I didn't take offense. She had worked with me in high school and summers home from college when she didn't travel with her friends. It was understandable that she wanted to do something else, particularly since she'd gotten a degree in cybersecurity. I assumed finding a job would be easy for her, but she was having a hard time. I suspected her lack of prospects was because she was a woman.
"If you change your mind, let me know," I told her. "When do I get to meet Manuel? I don't know anything about him, and I'm sure he'd like to meet me too."
"I'm glad you brought that up because he does want to meet you, and I want to meet his father. He said his father is kind of square and rigid, which reminded me of Dad," Blossom said with a laugh. "We thought it would be a good idea for the four of us to have dinner together."
I picked up two bottles of kombucha and placed them in the pantry, where I'd leave them for a few days before refrigerating them. "When were you thinking?"
"Friday night."
"This Friday? That's only a few days away." I picked up two more bottles.
"We felt the sooner the better."
We.
She was already speaking in the plural. I had to meet this young man before he took complete control of her brain cells. Meeting his father at the same time would be good too, so I'd have a sense of the type of family she was marrying into.
"Tentatively scheduled for seven o'clock at Knife & Fork," Blossom said.
Knife & Fork was a popular steak restaurant that I had never been to. I no longer ate red meat—or pork—so it was the kind of place I hadn't been anxious to visit. I'd have to check the menu beforehand to see what dishes I could eat.
"Got it."
She smiled. "And Mom, be nice, okay?"
"I'm always nice." This time I was offended.
She looked at her fake-ring-piece-of-paper thingy and then lifted her gaze. "Are you happy for me?"
For a moment, she was my little girl, seeking my approval. Not the adult she insisted was ready for marriage. I had reservations, and I wanted the best for her.
I placed my hands on her arms again. "If this is what you want, and he's a good man, I'm very happy for you. Love is a beautiful thing if you can find it."
"It is what I want, and he is a good man."
I'll be the judge of that.
I pulled her into my arms. "Then I can't wait to meet him."
I kissed her cheek, and a smile spread across her face. "I'll call him now and let him know we're confirmed for Friday night."
She rushed out of the kitchen, and I started cleaning up. It was almost my bedtime, but I had a feeling my mind would be preoccupied with the engagement. I wouldn't be able to rest until I had met Blossom’s fiancé and determined if he was good enough for my daughter.
Chapter 2
Jamison
"What do you mean you're getting married?"I panted, staring at my son in disbelief. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face from the incline and speed of the treadmill I was running on before work.
For years, I had regularly gone to the gym and still did, but lately, I had been struggling with insomnia and often woke up early. Instead of lying in bed doing nothing, I had placed a treadmill in my bedroom and added an extra forty-five minutes of exercise to my day.
Manuel gave me one of his exasperated looks. "You know what getting married means. You were married once, remember?"
Not only did my son look a lot like his Mexican mother—inheriting her swarthy skin, curly black hair, and dark eyes—he also tended to have her snark.
Yes, I knew exactly what marriage was, which was why I was alarmed. His mother and I didn't last because, quite frankly, we were incompatible and ignored our differences because we thought we were in love. Although I looked forward to the day Manuel got married and I became a grandfather, I had not expected marriage to happen so soon. He was practically still akid, and worse, he was engaged to a young woman I had never met.
"When did this happen?"
