Best Of Joy

Chapter 4

Time is such an interesting thing. It passes by so slow, yet so fast at the same time. And though it seems like you’ve known a person for your entire life, you come to realize you’ve only been acquainted with them for a few weeks.

            I spent New Year’s (though that’s what they failed to call the occasion because of their devout Jehovah-Witness beliefs) with Michael and his rather large family, which was a little under a month after we had met. But that night was unforgettable. I had met his mother and father for the first time.

*FLASHBACK*

 

Knock-knock-knock.

 

Crap! Michael was here already. I had just slipped into my new red satin dress and white pumps.

Quickly, I applied one more layer of red lipstick, fluffed my dirty-blonde hair, and ran to the door. I cleared my throat and practiced my cute-face then opened the door.

“Hey, sweetheart! My, is this for me?” He looked me up and down then leaned in to peck my cheek.

“You don’t look half bad, yourself,” I winked. He really didn’t, though his face was covered and so were his eyes. There were a lot of people out and about tonight, and he didn’t want to stir up a fuss. He took my hand and I stepped out the door. I fumbled around for my keys and locked it behind me. I was probably the only person in all of Encino who did this.

Michael laughed. “Stop being nice. You ready?”

“Yep, let’s roll.”

We began the walk to the next street over.

“Remember. This isn’t a New Year’s party.” He winked. “Just a little get-together-slash-meet-the-family sort of thing that happens to be on this particular day.”

“Gotcha. I won’t use the phrase ‘New Year’s’.”

“That’s my girl.”

“Michael?”

“Mmm?”

“I—I’m kind of…nervous. Like, about meeting your family. What if they don’t like me?”

Michael tilted his head back to laugh rather loudly.

“What’s not to like?!”

“Well, I’m not exactly the social type, ya know? It’ll be…hard.”

“Not with my family, Evonne. We meet no strangers, especially not my mother. I think you guys will get along wonderfully, and I know my brothers will love you.”

“Well, whatever you say.”

We arrived at his beautiful home, which I’d visited multiple times in the last half-month but could never fully get over its elegance. I had a serious case of butterflies, and I guess it showed in my whiter-than-usual complexion.

“Hey,” Michael grabbed my arm and looked me in the eyes, “it’s oh-kay. Just relax.” He smiled.

“I’ll do my very best,” I sighed.

He opened the door and pushed slightly on the small of my back, urging me in.

Barely after I stepped in, a short woman embraced me in a warm hug.

“Hi, honey! How are you? Oh, we’ve heard so much about you. Sorry we hadn’t been here when you were around, Joe insisted we leave the kids here to fin for themselves for a while. We took a vacation to Honolulu in Hawaii, and oh! It was just beautiful. We hadn’t been out of the house in—“