Mike followed the voices into the dining room. Everyone turned to look at him, all except Destiny who was helping Carol into her seat at the head of the table. It was a square table with five seats. Patty and Ron were on the right already standing next to theirs. He and Destiny must be in the other two. The tension was so high it could be cut with a knife. Even Carol stared at him in disappointment. As if she knew what had happened. Yeah, he knew he messed up, but he had every intension of making it right.
“Good evening,” he said, filling in the silence. Giving them all a wan smile.
“So you did decide to grace us with your presence.” Patty curled her lip at him as if smelling something foul. “Punctuality is obviously not one of your strong suits.”
Mike ground his teeth until he thought his molars would crack. He hated this woman. He usually reserved such strong emotions for his enemies, but he really didn’t like her. She didn’t even know anything about him, not even his name, but she treated him no better than gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe.
Carol finally took pity on him. “Mike was helping Destiny in the kitchen, Patty.”
No he wasn’t. He offered instead that he almost kissed Destiny. He still appreciated her kind words. Apparently, they were going to be the only ones tonight. He’d honestly rather be back overseas under heavy enemy fire than at this table, but it was too late to back out now.
“Mike brought wine, I’ll go get it,” Destiny announced, still not looking at him. It gutted him that he had upset her that much.
“I can,” he offered, eagerly wanting to please her even in a minuscule way.
“I don’t mind. I’ll just be a moment.” She rushed out of the room before he could protest. Mike felt his spirits deflate further. Maybe he should just go. His presence seemed to upset everyone.
“Everyone please sit down, I’m craning my neck looking up at all of you, especially you Mike.” Carol smiled, letting him know she was teasing him. “Mike, you’ll sit there.” She pointed to the second seat.
“How tall are you exactly?” Patty asked, taking her seat, her gaze once again scrutinizing him.
“Almost seven foot.”
“Good lord, are all the people in your family so tall?”
“Patty, don’t be so rude,” Carol chastened. “Talk about bad manners.”
“It was a simple question,” Patty muttered as she smoothed out her dress and set her napkin on her lap.
Destiny came back into the room with the bottle of wine like a saving grace. “Here we go,” she said cheerfully. As she poured glasses, Mike noticed it wasn’t the same bottle he brought. Was something wrong with the wine he brought? He wasn’t a wine drinker and that’s what the guy working at the liquor store suggested. He was more of a beer guy, personally. Or enjoyed the occasional scotch.
Patty’s eyes lite up with interest. “Well, I will say he has good taste in wine.” She eagerly held up her glass as if she were being handed the crown jewels to wear.
So Destiny had chosen a different wine to win him brownie points with her mother. Maybe Destiny wasn’t as upset with him as he thought.
“Good taste in wine and women.” Carol toasted him.
Destiny almost knocked over her glass at her grandmother’s comment. Oh yeah, they were supposed to be almost engaged or at least together. How could he forget?
“So how exactly did you two meet?” Patty asked.
“At the hospital.” Mike answered.
“Do you work there?”
“No, I work on base.”
“So do you work with Destiny?” Ron asked.
“I can’t see you as a scribbler.” Patty gave him a critical glance.
“I’m a decoder, Mom.” Destiny’s teeth gritted.
“Whatever it’s called.” She waved it off like it was no consequence she didn’t know what her daughter did for a living.
“I work in the financial department.” It was the lie he had been telling for years and easily fell off his tongue.
“So how did you two meet in the hospital? I can’t see you getting any injury more than a papercut doing something so boring.”
