Chapter 23
August 22, 2024
“I have a question for you, Sleeping Beauty.”
“What’s that?”
I look up from the dining table in my flat and see shirtless Milo carrying Coco, who has a tiny note hanging from her collar.
I laugh. “What in the world ...”
He sets Coco, who makes a disgruntled mewling noise, on my lap. I pet her as I read the note.
Come to Portugal with me? Pretty please?
“Oh ...” I try my best to sound intrigued. I already know I’m going to say yes. “Um, when?”
Milo winces slightly. “In a week and a half.”
He explains what I already know—that his grandma is suffering from dementia, that his family has a huge annual pool party every year in the summer that he hasn’t missed, ever.
“My family wants to meet you. I’ve, uh, been talking about you. A lot.”
He says it with such hopefulness in his eyes and voice that I’m smitten. Going through life backward has been disorienting as hell, but moments like this ground me. I know how this all turns out. We have a wonderful time with his family. They’re sweet and welcoming and hug everyone for any reason. I discover that Milo cheated in a relationship in his early twenties. It rattles me, but we talk about it. He’s open and honest and regretful about it. He doesn’t get upset when I express my hesitation and reservations, and we work through it. I even run into Portia, and somehow that works out fine; I get this flat out of it.
It all somehow ends up wonderful. And because I know that, I can savor this moment, this moment when Milo is working up the nerve to ask me. It’s sweeter. It hits harder. Because I already know how much I mean to him for him to have asked me in the first place.
“You told your family about me?” I ask, unable to rein in the wide smile that appears on my face.
He nods. “I can’t help it. You’re amazing.”
I cup his cheek with my hand.
“I know it’s last minute, but seems fitting, don’t you think? Especially since I’ve already met your family.”
I do my best to keep my smile in place and swallow back my surprise. “Good point. Of course I want to go to Portugal and meet your family.”
He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead before petting Coco and standing up. “My mom’s gonna flip. She’s been dying to meet you. She’s been asking to talk to you on the phone, but I don’t wanna scare you off.” He lets out a soft laugh like he’s embarrassed.
“Why would I be scared off? It sounds like she’s being so sweet.”
“She is. She’s just really affectionate. The entire Portuguese side of my family is. People can take it the wrong way, think it’s over the top, or be turned off by it.” He shrugs and flashes a flustered smile. It’s cute. “I guess that’s all my years living in England coming through. I don’t wanna scare people off with all the emotional, touchy-feely stuff.”
Even though I’ve already lived that part and I already know how well it all goes between Daniela and me, I’m still glowing at the feeling of meeting a significant other’s mother who actually likes me.
“I would never be scared off by that,” I say to Milo. “I love that your mom is so kind and welcoming to me already.”
This time when he smiles, he looks relieved.
“It might be kind of nice to get away for a bit,” Milo says. He swallows, like he’s hesitating. “Especially after the disaster from earlier this summer.”
“Good point.” I do my best to gauge Milo’s reaction so I can figure out what he’s talking about, but he walks to the kitchen island to refill his coffee mug.
Milo shakes his head while looking down at his cup. “God, what a shit show. I still can’t believe it. The nerve of Tristan. And Portia.”
I brace myself. This must be the disastrous dinner everyone’s been referencing. I can feel every muscle in my shoulders tense. I check the calendar in my phone. It’s August now, which means this fiasco happens in either May, June, or July.
Sweat breaks out on the back of my neck. Something terrible is going to happen, has happened, and I have no idea how to prepare for it.