Hope for Better Weather

I gave an exasperated sigh as I stared at my closet. John was picking me up in thirty minutes but I still had no clue what to wear. I gripped my towel tighter around my body as I sat down on my bed and thought about what one wears when meeting the parents of her fake boyfriend for the first time.

I finally decided on a skirt, tights, sweater, and nice flats to where because they seemed most appropriate while still looking modest. I threw my clothes on and then grabbed a bag to stuff some pajamas and clothes for the next day in. John’s parents lived about half an hour away but he said they had some tradition where they put up the Christmas tree on Black Friday so we’d be spending the night – I guess that too was part of the tradition. John said he’d tried to tell his mom we would just come back in the morning but she wouldn’t hear of it so I was stuck spending the night at the childhood home of John.

The doorbell to my apartment rang and, after glancing at my clock, I figured it was John. I grabbed my overnight bag and made my way to the front door.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” John smirked as I answered the door.

“Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Thanks,” I said as he grabbed my bag from me and made his way towards his car.

“So, are you ready to meet the O’Callaghan clan?” John asked as soon as we were settled and underway.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I shrugged. “It took me forever to pick out an outfit this morning.”

“Why? You look great.”

“Thanks,” I said as I felt a slight blush creep up my cheeks but I quickly tried to push it away. “I’ve never been in this situation though. I’m a little unsure of what to wear when you’re going to spend a holiday with a fake boyfriend and his family.”

John laughed. “This is a weird situation. Don't stress out over it. Like I said, you look good and my family will love you. I will warn you though that they can be a little overbearing.”

“Overbearing?”

“Yeah. For example, last week I told my parents that I was bringing you over today and I thought
my mom was going to faint from excitement. She started gushing about how I never brought girls home for holidays so you must be special and then she wanted to know your whole life story,” John rolled his eyes.

“That’s nice though. It shows she cares,” I softly said.

John glanced over at me after I said that but he didn’t say anything about the differences in our mothers. “She really does. I’m a huge momma’s boy.”

“You know, that doesn’t really surprise me,” I smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

I shrugged and gave a half-answer followed by a smirk. “Oh, you know…”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve just been insulted. Good thing you aren’t my real girlfriend so I don’t truly care what you think.”

“That was so mean,” I gasped as I punched John on the arm. It didn’t seem to faze him though because he just started laughing.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t pass that perfect opportunity up.”

“You’re mean,” I pretended to pout.

“Good thing I’m so attractive then,” John smirked and I rolled my eyes. “So are you ready to face the firing squad?” John asked as he parked his car outside a nice two-story home in a neighborhood where the houses looked similar but just different enough that you could tell whose house was whose.

“I guess,” I said as I took a deep breath.

“Seriously, don’t be nervous. Just be yourself and they’ll love you. Even if they don’t love you we’re breaking up in a month and a half anyway so it’s fine.”

“Thanks…I think.”

John chuckled and grabbed my hand before walking through the garage door. The first room we walked into off the garage was some sort of entryway. I peeked down the hallway and saw what looked to be a dining room almost directly in front of us.

“Mom? Dad? We’re here,” John called as we began walking down the hallway. He hadn’t let go of my hand yet and, even though I knew it was just for show, I was glad for this small comfort.

“Oh John, I’ve missed you!” A woman exclaimed as she came into the dining room and wrapper her arms around him. She was about average height and skinny with sandy blonde hair in a bob.

“Mom, I saw you like two weeks ago,” John said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

“And that’s too long considering how close you live,” the woman slightly scolded but there was a smile on her face the whole time and I could tell where John’s large, welcoming smile came from.

She then turned to me and said, “You must be Clark. I’m John’s mom.”

“Yes, I am. It’s very nice to meet Mrs. O’Callaghan,” I smiled.

“Oh please, call me Jenny,” she said as she pulled me into a slight hug. “My son has not told me nearly enough about you so we’ll have to fix that soon, ok?”

I smiled and nodded my head. There was just something about Jenny that put me at ease. I had a feeling she had that effect on many.

“John, I have to go back into the kitchen and finish everything but go introduce Clark to your dad and brothers –they’re dying to meet her. Also be sure to take your guys’ bags and throw them in your room. The rest of the family will be here about forty-five minutes from now so you guys only have a little time to relax before it gets chaotic.”

“Ok ma,” John said as he once again grabbed my hand and led me somewhere else in the house. As we got closer I began hearing loud voices which I figured meant we were getting closer to where John’s dad and brothers were.

We walked a few more steps before we found ourselves in what I was assuming was the family room. There was a TV against one wall which a couch and chairs placed around it. Sprawled out on the seats was the rest of John’s family.

“Hey guys,” John said as we stood behind the couch.

The older man looked over at us from the chair he was sitting in a smiled. “Hey son. Who’s that behind you?”

