The Quirky Tale of April Hale (Quirky Series #1)

25: The Height of Rudeness

25: The Height of Rudeness

Ryder texted me this right after I got home from school.

'Dad wants you over for dinner. You think you can come?'

To say that I was horrified by Mr. Black would be a vast understatement. I always had adverse reactions when communicating with big, stern people... two in particular were the males in the Black family. My first few contacts with Ryder weren't what you'd call heartwarming or auspicious. They were bleak at its best. Ryder called me a cat and I fainted at the sight of him. It was a symphony of fails.

But then the older version of Ryder, which was his father, seemed to inject a helluva lot more of anxiety into me. Gregory Black was bigger than Ryder (who was standing at a good five foot eleven), he was heavier than Ryder (who approximately weighed 160), and he liked scowling even more than Ryder (which he did in quarter-hourly basis).

Plus, he didn't like the way I talked.

My phone rang once again. I didn't have anyone else to text so I knew that it was from Ryder.

'You can say 'no'. The man will eat you up.'

And another came in the next minute.

'But it'll be nice of you if you come.'

Now I wasn't sure what Ryder would like me to say. Yes or no? Dinner or not? 

And then, he gave me the answer,

'Alright. Can you PLEASE have dinner at my house tonight? My Dad wants to see you.'

I had to gobble down a few chocolate bars from my treasure box before I mustered enough craziness to text him back a 'yes'.

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At five o clock, even though my mom planned to make Corn soup (a must for Thursdays) and celery salad, I had to tell her that I couldn't join dinner with the whole family because Mr. Black beckoned for me.

"That's great! I'm in the mood for the greasiest, fattiest pizza! With lots of onions," mom responded, a little too happily if I may add. When he heard about this, my brother actually pumped his fist and shouted a thank you towards the window.

"Thanks, Mr. Black! I've always hated corns and today we can finally eat pizza!"

To which, Mr. Black responded,

"Mary! Mary, don't cook the meat loafers! Kid will only eat Corn on Thursdays!"

Oh well, at least I would still getting my C-lettered food today. 

"So how is it going?" Mom asked me.

"What's going?"

"You and Ryder."

I shrugged. "It's good. I like him a lot."

"You're going to eat dinner with his parents. It's a big deal."

"He almost always eat breakfast with us and it's not a big deal for us."

"Oh, honey," Mom pulled me into an embrace. "Ryder has a rocky relationship with his parents. The fact that he invited you to have dinner with them is an indication of him taking the next step with you."

"Um.. But, but it's actually Mr. Black who invited me."

"Really?" Mom was surprised at that revelation. "Gregory, did you invite my daughter to have dinner with your family?"