Father simply nodded his head as he swallowed loudly. I was impressed. No one had ever put my father in his place before.
“I like you,” I said towards Julia without thinking. I didn’t realize I spoke until she met my eyes, giving me a small wink.
“Most people do,” she shrugged a shoulder with a small knowing smile on her lips.
“I adore her,” spoke a man who wore a tux, the buttons left undone as he entered the living room from a different room. “She always sees people for who they truly are. Julia is a heavenly gift.”
“Mr. Melendez,” father spoke, quickly shaking himself from the previous conversation where he literally got his butt chewed out.
He ignored my father, coming straight to me and shook my hand after I stood up. I could feel the sweat set in on my palm as I took him in. He looked like an older version of Zachariah with gray sprinkled throughout his hair and clean shaven. No doubt that Zachariah would look just a good when he aged.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Avidya. My son has told me so much about you,” he greeted, his eyes light as he looked at me.
“You too, Mr. Melendez,” I responded in kind.
“Carlos, please,” he smiled. He then let go of my hand before going to give Julia a kiss on her head. I couldn’t help but watch how she melted into his touch, so different from my own parents.
“Where is our son?” Julia asked.
“Cleaning up. He’ll be down in a few minutes,” Carlos answered. “Shall we go sit for dinner? I believe Shelly is done with the cooking.”
“Of course,” Julia responded.
Carlos led the way, with my parents following. Julia walked beside me as I marveled at the house on the way.
“If you like this house, you’ll love Zach’s,” she whispered to me.
“I can’t imagine living in a place like this. Ever,” I whispered back.
“You’ll get used to it, sweets,” she responded with a laugh. “Took me a bit, but it certainly grew on me.”
“Did you have an arranged marriage, too?” I asked, almost fearing the answer. Although, my fear disappeared as I entered the dining area. A huge glass table with a black frame and matching chairs sat in the middle. A huge glass chandelier hung from the ceiling. The windows looked out into the backyard, and I could clearly see the stream of water that flowed a little further out.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Julia said, seeing where I was looking towards. “To answer your question, yes. I knew Carlos for years before we married. We had plenty of time to fall in love with one another before marrying.”
“Many families like ours aren’t so lucky,” Carlos spoke up, helping his wife to sit before he took his own seat at the head of the table. “Of course, there aren't as many girls born into this type of family as there once was, which can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how you look at it.”
Slowly, but not entirely wanting to, I took the empty seat next to my father on his left and closest to the windows. Mom took the seat closest to Carlos, while Julia took the one across from her husband. That left one seat opened.
Father, of course, threw a glare my way as I took a seat. I tried to ignore him, knowing that right now was not the best time to make a scene.
“Lynn, how are you doing this fine day?” Carlos spoke, also ignoring my father. I took it that they were not men that got along well. Maybe it was because of their line of work.
“I’m okay,” she answered quietly.
“Good to hear,” Carlos replied, but I could tell he wasn’t happy with the answer. He didn’t drag more out of her, which was probably a good thing.
“Sorry I’m late,” Zachariah spoke, appearing almost out of thin air. I couldn’t help but jump as he took a seat right across from me. Having father sitting beside me made my nerves higher than normal.
“No worries,” Julia responded with a smile. “Hope you were able to clear the issue away.”
“For now,” Zachariah spoke. “Nice to see you again, Avidya,” he said as he turned his attention to me. Of course, I had to blush right then and there as he looked me over. “Are you unwell?”
“I’m fine,” I mumbled out, noticing that he was looking at the jacket I wore.
“Then why the jacket? Do you not like the dress I had ordered for you?” he asked, watching me with calculating eyes.
“She got sunburned,” father answered for me. At least it saved me from having to answer.
