33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

MIA

W e had a good time with my parents and I'm grateful things went smoothly, but facing Ethan's parents won't be easy.

It will be the first time I've seen them since I broke up with Ryan, and I can already imagine the can of worms that will open when they see me dating their oldest son instead.

Tonight marks our last evening in Detroit, and Glenda insists on cooking the meal herself. However, she didn't graciously open her own kitchen to us. Instead, she took over Ethan's kitchen, commandeering control from his cook as well.

After enduring her tenth critique about my onion chopping technique, I leave Delilah, the cook, to fend for herself and retreat to the master bedroom for a much-needed break.

Soon after, footsteps follow me. For a moment, I'm terrified it's Glenda, but soon realize those steps are not in high heels and relax a little.

I have my head in between my knees when Ethan walks in.

"Oh… It's you," I say with relief, lifting my head and fanning myself.

"Is she giving you a hard time?" he asks, sitting by my side and gently rubbing my shoulders.

"She gives everyone a hard time, Ethan!" I say, as wary of Glenda Matthews as I've ever been. "Poor Delilah confessed that she's on the verge of quitting, right here and right now."

Ethan kisses my cheek then murmurs softly, "I'll go talk to her."

"Wait, no." I hold him back, both hands on his wrists. "You are going to talk to her about me?"

"Um, yeah…" Ethan says, looking confused. "It's you she's tormenting, isn't it?"

"No!" I hold onto his waist now. "Ethan, seriously… All that's missing is for this woman to make me walk across hot coals just to prove I'm worthy of bearing her grandchild."

Ethan doesn't laugh, nor should he. I'm dead serious. Instead, he strokes my hair, standing by me and being supportive.

"Let's both go talk to her," he suggests. His boldness and the wink he gives me seems cheesy, but it does give me the courage to face Glenda with him.

We walk into the kitchen to find her berating Delilah. "Where do you think you're going? You're my only help in here!"

"I'm going to the bathroom, Mrs. Matthews," Delilah says, removing her apron and tossing it aside.

The look she gives me says clearly says ‘Help me!' but there's nothing I can do while I'm trying to save myself.

"Mom, why are you trying to drive Mia crazy?" Ethan intervenes.

Glenda appears baffled as she forcefully stirs a pot of bisque.

"I'm not trying to drive anyone crazy, Ethan," she says, looking straight at me. I manage to keep her gaze. "It's just that this is Mia's second foray into the family, and this time it's far more serious since she is expecting your baby."

"So…?" Ethan raises a hand, prompting her to continue.

She stops stirring the bisque and checks the oven before continuing, "Well, Ethan, somebody has to carry on the family recipes. It's not like your ex-wife ever cared about them!"

"Is that what this is about, mom?" Ethan asks gently, approaching her.

"I'm sorry if I care about tradition, okay?" Glenda mutters under her breath.

So, all this fuss is because she believes I need to learn the family recipes? She cooked so much food and never bothered to share recipes when I dated Ryan. Was it because she didn't see a future for us?

When I was with Ryan, I always felt excluded from the family, largely due to Glenda. But now I think it was more because of Ryan and how he treated me and took me for granted.

I'm never telling Glenda this, but Ryan never asking me to marry him was the best thing that ever happened to me.

She's mid-sentence with Ethan when I step forward and hug Glenda, planting a kiss on her cheek.

A miracle happens because I manage to yank out a smile from her, and that is a personal triumph.

"Alright, alright, don't get me used to so much sweetness. I'm a diabetic!" she jokes, shooing me away. "If you think I'm driving you crazy, you can take a break for now. There's always the next family function. Now why don't you two go straighten out your father's thoughts? I'm afraid that big screen TV is going to put ideas in his head."

"Okay, mom," Ethan kisses her too, and leaves the kitchen with me.

While Glenda cooks dinner like it's a high-stakes competition, Ethan's dad, Thomas, watches the giant flat-screen TV in the living room with childlike wonder.

"Mom said you can't have one of these, dad," Ethan warns him, his arm around my shoulders.

"Say what?" Thomas turns to us abruptly. "Oh, of course not. She never lets me have nice things!"

"Maybe we can get you one for your birthday, Thomas?" I sit by his side and elbow him playfully.

"I wish! But one of these in our living room would mean my divorce…" he says with a sigh.

"Mom hates TV," Ethan explains, taking a seat at his other side. "We were able to negotiate a small one in his den, but that's it."

"So, you are overcompensating with this gigantic beast?" I tease Ethan, who just leans forward and watches the sports channel along with his dad.

"Of course!" he grins. "Where's the fun in being rich otherwise?"

Ethan and I both laugh, but Thomas remains captivated by the screen in front of him.

"Want a beer, dad?" Ethan taps his knee and Thomas gives him a thumbs up.

Ethan looks at me, and I ask for a soda. With the agility of an athlete, he's out of the room in an instant, leaving Thomas and me alone.

I always liked Thomas, but we've never had many conversations. Whenever I was around him before, he would always talk about sports, and would attempt to bond with over it, but it always failed miserably.

"I hear you've been accompanying the Iron Huskies this season?" There he goes with the sports talk, but this time, I can reply.

"Absolutely!" I slap my thigh in excitement and lean forward. "The Iron Huskies are having an amazing playoff run, aren't they?"

"Well, for what it's worth it, I'm putting my money on the Las Vegas Cyclones!" he says with a deadpan expression, getting a laugh out of me with his dry humor.

"But what about your son's team?" I raise my hands in the air in question.

"Ethan has too much of a short temper for his position, while the Cyclones' center is much more focused and cold-blooded."

"They might end up facing each other in the Stanley Cup final," I interject, getting excited about hockey for the first time in a very long time.

"Oh, yeah!" he realizes, a smile creeping across his face. "That would be something."

I lean back with a pleased smile, grateful to feel closer to Ethan's father.

"You know…" he turns to me once more. I lean forward in interest as he continues, "I liked Amanda."

"Oh," I reply uncertainly. "Is that good or bad?"

"It's good," he pats my hand gently. "Because I like you too. And just like Amanda, you're bringing a baby to the family too, and that is wonderful!"

"Oh, you're making me blush, Thomas," I say, giggling.

"Well, it's the truth." He pats my hand again.

Ethan returns with our drinks. While Ethan and his dad discuss what's on TV, I reflect on the irony of "meeting" the Matthews for the second time.