“Uh, I can tell that this seems like a private matter, so perhaps I should get going,” Landon said, standing from his seat.
“Probably a good idea,” Mima agreed.
“Of course,” Landon agreed. Landon said his goodbyes to everyone and hurried away, leaving the four of us to talk.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know Landon was going to be here,” Mom commented. “If I did, we would’ve brought more wine.”
“What do you mean you’re engaged?!” Mima shouted, ignoring Mom’s words.
Mom’s face turned a nice shade of red as David took herhand into his. “I didn’t know how to tell you guys, but we’ve been dating for a while.”
“How long is a while?” I asked.
“Three months,” Mom replied.
“Three months?!” I gasped. “And you didn’t even tell us you were dating someone?!”
“How did you two meet?” Mima asked, taking a seat at the table. She gestured for the two to do the same, and they did. There was a sparkle in Mima’s eyes as if she was excited about this ridiculous engagement. It was apparent that she and I had differing opinions on the matter.
Mom began to explain, “Well, when I went to pick up Bella three months ago, there seemed to be some confusion on the paperwork. It seemed that David was also promised my sweet Bella. He showed up at the same time as I did, and of course, I was furious. I mean, you know how much I loved Bella the minute I saw her. Well, David was just as passionate about the situation. So we came to an agreement that we would co-parent Bella.”
Oh, for the love of God. Is this real life?
David smiled. “And one night, when it was my turn to drop Bella off, I realized Camila had a terrible cold. I’m a doctor and—”
“A doctor?!” Mima beamed, her eyes growing wider with joy. “Go on!”
David bashfully continued, “Yes, well, I’m a doctor, and I was trying to help prescribe her something to make her feel better. But you know Camila. She’s hard to give advice to. Especially when said advice is coming from a man. But I insisted. We bickered back and forth for a while, and she finally told me that she was a nurse and she could take care of herself. I told her that just because she could take care of herself, that didn’tmean she had to. Long story short, it turned out we worked at the same hospital, we fell in love over debates and bad coffee from vending machines, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, and here we are! Meeting the family!” He turned to me with the biggest smile. “By the way, Shay, hi. It’s so nice to meet you. Camila has gone on and on about how amazing you are.”
I gave him the blankest of stares.
“Well, this is so exciting! Let’s open up the wine to celebrate!” Mima said as if she didn’t just hear the most horrifying story of her life.
“Wait, no. You two aren’t really engaged. Mom, you wouldn’t just marry someone you don’t know.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t,” she said. “But Idoknow David. I feel like I’ve known him all my life.”
“That’s ridiculous and childish,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to play along with this.”
“Shannon Sofia, watch your tone,” Mima ordered.
“I’m sorry, Mima, but this is insane. You’re making a mistake, Mom. A massive mistake. It’s clear that he’s trying to get something from you. He wouldn’t just want to marry you.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I tasted the bitterness of them.
Mom’s eyes watered over. “And why’s that, Shay? Because I’m not good enough?” she asked.
“No. Stop. That came out wrong. What I meant was, no one should get engaged that soon. You need more time to see how he’ll let you down.”
“Shay.” Mima sighed. “Not every man is the devil.”
“Yes, but they can all hurt you the same way the devil can.”
“When did you become this way, Shay? When did you become so cold?” Mom asked, leaving me baffled.
“Are you kidding, Mom? Everything I’ve learned abouthating men, I’ve learned from you. Just look at how your previous husband turned out to be. I can’t really trust that you know how to pick men.”
“Shannon Sofia,” Mima scolded. “That’s enough.”