Somebody to Love

Game 2 on Sunday was our first afternoon game, which I loved. It turned out to be our first loss in ten days as we lost 3-1. Halak looked nearly invincible as he only allowed one goal and frustrated my boys; I couldn't even imagine how Flower was feeling as he watched his teammates trying to score but were denied countless times. After the game, Marc and I headed to Joe's Crab Shack for an early dinner.

"What's with the smile?" he asked with an amused look on his face.

I shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just smiling, I guess." I said before taking a bite of my dinner.

He laughed and shook his head.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, laughing myself.

He shrugged.

"You're weird." I said shaking my head.

"Look who's talking." he said with a smirk.

"Tais-toi, Marc." (Shut up, Marc.)

He just continued to smile as I tried not to laugh.

"So, do you have any plans for tonight?" he asked.

"As of now? None. I'm sure Maddy'll text me soon enough though. How about you?"

He shrugged.

"We're in the same boat. Interesting."

Once we paid the bill, Maddy texted me.

Hey. What's up?

Not much. Just out with Marc. Why?

I need out. I just learned that Matt's parents are coming to Pittsburgh to meet me next weekend...

What time?

Meet me at my house at 7.

Sounds good. See ya soon!

See ya!

I sighed. I can only imagine how she's feeling right now. She told me how critical his parents are gonna be as they have been the last couple times Matt brought a girl home to meet them.

"What's up?"

"Maddy needs out. She just learned that Matt's parents are coming to Pittsburgh to meet her. She mentioned in the past how critical his parents can be."

"Oh boy. I'm glad my parents weren't that critical when they met you."

"Yeah. Thank goodness. Remember how nervous I was?"

"For no reason at all."

I rolled my eyes, but I guess he's right.

"True. So, I guess you're on your own tonight."

"And I'll have so much fun."

"Even if you don't have any plans?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'll be asking how your night went."

"Go ahead. I'll be waiting for you to ask me about it. By the way, what time will you be home, seeing as it's a school night?"

"Should be around 10 and I'll be beyond ready to head to bed."

Once seven hit, I was in front of her house and knocking on her door. She immediately wrapped her arms around me...very tightly, I must say, tighter than she's hugged me since I came out of my coma.

"I'm so glad you're here. I really, really need a drink."

Sounds like it's worse than I thought.

"Alright. Let's go."

She nodded and got into my car. The entire ride was silent besides me asking her where she wanted to go. I really didn't like the feeling; it really made me worry. We didn't head to Diesel as we just wanted to talk and get a drink. We drove to the closest bar by her apartment. Once she got her drink, she nearly downed it; the girl got a Blue Hawaii, which has both rum and vodka. I hadn't even taken a sip of my mai-tai when this happened, and to say I was shocked was an understatement.

"You wanna talk, Maddy?" I asked hesitantly.

She sighed then looked up at me.

"You know how I told you about Matt's parents being really critical?"

I nodded.

"Well, I never told you how critical they are. He grew up in one of the nicest neighborhoods a child, let alone a person could live. His family's loaded and he had the "perfect" childhood. He played football, got amazing grades, never got in trouble; he was basically the 'ideal' child. The two girls he brought home to meet his parents were both from families who had quite a bit of money just like his family. And who am I? A teacher, Bella. An elementary school teacher. I recently learned that one girl is a doctor and the other is a model! How could I possibly measure up to them?"

A couple tears dripped down her face.

"Sweetheart, just because you didn't come from money and you're not a doctor or a model, doesn't mean you don't measure up. All that matters is that you love Matt and he loves you."

"Still. I have no idea what they're gonna think of me."

"Did Matt say anything else about his parents?"

"Not much other than him saying they're generally kind people." she said shrugging.

I made a face before taking another sip of the only drink I planned on having tonight, seeing as I was the obvious designated driver.

"You'll be fine. They have no reason to not like you."

"You mean to hate me."

"I love you. I really do, but you're being ridiculous, right now. You're over thinking this. Every girl gets nervous when they have to meet her boyfriend's or girlfriend's parents, no matter the situation. I was nervous before I met Marc's parents, and it turns out that they love me!"

Her second drink arrived at that point.

"I guess you're right just like Matt. He told me they'd love me."

"Your boyfriend's a very smart man."

"He is, isn't he?" she said, cracking a smile.

"Yes. He is."

"And so is that man of yours!"

I began laughing just as she did.

"Thank you."

"Thank you for cheering me up."

"What are friends for?"

She ended up just having one more drink. I was relieved seeing as I thought she might've been hungover at work, which could get you into some deep trouble. We left shortly before ten and got us both home by a quarter after. I smiled seeing as he was home like I thought he'd be. I unlocked the door and found the downstairs completely dark, so I automatically went to our bedroom. He was at the foot of the bed like a little kid in his pyjamas watching tv; the sight was adorable.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey." he said sitting up.

I sat my purse on the floor and sat beside him.

"How'd it go?"

"It turned out well, but it certainly didn't start out well. As soon as she got her first drink, she nearly downed it. I then got her to talking. She told me how his family comes from money...lots of it and how he had the 'perfect' childhood. Next came the two girls who brought home to meet his parents. They were girls who turned out to be a doctor and a model who came from money like he did. She didn't think she could measure up to that...

He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Really? That girl is amazing." he said in disbelief.

"Really. I went ahead and told her that it didn't matter that she doesn't come from money and had either careers like those girls. All that mattered was that she loves Matt and he loves her.

"Good. What did she say?"

"Well, she continued to have doubts about what they'll think of her even though she was told by Matt how nice his parents were and that they'd accept her. She was being so ridiculous, but she got the point after I told her about when I met your parents and the fact that Matt is a very smart man. Once she agreed on that fact, she said this, and I quote, 'And so it that man of yours!'."

"I'm so glad you got this all straightened out. I was worried about her. She has a really great friend, you know?"

"I know." I said leaning in to kiss him.

He pulled me into his lap and made the kiss deeper.

"I love you." he said several minutes later after we made love.

"I love you, too."

Notes