Saviors (Completed)

6. Dinner With Family Martinez

The long, square table had enough room for eight people. Three on each side and one on each end. Mr. Martinez sat at one of the ends with a flashing smile and a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Nina. What a lovely name," he said and took a small sip of his wine.

"Thank you, Mr. Martinez," I answered politely, smiling back at him.

Anthony chewed loudly beside me, he had no table manners whatsoever and earned numerous glares from his mother opposite from him.

"Anthony, my son, why haven't you told me about this beautiful young lady before?" Mr. Martinez asked his son, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Anthony laid down his fork, "we just recently meet." His father nodded and turned to me again.

"How did you meet?" he asked me and smiled wider than before.

"I spilled water on him when he barked his chair into me," I said without thinking.

Mr. Martinez laughed, "that's new!" Mrs. Martinez joined his laughter and laid a loving hand over her husbands. I stared at it. Never had my mother done that to my father. Sometimes I wondered if they really married for love.

"You okay?" Anthony whispered in my ear, so only I could hear. I nodded and ate some of my salad. Being vegan was hard at home, but here they were so kind about it and made something special for me.

"Tell us something about your family," Mrs. Martinez said, leaning forward. "Ours may be big, but I bet yours are interesting."

Yeah, interesting.

It was like Anthony felt my discomfort and squeezed my shoulder lightly. No matter how much I hated him, he made me feel comfortable.

"As you may know, my mother is a lawyer in Beckenham Law Firm, she is actually older than my father, but only by two years. She came to visit this town and meet my father, who was a mechanic at that time," I said, remembering the story my mom had told me and my brother as kids.

"They got married pretty fast and got my older brother Liam a few years after. He moved away five years ago for college and stayed there," I told, leaving out that my brother hadn't left for college and I didn't have the slightest idea about where he was.

"How about your father? Is he still a mechanic?" Mrs. Martinez asked.

I gulped, "no, he got fired when he made a mistake. And because he chose not to go to school he couldn't find work elsewhere." I left out the fact about him being in jail for six months out of the description since it didn't seem to fit in.

"That's absurd! He shouldn't be unfairly treated because he hasn't been filled with as much data as others. The best way to be a good at something is to do it. How can any of the businesses your father applied to not even give him change," Mrs. Martinez said and up in the air, her arms went.

"I agree," Mr. Martinez commented from the end, nodding his head to his wife. "Don't you agree, Anthony?"

Anthony chewed the bite finished, "I agree, however, I understand why they wouldn't take him in if he hasn't had as much education as others. Everyone wants the best and sadly people think that the smarter you are the better."

My eyes went big as my focus where on Anthony's grace-filled face. The sight was breathtaking and it took all my will to look away just for a minute. He took another bite and chewed like he hadn't said anything.

"How about you, Nina? Do you think your father has been unfairly treated?" Mr. Martinez asked, sipping his wine.

I took in a huge amount of air, preparing myself for this next challenge. "To be honest, my father ain't good at anything else than fixing cars and machines. But, I hope someday he'll gain his hope and search for something, so he can help my mother more."