John pulled me up closer beside him and said, “Dad, I’d like you to meet Clark, my girlfriend.”

“Very nice to meet you,” John’s dad said as he stood up and walked over to us. “I’m John’s dad. I’m sure that John has already told you about how he’s the fifth so my name is John also but everyone calls me Jay.”

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled as I noticed that his green eyes matched John’s.

“John, I can’t believe you didn’t tell us how pretty Clark is. Shame on you son,” Jay sternly said but there was a joking manner behind his stern voice.

John rolled his eyes and then motioned at his brothers who were still sitting on the couch. “I didn’t tell you guys about how pretty she is because of these two idiots right here. Are the two of you going to say anything?”

“Sorry,” the older of the two said. “I’m just trying to get over the fact that she’s real.”

“I told you she was real. Pay up,” the younger one said.

“You guys made a bet about me?” John exclaimed as I chuckled.

“Actually we made a bet about your girlfriend,” the older one clarified.

“I can’t believe you two,” John muttered before turning to me. “Clark, these two dumbasses are my brothers, Ross and Shane.”

“Hi, I’m Ross,” the older one spoke up. He was an inch or two shorter than John but more muscular. His hair was also a bit darker but his eyes matched John’s and Jay’s. “I hope we didn’t offend you with the bet. I just figured there was no way John could keep a girlfriend long enough to introduce her to our family. John sucks at anything that isn’t music.”

“It’s fine,” I laughed while John just glared. “I’m not offended at all.”

“Hi, I’m Shane,” the youngest of the O’Callaghan boys said as he came over to the group. He too had the same green eyes as his dad and brothers. “I believed that you were real but I didn’t think you’d be this pretty. What the hell are you doing with John? I’m single.”

“No,” John said as he smacked his brother on the back of his head.

“Ow, what was that for? I was just letting Clark know that she has options and doesn’t have to be stuck with your sorry ass,” Shane whined as he rubbed his head.

“I just can’t believe you didn’t tell us about Clark earlier, John,” Ross said as he shook his head. “If I was dating someone as hot as her I’d be bragging all the time.”

“Ross, Shane, stop trying to make your brother mad and Clark uncomfortable,” Jay spoke up as he shook his head. “Please try to at least act a little mature since we have company. We don’t want to scare Clark away.”

“Yeah, John will do that on his own,” Shane snorted and gave Ross a high five.

“At least I have a girlfriend, unlike you two,” John snapped. “We’re going to go upstairs and put our bags up.”

“Which is code for they’re going to have a quickie,” Ross smirked.

“Ross, stop it,” Jay sternly said. “Clark, I am sorry for my sons.”

“It’s fine. I have a step-brother so I know what it’s like,” I smiled.

“We’ll be back down soon,” John said as he picked up the bags and made his way toward the stairwell.

John opened the door to his room and I casually looked around. It was a bit bare since he no longer lived there but I could still see remnants from when he did. There were cd cases along the desk along with notebooks, trophies from sports he’d played when he was younger, and a few pictures here and there.

“I’m sorry about my brothers. I knew they’d be bad but I didn’t think they’d be quite that embarrassing,” John said as he rubbed the back of his neck and I could tell he was embarrassed.

“Seriously John, it’s fine,” I reassured him. “Gabe and I joke like that all the time.”

“Ross and Shane just don’t know when to stop.”

“Wonder who they learned that from?” I smirked.

John laughed before admitting, “Ok, ok, they did learn from the best.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“So you’ve met my parents and brothers and I wish I could say you’ve made it through the worse of it but sadly you haven’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well the rest of my family should be here soon and,”

John was interrupted by a girl’s voice yelling up the stairs at him. “John Cornelius, get your skinny butt down here and introduce me to your girlfriend!”

John sighed. “That would be Sophie, my cousin. She’s the one I was warning you about.”

“Why were you warning me about her?”

“She’s the most overbearing of everyone. She’s the same age as me and we’re really close but she’s also very protective of me tends to scare people away.”

“I’m sure she’s not that bad,” I argued.

“You haven’t met her yet,” John said as we once again heard Sophie yell up at us. “Ok, let’s get this over with.”

We walked down the stairs to see a girl with dirty blonde hair a few shades lighter than John’s that went all the way down to her waist standing at the bottom waiting for us.

“Finally! What took you two so long?” Sophie said as soon as we had reached the bottom step.

“I was warning Clark about you. Speaking of, Sophie this is Clark, my girlfriend. Clark, this is Sophie, my cousin. Sophie, be nice,” John warned.

“I’m always nice,” Sophie rolled her eyes before turning to me. “Don’t listen to what John says about me. I’m really excited to finally meet you. I couldn’t believe it when John said he had a girlfriend and had been dating her for nearly a year. I’m so hurt he hid you from us.”

