The knock on my door, promptly at seven, made my heart jump. I was really doing this. I was going on a first date with Greg. I could hear him on the other side of the door talking in hushed tones. I tried pressing my ear against it but couldn’t make out what was being said. Instead I went for jerking the door open which caused Greg to stop mid-sentence and hang up on whomever he was he was talking to.
I wasn’t sure if it was what I was wearing, or the fact that I had scared him, that had Greg’s jaw hinged open and him standing speechless at my front door. I had on a tight black dress with a peacoat to keep me warm— as I had no idea where we were going— and Alexa’s red pumps. She had said I needed to spice up my wardrobe a little more and had shoved them into my closet about four months ago.
“You look fucking gorgeous, doll.” I was beginning to grow accustomed to Greg’s newfound nickname for me, and I liked it. I liked that he had something just for me, that no one else could touch.
I stepped out of the apartment and reached in my purse to get my keys, but Greg had already beat me to the punch. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and made sure to lock the door behind me before leading me down the hall and to his car in the garage. I laughed to myself that I had totally forgotten Greg had a key to my place. It wasn’t just that he could have texted me over the weekend. He could have just come into my apartment and asked what the hell was up. I mean, I could have done the same, though, since my keyring held a key to Greg’s place, too.
We had decided long ago to make sure we had access to each other’s apartments, just in case anything ever happened, or if either of us ever needed to leave town for an extended period of time.
I felt Greg’s hand linger on the small of my back as we made way to his car. I was ready for him to leave my side but he stayed there, and even opened the door for me. Surprised didn’t even begin to explain how I was feeling.
He remotely started the car before ushering me into my seat. “If I didn’t mention it before, you look fucking amazing.” He leaned in to whisper in my ear and then leaned across me to buckle my seatbelt. Just as he came around to his side, the phone in the car started to ring. The dash displayed “Mom,” so I hit accept before Greg could reach my hand to swat it away. The glare on his face was one of death.
“You don’t ever hang up on your mother again, do you hear me, young man?” Margaret’s voice filled the car and I sunk back into my seat realizing it had been his mother who he had been on the phone with when Greg knocked on my door. “You are coming to dinner tonight and there are no ifs, ands, or buts, about it.”
“Mom,” Greg tried to plead as he put the car in reverse and made his way out of the parking garage.
“Don’t you ‘mom” me, don’t even mother me next. You are coming to family dinner. This is not something you just miss because of some girl, son.” She released a sigh and continued her rant. “I don’t care who she is, she’s not more important than we are. And that’s final.”
Greg looked over to me for approval, just before he pulled out onto the main road. I had no idea where we were headed, and I really didn’t know if I wanted Margaret to know we were going on a date. But hell, someone would find out sooner or later, and I didn’t want to be on the yelling end of another Margaret conversation like the one that was happening in this car right now.
I placed my hand on Greg’s arm and squeezed, letting him know I would take over. The look in his eyes was hopeful and I wanted to know what he was thinking at that exact moment. I wanted to know if he was thinking what I was. That even though we were married now and just going on our first date, I had been a part of this family for a long time. I had been his and he had been mine. We were both just too stubborn to do anything about it, and now was the time to do something about it.
“Margaret.” I waited for her to register who was talking over the phone.
“Lilly, darling, is that you?” I laughed and saw Greg’s shoulders release tension that was big enough for the both of us.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Will you please tell my son that he doesn’t need to be going on some date when he should be here with his family?” I started to answer, but she continued. “Oh! And darling, make sure that you come, too. Oh, I just love when you’re both here. It just feels like a real family dinner when we have everyone.”
I looked over to Greg and knew he could see the tears starting to form in my eyes. He grabbed for my hand and intertwined our fingers, while I prepped to tell Margaret what was actually going to happen tonight.
“Well, Margaret—”
“Don’t tell me you agree with him not being here. Seriously, you kids don’t know what the meaning of family is. Some little hussy isn’t worth not spending a night with your parents.” If there was anyone in this car who knew the meaning of family, it was Greg. He preached family dinner every week and talked to his mother at least two times a day and saw his brother every day. It just wasn’t every day that Margaret’s little boy was finding family outside of her house.
“Margaret—”
“No, you both will be here tonight, and that’s final.”
“Margaret…” I paused to see if she was going to try to interrupt me again. “I’m the hussy you’re speaking about.”
Greg’s laughter filled the car and I couldn’t help but join him as silence filled the other end of the conversation. I could just picture Margaret standing in her kitchen reaching for the nearest bottle of wine, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Excuse me?” Margaret’s voice had become small and cautious.
“Mom, Lilly and I are going on a date tonight.” We were stopped at a red light, and Greg looked over to me. My heart tried to skip a beat, but it felt impossible, because the beat that my heart was working at was one of a symphony that didn’t plan on stopping until the wee morning hours.
“Oh.” Margaret’s initial response was short.
Greg pulled in at Finnagin’s, one of our favorite bars, just as Margaret decided she wanted to talk more.
“Well, it’s about goddamn time that the two of you got together. I was sick and tired of always seeing you two dance around everything. And the fact that she hadn’t been to our house in over a year had me worried sick that you two would never figure out how much you feel for each other.”
She took a deep breath and tried to scold us more, but Greg tried to stop her.
“Mom.” His voice was stern, normally how Margaret’s voice sounded when she was scolding her children.
