She had a plan for when she was going to meet Jade's parents. It involved dressing up properly, buying Mrs. Tanchingco's favorite flowers, and a speech she had yet to write. None of it involved being caught in bed with their daughter. Not that they were doing anything, but it definitely did not help her cause of wanting to make a good first impression. Facing them barefoot, with bed hair and wearing Jade's clothes was not part of the plan at all.
Cold sweat was forming on her forehead and she was too nervous to even wipe it off. There were butterflies in her stomach, but not like the ones she has when she's with Jade. These were the kind that made her anxious and made her want to throw up.
No one had said a word yet after Jade's father had told them to sit down in that authoritative tone fathers have.
She could feel their eyes boring through her. The woman beside her was just as tensed as she was, the way she ran a hand through her hair and pulled at her shirt.
Should she speak first? But what would she say?
"Tea?" a cheery male voice broke the tension.
The younger man set down the tray on the small center table Althea was thankful was between them before facing her.
"Hi, I'm Paul. Jade's brother." She took the hand he offered and returned the smile. His welcoming expression helped calm her nerves a little.
"It's nice to meet you, Paul. I'm Althea."
"Jade has told me a lot about you. Nice shirt, by the way."
That comment had her blushing hard and pulling at the hem of the oversized baby pink shirt she was wearing. She berated herself not being careful with the soup last night and for not bringing an extra shirt.
"Dihya, stop," Jade hissed at her big brother.
"What? I'm just saying," he replied with an impish grin, making his sister roll her eyes. He pulled the chair from Jade's worktable at sat cross legged facing them, waiting for what was to happen next with amusement in his eyes. If she wasn't so nervous about their parents being here today, she would have laughed at how the two were acting.
"Thea, are you alright?" She felt Jade's hand wiping off the beads of sweat that trickled down her nape.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Althea struggled with the nerves to pull her lips into a smile.
"It's going to be okay," Jade whispered. The brunette placed a hand on top of hers that were clasped together on her lap. Her thumb gently rubbed the back of her hand as she gave her a reassuring squeeze and a smile. For a moment she was lost. She relaxed as she now held Jade's hand and returned the smile. Everything faded but the woman beside her.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought her back. She immediately let go when she saw the serious looks on their faces. Mrs. Tanchingco no longer had that disapproving look she saw earlier. That's a relief, she thinks.
"So you're Althea."
She flinched at Mr. Tanchingco's voice. She sat up straight
"Yes, sir."
"Miss Guevarra, do you love my daughter?"
Straight for the jugular, she thought.
"Dada!" Jade protested.
"Yes, sir," she answered without missing a beat.
"Mr. and Mrs. Tanchingco, I hope we had met under... under much better circumstances." She cleared her throat to control the embarrassment. "But I want you to know that I care for Jade very much. I respect her. We're still getting to know each other, but I'm sure about one thing. I love her and I will do anything and everything to make her happy, to make sure she doesn't regret making me a part of her life."
