Smooth Sailing

July 27, 2018

July 27, 2018

The Friday night before the third regatta race, my grandparents came over for dinner. "Can I invite a friend over?" I asked Mom and Dad once I heard that Grandma and Grandpa were coming.

"Of course," Mom said. "I'd love to have Eden over, and I'm sure your grandparents would be happy to see her too."

I had been hanging out with Eden all week, and inviting her over normally would have been a great idea, but I wasn't thinking of her. "Actually, I wanted to invite Véro over," I said.

"Véro's that girl who's crewing for you for the regatta, right?" Mom asked.

"I think that's right," Dad said.

"I'm fine with having her over," Mom said.

"I'm not so sure," Dad said. "We don't know her very well."

"It will be fine," Mom said. "I'm sure Véro's a nice person. I trust Sylvie's choice in friends."

"Thanks, Mom," I said.

"Fine," Dad said. "Sylvie, you can invite Véro over if you'd like."

I immediately texted Véro and asked her if she wanted to come over for dinner. I had already eaten dinner at her house a few times, and it was about time that I return the favor. Besides, I had other reasons for inviting Véro. Although we had been sailing, our relationship hadn't been the same since the second regatta race. I still had the feeling that she didn't trust me. I had to tell her the truth, and the best way to do that was to let her see for herself what my family was like.

Véro soon texted me back and told me that she could come. By that point, both Véro and my grandparents were coming over in less than an hour, so all I could do was wait.

As it turned out, Grandma and Grandpa arrived before my girlfriend. Grandma excitedly told me about some book that she had read that she thought that I would enjoy, while Grandpa talked to Dad about both the Clearwater Lake Regatta and the Junior Regatta. "My money's on Sylvie for the Junior Regatta," Grandpa said. "She's a good sailor, and as long as she does well in the final race, she has a good shot at winning the whole thing."

I hated that qualification - my success in the regatta as a whole was far too dependent on my performance in the last race. Véro and I had to make sure that we did well. All of our preparations seemed insufficient when I considered the odds that we were up against. It was all up to chance now - we didn't have enough time to do much more practicing.

Grandma and Grandpa both ended up talking to Mom and Dad as they cooked dinner, leaving Everett and I alone to wait for Véro to arrive. "Mom!" Everett complained once he heard that I was having a friend over. "Why can't I invite a friend?"

"You should have asked earlier," Mom said.

Everett glared at me, and I said, "It's not my fault that you didn't think of inviting a friend earlier."

"It's totally your fault," Everett said as he turned on the TV. He then started to play some idiotic video game, and because I had nothing better to do, I sat on the couch and watched my little brother yell at the TV.

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door. "Hey, Véro," I said as I opened the door.

"Hi, Sylvie," Véro said as she entered the house.

"I don't think I've ever formally introduced you to my family," I said. "My mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa are right there in the kitchen." I gestured to each of them as I mentioned them. "Everyone, this is Véro Arkoun."

"It's nice to meet you, Véro," Grandma said, but Grandpa, Mom, and Dad clearly weren't paying attention.

"I recognize your father," Véro said. "He's the commodore."