Loved and Alive

Chapter 21

"Are you still mad at me?" Robert asks as I adjust my skirt.

I move past him, checking myself in the mirror one last time.

"Do I correctly take your silence as a yes?"

I sigh. "I'm not mad."

"Then why so frosty?" My fiance asks.

"Because, I'm just not thrilled that you took my phone and texted my mother, two weeks before even bringing it up to me." I say. "Babe, we're a team, we're getting married, we have to tell each other these kinds of things because I hate it when we argue."

"I know, I do too. I just - would you have called them?" Robert looks at me while matting down his unruly curls.

I shake my head. "No."

"You never know, they could completely change their tune once they realize they're missing out on your life." He says as I apply a light coating of lipstick.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong." I challenge.

"Ten bucks and the loser has to watch a show they despise for a week."

"A whole week of us watching my favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls?" I gasp. "You're on. And also, you're driving tonight."

"Naturally, I have the keys in my pocket."

I fake pout. "I thought you were happy to see me." I joke.

Robert rolls his eyes, leaning over and kissing my cheek. "Always and forever, but we can revisit this topic later."

I smile, looking at us both in the mirror. "Alright, time for me to die - I mean see my parents."

~~

I grab Robert by the wrist, pulling him back from the restaurant entrance.

"What?"

"I'm sick. Feel, I'm warm, we have to cancel." I say.

"You saw them?" He guesses.

"I can't do this." I whisper with a nod.

Robert leans over, kissing my forehead. "That's why we're doing this. We're a team and all that."

I manage a smile, then nod. "Okay, let's go." I say.

Robert sets a hand on the small of my back as I walk, nervously and confidently, towards the table in the far right.

I stop, clasping my left hand in my right, gulping as I face my parents. "Hi Mom, Dad."

My parents both mumble what passes as a greeting.

"Um, I hope you remember my boyfriend, Robert." I say, looking at him for help.

Robert smiles. "Wonderful to see you both again."

"Are you going to sit or just hover the whole meal?" My dad asks.

"Right, yeah, sitting." I say, pulling out a chair and sitting, Robert following suit.

"When'd you cut your hair?" Mom asks.

"Uhh, two years ago. I accidentally burnt the ends with my flat iron, so I cut it, then cut the rest to match. Robert really likes it, and it's more manageable." I run my right hand over my hair, the ends stopping just at my collarbone.

"It makes your face look chubby." My mom says.

"Oh good, desired effect achieved!" I joke, laughing nervously.

"So uh Mr. Jones, uh Kayla said you run a small window repair company. How's that going?" Robert asks as he reaches out under the table, his hand resting on my thigh, squeezing reassuringly as I reach down, covering his hand with mine.

"I sold it. Quite a profit, it was turned into a franchise, we receive monthly royalties. I've been investing some of the money." My dad says.

"Ah! A true entrepreneur."

I let out a sigh as a waiter appears, taking our drink orders.

"How's college?" Dad asks.

"Good, probably. I graduated a year earlier." I say.

"Why? Nothing. . .unplanned happened?" My mom asks, giving Robert a sideways glance.

I glance at the table. "No Mother, nothing like that. I was offered a full-time journalist position at the magazine I interned for."

"Oh, so you still do the journalism thing? That's nice." My dad remarks.

"She's one of the best on staff, one of the few whose articles appear in different branches. The editor has had to enforce that she works solely for the magazine." Robert says.

"Well, he lets me freelance for the right price." I add.

"Right, right. I just got excited, bragging about you." Robert smiles at me.

I chuckle and shake my head. "You're adorable."

"I believe that's my line." Robert laughs.

I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear as the waiter returns, setting down the drinks.

"So, you two are still together." My mom states after we ordee our food.

"Well yeah. About four years now, we have a great apartment. And we've been talking about a puppy." I say.

"She talks about it, I silently ignore her because we already have two dogs." Robert says, glancing at me.

"But a puppy! Babe, it'd be so cute!" I squeal, making him laugh.

"Ahh you're cute enough for me."

I look away, my cheeks pink. Looking up, I see my mom smiling faintly.

I clear my throat. "So, how have you been?" I ask.