“Everything needs to be perfect,” Natalia said, having bounced around the kitchen for the last hour.
“Relax,” Natalia’s mom, Mariana, said as she tended to the pot of chicken on the stove. “Everything is just right. Besides, I thought it was just a ‘friend’ coming over, so what’s the big deal?”
“Oooh, someone’s in love,” cackled her brother, Alejandro, the youngest of three siblings. Even as adults, he still poked fun at her like their middle school days when she had first started liking boys.
“Shut up!” Natalia snarled, smacking him in the arm.
“Yep, that’s definitely love,” he said, rubbing the sore spot and letting out a nervous chuckle.
“I’m not in love,” Natalia said through gritted teeth. “He really is just a good friend.”
Her younger sister, Alicia, shuffled down the stairs, chomping on a piece of gum, and entered the kitchen. “What’s all the commotion?”
“We’re having dinner for your sister and her friend tonight,” Mariana explained, moving from the chicken to the rice cooker on the counter. “And your sister’s being a bit of a perfectionist.”
“Because she’s in looooove,” Alejandro teased, swiftly earning another punch to balance out both arms.
“Stop hitting your brother,” Mariana snapped from across the room, pointing a sauce-covered ladle at the bickering siblings. “I suggest you three set the table. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Just hearing those words made Natalia’s stomach sink. If dinner was almost ready, then Adrian would soon come knocking on their door. And what awaited when she pulled open that door and he met the people she had spent her entire life with?
Well, a reality check.
No, she wasn’t in love, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility of using such a delicate word someday. Tonight’s dinner would go a long way in deciding just that. The best path forward. If her family adored Adrian, she’d have no excuses for diving all the way into a serious relationship with him. Taking that next step, and just maybe, put a label on their connection.
And if they don’t like him?
She tried to not think about such a possibility. It was only dinner. It’s not like Adrian was meeting her extended family. Thanksgiving dinner typically had seventy relatives attend, and they were all close. Now that would be pressure.
He had to pass this simple test before facing the wolves of Natalia’s uncles, aunts, and cousins. Never mind her grandparents, whose portrait on the living room wall gave the intimidating vibes of a couple of Colombian drug lords.
“Adrian is coming over?” Alicia asked, eyes boring into her older sister, her big lips pursed in disappointment for not knowing sooner.
“Stop it,” Natalia said in a hushed tone, setting out napkins on the dinner table. Six, instead of the usual five.
“Oh, so you get to hear about him, but not me?” her mom asked, turning away from the stove.
“Yeah,” Alicia said. “It’s the guy she went to Vegas with. I guess what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.”
They all burst into laughter, except for Natalia. To round out the group, her dad sauntered down the stairs and joined them in the kitchen.
“Long day of work,” he said, having changed into a pair of shorts and a tattered t-shirt. “Did I hear Natalia has a new boyfriend?”
Natalia rolled her eyes, sighing. “You guys are the worst. No, Dad, I don’t have a boyfriend. Just a friend coming over for dinner.”
“Just a friend,” he repeated, nodding. “Me and your mom were ‘just friends’ once.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Natalia was equally grateful and anxious as the blood froze in her veins.
“Your boyfriend’s here,” Alejandro said, smirking.
Natalia shot him a death glare before strolling to the door, hoping it was enough to silence her unpredictable brother.
“Everybody be nice,” Mariana said, circling around the kitchen counter to gather with the rest of the family eagerly waiting to meet Adrian. “This is important for Natalia.”
At least someone has my back, Natalia thought as she reached for the doorknob and pulled it open.
Adrian stood in the doorway, grinning, with his hands stuffed into his pockets. “Hey.”
His voice came out soft and clearly nervous, and that relieved Natalia. His nerves meant she wasn’t alone, and also that the evening ahead was just as important to him.
“Come in.” Natalia stepped aside and let Adrian enter. Her family gathered in front of the dining table, waiting patiently for their formal introductions.
“Welcome to my home,” she said, shuffling backward toward her family. She wanted to pull him by the arm, but her siblings would be all over that if they saw. “This is my mom.”
“Nice to meet you,” Adrian said, sticking out a hand.
“I’m Mariana. You can call me Mari. And it’s very nice to meet you.” She took his hand before pulling him in closer. “We hug in this family.”
“No worries,” Adrian said with an unsteady laugh, returning the hug. “Mine is the same way.”
“And this is my dad,” Natalia said, continuing down the row.
“Hello, Mr. Ayala.”
“No Mr. Ayala,” he replied, sticking out a beefy hand. “Call me Leo.” They shook hands, Leo patting Adrian on the shoulder before they let go.
“My brother Alejandro and sister Alicia,” Natalia said.
“Nice to meet you,” Alicia said, a devilish grin touching her lips. “I’ve heard sooo much about you.”
“Good things, I hope,” Adrian replied, but his words were lost while Natalia smacked her sister across the back.
“Ignore them,” her brother said, stepping forward to shake Adrian’s hand. “Adrian and Alejandro. Hopefully, they don’t mix us up.”
“We actually thought about naming him Adrian at one point,” Mari said. “But we decided on Alejandro.”
“Both are good names,” Adrian said, his voice sounding more like its normal self.
“Are we ready for dinner?” Mari asked, giddily clasping her hands together. “Alicia, why don’t you serve drinks for everyone, please?”
They all settled around the table, Adrian taking the seat next to Natalia, facing her father.
“So, how was the drive?” Leo asked. “Where do you live?”
