I took a deep breath and opened the front door.
“Anna, baby,” my mom said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi, mama.” I returned the gesture and then moved over to my dad who gave me a big hug.
“Hi, sweetie,” he said. “We’ve missed you.”
“Hi, dad. I’ve missed you guys, too.” When we pulled apart, I motioned for them to come in. “Come meet Justin and his daughter, Margie.” I pointed to each of them as I said their names.
“It’s nice to meet you,” my dad said and held out his hand for Justin to shake.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, sir,” Justin said.
“Please, call me Tom,” my dad responded.
“Okay, Tom,” he smiled before turning to my mom. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. I see where Anna gets her beauty from.”
I blushed and hoped no one caught it, but I noticed my dad gave me a funny look.
“I like you, already,” my mom said with a laugh. “And you can call me Millie. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel so old.”
“Millie it is then,” he said with a nod.
“Hello, Ally. It’s good to see you, again,” Justin said to Ally, and I was happy that he greeted her. It made me feel good about the situation.
“Aren’t you just the cutest thing ever?” my mom said to Margie. She took to hiding behind me, and I thought it was so sweet.
“Thank you,” I heard her whisper.
“Hey, Margie, I’m Tom,” my dad said to her. He didn’t attempt to touch her, and I noticed her shoulders relax a little.
“Hi,” she said, speaking a little louder this time.
Everyone moved around the living room and found a place to sit down.
“How was the drive?” I asked my parents.
“Oh, you know how it goes with your mother,” my dad said. “Always complaining about my driving.”
“If you drove better, then I wouldn’t have to,” she shot back to him.
“If I didn’t have a backseat driver, then I could drive better,” my dad said.
Everyone except for Margie laughed.
Ally and I knew what he was talking about. Our mom had a lot of anxiety when it came to riding in cars. She would freak out about every little thing. It made for some interesting (and tense) family road trips.
There was an awkward silence. I was expecting a few of these. Mostly because I figured my parents would ask something uncomfortable or even grill Justin and me about our relationship. They were bound to want details that neither of us could provide. I hoped it would not come down to that.
I wondered if I should pull Justin to the side so we could discuss details to tell them in case questions came up, but I ultimately decided it was a little too late for that.
“So, Justin, what do you do?” my dad asked, and I could tell he was testing Justin. He was scrutinizing him, and it made me wonder if it had to do with the look he gave me earlier. He was analyzing the situation, which was something he was very good at, and I hoped he wouldn’t catch on to our little game.
“I’m an MMA fighter currently, and a retired Marine.”
My dad seemed to perk up when he mentioned he was a retired marine.
“How long were you in the service?” he asked.