Philips (Sequel to De Santa)

Chapter Twelve

CHELSEA

Dinner went absolutely perfect, much to my astonishment. Jim and Tracey came home at some point during dinner and joined us, Dad was having a blast, and Matt was anything but shy or nervous. Jim didn't take it too well finding out that his best friend was dating his sister, but he got used to the idea real quick and even said, "if there's anyone I'd be okay with dating my sister, it'd be you, Matt." I was touched...and a little weirded out, but touched more than anything. Even Tracey was super supportive of us. I always wanted to be close knit with my family, but it always seemed such a hard thing to do. Now that Amanda is gone, it's like a heavy weight has been lifted...maybe I can finally have the relationship I've longed to have with my family.

"Chels...this has been the best dinner...the best night I've had in a long time," Matt smiled as he took a drink of his eCola.

"Even though you took a volleyball to your—"

"Okay, second best," Mat laughed. "Thanks for inviting me for dinner, Mr. De Santa."

"Hey, no problem," Dad smiled. "And you can call me Michael, if you want."

"Aww." I smiled.

"What?"

"Dad, you bonded."

"Oh, come on."

"Don't you deny it," Tracey laughed. "Everyone knows once a boyfriend is on a first name basis with the father, that means the father looks to the boyfriend like a son."

"Seriously?" Dad chuckled. "Okay, Mr. De Santa, it is."

"Dad," I laughed. "Ignore Tracey, I'm glad that he can call you Michael. Mr. De Santa sounds waaaay too formal. We're all on good terms, why be so proper?"

"She's right," Dad nodded. "Come over anytime, Matt. And if you need a good lawyer for your mom, just let me know."

"I can't afford a lawyer right now, Michael," Matt insisted.

"Don't worry about it. We'll work something out. For now, you just worry about your case and getting your mom over here, okay?"

"T-Thank you," Matt lowered his head, trying his best not to cry. "T-That means so much to me. I swear I'll pay you back."

"I know you will. You're a good kid with a damn fine head on your shoulders. I couldn't be happier to let you date my daughter."

"You're not letting anyone date anyone," I insisted.

"Can't you just let me have this one?"

"Nope." Dad instantly busted out into a fit of laughter, which stopped when Matt's phone started going off. Matt pulled it out of his pocket, pressed a button on the screen, and returned it to his pocket.

"Sorry, that's my alarm," Matt explained. "I didn't realize how late it was getting."

"Gotta leave already?"

"Yeah, I gotta cover someone's shift. Luckily, the manager is talking about making me assistant manager real soon."

"Really?" I smiled. "Matt, that's awesome! Congratulations!"

"Don't congratulate me just yet, it's between me and this other guy. He's a hard worker, so I'm doing all I can to prove that I work even harder. Picking up shifts, always being on-call, ready to come in at a moment's notice. I swear, it's just until I get the position, and then everything will be more relaxed."

"Don't worry about me, Matt. You gotta take care of yourself, too."

"Well," Dad cleared his throat. "It is getting late, I think I'm gonna turn in for the night. Chels, you good to lock up?"