cherry red chapstick | h. styles

i. ruined jacket

The sounds of the utensils scraping the dining plates were accompanied by laughter and banter filling the restaurant atmosphere. Platers of food were passed across the dining table every few seconds, and shouts were thrown when someone didn't pass the dish the second they asked. I tried to eat silently, but the attempt never succeeded as my lovely grandma sat right across from me, asking me the typical questions about my life. If she were anyone else, I would've shut down the conversation, but since she traveled from Japan to meet us, I didn't want to shut down her attempts to make conversation.

"Every time I see you, you grow prettier and prettier," my grandma said, smiling at me as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin.

"Thank you," I replied, smiling back as she stared at me with the same smile. However, I got the feeling she was going to ask me a dreaded question I'd been avoiding all night.

"So tell me, my dear, have you gotten a boyfriend yet?" She asked, smiling innocently as I choked on my water. I knew she was going to ask me that.

"Unfortunately, no, I don't," I replied after gaining composure after choking. "But I don't plan to have one anytime soon."

"Yeah, right," my sister, Rhea, scoffed at my answer, which gained the rest of my family's attention. "Just say you can't get one instead of 'planning.'"

I rolled my eyes at her, pushing the plate away from her as she tried to take another bite of her breadstick.

"As I was saying," I started, glaring at Rhea, who glared back at me. "I want to focus on my career right now, and I don't want to manage a relationship simultaneously." 

"Mai's focused on her career, huh?" My sister-in-law, Angeline, chimed in with an unsurprised tone. I roll my eyes again, causing her to laugh at my annoyed expression. Angeline has always been a teasing person, always tag-teaming with Rhea to tease the fuck out of me.

"Well, Mai has always been the type to focus her goals more than anything else," my other sister-in-law, Emma, replied, defending me as always.

"Well, I was wondering when I'll be able to meet my great-grandbabies," My grandma said, placing a hand on top of mine on the dinner table. Astounded by her words, I remove my hands from under hers before placing them on top.  

"Ryan and Angeline already have two kids, and Emma is pregnant with Jaxon's child," I reminded her, shrugging as she sighed at my response.

"Yeah, but I've always been curious about you and your lack of... How do I say this? Your lack of relationships," My grandma said, taking me by surprise once again by her forwardness. She knows how to shock everyone with her boldness, something which I admire yet still afraid of. 

"Damn, you didn't have to remind her like that," Rhea said, laughing at our grandma. 

"Mom, Mai doesn't need a partner for her to be happy with her life," My mom stepped in, trying to heal me from my grandma's painfully accurate assumptions. 

"You said that to me when you were younger, but now you have four kids and a great husband," My grandma said, chuckling with the others as my mom blushed and my dad immediately placed a hand on top of hers.

I smiled along, but a piece of me felt offended by my grandma's words. I know she means all well, but her reminder of my lack of a significant other causes me to hurt a little. As I said, I don't have time to commit to someone while not feeling accomplished with my job. I've only begun my career a year ago, and since then, I've only gotten one promotion some time ago. As a journalist, one promotion isn't enough for me. I want to be well known. I want people to know my name or at least recognize my name in articles.