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Once Brennon had gotten Katy into her court, he noticed how her parents stood in the dining room doorway. He figured they might want to talk to her in private, so he went out to start the car so it would be warm for Katy. When Katy shut the door, she turned toward the dining room doorway. Here she was, alone with her parents in the silence of the only home she’d ever known before Brennon. Her heart thumped in her chest then she calmed down.
“Well, thank you for inviting us,” Katy said, figuring she needed to say something. “I enjoyed the meal, Mom.”
“Of course, Katy,” Linda said, wrapping her arm around her daughter and hugging her. “It’d been so long since we last saw you. And, well, just thought it might be nice to catch up.”
“Yeah,” Katy said. She pushed the memories of her mother’s cold remarks in the kitchen the day she initially found out she was seeing Brennon; however, she still interacted cautiously with both of her parents. “It was nice.”
Katy then looked to her father. She was nervous about what he would say.
Richard, stern and clearly in thought, wrapped his arm around Katy’s shoulder. He kissed the side of her head like he did when she was just a little girl, coming home from school and stomping into this very foyer where they stood. “Love you, Katy. It was nice to see you again.”
Linda saw Richard might want a moment with Katy, so she excused herself and darted off to the kitchen.
“Daddy, are you okay with this?” Katy asked once her mother was out of ear-shot.
Richard sighed. “Don’t worry about what I am. If I were you, I would worry about what you are. And Katy, regardless of how I, or your mother for that matter, feel about this, I can tell you one thing… I see it all over your face.”
Katy smiled then her forehead wrinkled. “What is it that you see, Dad?”
Richard chuckled. “That same look I used to see in your mother’s face when we were young. Or did you forget that we were young once upon a time? A long time ago.” He chuckled again. “You really do look more and more like your mother every day.”
Katy rolled her eyes then shook her head. “No I don’t. Stop saying that.”
“Yeah, okay, if you say so,” Richard said. “But I will say you look pretty happy. Actually, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you this happy.”
A thoughtful giggle slipped through Katy’s lips. “Yeah, I suppose you could say that.” I really have never been this happy, she then thought.
Just as Katy stepped back from her father, she could hear Brennon’s footsteps coming up on the porch. He came back inside, announcing that the car was waiting. Linda came from behind the staircase to say goodbye to Brennon for the night. As to be expected, Brennon thanked them for having him over for dinner. Katy rubbed his back, hoping he didn’t start feeling anxious. She then watched as Brennon shook her father’s hand in a very respective manner. Brennon then walked her out onto the porch as they all said goodbye to one another, waving their arms.
The wind picked up, whisking across their property. Brennon held Katy close to his side then let her into the car. When he hopped into the driver’s seat, he pulled off, quickly doing a small circle and headed down the winding driveway. Katy noticed him staring ahead as they headed toward the interstate.
“So?” Katy asked after several quiet, and nearly awkward, minutes.
“So, what?” Brennon asked. He glanced over at Katy. “I was just about to ask you that?”
“Ask me what?” Katy asked. “I was asking you how you felt about how it went.”
Brennon shrugged. “I guess it went well. They didn’t start flipping out or anything. I can only imagine what they really think. What do you think?”
Katy bit her bottom lip, looking off at the snowy woods rolling away from the interstate. “Well, my parents have always been the type to act a certain way for the sake of saving face. Just think about the kinds of jobs they have. There’s no way they were going to show you how they really feel about this situation.”
Brennon chuckled. “I think your Mom is maybe more accepting, in some ways, even if she’d not in favor of this. But your dad?”
“What? What?” Katy asked. She was anxious to hear a man’s perspective on situation like that.
Brennon shrugged again. “I think deep down he’s probably not liking this at all. I know he must’ve said something to you when I went outside. That’s why I went out to start the car.”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Katy said. “I was thinking for a second that you didn’t have to leave me in there. To be honest, I was a little scared that my Dad was about to get tight-lippe
d and give me a piece of his mind.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought he was probably talking to you about,” Brennon said, veering onto the interstate. “So…. What did he say?”
Katy closed her eyes for a moment then opened them, staring out at the snowy woods once again while she replayed the scene in her mind. Her father’s words had been so sentimental to her that she didn’t feel as if she would be doing them justice by sharing them. “You know… He’s actually handling it better than I thought. He said he was young once upon a time too.”
Brennon nodded, glancing over at Katy. “Okay. I see.”
The couple talked about interesting, for better or for worse, things that happened at Katy’s parents’ house during dinner. Brennon noticed the way her mother’s scolding eyes intimidated a man of even Richard’s status and stature; Katy laughed at how her mother wanted praise for her food. Reality was that the rest of the family had pacified her mother Linda because the open secret was that her cooking skills had always been the weakest of all her sisters and aunts.
