"In a month. I know it's short notice, but we both agreed we wanted a small event. Just family and a couple close friends. Honestly, I think we both kind of want to get it over with and justbemarried, you know?"
My eyes widened. "A month? That's, uh, very soon."
"It is. Is that okay? Since you run your own business, and Mom and Dad are retired, I figured you'd be free."
A million thoughts raced through my head at once, ranging from joy to 'oh,FUCK.' But first, Maria needed my support.
"Absolutely," I said. "I'd never miss my favorite sister's wedding."
"I'm your only sister, you goof. Anyway, I'll text you the details in a bit."
"Okay."
She paused. "Hey, Miguel?"
"Yeah?"
"You're not seeing anyone right now, are you?"
Ah, yes. There it was. The dreaded question.
Hearing it from Maria wasn't so bad, like a slightly nagging but harmless fruit fly. Her curiosity was genuine, and she knew how much I'd been struggling on that front.
But from the rest of my family? That same question was like a raging swarm of wasps. I loved them to death, but holy crap, could they not think ofanythingbesides my love life—or lack thereof?
It was a vicious cycle. Every time I encountered my family, they'd ask when I was finally getting a partner and starting a family, as if a partner was something I could grab at the supermarket. The first few times it happened was in my early twenties, when I'd just graduated from college and wasn't seriously thinking about my love life. At the time, they'd accepted my casual answer of just being focused on work.
But ten years later and still no alpha of my own, they were drilling down. Hard.
As much as I loved my family, it made it unbearable to be around them. Because to them, being over thirty with no kids or partner in sight was a blaring siren that screamed:PROBLEM. FIX NOW.
I sighed and leaned back against the tile. There was no way in hell I'd miss Maria's wedding, but how was I going to worm my way out of this debacle?
"Miguel? Hello?" Maria asked.
I shook my head, sending water droplets flying. "Sorry. Zoned out. What did you say?"
"I said, are you going to be okay?"
I knew she meant The Dating Situation. It was comforting to know that I had at least one person on my side.
"I'll deal with it somehow," I said. "Don't worry about me. It'syourbig day."
"All right," she replied. "Listen, if it makes it easier, I'm only inviting you and our parents to the rehearsal dinner. Sally’s parents are on a cruise that night so they won’t be there. It's gonna be tiny."
That was a small relief—like a gentle practice slap before taking a punch to the face.
"Sure thing," I said.
"By the way, you design those... applications, right?"
Maria wasn't the most tech savvy person in the world. "Apps. Yeah."
"Maybe this is a stupid idea, but aren't there dating apps or whatever? Have you tried checking there?"
I blinked. It felt like a burnt-out old neon sign above my head was finally plugged in. How could I be so dumb? It was so obvious that I hadn't even considered it an option.
"That's... actually not a bad idea," I said. "I've never tried using a dating app."
