[ WP ] Your mother has been dating someone for a while and it 's time to meet his family . However , you find that you already know one of them

“ I ’ m almost ready! I promise! ” These were the same words I ’ d hear my mother say a million times through the years. At least the last two years I could remember. I had to move back in with her after the accident and losing my memory and all. 
 
 I saw more of her scarlet dress the farther I walked up the stairs. It was beautifully draped around her perfectly sculpted figure: her large bosom, small waist, and round bum. ( Only one of those was passed on to me. Sadly, not all three. ) Her dark hair was pulled back just enough to look put together. Dark eyes and rouge on her cheeks were something of an unfamiliarity. It was obvious she was looking to impress these people. 
 
 “ We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago. Can we go already?! ” 
 
 “ Okay! Okay! Let ’ s go! ” She crammed on her shoes, not bothering to pull them over her heel correctly. “ Why are you dressed so frumpy? It ’ s a shame not to show off what you have. You always put your hair in that messy bun. It looks sloppy. ” As I looked at her, I agreed I must be very under-dressed in my denim skirt and black sweater, but why should I care about these people? I was twenty years old and my mom could date whoever she liked. It ’ s not like my opinion mattered. Sure, I might have to interact with Jason ’ s family every now and then, but me hating them wouldn ’ t decide if she liked Jason or not. 
 
 “ Oh, you are going to just adore his children. The oldest one, Luca, he ’ s in the graduate program at UW. He ’ s so incredibly smart. The younger one, Joel, he goes to school here in Redmond. He ’ s very involved in the band program. Oh, I can ’ t wait until… ” I tuned her out. I really do love my mom, but something down in me made me annoyed by everything about her. I could never tell what it was, but sometimes I hated her for no reason. 
 
 Jason ’ s house was very nice. Very nice. We pulled up in our busted-looking Honda Accord and failed in comparison to his house. There was a concrete terraced walkway up to the door. It was lined with flowers, trees, and lanterns. It looked like we were actually pulling up to the season premier of The Bachelor, except Jason wasn ’ t outside waiting for my mom to step out of the limo and pull some crazy stunt for his attention. 
 
 My mom was holding a plate of tiramisu, so I rang the doorbell. Jason answered almost too fast. It ’ s like he had creepily stood there waiting for the past hour. 
 
 “ Sharon! Victoria! I ’ m so glad you made it! These are my sons, Luca and Joel. ” Joel and I exchanged our nice-to-meet-yous through plastic smiles. 
 
 “ How have you been?! This is so crazy, we haven ’ t talked in two years! ” Luca was looking right at me with excitement. I thought he might burst. 
 
 “ Oh, I ’ ve been great! Just up to the same old things, you know. ” I said the same thing every time I didn ’ t recognize someone. It seemed best to just agree and move on; to explain later if they were obviously going to stick around a while and ask questions. 
 
 “ I can ’ t believe this. You really just disappeared, but now here you are! ” 
 
 “ Yeah, well, I just decided to go home for a while, live with my mom, be with family, you know? ” My mom took the desert and tried to usher everyone into the kitchen, but the two of us stayed by the door. 
 
 “ How have you been? ” I asked. 
 
 “ Great. But hey, look, really, what happened? ” 
 
 “ I told you, I decided to go home for a while. ” 
 
 “ That can ’ t be all. You were just gone, no one heard from you. ” 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry, but honestly, I don ’ t remember you. I was in a car accident, and I have amnesia. I ’ m sure we have a great story or whatever, but I really don ’ t know anything about you. ” 
 
 “ Seriously? You don ’ t remember anything? ” 
 
 “ Seriously. ” I was apologetic. 
 
 His mood changed quickly. He no longer had a plastic smile or a face of excitement, but rather a furrowed brow and slouched shoulders. 
 
 “ Let ’ s go eat. My dad made really good pot roast. ” 
 
 The whole evening, he said hardly a word. He stared at me with crushed affection, but never said anything. His green eyes watered a bit, but that was the only leak of emotion. When my mom asked him about his research projects at The U, he gladly told us all about his amazing work in microbiology, but once he had finished, he served himself a second helping of food and closed his mouth again. 
 
 It was so weird, he just looked at me. I spent the whole evening thinking of what possibly could have happened to evoke this whole situation. How well did I know him? What did he know about past me? 
 
 My mother and Jason kept the conversation going while we all finished dinner. They told cute baby stories about us kids and bragged about how great we are. Jason of course made many comments about how wonderful my mom is, she denied the compliment, and the three of us kids laughed along awkwardly. 
 
 “ Ria, do you want to do on a walk? ” Luca whispered to me without anyone noticing. Ria? My name is Victoria. 
 
 “ Ria? ” 
 
 “ Sorry. Victoria, let ’ s go for a walk. ” He touched my hand and started to stand up. “ We ’ re going to go for a walk, but we ’ ll be back for dessert. ” He announced to the family. 
 
 He led me outside. The whole time his hand was clenched onto mine like he was making sure I wouldn ’ t leave again. Street lights lit up the sidewalk and the houses next to it. They were extravagant houses. Each one probably costed over a million dollars and the people who lived in them probably paid to have three or four people maintain them each week. 
 
 We walked for a couple blocks without saying anything. What was I supposed to say to this guy who I didn ’ t remember and knew almost nothing about? After a few blocks ’ worth of silence, we came to a park that was empty. There was a nice pond with a fountain in the middle. A trail went around the perimeter and a hill took over one side. A lone bench was stationed under a giant tree. Luca led me around and sat me down. 
 
 “ We were engaged. ” He said. I said nothing. “ We went to high school together and dated for four years. We went to the University of Washington and I proposed to you freshman year. ” 
 
 I just looked at him. “ What am I supposed to say? ” 
 
 “ What really happened? Why are you with your mom? She was so abusive and you hated her. You didn ’ t even talk to her for two years! You lived with your dad! ” 
 
 “ That ’ s not true! My mom loves me! ” I was so overwhelmed. Was I supposed to believe this? My mom loved me. She loved me. 
 
 “ Ria -- Victoria. I love you. We loved each other and then you were gone for two years. ” He sobbed into my shoulder. His hug was so much bigger around my small stature. In that moment, I felt it. I felt love for him. I didn ’ t have any proof for any of what he said, but I believed him. It made sense why I didn ’ t get along with my mom. A complete stranger wouldn ’ t get this emotional if the story wasn ’ t true, would they? 
 
 “ I may not remember anything, but I want to know what happened. Everything seems wrong in my life, but this seems somewhat true. I feel it. ” 
 
 He squeezed me tight and wiped his tears. “ I ’ m just so glad to have you back. ” 
 
 “ Not exactly, but it ’ s okay. ” His light blonde hair was a mess. It was thin and soft and stuck out in its own way. His face was red and blotchy. Bodily fluids dripped from their appropriate outlets. 
 
 “ You used to live with your dad in Idaho, then we went to UW and we spent all of our time together. You were so smart. You were a mechanical engineer. I ’ m biomed. ” He just started telling me these things. “ I ’ ve been madly in love with you since seventh grade. You finally agreed to date me and it took me another four years to convince you to marry me. ” 
 
 I just sat and breathed it all in. The cold air felt good on my skin. We must have sat there for an hour. I think I even heard our parents out looking for us, but we just sat there. 
 
 “ Let ’ s just leave and never talk to anyone ever again. ” I said. 
 
 That night, we drove to his apartment in Seattle. Little by little, I figured out my life and never talked to my mother again. I was happier than I had been in two years. 

