Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
I am a reasonably sensible, somewhat mature, thirty-one-year-old woman. I work in customer services, actually dealing with members of the public on a face-to-face basis, giving them joyous news that they can’t have what they want, and why they can’t have it. Needless to say, there is an element of crowd control and diffusing difficult situations involved. I have faced many obstacles in my life, not to mention living on my own all these years with a cat I was sure wanted to kill me during the first few years of being roomies. So, after all that, why was I suddenly terrified of meeting my boyfriend’s parents? They’re humans. Two humans who produced the love of my life. Two humans who supposedly already liked me before they’d even met me. Why was I so nervous? Because I knew how much it mattered to Zack that it went well tonight.
I was even more nervous because one of the nicest restaurants ever had been chosen for this momentous occasion. I had never been to Alice Garden before, not since I read the menu online and saw they charged over nine pounds for a small glass of wine. The food looked amazing on their online menu though. There were no tiny portions to be seen. I still had some making up to do with my digestive system after attempting vegan food, and had promised my stomach a big, juicy steak. Although, I wouldn’t want to be burping in front of Zack’s parents. What would they think of me? With names like Alistair and Miranda, they were sure to be posh.
We managed to find a parking space close to the restaurant. When I got out of the car, I checked over my dress to make sure I wasn’t covered in Bing’s white hair. Using my phone’s front camera, I checked over my make-up too, not wanting my eyeliner to appear smudged. I also needed to keep my phone close by. Sarah was on another blind date, and I had promised to call her straight away if she needed to escape, this time.
“Are you all right?” Zack asked, putting his arm around me to lead my resistant body to the restaurant.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” I lied, almost choking as my mouth and throat felt really dry.
“That’s their car.” Zack pointed to a silver Porsche Carrera. “Dad loves that car. Mum wanted him to sell it as it sits in a garage for six months out of the year. But he can’t part with it.”
“Why can’t you have it?” I said, trying to stop myself from drooling all over the bonnet.
“Ha, I asked my dad that a few years ago… He still laughs about it now. Come on, they’ll be waiting.”
He held my hand and squeezed it reassuringly as we walked up the stone stairs and through the door.
“Hello and welcome to Alice Garden,” the hostess said. “Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, we’re meeting my parents.” Zack pointed to the table near the bar, where two very smiley people waved at us, and the waitress led us to them.
“I’ll be back shortly to take your drinks order.” She smiled.
Zack hugged his parents. It was very loving and affectionate. Not something I was used to myself.
“Mum, Dad, this is Jenny.” He was so comfortable in their presence. Again, not something I was used to personally.
“Hi, it’s so nice to meet you.” I almost curtsied. Then I remembered – this was not the time to be a tit.
“Hello!” His mother stepped forward. “I’m Miranda.” She pulled me in for a hug. It felt wonderful, very mumsy. “We’re so glad to finally meet you! We’ve heard so many good things.” Her smile was so genuine, and I felt instantly at ease.
“I’m Alistair. Would a hug seem too awkward or…” He held out his arms and I laughed.
“No, no, it sounds great!” I said, leaning in to hug him.
“Let’s sit, and let’s get some drinks ordered,” Alistair said as we pulled apart. “I’ve never been here before, but it’s very busy, which is always a good sign.”
“Can I get you anything to drink?” The waitress had returned.
We each gave our drinks choices. Miranda and I ordered the same glass of wine so decided to share a bottle instead, and the guys ordered Italian beer.
“Jenny,” Miranda began. “Zack tells me you own your own house. Is that true?” She seemed impressed.
“Yes, it is.”
“I’ve been wanting Zack to buy a house for years,” Alistair said. “But he never listens. Now house prices and interest rates have shot up, he’ll have to wait until they come back down. The market will be up and down for a while I expect.”
“Well, it’s so difficult to get on the property ladder these days,” I said. “My friend Sarah was lucky to get her house recently. But if I’m honest, I was only able to buy my house because I inherited half of it when my dad died. I got a mortgage for the other half, buying it from my brother.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry about your father.” Miranda looked mortified. “Alistair, stop talking about houses and finances.”
“It’s fine, it was a long time ago,” I said, worried I was bringing the mood down on the evening. “I grew up in that house… well, until my parents split up anyway. So, when it became empty, it was up to me and my brother what we wanted to do with it. He didn’t really want it, I did, so I bought it.” It was great to get some distance from my mum, too. Living with her was becoming a challenge. Even with the rise of bills year after year, the cost of my sanity was more important than the cost of living.
“Sad circumstances, but a great position to be in,” Alistair bravely piped up. “You made a very sensible decision. We like to surround ourselves with intelligent people.” He smiled at me.
