"Amanda, what is wrong with you? Aunt Jen is not even a slut. You know she eloped because of how crazy protective our family was," I defended my aunt. Aunt Jen was so patient, she didn't even say a thing to Amanda. "Whatever. How can you go and get pregnant," she yelled, enraged.

"Can we have this conversation somewhere else," I asked, and I got up to walk over to her.

"Well, I got pretty worried after you hadn't shown up at home for a few hours. I thought I should come here and see if you'd come here again. I was right after all." Manda said, arrogantly. I honestly felt like slapping her right then. She really pissed me off sometimes, and this was one of those times.

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine. You can go home, sis," I said, gesturing for her to leave.

"You know what? Fine. I was gonna stay at Ryan's place for a few nights, anyway. If you don't have a ride home, don't call me. I'll see you later, then. Bye, Tina," my sister waved and Tina finally sat down.

I sighed as she left, relieved to have her finally gone.

******

"Do you need a ride home?" Rob asked me while I was putting the clothes and shoes my aunt bought me near the door. I dropped the bag I was holding down in front of the front door, then stood tall to look up at him.

"Are you sure," I asked him.

"Yes, I'm serious. Please, let me give you a ride. It's late, and we live right next to each other," he said. He looked hopeful that I was gonna say yes, which made me wonder what he was thinking. I sighed and nodded, "alright... Thank you"

He started to smile and my knees went weak. I forgot how beautiful his smile was sometimes. Rob opened the door for me, grabbed of few of my bags, and I walked out to his car with the rest.

The first few minutes of the drive were silent. After we got onto the highway, he asked me where I wanted to go. "What do you mean," I asked, confused. Where else would I go besides home? "Well, I mean, you're home alone, right," he asked. I nodded. "Well, so am I..." He trailed off and it got silent again. "Are you hungry?" he asked. I looked at him like he was crazy. This whole time he had his eyes glued to the road. As far as I saw, anyway.

I was about to say something smart, but my stomach started making loud noises. Rob chuckled softly. "Well...I can eat..." I gave in, a little embarrassed. He chuckled again and sighed. "I was thinking Wendy's," he said, gesturing his head toward the highway exit. I nodded and, for once during the whole ride, smiled at him.

"That's a lot of food," Rob said, eyeing my meal as we sat in a booth near the window. I'd ordered two large fries, salad, and water. Rob, on the other hand, was just picking at my food. "I'm okay," he'd said when I asked him if he was getting anything. He graciously paid for my food, insisting it was the least he could do. For what, I don't even know.

I shook my head as I reached for the water, "it is not."

Rob laughed, then sighed. "So, I've been meaning to talk to you about the, ahem, family dinner." I put my drink down, then reached for more fries. "That was a disaster, right? Especially after my sister crashed it. And I'm sorry for telling them about the pregnancy, by the way. I didn't even ask you."

"No, it's okay. You didn't even mention my part in anything, so I'll tell Aaron myself. But, I was talking about dinner with our parents," Rob stated.

"Oh, right. Well, my parents are available next weekend. Saturday works best for me, anytime after three for dinner should work. At your parents' place, right," I asked him.

"Yeah. That's perfect. They were set on Saturday at six. Um," he cleared his throat, and looked me in the eyes, "aside from vegan, are there any dietary restrictions I should tell them about?"

I shook my head, "no, my parents eat everything... Are there any drinks, foods or snacks that your parents really like? We're gonna want to bring something."

Rob reached out for my hand, and I let him hold it gently. "You don't have to do that."

Despite the pounding of my heart, I laughed, "my parents are going to bring something regardless, so it's better that I know what they should and shouldn't buy."

He opened his mouth to protest, and I gave his hand a squeeze as I said, "it's the hospitality of our culture. You'd be surprised how many times a borrowed dish went back and forth between my house and my friend's with fresh food as a thank you. What do your parents like?"

Rob smiled, accepted my answer, then thought of what his parents might appreciate. "They love grapes, dry wine, and gouda cheese. My mom really likes lilies and baby's breath flowers, too."

"Sounds good," I replied, returning his smile.

*********

A/N

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Ruth.