words weren’t nearly as crazy as they sounded in my ears.
“Oh please Danielle; you are twenty-five years old. It is time to start settling down and now that you have Corey, you can do just that.”
“We just started dating.” My voice didn’t hold back my shock at her words.
“It’s been months!”
“How do you know how long it’s been?” She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes like a sullen teenager. “I have no doubt that from the moment the two of you met, you have been together. Well, you met months ago so now it is time.”
“I’m really not following how you are coming to this conclusion. Even if we have been together from the moment we saw each other it still hasn’t been very long. What’s the rush?” I argued but the look on my Gram’s face told me she remained unconvinced.
“We are not going to be around forever, Danielle. I would like to see you walk down the aisle and meet my greatgrandchildren. If I didn’t think you two were going to last, I wouldn’t bring it up. However, I see you two and know this is the man you are going to marry. So why put it off?”
“Well Violet, my sister is actually getting married in a little under a month now so my family’s attention is on her at the moment. It just wouldn’t be fair to Karly or Dani to announce an engagement right now. Both women deserve their special moment.” Corey chimed in; a wave of relief rushed over me. Even I had to admit it was a nice save. I chanced a look up at my Gram and luckily she didn’t seem the least bit suspicious. In fact, she was nodding in complete understanding of what Corey said.
“So, after the wedding you’ll announce it?” She pressed on. I downed the white wine in front of me; Corey really did know how to pick out a good bottle. When I entered the liquor store for wine I usually just grabbed the first one I saw and called it a day.
“After they return from their honeymoon, because Karly would probably kill me if she came home and found out she missed all the excitement.” Grandma chuckled, as I stabbed another noodle. This was getting way too serious for me. Corey bringing up his sister launched both Grandparents into further questioning about his family. For this part of the meal, at least, I was able to happily add in information. Without a doubt, I loved Corey’s sisters and I had no problem sharing that fact with my dinner companions.
The night wore on and I watched as three of the most important people in my life became closer. Corey fit in perfectly with both of them. He was able to talk sports, cars, and many other things along those lines with my Grandpa. Yet, he was also able to talk with my Grandma about her interests and willingly helped her clean the dinner dishes. It should have absolutely pleased me to see how happy everyone was but I couldn’t rid the sinking feeling that everything was about to blow up in my face. Before we left that night, Grandpa gave me a big hug and told me how much he enjoyed Corey but not to feel rushed. Which would have been nice if my Grandma hadn’t whispered in my ear not to screw this up the way my mother did.
Corey kept my hand locked with his in a death grip, that he refused to let go. When we pulled up outside of my house, I felt myself very casually trying to send him home. Corey simply shook his head and walked us both inside. When I asked him why he was being so weird (ironic I know—since I was the one being strange) he took my face between his hands.
With his eyes piercing through mine he said, “Because I feel it Dani, you’re going to run from me. This dinner freaked you out and I get that. Just remember, it doesn’t change things for us, okay? We did this because it was easier to spend an evening as the happy couple than listen to her complain about it.” I bit back my sob. I must be really transparent if Corey knew exactly what my issues were.
“I’m fine; I’m not going to run.” I tried to sound convincing.
“Bullshit.” Guess it didn’t work. “I’ve worked so hard to get to this point with you and there is no way