Three hours later, they left, stuffed and satisfied, and I was weightless with relief.
We did it.
I didn’t know what the critics’ final reviews would say, but fuck it, we’d planned and executed this event in less than amonth. That was worth celebrating, no matter what happened next.
The kitchen door swung open again, and Sebastian walked out, looking tired but hopeful. When I smiled, his face broke out into a relieved grin.
“You ready?” he asked.
I nodded, my cloud of bliss dissolving into nerves.
The night wasn’t over quite yet. We had one item left on our agenda. One more mountain to climb, and then we were home free—hopefully.
I’d asked our families to stay after the other guests left. Everyone was here—our parents, my grandmother, my sisters, my current and future brothers-in-law. I’d also invited Diya, who looked like an old-school film star in her all-black outfit and gold jewelry. We paid her extremely well, and she’d accumulated a large jewelry collection over the years.
Sebastian and I walked over to where they were seated. After the requisite greetings and congratulations, they fell silent, their faces expectant as I took a deep breath.
“Thank you all for coming. Your support means a lot to us,” I said. “I realize it’s been a long night, but before you leave, Sebastian and I have something to tell you.”
Neha’s eyebrow arched, the only other visible emotion in a sea of curiosity. She hadn’t pushed me to tell our parents about Sebastian after my father and Michel made up, but her silentdisapproval had telegraphed loud and clear.
I wasn’t doing this for her, though. I was doing this for us.
I cleared my throat, anxiety filling my veins. I wasn’t so nervous about my father’s reaction anymore since he and Michel were thick as thieves again, but this was my first time officially introducing a boyfriend to my family. It was a huge deal.
Sebastian let me take the lead like we’d agreed. I’d had a whole speech planned out, but I scrapped it and went for the simple truth instead.
“Sebastian and I are dating,” I said. “We’ve been dating since March. We wanted to keep it a secret until after the launch so it wouldn’t distract from our work, but then the event turned into a disaster, and Dad and Michel were still fighting, so… we kept it a secret for a while longer. But now that everything’s calmed down, and you’re all here, we thought it would be the right time to tell you.”
It wasn’t my most eloquent speech, but it got the job done… I think?
My father frowned. My mother looked confused. Michel sat back and crossed his arms while my grandmother squeezed a wedge of lemon into her tea. Everyone remained silent, like they were waiting for more details.
“Um.” Sebastian and I exchanged befuddled glances. This was not how we’d imagined their reaction. Where was the shock? The crying? The happiness and/or anger? “That’s it,” I said. “That’s what we wanted to tell you.”
More silence.
I was starting to panic over whether they’d been body-snatched by pod people when Neha’s husband, of all people, spoke up first. “Cool,” he said.
“Wait.” Priya held up one hand. “You’re dating? Likedatingdating?” She pointed to Sebastian with her other hand. “You and Sebastian, the boy you once made a voodoo doll of?”
Sebastian’s eyebrows winged up. He’d had no idea about the voodoo doll.
“I wish people would stop bringing that up,” I grumbled. “I was fifteen!”
Diya harrumphed. She’d never quite forgiven me for that stunt.
“It’s true that Seb and I haven’t always… seen eye to eye,” I said. “But we’re not teenagers anymore, and we got, um, closer while we were working on this launch. One thing led to another, and…” I shrugged, my skin burning hot enough to fry an egg on it.
I spared my family the details. I was sure no one wanted to know except for maybe Priya, the nosiest one in the bunch.
“Technically, I’ve liked her since we were teenagers,” Sebastian drawled. “I always knew we were meant to be together. It took her a while to reach the same conclusion, but she got there.” He grinned at my little huff of annoyance, but I melted when he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head.
Thatshook my mother out of her stupor.
“So this is real?” Her eyes darted between us. “You’ve really been dating since March?”
“Yes. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, but like I said, there were extenuating circumstances…” I trailed off when I spotted the tears glistening in her eyes. “Um, Mom? Are you—”