Fitting in

Their romance was growing quickly, their bond becoming stronger by the day. It wasn’t long before it was time for Chris to meet Amanda’s family and sure enough he was soon invited to dinner.

“I’m dreading it mate” Chris said to Callum on their usual long walk home.

“Don’t worry about it; I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

“I hope so, it’s a big deal meeting the parents, I guess this means it’s getting serious”.

“What do you mean you guess?” said Callum with a wry smile “You two have been together for weeks now and your practically inseparable!”

“I know I’m sorry I haven’t been around much lately, I’ve just got carried away with it all!”

“It’s alright mate, I know how it is when it’s all new and exciting, so when’s the big day?”

“Tomorrow, her mum is picking us up after school!” Chris replied “So I’m going to be stuck in my uniform through the whole thing; I’m so not looking forward to it!”

Chris had never met a girlfriend’s parents and was extremely nervous. He was unsure of what to expect and what was expected of him.

“Stop worrying” said Callum reassuringly “Just relax, you’ve met my mum and she loves you. She’s always glad when you stay for dinner, I don’t think she likes the idea of you having to cook for yourself at your age”.

This was certainly true, Callum’s mum was always deploring over how thin Chris was and she seemed to take great pleasure in cooking for him, or feeding him up as she put it.

“Good point!” replied Chris chuckling a little, “You got time for some footy later? I could do with letting off a little steam!”

“Yeah sure, I just need to nip home and get changed first!”

“Cool, cheers mate; I’ll meet you at mine in a bit, just got to be back before seven as my lady’s calling me!”

“Well we don’t want you being told off by the missus now do we” Callum replied cheekily.

The two boys set off for Callum’s laughing at the last comment and discussing where they’d play football. After stopping at Callum’s, where his friend changed into his football gear and they were both forced to snack on a large chicken sandwich by Callum’s mother, they set off for the football stadium in the hope that it would be open.

The following day soon arrived and after a normal if uneventful day at school, Chris stood anxiously hand in hand with Amanda at the school gates.

It wasn’t a long wait before Amanda’s mum pulled up in the car and Amanda ushered him into the back seat. Chris quickly glanced out of the window and caught a glimpse of Callum as he walked past, who winked and gave an encouraging smile. The atmosphere in the car was cold as it sped away from the school, so seeking to break the silence Chris spoke first....

“Thank you for picking us up and thank you for inviting me to dinner” he said in his politest tone.

“You’re welcome” came a short, frosty response from Amanda’s mother.

Chris sunk back into his chair, disheartened by the unwelcoming response. Amanda reached out for his hand but he pushed hers away, she recoiled looking dejected.

Realising the look on her face he quickly mouthed the words “Not here!”

“Why not?” Amanda mouthed back.

“I don’t want to upset your mother!”

“Ok” she replied silently, understanding that she was not being dismissed but that Chris was trying to make the best impression possible.

The journey to Amanda’s house was not too long by car and to pass the time Chris stared out of the window, taking in the surrounding views as he had never been to this side of town before and also trying to memorise the route for future use. As things were going so well with Amanda it seemed inevitable that he would be making frequent trips to her house.

Eventually the car pulled up outside a small, well maintained house opposite a large green field. Everyone climbed out of the car and Amanda’s mum quickly headed for the front door.

“Have I done something wrong?” asked Chris, turning to take Amanda’s school bag.

“No, don’t worry, mums normally like this when she’s had a bad day at work!”

“Oh ok” Chris replied as he carried their school bags from the car, following Amanda into the house.

After being introduced to one of Amanda’s sisters, who barely acknowledged his presence, he was introduced to her father who had just returned from work. He seemed to be curiously looking Chris up and down as he greeted him.

Amanda seemed to sense an air of tension and quickly ushered Chris into the front room.

“Maybe I should just leave” he whispered to Amanda as they took their seats on the sofa, feeling as though he was neither welcome nor wanted.

“Don’t be silly, they just take a while to warm up to new people. You stay here while I get us some drinks, what would you like?”

“Just water, thanks!” replied Chris as Amanda got up to leave the room, returning moments later with two glasses.

“Do you two kids have any homework?” came her father’s deep voice from the doorway.  

“No dad. What about you Chris?”

“Er.... yeah, a history assignment” came his nervous reply as he sipped at his water.

“Well then feel free to use the table as dinner won’t be ready for a while yet!” said Amanda’s mum as she entered the room.

“Thank you” replied Chris who was starting to warm to Amanda’s mother as her tone had changed to one more welcoming.

“Would you mind helping me, as I’m still playing catch up?” he asked Amanda.

“Of course” she said smiling warmly.

They took their seats close together. Chris didn’t really need her help as he was managing his schoolwork quite well, but she was a comforting presence, a warm barrier between himself and the glaring of her father.

She helped where she could as history was rapidly becoming his best lesson, but his spelling was weak and she was kind enough to point out and correct any mistakes he made. It didn’t take long for him to finish the assignment and they sat at the table talking softly about school and their friends.

After a while Chris asked for the bathroom and was lead up the stairs by Amanda’s father. Upon finishing his business he headed back down the stairs, but instead of heading back to the front room he made his way to the kitchen. He popped his head round the door and spoke as politely as he could....

