We're going to need more than five minutes

When shall we meet the family?

She was in the kitchen cutting veggies when her phone rang. Right in the middle of making lunch, Jordane was lying outside in the shade resting. She had been able to take him home a few days ago and barely allowed him to lift a finger outside of moving from bed to his chosen cozy place for the day as well as the occasional bathroom break that she helped him with as far as modesty and their still very fresh relationship allowed. Most importantly, she wanted him to feel taken care of and she wanted him to get back on his feet as fast as possible. That included cooking him a proper meal – since he was back home, he had had nothing but burgers and pizza and she had complied with his requests since she took pity on him and wanted her poor baby to feel better. But now it was enough. And even though the idea of broccoli for lunch had made him pout and be a bit grumpy, broccoli for lunch was exactly what he would get!

She looked at her phone screen and took a deep sigh. Of course, it had been just a question of time. And in the end, it was her own fault since she had dodged this conversation for far too long, until even the most trustful and gullible person could sense that something must be up. So she guessed that now was just as good – or bad – a time as any to finally have the talk and picked up the phone.

„Hey mom! How's it going?"

„Hey there, stranger! I'm doing alright. Same as always. How about you?"

„Same here, all good! I'm just making lunch."

„Whatcha making?"

„Just some veggies with a bit of sweet potato. Something light, it's hot out today."

„It is, ins't it? How was Hawaii?"

She paused for a second, preparing her line of defense. „Hawaii was great! Very relaxing, very beautiful."

Now there was a pause at the other end of the line.

„You haven't called in a while."

„That's true... you're right, I'm sorry, mom. Things have been a bit crazy."

„Things?"

„Yeah, you know. Work and stuff. I wrapped filming, then the song Leo and I released, the new collection of the Keep It Regal Boutique has just dropped. It's busy."

„I see. That's all?"

„What do you mean?"

She heard her mother sigh. „Why don't you want to tell me that you have a new boyfriend, Lana?"

Until now she had continued making lunch while talking, her phone on speaker, but now she put down the knife and picked it up to be able to fully focus on the conversation that she finally could not run away from and avoid any longer.

„How do you know I have a new boyfriend?"

„Does it matter? Trish told me. Well, she rather mentioned it by accident and didn't want to go into further detail. What matters is, you didn't tell me yourself. Why? It's great news, isn't it? I'm really, really happy for you if it's true... Is it true?"

She nodded. „Yes, mom, it's true. I'm in a new relationship. And I'm sorry I haven't told you yet, but it's still very fresh, really. We're still figuring things out and I know that as soon as I told you about him, you'd instantly want to meet him, and we might not be ready for the whole ‚meet the family' kind of pressure yet."

„What are you talking about, I'm delightful! He doesn't need to be afraid of me, I don't bite."

„Yes, mom, I know that. But still, it's stressful! Especially because", she made a short pause, „I don't know what Trish told you."
„Nothing much."