The New Normal

Chapter Forty One

"Aunt Gina, will you please tell Dad not to scare the crap out of my boyfriend tonight?" I whined, feeling incredibly anxious for the dinner that was going to take place tonight.

Although Dad decided he liked Tyler after I told him about his distaste for avocados on Friday, he was still hell bent on making him as uncomfortable as possible during the dinner. Throughout the day, he kept giving me hints as to what he was going to say and the horrifying stories of my childhood that he was going to embarrass me with. As he would come at me with new information, I kept getting flashbacks to the dinner with Blake. It went horribly and Dad hated him throughout the duration of our relationship. Blake couldn't speak without being a stuttering mess and when Dad asked him where he sees himself in ten years, Blake answered, "Uh, I don't know, twenty-five, I guess."

I desperately hope that Tyler comes up with a more fulfilling answer than simply his age.

Aunt Gina laughed at my plea and handed me a stack of plates from the cupboard. "It'll be fine, Sunshine. I'm sure your father will be on his best behaviour."

"I said I'd make no promises!" my dad shouted as he descended the stairs. He tightened his plum his tie and once he entered the kitchen, he grinned like a child who just coloured the bathroom walls with permanent marker but we don't know it yet. "If he can handle one dinner with me pestering him, then surely he can handle you."

"Um, thanks?" I said, confused as to whether that was an insult to either himself or me. I carried the plates to the dining room and started placing them down in their appropriate spots when I heard the doorbell ring. I placed the last plate down and ran to the door yelling, "DON'T ANSWER IT! I GOT IT!"

Dad held his hands up in surrender and Aunt Gina laughed at my demand as she started mashing the potatoes.

When I got to the door, I straightened out my wine coloured crushed velvet dress and brushed my hair out of my face. Taking a deep breath, I opened it with a smile.

Tyler, as always, looked as handsome as ever, wearing black dress pants, black leather loafers, and deep red dress shirt with a black tie. In his hands, he had a bouquet of flowers in one and a box from the cafe in the other. He looked me up and down and licked his lips. "Well, don't you look as stunning as ever, Sweetness?"

I blushed nearly as red as his shirt and smiled at him cheekily. "Not as stunning as you."

Tyler broke out into a grin and kissed me on the forehead after I gestured for him to come in.

I eyed the box and whispered so my father couldn't hear. "Is that carrot cake?"

"Freshly baked," Tyler confirmed with a cocky grin.

I rolled my eyes and gently took it from his grasp so I could put it in the kitchen.

Aunt Gina and Dad looked at me quizzically when I came in with the box so I said for the sake of clarification, "Tyler brought dessert."

"Well, that was awfully kind of him!" Aunt Gina mused, meanwhile my dad eyed the box, looking like he was contemplating whatever was in the box was poisoned or not.

We all left the kitchen, so the evening of awkwardness could get started.

When Tyler saw my father, he held out his hand. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Wood. Thank you for inviting me over for dinner tonight."

Dad took Tyler's hand in his and shook it firmly. "It's not a problem. Anything to get to know my JuJube's lucky friend."

My face drained of colour when I heard him say my nickname and I looked at Aunt Gina in a desperate attempt to for her to change the subject that wasn't embarrassing for me. But Tyler beat her to it by handing her the bouquet of flowers. "Juliet told me you like orchids."

Aunt Gina looked touched, with a hint of a blush on her face. "Oh, thank you, Tyler. That was very kind of you."

Dad looked slightly impressed at Tyler's gift to my aunt and I started to relax. Maybe this evening wasn't going to be a complete disaster.

"So Tyler," my father began after eating our meal silently for the past ten minutes. "What are you doing with your life?"

I abruptly stopped chewing, nearly choking on my food, but Tyler was completely unfazed, although, he did look quite nervous. He knew I was applying for the nursing program at NYU, but when I had asked him what he planned on doing next year, he simply shrugged. He placed down his utensils on the table and licked his lips. "I actually applied for the P-P-Pastry a-and Arts program at ICE."

"Ice, what's ice?" My father asked, looking like he missed something. Quite frankly, I didn't blame him. "And what's pastry arts?"

Tyler scratched the back of his head, looking uncertain. "ICE stands for Institute of Culinary Education, sir. Pastry and Arts is their program for baking, you know, like cakes, pastries, and whatnot."

My father looked baffled. "You want to be a baker?"

"Um," my boyfriend looked nervous, as a deep blush took over his cheeks. "Yeah..."

Aunt Gina nodded her head and shot me a thumbs up as she said, "Why isn't my niece lucky to have someone like you. Attractive and a baker? My goodness, she'd be an idiot to throw you away."

"Aunt Gina!" I gasped, but I was grateful for her comment because soon Tyler's embarrassment was gone and was now looking more confident.

Aunt Gina held her hands up, and my father focused his attention back to Tyler. "So, how're your grades looking? I've heard you can be quite the trouble maker."

I rolled my eyes. "Who told you that?"

"You did," Dad answered with an cocky grin. "A little before Homecoming, remember?"

Tyler chuckled as he caught me trying to hold in my annoyance. "She wasn't wrong about that, but I am happy to say my grades never suffered as a consequence of my shenanigans. My only fault from an academic standpoint is that I rarely participated in school events. Save for when I was on the lacrosse team with Tris-"

He stopped himself and my father smiled sadly. "Yes, I do remember that." He thought to himself and chuckled light-heartedly. "You can say his name, son. He may have passed but he isn't Voldemort."

Tyler had a look of relief but said nothing more.

I could tell Dad wanted to provoke more of a conversation, though, I was surprised he hadn't asked the basic question every father wants to know, "What are your intentions with my daughter?" But it never came. Instead, he said, "Well. I'm glad my daughter has someone like you, son. Although I feel like I should warn you, she eats sweets like it's nobody's business, so if you ever do start a bakery of your own, she'll either be your best customer or the reason why you have nothing in stock."

"Daddy!" I jolted in surprise, then I crossed my arms. "I do not eat that many sweets."

Tyler burst out into a loud chuckle. "I hate to break it to you, but you do. Why do you think I call you Sweetness?"

"You said it was because I was sweet!" I pointed accusingly.

"Yeah, filled with them," my father countered with a snort.

Everyone aside from me broke out into fits of laughter, but after a minute, I couldn't help but laugh too. I looked at my father as he laughed and I realized, I hadn't seen him do so in a very, very long time.