It had been about a month since the phone incident. The holidays were coming, and I wanted Bradley to meet my family. After work, Mila and Henry wanted me to chat at their place. It had been a while since we last hung out.  

After a long day at work, I drove to Mila and Herny's apartment. When I got there, I knocked on the door, and they let me in. All three of us sat on the couch. "How have you two been?" I asked. "We've been good. I stopped drinking. Hopefully, it stays like that," She explained. "I want all options. I know you will be honest with me, Herny. Should Bradley meet my family?" I asked him. Before he could answer, Mila, interrupted him. 

"No!" She yelled. "I didn't ask you, Mila. I asked Herny." I said. I looked at Herny for an answer. "Yes, you've been dating him for a while. Have you met his family yet?" He asked. "No, he says they don't live in the United States," I replied. "Wait, what?" Mila said with a shocked look. "Yeah, whenever I bring it up, he gets mad and tells me to stop it," I explained. 

"That's a red flag, Heather," Mila said. "I don't know," I told her. "I was thinking about having the whole family over, Ruby, Adrian, and Jarred as well, other than my parents," I explained. "Yeah, if you want that," Mila replied. 

"What do you think, Henry?" I asked him. "Yeah, that sounds good," He nodded his head. "Okay, that's all I needed to hear," I said,  getting up. "Thank you both for the advice," I said, walking toward the door. "Where are you going?" He asked. "Home. I'll talk to you both later," I explained. I waved goodbye as I walked out the door. 

On my way home, I called my family and asked if they wanted to proceed with my plan. They agreed, and I was more than happy. 

I was excited. This was a big step in our relationship. I soon got home and walked inside. Bradley was standing in the kitchen. "Hey!" I yelled in excitement. He hugged me, and we sat down at the table. "What's wrong? What's the news?" He said with a nervous look on his face. "Heather?" He asked concerned look on his face. "Heather, what?" I asked with a smile. 

"I talked to my family, and we're all going to gather for family dinner on Thanksgiving!" I exclaimed. I thought Bradley would be happy. I expected him to have a good expression on his face. He had a more edgy look on his face. "What's wrong? You don't want to meet my family, do you?" I asked. "Heather," Was the only thing he could reply with. 

"Heather, what?" I snapped back. "You have to realize this is a lot for me, losing my family," He explained with tears in his eyes. "It makes it more real, realizing that they're has gone, and I can't do anything about it." He explained with more tears in my eyes. He was crying. He had his head down, looking at the floor, and the tears were falling into his lap. 

I immediately felt bad. I hated seeing Bradley like this or making him upset. "It's okay," I whispered to him. I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I asked. You don't have to go," I told him.  

"It's fine, I'll go," He said, wiping his tears. He hugged me tightly. "I love you, Heather," He whispered in his ear. "I love you," I replied. 

The next morning was the day for Bradley to meet my family. Soon after we got up, we got ready to leave. I noticed Bradley was sitting on the bed, touching his hands, and looking at the floor. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked him as I walked into the room. "Yeah," He spoke.

I sat next to him on the bed. "It's okay. It will be fine," I said. "I'm not used to meeting so many people at once," He said. "It will be fine. Be yourself," I replied. "How many people will be there?" He asked. "My parents will be there, and my brothers' family. Five, but seven in total." I explained. "Okay, well, that's not too bad. I thought you were talking about a farm of people," He laughed. 

We soon reached my childhood home. I saw my parent's cars outside and Jarred and Ruby's cars as well. "This is your childhood home?" He asked, shocked. "Yeah," I smiled. "Why do you live in an expensive apartment if you have this two-story fancy house?" He asked. I never actually thought about that. "I guess I wanted my independence," I spoke. 

We walked inside, and my family greeted us at the door. "Hello, welcome!" My dad spoke. Bradley smiled. "Hello, thank you for having me," Bradley said. "This is my wife, Chelsea,"  My dad, spoke, giving hugging my mom. "I'm Raymond! This is my daughter-in-law, Ruby, and my son, Jarred, and my granddaughter, Adrian." He explained. "It's nice to meet you all," Bradley smiled. 

My parents hugged me. I took off my shoes and walked to the living room. I turned around and Adrian was following me into the living room, and Bradley was still talking to my parents. "How's my favorite niece?" I asked her. She gave me a big hug. "I'm good, honey," I said. "Is Bradley your boyfriend?" she asked. "Yes, honey," I replied. 

"Is he a good guy?" She asked. "Yes, honey. He is a good guy," I replied. My parents, Ruby, Jarred, and Bradley walked into the kitchen. I could smell the food from the kitchen. "It's time to eat!" I heard my dad yell from the kitchen. 

Adrian and I walked into the kitchen. "I know it's early, but the food finished cooking," My dad explained. We let the food cool off, and my dad and mom put the food on the table. 

When they were done. We sat around the table. "Okay, before we eat, let's say something before we eat!" My dad exclaimed. "I'll start," My dad said. "I'm thank you for my wife," My dad said, gently grabbing my mom's hand. "I'm thankful for my family and Bradley treating my daughter so well," He spoke. Bradley smiled softly. 

"I'll go next," My mother said. "I'm thankful for my husband, my children, my daughter-in-law, my granddaughter, and Bradley. Welcome to the Baker family, Bradley!" My mother said. Bradley gave another smile. After we told each other what we were thankful for, we began to eat. 

The table grew silent. We could hear each other chewings are food and the cutlery scrapping against the plate. "This food is good! Thank you!" Bradley said. "You're very welcome!" My mother said.

My family barely knew anything about Bradley. I've never been close to my family. I'm the youngest. I barely see my family, and I hardly talk to them about anything in my life. My older brother Jarred is a year older than me. By the time I was a teenager, my brother was already married with a kid. 

My family didn't know about Bradley's past. I never told them and never planned to. "Where are you from?" My mother asked Bradley. "Here, I was born and raised here," He replied. "Oh, that's good. Maybe we can all meet your family one day," She said. "Oh, they don't live here. They moved out of the United States a few years ago, and I chose to stay," He explained. 

After dinner, we hung out for a little bit, and we drove by my apartment. We walked inside, and Bradley went straight to the bathroom. I was too curious about Bradley's family. How did the fire start? Why does his family live out of the United States? I had so many questions. Bradley walked out of the bathroom. "Bradley? Can I ask you something?" I asked him. "What?" He replied. "Why does your family live out of the United States?" I asked. I felt nervous asking that question. 

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at me. He started at me in silence. "It doesn't matter. Can you leave it alone?" He asked and walked away. "I'm sorry, I should've never asked," I said. "It's fine. I don't like to talk about them a lot," He said. I walked away, and we soon went to bed.  

Published on November 11, 2022