“Sorry to interrupt but I’ve finished my homework and was wondering if there was anything I could do to help with dinner?”

Both parents’ stood in the kitchen in a moment of shock before Amanda’s mother spoke....

“Er.... yes, if you could take these!” she said handing him a large handful of cutlery.

Chris took the handful into the front room and together the young lovers began setting the table.

A few minutes later everyone joined them, with all eyes seemingly on Chris. Amanda’s mother joined them a few moments later with a large wok that she placed at the centre of the table.

Once everyone had passed their plates around the table and had a helping in front of them, Amanda’s mother closed her hands together in prayer.

Somehow Chris and Amanda had missed the subject of religion amongst their many conversations, so as Chris was an atheist, he sat respectfully silent until grace was said and everyone began to eat. Chris sat looking oddly at his plate.

“What is it?” he whispered to Amanda beside him.

“It’s a chicken stir fry. Its fried chicken with beans, lentils and vegetables” she said quietly.

“Oh ok”.

Amanda’s mother looked resentful and she observed them conversing.

“Is there a problem?” she asked.

“Oh no” replied Chris, fearing he had offended her “I was just asking what the food is; it’s just that I’ve never had it before!”

All eyes seemed to fix on him again, as though he was speaking a foreign language.

“Well what do you normally eat?” asked Amanda’s father, looking just as resentful and disapproving.

“Well it depends on what I cook, mainly English or Italian but it’s not a problem honestly!”

He quickly scooped up a large portion of food on his fork and popped it into his mouth; everyone seemed to be watching him in anticipation of what was to come.

“It’s quite nice actually” said Chris with a nervous smile and no sooner had he said it then everyone focused back on their own dinner.

Dinner was eaten in immaculate silence and it wasn’t long until it was over. Everyone dispersed to continue whatever it was they were doing before dinner and Chris decided that perhaps it was time to leave. Noting that everyone was seated in the front room, he made his way to the kitchen to speak to Amanda’s mother.

“Thank you for the meal and for having me over but it’s getting late and I have to be up early for work, so I really must be going!”

“Oh really, you have a job?” she enquired looking half curious and half impressed.

“Yes, well I say job it’s only a paper round, but all the same!”

“Indeed” she replied “just give me five minutes to tidy up and I’ll drop you home!”

“I don’t want to be any trouble, I’m more than happy to walk home!”

“No, no we can’t have you walking around at this time of night!”

“Well ok, if you’re sure then I’ll just go and wait in the front room!” he replied.

After a few moments Amanda’s mum emerged and Chris and Amanda followed her out to the car.

It wasn’t long before the car pulled up outside his flat and after thanking her again for dinner and the lift home, he said goodbye to Amanda’s mother. He leant over and gave Amanda a peck on the cheek before climbing out of the car. He waved them off, then let out a huge sigh of relief and headed indoors.

Six o’clock the following morning quickly came and he wearily jumped onto his bike and met Callum outside in the car park.

“So how did it go?” asked Callum as they began to cycle slowly off.

“Awkward” replied Chris stifling a yawn.

“How do you mean awkward?”

“Well for one thing they served food I had never tried before, so that was awkward. Then they said grace before dinner, and you know what I’m like with religion!”

“I see what you mean, that was awkward. Well at least you survived and you live to fight another day!”

“True” Chris replied rubbing his eyes with one hand “we better pick up the pace or we’ll be late!”

Over the passing weeks Chris did everything he could to please Amanda’s parents, he even went as far as attending church with them on a Sunday morning after work. He did not attend the service but opted to help Amanda with the Sunday school children but this proved just as uncomfortable as he had never spent much time around kids. Eventually after a long chat with Amanda and with her parents showing no sign of being impressed by his behaviour, they came to the conclusion that it was best that Chris would skip church in future, rather than waste his time sitting around watching Amanda tend to the children.

This worked out well for Chris as he was able to divide his Sunday between his great love and his best friend. He spent all morning with Callum and the rest of the day with Amanda. He was quite confused about Amanda’s continual attendance at the church for she seemed as religious as he was but he put it down to her simply wishing to please her mother and said no more about it, conflict was the last thing he wanted especially as things were going so well.

He enjoyed his Sunday mornings with Callum immensely; they would meet up at the shop after work, collect their wages before heading off home to change.

They never had the energy for football on a Sunday as their work load was considerably heavier due to the size of the papers and all the Sunday magazines that went with them, so they always spent the day by the river, Chris relaxing while Callum enjoyed a spot of fishing.

He would spend the morning on the banks of the river before heading off to meet Amanda outside the church once her duties at Sunday school were finished. By chance the church was only a few roads away from Callum’s house so they would cycle back together. He would then spend the rest of the day wandering by the river with Amanda or they would just have lazy days where they would not move from Chris bedroom.

During his many Sunday mornings with Callum they would occasionally ride around aimlessly and Chris would meet new people through Callum.

They would also run into several members of their little group and journey around together, stopping off at their houses for refreshments. They would sit and gossip for hours about what was going on at school and they were all curious as to how Chris and Amanda had got together and how things were going between the two.