Mia had never been this nervous before. Not before exams. Not before presentations. Not even before her first date with Aiden. But somehow, meeting his mother felt more terrifying than all of those things combined. The moment she woke up on Saturday morning, her stomach was already in knots. Sophie had received approximately seventeen messages before nine o'clock.
Mia: What if she hates me?
Sophie: She won't.
Mia: What if she does?
Sophie: Then be so nice she can't.
Mia: That's not helpful.
Sophie: It's a little helpful.
Unfortunately, Sophie found the entire situation hilarious. Mia did not. By noon, she had changed outfits three times. By one o'clock, her mother had noticed.
"Mia."
"What?"
"You're wearing a hole in the floor."
Mia stopped pacing.
Briefly.
"I'm fine."
Her mother raised an eyebrow.
"You're meeting the boy's family."
Mia groaned.
"It's not like that."
Her mother smiled.
"Sure."
Mia regretted saying anything.
By the time Aiden arrived to pick her up, Mia was convinced she might actually throw up. Which was dramatic. She knew it was dramatic. But that didn't stop her. The second she got into the passenger seat, Aiden looked over and immediately started laughing.
"What?"
"You're nervous."
"I'm not."
"Mia."
"I'm not."
"You absolutely are."
Mia folded her arms.
"Aiden."
"Sorry."
He wasn't sorry.
At all.
The drive to his house wasn't long, but it felt like it lasted forever. Mostly because Mia spent the entire time imagining worst-case scenarios. By the time they pulled into the driveway, she was seriously considering asking him to turn around.
"We can still leave."
"No."
"We absolutely can."
"No."
"Aiden."
"No."
Mia sighed. He smiled. Then reached over and squeezed her hand.
"We'll be okay."
For some reason, that helped. A little. Unfortunately, not enough. The moment they walked through the front door, Ava appeared. Immediately. Like she'd been waiting. Which she probably had.
"There she is."
"Ava."
"What?"
Ava grinned at Mia.
"Nice to finally meet the girl causing family drama."
"Ava."
"What? It's true."
Mia wanted the floor to swallow her. Immediately. Luckily, Aiden looked equally horrified. Unfortunately, that only made Ava laugh harder. Then another voice came from the living room.
"Ava."
His mother. Instantly, Ava stopped talking. Which told Mia everything she needed to know. Aiden's mother walked into the hallway. She wasn't smiling. She wasn't frowning either. Her expression was completely unreadable. Somehow, that was worse. For a moment, nobody spoke. Then Mia did the only thing she could think of.
"Hi, Mrs. Scott."
His mother blinked. Apparently she hadn't expected Mia to speak first.
"Hello, Mia."
The silence returned. Aiden hated every second of it. His father chose that exact moment to appear. Thankfully. Because unlike everyone else, he was smiling.
"Nice to finally meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
Aiden's mother shot him a look. His father immediately looked elsewhere. Coward.
The next hour was surprisingly awkward. Not because anyone was rude. Nobody was. It was just obvious that Aiden's mother was observing everything. The way Mia spoke. The way she acted. The way she interacted with Aiden. Every time Mia laughed at one of Aiden's jokes, his mother noticed. Every time Aiden automatically moved a chair for her, his mother noticed that too. It felt less like a visit and more like an interview.
At one point, Mia accidentally knocked over a glass of water.
"Oh my God."
She immediately stood up.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's fine."
"No, really, I'm sorry."
Aiden grabbed paper towels. Ava started laughing. Naturally.
"It's literally water."
"Ava."
"What?"
For the first time all afternoon, Aiden's mother smiled. Just a little. Very little. But Mia noticed. So did Aiden. Unfortunately, neither dared mention it.
Dinner turned out better than expected. Aiden's father did most of the talking. Ava contributed whenever she felt like causing problems. Which was often. And slowly, very slowly, Aiden's mother started asking Mia questions. About school. About her family. About her hobbies. Nothing personal. Nothing intimidating. Just questions. The kind people asked when they were trying to understand someone.
"So you like reading?"
Mia nodded.
"Yeah."
"What kind of books?"
The conversation continued from there. Small. Simple. Normal. And before Mia realized it, she wasn't nervous anymore.
By the end of the evening, everyone was sitting in the living room. Ava was scrolling through her phone. Aiden and Mia were arguing over a movie recommendation. His father had fallen asleep. And for the first time all day, everything felt natural.
Then Mia glanced at the clock.
"Oh."
Aiden looked up.
"What?"
"I should probably go home."
Ava immediately booed.
"Ava."
"What? I'm invested now."
Mia laughed. Aiden's mother shook her head. Then stood up.
"I'll walk you to the door."
Mia froze. Aiden froze. Even Ava looked surprised. The walk to the front door felt much longer than it actually was. For a few seconds, neither spoke. Then Aiden's mother sighed.
"Mia."
"Yes?"
"I can see why my son likes you."
Mia blinked. She wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. Aiden's mother looked almost annoyed she'd said it out loud. Almost.
"Thank you."
A small smile appeared on Mia's face. A real one. The kind that couldn't be faked. For the first time since this whole situation started, Aiden's mother smiled back. Only briefly. But it was enough. When Mia finally left, Aiden practically ran back into the house.
"Well?"
His mother looked at him. Then rolled her eyes.
"Don't push your luck."
Aiden grinned. Because she hadn't said no.