30 Days of Love

Family Tradition

Joanna's POV

I despise the idea of marriage. Mostly the idea of me getting married. I don't want it. I never have and I never will. And with me being a junior in high school, you'd think that would be the least of my worries, yet it isn't and until today, I thought I would have never needed to worry about it. But, I had surely been mistaken.

From the open space beneath my door, I hear the sound of mama's voice from the kitchen, as she shouts, "Jo, dinner's done!"

My heart drops and cautiously I pace my way down the dark wood stairs into the kitchen, making sure to not trip on invisible stairs that hide in the darkness; unseeable.

To the left of me, mama stands in front of the hot stove that causes the kitchen to bake anyone inside. Her long, straight black hair slicks back into a high ponytail.

She turns around and faces me. The strong expresso of her eyes is hidden with tears, as she manages to give me a warm smile. "Your plate is in the dining room where Papa and Luis are."

What's wrong? I think, before suppressing the thought down into the pit of my stomach full of thoughts I never do anything with.

It's never been out of normal for mama to cook onions, as for every meal she does. Resulting in her eyes always being blind by tears. Yet this time it seems different as if something is truly wrong.

And when I arrive in the dining room, the room has an off feeling that makes my chest tighten. Only it's different from the same tightness I've felt since the age of twelve. This time around, the tightness seems to urge me into believing something is amiss.

Meanwhile, I ignore the unsettling feeling and sit down on the rough, old chair beside my brother, Luis, that I question one day will break under the pressure of my weight.

Eventually, once mama lingers through the entryway and sits down at the end of the table as she always does, papa's raspy, deep voice speaks, "Well, now that mama has sat down at the table, I think it's time we share the good news."

His face glows with pride, as I stare into his face that has quickly over time revealed the undying amount of years throughout his life. Though his face is growing of age, neither his nor mama ever seems to match the faces of other parents. Theirs are much younger, much youthful.

My lips curve into the waning crescent of the moon, as I glance at mama. Nevertheless, she doesn't express the excitement she normally has across her face, but her face is pale and her brown eyes are wide, making me wonder if she even wants to tell me the news, to begin with.

As her eyes shut together, my grin slowly fades, understanding the news isn't good, but is bad. "Listen, your father and I have arranged to marry you to someone named Liam Brown." She opens her eyes, slowly with dread.

I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at her. "W-what do you mean?"

She glares at papa, shaking her head, telling him to answer my question instead of her.

My chest squeezes every breath inside me, capturing it. Not allowing me to exhale.

"Your mother means to say you are getting married next month to a man named Liam Brown," Papa clarifies, not looking up from his chili as he stirs it together with a proud smirk painted onto his skin.

I hesitate for a moment, not comprehending what they're saying, not believing their words. "W-what?" My eyes squint together, trying to find the lie in between mama and papa's face, but nothing's there, besides the truth."This has to be a joke right?"

As I wait for everyone to start laughing, they don't. Instead, they stay silent, with their eyes wide like I had just said something outrageous. Like I was the one not making sense.