The Soulmate Curse

Endurance - Part 2

Her wrist wrap rang as she walked back to the apartment. Her dad.

"Hey Zhen."

"Hi dad."

"Just calling to see how you're doing."

"Still here. Still alive."

"I've seen what they're saying about you girls," his voice cracked. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm holding," said Zhen, not trusting herself to keep her emotions at bay. "How's Akemi?"

"That's actually the other reason I called," said her dad. His voice sounded a little chipper. "We're having dinner at the Darrow residence. To finalise details about the wedding. I was hoping you could join us."

"Of course," said Zhen, happy at the prospect of seeing family again and having a decent meal that would help stretch her provisions. "When?"

A few days later, Zhen was sitting at the dining table with her dad, her sister and Finn's family. Finn's mum's cooking was better than any restaurant meal she'd ever tasted. She filled up as they talked about all sorts of things. There were a lot of questions for Zhen about her new apartment and her new job. Eventually, the talk turned to Finn and her mum did what parents do best, make you feel incredibly awkward in front of company.

"So, Finn," she asked cordially. "Any girls in the picture?"

Finn choked on her food. She coughed and sipped on her water. "Mum!"

"What? I'm simply curious," her mum said laughing. She wouldn't let it go. "So?"

"No girls, mum," she replied, looking intently at her food.

Zhen felt a trill of excitement course through her. She smiled, hoping no one noticed.

Then her dad joined in the fun. "Tisha came over the other day asking after you, Zhen."

Zhen felt the colour rise in her cheeks. She risked a glance at Finn who was holding back a laugh. Zhen wanted the world to end right then.

"I like Tisha," said Akemi, making the situation worse. "She's always nice to me."

"I've never met a single one of Finn's girlfriends," said Sorcha.

"I don't think she's ever had one," said Ina.

"Her friend at the hospital, Jesse, was cool," said Sorcha. She turned to Finn. "You'd be good together."

Finn looked even more uncomfortable than Zhen felt. There was a pang in Zhen's chest when she thought about Finn and Jesse. Sorcha was right. They made a great couple. However, she couldn't pretend that she hadn't noted the fact that Finn hadn't shared what they had with her family. That instantly caught Zhen's attention. Ina got an "emergency" text and changed the subject to something about her band's new song. It was something they were creating exclusively for the wedding and she began interrogating her mum and Zhen's dad about stuff.

The rest of the dinner went relatively smoothly after that. Finn and Zhen ended up clearing the dishes after desert and loading the dishwasher. They were silent for a long time.

"Your new place sounds nice," Finn finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Zhen replied. "You should come over and check it out sometime."

"That would be cool," Finn agreed. "Is it fun? Living alone."

"Most of the time. I'm thinking of getting a cat. The base allows pets," Zhen replied, hoping she didn't sound like a lonely loser. "Speaking of cats, how's Joe?"