The Romance Adventure

Chapter 8

Reni sat on the floral couch in her parent's seven-acre ranch home and shared the story of meeting Zak and the ill-fated proposal upon her unhappy return home.

"It was beautiful. The stone sat in a rose-gold setting of twisted vines, leaves of smaller diamonds as embellishments. I don't know if I did the right thing, saying no."

"I'm confused. Are congratulations in order?" Her father asked. He was a lion of a man with a mane of white hair, still had a few strands similar in color to his daughter. Happier in jeans and muck boots than sitting at a computer, he'd recently retired from his job as an engineer.

"Robert, what a thing to say." Seated next to her on the couch, her mother turned to face her. "What does this man want with you?" Her petite and permanently blonde mother brought her a glass of ice tea and joined her on the couch.

"He wants to marry me."

"To get to the United States?" Her dad shifted forward in his seat, the creases in his forehead deepening as he stared at her bejeweled hand.

"That's ridiculous." Reni took a deep breath and a large swallow of tea to steady her emotions.

"He could be using you to get to America." Her mother's voice dropped as if sharing an important secret. "I watch 90-Day Finance, and the poor Americans are always getting scammed by the people they meet online. All they want is to get married and come here."

"Mom. Stop." Outrage simmered. "I was not scammed. I met Zak at a writing workshop, not online. He has a good job, an important one as a journalist. He is not using me to get a green card."

"Journalists don't make a lot of money," her dad added. "With the internet and all, his job could be going away, and you could be a backup plan."

"I don't believe the two of you. I'm going to see the horses."

Annoyed and irritated with them, it only worsened when doubt crept into her thoughts.

Entering the kitchen and banishing her doubts, Reni grabbed carrots from the fridge. Already in jeans, she exchanged her sneakers for boots and headed out to the stables.

Her favorite horse, Goose, a sixteen-hand, off-the-track, rescued thoroughbred, waited. At three he'd been a gangly teen, skinny with long legs and a narrow neck. Now eight, he was magnificent and Reni's favorite ride.

In his paddock, she offered him a carrot and put him on the cross ties. She groomed and saddled him and then cantered across the field and into the woods that dotted her parent's property.

She hoped the ride would bring her more clarity, but instead her mind filled with nagging questions. Telling her parents had not gone the way she'd expected, but they were an older, conservative generation.

Reni needed a different audience, one that understood dating in the modern age. Returning from her ride, she decided to meet with friends, sure they would see her engagement in a more positive light than her parents.

Back in the barn, she groomed Goose and put him in the stall, throwing a few more carrots in his feed bucket for good measure. Her temper somewhat restored, she returned to the house to deal with her parents.

It took another week to set up the lunch, hesitant as she was to share the news with her friends.

Palms sweaty, Reni entered the crowdy, noisy Dockside restaurant.

Waving, she made her way over to her friends at a table outside that provided spectacular views of the boat dock and the bay below. Hugs abounded as she met her three besties. Shannon, tall and willowy with blonde hair in a high ponytail, pounced first. "Did you at least take a picture of the ring? I want to see it even if you didn't accept it."

"It was gorgeous, but sorry, no pictures," Reni said.

"Your description made it sound that way." Lyndsay tucked a stray strand of long brown hair behind her ear to get a better view of the sparkling ring. "Are you sure it was real?" Her hazel eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Don't start. I've been through this with my parents already."

"It's only because we care." Quiana, fellow teacher and former college roomie, moved in for another hug.

Reni leaned into her friend, absorbing the support. "You aren't going to gang up on me, are you?"

Quiana's laugh filled the restaurant. "Give us a little credit." Warm brown skin and a curvy figure had multiple admiring men turning her way. "We're just concerned and have some questions. Come on. Let's get some food and chat."

The four women went to the outside bar to grab craft beers and soon settled with nachos and calamari in front of them. This was not the salad crowd.

"We're still together, but not sure what our future looks like." Reni ended her story of the whirlwind romance. She hunkered down with an understanding serious questioning was about to begin.

"How would it even work? Would you stay there, or would he move here?" Lyndsey asked.

Reni stared at her drink. "He's very close to his mother, and she's alone there."

"Don't let him get you over there and separate you from family and friends." Shannon gesticulated wildly with her hands. "I've read stories. It's all love and romance until it's kidnapping, rape, and torture."

"Zak is not like that at all. Don't you trust my judgment?" Reni couldn't believe her friends were vomiting such nonsense.

"It was two weeks. What can you really learn about a person in two weeks?" Shannon asked.

"Hopefully enough to tell that he's not going to kidnap, rape, and torture me."

"What about cultural differences?" Quiana asked. "They exist. You've seen it as a teacher. Is there an expectation you'll take on the culture of the host country?"

"What does that even mean? We're individuals, not robots. I won't lose myself if I go live in Morocco."

"You say that now but wait until you get there." Quiana put her hand over Reni's, stopping her from taking a nacho. "The pressure can be intense to adapt, and it won't just be him. It will come from his family too."

"I'm strong enough to stay true to who I am." Reni reclaimed her hand, snatched a nacho chip, dragged it through the salsa, and crunched it between her teeth as if the loud chewing made her point.

"Just you wait and see." Lyndsay also grabbed a chip and saluted her with it before popping it in her mouth. "There might be a 'We told you so' in the future.

"There's an easy fix to all of this," Quiana offered.

"What is that?" Reni leaned forward.

"Postpone, delay, take a breath, a long one." Quiana let the word sink in. "Spend the time learning about each other. We all have quirks that get irritating."

"He proposed. I said no. It's obviously not like we plan to marry tomorrow."

"Good. Have a long pre-engagement and then an even longer engagement." Quiana's hand reclaimed hers. "Have him come here and meet us. We'll figure out if he has good intentions."

"You all make it sound like we're living in the 1950s." Reni frowned, no longer hungry. "Can we please talk about something else and enjoy our food? Enough about my love life."

The conversation shifted; the group ordered dinner and more drinks, but Reni couldn't get the nagging fear of being duped by the man she loved to go away.

Between her parents and her friends, she wondered if she was missing some sign that Zak wasn't the amazing person she thought him to be.