“Well you know John,” I awkwardly laughed because I wasn’t sure what else to say – John hadn’t told his family about us since we weren’t really a couple. I decided the best thing to do was change the subject. “So are you still in school, Sophie, or are you working somewhere?”

“Sadly, I’m still in school. I’m in the dentistry program at USC. I cannot wait to be done. I’m in my sixth year of school and I have two more years. Eight years of school is just too much.”

“I’m glad I only had to get my undergrad,” I said.

“And I’m glad I dropped out,” John laughed.

“Sorry that all of us can’t sing,” Sophie retorted.

“Every time John talks about how he gets to sing to adoring fans I want to punch him,” I joked.

Sophie immediately started laughing. “I like you, Clark. Thank goodness John decided to bring you. I’m the only girl cousin so it’s nice having someone else here with more than 5% estrogen.”

“Thanks. I can’t imagine being the only girl all these years.”

“It was brutal. I mean there were a few years when Laci came to our family functions but I was never the biggest Laci fan.”

“I’m sorry but, who’s Laci?” I asked. As I looked over at John in confusion I noticed him glaring at Sophie.

Sophie must have noticed John’s glares too because she quickly said, “Oh, she was a family friend that would sometimes come for Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, ok. I’m kind of thirsty so I think I’m going to go into the kitchen real quick for a drink,” I said before practically sprinting into the kitchen. The sudden tension between Sophie and John was too much. I felt as if there was more to the story of Laci but there was no way I was going to ask.

I took my time in the kitchen but I had to eventually go back out there. I could hear John and Sophie still talking and I didn’t want to interrupt so I just stayed behind the corner.

“I can’t believe you’ve been dating her for this long and haven’t mentioned Laci,” Sophie exclaimed.

“It’s not important,” John hissed.

“Actually it kind of is,” Sophie argued. “If I was Clark I’d want to know about Sophie. She deserves to know.”

I decided that I should make myself known because I had been gone longer than necessary to just get a drink. I started talking before I rounded the corner so they could hear me coming before I got to them. “Hey, Jenny said dinner is almost ready so we should head to the dining room.”

“Great, I’m starving,” Sophie quickly plastered a smile on her face.

“Let’s go,” John smiled too as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Is everything ok?” I asked John as we made our way into the dining room.

“Oh, um, yeah, it is. Sophie was just being overbearing and talking about something unnecessary.”

I felt as if John was lying but I didn’t want to press him so I just smiled and said, “Ok, just making sure.”

“Thanks,” John said as he held out the chair for me and then sat down beside me. “By the way, my family loves you already. I told you they would.”

I smiled at John before turning my attention to the delicious looking food Jenny was setting on the table. I ate more food than I should have but Jenny and John’s aunts were wonderful cooks. My mother was never much of a cook, instead choosing to hire cooks throughout the years so she didn’t have to deal with it so it was nice to have home cooking by a motherly figure.

We had finished dinner and were all sitting around the table talking when my phone rang. I noticed it was my mother and quietly excused myself from the table to take the call. I made my way outside to have a bit of privacy.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Oh Clark, I’m so glad I caught you. I need the phone number for John’s parents,” My mother said and I began to slightly panic because I had no clue why she needed their number.

“Ok. May I ask why?”

“Well I got a wonderful idea…I’m going to throw you and John an engagement party!”

“A…a…what?” I stuttered.

“An engagement party. It will be wonderful. I figured it could be Christmas themed since Christmas is your favorite holiday.”

“Don’t you think this is a little soon, mom? John and I haven’t even set a date for the wedding yet. I mean, we’ve only been engaged for a week.”

“Well this is the perfect opportunity to announce your engagement and tell everyone the wedding date. I figured we could just have it in Phoenix since his family and all your friends are nearby. I’ve done some searching and found a wonderful banquet hall where we can have it. I need his parents’ number though so I can talk over details with them.”

I racked my brain as I tried to find an excuse as to why we couldn’t have an engagement party but I knew it was too late – my mother’s mind was already made up. The only choice was to prolong her call to Jenny and Jay until John and I could figure out what to do. “I’ll text you their number tomorrow. Their family is over right now so they’re a little busy.”

“Ok, just don’t forget. Oh Clark, I’m so excited. This is going to be the biggest party of the year,” my mother gushed.

“Great. I’ll talk to you later mom,” I quickly said. I needed to talk to John immediately.

I ended the call and quickly went inside to drag John outside so we could talk. I made up some excuse about how my family wanted to talk to him.

“Why did you need me? I know your family doesn’t actually want to talk to me,” John smirked.

“We have a problem,” I quickly said. “My mom wants to throw us an engagement party.”

“Ok, we’ll drive back to Flagstaff for the day when she wants to have it,” John shrugged.

“No, John. She wants to have the party here in Phoenix and invite all our friends and your family.”

“Shit.”

“I know.”

For the first time since we’d started this arrangement I realized just how big of a mess we were in – and we were in too deep to get out.