“I’m in Thornton. Wasn’t too bad. The only heavy traffic was on 270, but it’s always that way.”
“You work with Natalia?” Alejandro asked, sliding his large body around the table to take his seat.
“Yeah.” Adrian replied as he fidgeted with the silverware on his napkin.
He really is nervous, Natalia thought. It’s almost cute.
“I’m sorry,” Alejandro said with a disappointed shake of the head. “I can’t even imagine working with my sister every day.”
They both laughed. “She’s not so bad,” Adrian said. “She’s the best partner to have for stuffing envelopes, that’s for sure.”
Natalia giggled. The conversation was flowing well enough, and no one seemed too uncomfortable.
Alicia returned to the table with cups filled with lemonade, Mari following behind with plates full of chicken and rice drowned in tomato sauce. Once everything was passed around, they sat down, said grace, and started eating.
“So,” Alicia said after enough awkward silence had passed. “You went to Vegas with Natalia last month, huh?”
“Well, I’d say she came with me,” Adrian said. “It was a trip for my twenty-first birthday.”
“You just turned twenty-one?” Alicia asked. Adrian nodded as he stuffed a bite of rice into his mouth. “Wow, Natalia. Cradle-robbing much? I just turned twenty-one back in August, so we’re basically the same age.”
Natalia kicked Alicia under the table, sure to land the blow directly on her sister’s shin. She wasn’t entirely thrilled about the thought of dating a guy almost three years younger than her, and Alicia so quickly pointing out the fact did her no favors.
“It’s not a big deal,” Mari said, rolling her eyes at Alicia. “My mom is four years older than my dad. I think once you’re out of high school, it doesn’t really matter.”
“Exactly,” Leo said, putting down his fork and taking a sip from his cup of water. “Are you in college, then?”
“Yes,” Adrian said. “I’ll graduate in May with a business degree.”
“Very nice. What do you plan on doing?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll probably finish out the season with the Rockies. Hopefully, they’ll make the playoffs so I can go to the games. But after that, I’m not sure. I’ll find something.”
“Well, good luck,” Leo said. “We used to run a flower shop before the recession, so you could say we’ve gone to business school, in a sense. It isn’t easy.”
Natalia didn’t like the questions, as it felt more like an interrogation. But Adrian didn’t seem bothered. And somehow he kept forking food into his mouth through it all.
The rest of dinner passed without a hitch. Leo and Alejandro took a liking to Adrian, badgering him with questions about his favorite sports teams and what type of activities he enjoyed in his free time.
Mari cleared the table and served everyone a bowl of ice cream for dessert.
“I want to hear Adrian’s point of view,” Alicia said, making direct eye contact with their guest and purposely ignoring her older sister. “Natalia says you’re only friends. Is that true?”
Mari smacked Alicia on the back of the head. “That’s none of your business.”
Alicia only laughed in response, Alejandro grinning next to her as he pretended to shift his focus to the ice cream in front of him.
Adrian laughed, instantly lightening the mood. “It’s okay, really. We definitely have a strong friendship that started in Vegas. And right now, we’re just seeing where things go. We’ve gone on a few dates, and I think we’ve had a good time.”
“We have,” Natalia said, desperate to wrestle any semblance of control back over this conversation.
“Well, for what it’s worth,” Alicia said. “I approve.”
The words struck Natalia more positively than she had expected. She never knew what her sister would spew at any moment, so she embraced the rare compliment.
“Well, thank you,” Adrian said. “I’ve enjoyed dinner with you all, too.”
They sat around the table for the next hour, chatting, diving into Adrian’s life. Something he’d say would spark a story from Leo, letting Adrian learn something about Natalia’s past.
By the end of the conversation, her family swapped hugs and handshakes before Adrian left—a favorable sign he’d be welcomed back a second time. Natalia walked him to his car parked along the curb, the nerves from earlier completely replaced with glee.
“Well,” Adrian said, taking in a deep breath as he leaned against the car door. “It’s your family. How do you think that went?”
Natalia looked over her shoulder to make sure her entire family wasn’t standing at the door to gawk. To her surprise, no one was visible, so she pulled Adrian in for a kiss.
“Wow,” he said, blinking wildly. “I’ll take that as it went very well. Your family seems great, too, though I hope they won’t just grab me for a kiss so aggressively.”
He laughed, and she heard all the tension fade that had surely built up during the intense questioning he had just endured.
“Yeah, they’re crazy, but they’re mine.”
“Seems like everyone gets along. Don’t take that for granted.”
Adrian had mentioned before the struggles of dealing with divorced parents. Even though they hadn’t split until his junior year of high school, it still fractured the regularity of his life.
“I won’t,” Natalia said. “Seriously, though, what do you think of everyone?”
“Honestly, they remind me of my family before everything turned south. Your mom was very welcoming, and your dad is hilarious. And your siblings seem like typical younger siblings.”
Natalia laughed, drunk with elation. She didn’t use the word often, but the night had turned out simply perfect.
To top it off, a full moon glowed over her neighborhood, casting romance into the air.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you again,” Adrian said. “You’re incredible. And beautiful.”
Natalia felt the muscles in her face form into a smile. They were becoming sore from doing just that several times over the past couple of hours.
The future suddenly looked clearer for Natalia. She wanted Adrian in it. They had an awkward past, but she could no longer deny the warmth she felt by his simple hello. She actually wanted to go to work every morning, just because he would be there.
She needed him. Nothing else mattered.