Life As We Know It

3

Since Jackson and I never really had a specific time to meet, I went around noon. To my surprise I saw him waiting there for me and my heart skipped a beat. Though I was excited to see him, the conversation between my mother and Xavier still hung heavy in my heart. I was up all night wondering about their mysterious exchange and had to use a lot of my makeup to cover up that I was sleep deprived.

Jackson gets up to greet me and I automatically feel comfort in his muscular arms. I smile at the thought that I get to be able to stay in these arms for a lifetime. I explain to him that my mom wants to meet him to make sure that our grandchildren are "adorable". He laughs but then reminds me that we have to register that we've met down at City Hall first. It is apart of the Match Law that states that all new couples must tell the government that they've met.

When we get down to City Hall, there is a line going out the door for registration. I guess everyone found their match yesterday. When it is finally our turn to be helped, we are given the standard protocol. Our bank accounts become conjoined, we get a marriage license, and we sign a contract saying that we will procreate together. It seems like a bit much for two people who were complete strangers yesterday, but part of a relationship is trust and I can already tell that I trust Jackson.

After that, we head to my house and Jackson meets my brothers again and my mother for the first time. He's a true charmer to her, unlike my brothers where he's a speechless chunk of meat. After they speak for a while, I can see my mother let down her guard a little bit more. I suppose whatever she was concerned about last night is nonexistent. I look at Xavier and he looks the same way as my mother; relieved. Before we both know it, dinner is beginning to be prepared but my mother allowed Jackson and I to be relieved of our duties to cook and go spend some quality time together.

We go upstairs in my room and after Jackson takes in my sky blue walls and yellow bedspread, he plops down on my bed. 

"I love your family," he says. That makes me smile as I take a seat next to him. 

"I'm glad because they're your future in-laws. You get to deal with them your entire life," I say. I then grab his hand. "When do I get the honor of meeting your fmaily?" That is when he sits up. He sighs then we sit in silence for a few moments.

"I honestly don't know. Remember how I said my parents wanted to me to move here? They meant just me." That takes me aback. Who would let their 20 year old son move away to some foreign city just to find their person? I always thought that a family moved together or not at all. I guess not everyone is the same.

"So where are they then? You never did tell me where you're from." That is when he sighes. This must be a touchy topic for him. "I don't want you to tell me if you don't want to, but we're going to be married in less than 2 months and I just want to get to know you more".  Now he grabs my other hand and looks me right in my eyes. My heart melts as his eyes bore into mine, but I can tell he means business.

"I'm from around here, the Boston area. But when the uprisings became more...frequent my parents thought that a move would be good for us." I don't know why, but I have a feeling I know where he's going with this and I'm not sure how I feel about it other than that I hope I'm wrong. "My family lives in rebel territory. They're apart of the rebellion".