“Thank you.” I was beaming. I never got the same praise from my own mother. All she could say was, “ You’d best change the hallway carpet, that’s where your Dad’s dog died in a pool of its own urine. ”
Fifty minutes and four delicious plates of food later, we were all relaxed and enjoying each other’s company. I couldn’t believe I had been so nervous to meet them. Miranda and Alistair were great. They were so easy to talk to and seeing Zack with them had made me love him even more. He was so respectful and polite, especially with his mum. If a man can respect his own mother, he will always respect you. That’s what my grandma used to say. And she was right.
The conversation had moved on to holiday destinations. Zack mentioned that we had discussed booking a break for September. We still hadn’t found anywhere yet, there was so much choice. I liked the idea of a Greek island, but there were so many to choose from.
I felt my phone buzz in my bag. When I checked it, it was a message from Sarah, with that one famous word. It was time to rescue her once again.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, “I just need to make a call. Will you excuse me?”
As soon as I stood up, Zack and Alistair stood up in unison. It felt like I was an important lady at the dinner table in Downton Abbey . How very proper.
I smiled at the hostess, as I nipped out the glass door and to the bottom of the steps.
“Hello?” Sarah’s voice answered before I could speak.
“Hey, it’s me, there’s a huge comet flying towards earth about to land on your car. You might want to park somewhere else.”
“Oh no, that’s terrible!” Sarah’s A-level in drama was paying off. “I’m coming right now. Don’t move, I’ll be right there. I’m so sorry,” she was talking to her date now, “I have to leave. Let’s rearrange, okay? Goodbye.” I heard a lot of muffled noise before she came back on the phone. “I’m back, I’m outside now. Oh my God, that was creepy.”
“Worse than your sex blogger?” I kept my voice low so the patrons still entering the restaurant couldn’t hear me.
“Much worse.”
“He wasn’t a vegan, was he?”
“Shut up,” she said, laughing. “It started really well. I had high hopes for this one. He was a fitness instructor. Very hot body. Very nice to look at, but…”
“But what?” I glanced inside and saw Zack’s parents smiling as they spoke to him.
“He was fitness obsessed. When we were looking through the menu and he asked me what I fancied to eat, he’d tell me how many miles I’d need to run to burn it off. But it wasn’t even disguised as a fun fact. He was actually telling me I would need to burn it off, because it would be a shame to let myself go. After all, I am in my thirties, so my metabolism won’t be what it used to be. Those are the actual words he used. Can you believe it?”
“What an absolute dick!” I said it a little too loudly, aware that the restaurant doors were open so I could be overheard. That kind of language isn’t very Downton Abbey .
“Where are you? Can I come over?” she pleaded. “I feel like popping to the shop for a chocolate fudge cake and ice cream. I could send him a selfie of me eating it. Fancy sharing one?”
“I can’t. I’m out with Zack and his parents. I just nipped outside to rescue you.”
“Oh, I forgot! How’s it going?”
“Really well. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you, but I love them.”
“Aww, that’s so good! Just a heads-up if you order any pudding, you’ll need to do a good four- to five-mile run if you do. In fact, best just avoid it altogether at our age.”
“Ha, ha, I won’t be following such a rule. Speak to you tomorrow.”
“Bye!”
I ran up the stairs and arrived back at the table.
“Is everything okay?” Miranda asked.
“Oh yes, my friend needed a quick word, but she’s fine. Thank you.”
“Zack,” Miranda said, putting her hand on her son’s. “Why don’t you see what Jenny thinks to our idea?”
I looked at Zack, who seemed hesitant.
“Mum has suggested that we all go away together in September. They have a villa in Crete and were already planning to go for a month or two. It has four bedrooms, two living rooms, three bathrooms, and a tennis court. It’s a shared pool, but only with one other villa. Very close to the beach. We’d only need to pay for the flights. What do you think?”
“Don’t feel pressured,” Alistair said. “If you kids want your own holiday, that’s fine by us.”
“It’s very private,” Miranda said, clearly hoping we would join them. “And we wouldn’t need to be under each other’s feet. You can do your own thing when you like. All I ask is we try to eat together in the evenings. We had a new kitchen put in last year, but there is a barbeque too.”
“If you like lobster, you’ll like it even more on a barbeque,” Alistair said with a smile.
This sounded amazing. How could I refuse?
“That sounds like a great idea. I’d love to.”
Zack beamed.
“I’m so glad!” Miranda clapped her hands. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. “This calls for a toast. Shall we have one more drink before we call it a night?”