It Was An Accident

9 - Perfect

𖧷𝙼𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚎𖧷

Mr. Perfect turns out to have an actual name. Anthony. I like Mr. Perfect better though.

He smiles at me while Mom introduces us. "It's nice to meet you." He sweetly smiles and gently shakes my hand. He hands me a pretty bundle of flowers too.

Anthony has Nicolas's middle name. Or Nicolas has Anthony's name. I'm not sure which way it should go, but one of them has the other's name.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too." I return, smiling down at my new flowers when a woman comes over to show us to our table. Anthony and his mom sit on one side of the booth while I sit with mine on the other side.

The original plan was to have a double date. Anthony and I with Mom and Dad, but then my mom decided it would be best if both mothers were present.

For...some reason? It still makes absolutely no sense to me.

"Posture." Mom whispers, nudging me. I quickly sit up straighter, giving her an awkward smile. She nods at me.

Anthony's Mom—Cassie—begins to talk about..I don't really know. Cassie just starts talking about something. I allow my mind to wander from the conversation that I don't really want to be apart of. My eyes land on the couple sitting at the table next to us. They seem happy.

I start to wonder how they met. Maybe she was walking in a park one day and he was late for work and they bumped into each other. Or maybe they met through a friend. They were probably all awkward, sitting with each other while their friend left to get them some drinks. Or maybe they—

"Maeve." Mom snaps in my face to get my attention.

I blink at her and look around. "Hm? What? Sorry." I apologize before anything and offer the table a nervous smile.

Mom starts shaking her head and looks to Anthony. "She's always in her own head." She smiles, trying to smooth it over. I frown a little.

"I'm sorry, zoned out a little there." I quietly laugh, offering a little shrug. Anthony tilts his head at me, but says nothing. "What were we talking about?" I ask, awkwardly tucking a little bit of my hair behind my ear.

"Well, I was talking about how the kids at the hospital absolutely adore my Anthony." Cassie smiles, she nudges her son and Anthony sits up straight, clearly proud of himself.

I smile at that. "Aw, that's cute." I murmur, pressing my hands to my heart.

Anthony nods and smiles. "And you work at a..coffee shop. Right?" He returns. I perk up a little and nod. "You enjoy that?" He asks, smiling like he's amused. It's almost like he doesn't believe I would like that which is a little...Eh.

"I do, yeah." I smile still, nodding. "My best friend works there too and I've made friendships with some of the regulars." I explain a little and try to make it sound like I at least enjoy what I do a little bit.

"Oh, but that's not what you want to do in the long run, right Maeve?" Mom quickly adds.

I feel my smile drop a little but I put it back up and nod. "Uh, yeah. I definitely want to do something..more?"