Meadow

Chapter 17 The Knight's

“He asked me to meet his family.” Kota stopped folding her shirts and glared at me. “What? I thought you would be excited for me.”  I slid from her bed and joined her in the floor. Kota’s eyes softened as the disappointment in my voice reached her knowing ears.  “I am, Meadow, truly I am, but have you thought about what this will mean? Maybe Shawn and I should go too.” Why was she so worried? She was making me nervous, even more nervous than before.

“No, thanks, but no. I will be fine. It’s just dinner. How can they possibly make a decision if I am good for Dyson or not by one dinner? I am hoping that this will be the beginning of a great friendship.”  I threw her shirt in the basket, and brought my knees to my chest.  My mind was going a mile a minute at the possibilities of things that could happen.  I decided to dwell on the happy thoughts.

“I have to go get ready; he will be at the house in a few hours to pick me up.”  I noticed my hands shaking as I stood, and tried hard to hide it. Kota smiled as she stood, and took me in a tight embrace. “If you change your mind, let me know. It’s not like we have to eat, we could just be there for support, for both of you.”

“I will be fine.” I forced a laugh, and hid the nervousness well.

~~

“You seem nervous, are you alright?” I pushed my hair away from my face, and turned to face Dy in the driver’s seat. “Yea, I am fine.”  I waited a few seconds to see if I could read his face for any doubts. “What about you?”   I took his free hand in mine, and gave it a quick squeeze. “I am a little nervous, but other than Christy, I have never brought a girl home before.”  He chuckled and leaned forward, towards the steering wheel, then back in his seat. He was nervous, and wasn’t doing a good job hiding it.

We pulled into the driveway of his house, and the first thing I noticed was the flower garden. His front yard was full of Roses, Lilies, and Sunflowers; all planted around the base of a huge weeping willow. Gorgeous, to say the least.

I took in a deep breath, and steadied my nerves once again. Dy and I met at the front of the car, and I gripped on to his hand harder than I intended to. I looked down at my full length dress and brushed the wrinkles out with my free hand. “You look beautiful.”  Dy’s smile made me laugh under my breath. “Thank you, but will your mom like it?” My bottom lip was shivering. I wished I had taken Kota up on her offer now. With every step I took closer to his parents, the more I felt like busting out crying.

I didn’t know these people; I was going off of every single negative reaction that I had been given about Dy and me so far. I realized I was being a hypocrite, I didn’t want them to judge me before they got to know me, but here I was stereotyping them, and assuming the worst.

“I am fine now.” The steadiness of my voice even surprised me. “I refuse to assume anything. Maybe they will like me!” I said just before walking straight into the foyer of his home.

“MOM!”  Dy screamed before the front door clicked shut behind us.  I jerked a little from the fray nerves, and we both laughed. He guided me through the foyer, and into the living room.  The theme was the Lord’s Prayer.  The beige sofa looked so inviting, I wanted to sit down, but before I could Dyson pulled me further into the house, towards the kitchen. “MOM!!”

“What boy, why you hollerin like somethin’s on fire?” I heard her irritated voice before I saw her. As I turned the corner, we became face to face. “Mom, this is Meadow.” Startled, Mrs. Knight looked from Dy to me, and our hands held in the middle. “Hi, Mrs. Knight it’s nice to finally meet you.” Without another moment of hesitation, a smile crossed her face, and she pulled me into a tight embrace. “Well, it’s nice to meet you sweetheart!” I knew she meant it.