape of boosting his career. 

"We're not very big fans of football," Kostas replied politely, they would all be related soon and he didn't want to cause any problems; he had been warned that Mesut's father wasn't going to be easy. 

Mesut glared at his father, he had no idea what he was playing at but he wasn't going to let him cause trouble; if he wanted to be a part of his life then he had to stop making trouble. 

"That makes sense," Mustafa mused picking at his food, he wrinkled his nose a little unimpressed with the meal that Katrina had put together herself. 

He didn't know how Mesut was able to stomach such food when he had a career to think about; Mustafa wondered what the club nutritionist would think if they saw how Mesut was eating. 

The dining room was silent for a moment, no one wanting to breath a word as Mustafa couldn't help but grin at Kostas knowing he had gotten under the other man's skin.

"What is that meant to mean?" Kostas asked glaring across the table at Mustafa, he didn't like what the other man was implying and he couldn't understand why he was trying to cause trouble. 

Everyone else was having a wonderful meal and a good time together while Mustafa just kept adding comments that caused tension; it already looked like Mesut wanted to strangle him. 

"Just that you don't seem like the sort of man that can afford to go to football matches," Mustafa stated ignoring the look that Gulizar shot him, she had pleaded with him to not cause any trouble over dinner; she truly wanted things to go well. 

Mesut would happily cut his father completely from his life if he continued to cause drama and trouble every time that they met up; it was something that Gulizar dreaded being caught between the two of them fighting. 

"Only one of your children went to college and even then they ended up in a family business," Mustafa mused setting down his cutlery and trying to keep the smile from his face, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed winding the other man up. 

Kostas jumped to his feet and moved to strangle Mustafa, he had always done the best for his children even if it meant that he and his wife went without; sure they weren't rich but they loved their children so much and would do anything for them. 

He didn't know who Mustafa thought he was and Kostas knew that he had pretty much the same background as him before Mesut's career had taken off with him as his agent. 

Everything that Mustafa had was all down to Mesut and the man seemed to forget that, they had all heard how Mustafa had sued his own son when he had been sacked as his agent.

Mustafa barely had a chance to move out of the way before Kostas punched him while his wife screamed at him in angry Greek; the dinner completely forgotten as everything seemed to happen at once. 

"Will you stop it," Mesut snapped getting between Kostas and Mustafa, he glared at them disappointed that his father couldn't keep the peace and had resulted to petty comments to cause problems. 

Katrina sighed shaking her head, she couldn't believe that this had happened and she hoped that they wouldn't continue to cause any trouble for them now with what was going to happen. 

"If this is how you act now... then how will you act on our wedding day?" Mesut asked stepping away from his father, he was done trying to make peace with that man when he only wanted to cause him trouble. 

He didn't care how much he seemed to hurt the people around him only that things worked out the way that he wanted it to; Mustafa was going to have to face the consequences sooner or later. 

The room was silent as Mesut's words, everyone looking at him as he moved to take Katrina's hand; he smiled at her knowing that he couldn't wait a moment longer to share the news. 

"I've asked Katrina to marry me and if you can't behave like adults then we don't want any of you there," Mesut insisted with a smile, he couldn't believe that they were going to get married and he couldn't wait for that moment. 

They might not be getting married soon but Mesut was already counting down the days until he could marry Katrina; it was going to be a special day and he hoped their parents would be there for them. 

Maria squealed in excitement and moved to hug them, she was so happy for them and she couldn't wait until they got married; she had so many ideas for a beach wedding.