Fight or Flight

"Are you ready?"

Veronica held onto the door handle. She looked up at the decent-sized suburban house from inside the car.

"Don't be so nervous," He told her. He ran his thumb over her the back of her hand to soothe her. He wasn't used to seeing her so nervous.

"Okay."

"They'll love you, I promise," He reassured her for the hundredth time. He leaned over the console to peck her lips. "Come on."

She opened the car door, stepping out. She closed the door after her, glancing into the tinted windows. She wondered if she looked okay. Matt said it wasn't a formal dinner, but more of a casual meeting. She ran her hands down her straightened hair and pulled her plum-colored blouse up to cover her cleavage. She wanted to look modest for his parents.

She followed him from the driveway and up the three steps to the front porch. Trees towered over the house and she wondered if his mother liked to garden, judging by the amount of flowerbeds and plants around the perimeter of the house. She took an unnoticeable deep breath as Matt rung the doorbell of his parents' home. He held her hand in his, waiting patiently for the door to open.

Veronica knew that meeting the parents was something serious. That was something couples did when they were making an announcement, like a pregnancy or getting engaged. She wondered how much Matt had actually told them about her and what their impressions of her were already. Matt assured her that the dinner was nothing too serious as he knew what her feelings were. Still, Veronica couldn't help but feel like this was the next step into something she was unsure of.

"There you are," A pale woman of average height pulled open the white front door. Her dark brunette hair was cut into a short bob. She wore a blouse and jeans. "I just took dinner out of the oven."

"Hey, Ma," Matt said, stepping inside and pulling Veronica beside him. He hugged and kissed his mother's cheek.

Veronica was taken aback when his mother hugged her unexpectedly. "You must be Veronica."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanders," Veronica greeted politely, returning the hug.

"Please, call me Kim," She told her, pulling away from Veronica. She turned to Matt. "Let me go get your father."

His mother called out for his father, letting him know that the pair had arrived. The first thing Veronica noticed was how good their house smelled. It smelled like a good, home cooked meal. The second thing she noticed was how warm and cozy the house was. The central heating was on, keeping the house heated from the chilly November weather. The house was complete with personal touches and portraits on the walls.

"Son." Matt’s father walked into the foyer and patted his back. He was an inch or two shorter than his son.

"Hey, Dad." Matt looked genuinely happy to see his parents. "Dad, this is Veronica."

"Matt's talked about you so much," The older man said, extending his hand out to her. The skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled and he had the same hazel irises like Matt.

"It's nice to meet you, sir." She shook his hand.

"Gary," He corrected her. "I'm not that old yet."

Veronica smiled at him. "Okay. Gary, it is."

"I think I like her already," Kim clapped her hands together. "Dinner's on the table so let's eat before it gets cold."

Matt turned to Veronica after his parents left. "They're not that bad, right?"

"I guess not," Veronica shrugged. "Where can I put my jacket?"

"I'll hang it up for you," He offered.

"Thanks." She pulled her arms from the sleeves of her leather jacket, handing it to him.

He opened a small closet that was full of other coats, grabbing a hanger and hanging her jacket on it. He pushed the other jackets to the side to make room for hers. He closed the closet door and looked back at her, taking her hand in his. "I told you they'd like you."



"Matt said that you were in the Army," Kim mentioned while they ate dinner. She had made a delicious pot roast that Veronica absolutely fell in love with.

"I'm in the military, yes, but not in the Army. I'm in the Marine Corps," Veronica clarified. It was a pet peeve of hers when someone referred to the Marines as the Army.

"I thought they were the same thing," Kim stated cluelessly. "What's the difference?"

Veronica internally groaned at his mother's lack of knowledge. She'd explained the difference over and over to everyone who asked. "The Army is its own branch. The Marine Corps is its own branch too, but essentially a part of the Navy."

"Oh."

There were more differences too, but Veronica just didn't feel like explaining. She sometimes hated talking to people that were clueless about the military. Sometimes she enjoyed it if she felt like they were genuinely interested. Most people just asked the routine questions and could actually care less.

"So what do the Marines do?" Kim continued.

Veronica took a sip of her wine to stall for a couple of seconds. "Er, by definition we complete tasks with combined help from the other branches. It maximizes our job capability."

"So what is your job?" Kim asked. "What's your rank?"

"Ma," Matt groaned like she was embarrassing him.

"Kim, let the girl eat," Gary told his wife. He looked at Veronica. "She's a curious one, isn't she?"

Veronica gave him a small smile. Some stuff she hadn’t even explained or talked about with Matt yet. "It's fine."

"See?" Kim turned to Gary. "I just want to know who our son is dealing with. I can tell she's not someone who's just with him for his money."

"Mom," Matt warned her, frustrated. He placed his hand on Veronica's thigh under the table. "Feel free to ignore her."

"Um," Veronica thought it was best to ignore everything else and answer her question. "My specific job in the Corps is infantry; I'm an infantryman. We're the ones with the guns, patrolling and fighting."

"That's interesting," Kim nodded. "And your rank?"

Veronica wanted to roll her eyes so badly. Rank didn't mean anything to her like a lot of people thought. "I'm a Sergeant."

"Matt, it sounds like you've got a strong girl on your hands," His father commented.

"How long have you been a Marine?" The questions kept coming.

"Ten years," Veronica answered automatically. She'd really only been there for nine, but ten always sounds better.

"I didn't know they let women fight," Kim thought out loud.

"That all changed a while ago," Veronica answered. She liked to think of herself as an exception.

"You're a brave woman," Kim said. She cocked her head to the side, thinking of more questions to ask. "Have you ever been shot at?"

"Shot at, yes. Actually hit with a bullet, too." Veronica felt like she was being interviewed by a child.

"Good God," She gasped. "Have you ever killed someone?"

Veronica couldn't help but narrow her eyes a little. She hated that question. "Um..."

"Ma, you can't just ask people things like that," Matt scolded.

"I'm sorry! I was just wondering!"

"It's okay," Veronica waved her hand but still didn't answer the question. That was the exact reason why she didn't talk about her deployments when she was at home. She only talked about her experiences with her parents and fellow Marines. They were the ones who understood her. She often deflected the questions if she wasn't comfortable answering. "Um, where's the restroom?"

Matt looked at her worriedly. "It's down the hall, second door on the left."

"Thanks." She scooted her chair back, placing her hand on his shoulder as she got up. She let him know that she was alright; she just needed a minute or two for a break.



"I wish Amy was here. I think you two would get along well,” Kim said after they finished dinner.

Veronica glanced at Matt, silently asking who Amy was.

"My sister," He told her. "She's in Chicago right now."

Kim grabbed a picture frame from the wall, walking over to where Matt and Veronica were seated in the living room. "This is our daughter, Amy."

Veronica looked at blonde woman Kim was pointing at in the photo. Amy stood next to Matt and was about his height with low, metallic heels on. Veronica could tell that she was taller than average for a woman. In the photo, Amy wore a royal blue dress and her dirty blonde hair was pulled away from her face and curled. Veronica could tell that she was athletic from her calf muscles and arms.

"She's pretty," Veronica commented. She glanced up at Matt, seeing the resemblance. "You guys are definitely brother and sister."

She looked at the picture for a while longer. Matt wore a black tuxedo and Veronica smiled at how cute and professional he looked when he wasn't tattooed M. Shadows. On the other side of him, Kim stood in a blue and silver dress the same color as Amy's. Gary was at the end of the line next to Kim in a dark gray suit. The picture looked recent, no more than a couple years old.

"It looks like you guys were going to prom or something," Veronica noted.

"I have the prom pictures as well," Kim said. "This was Val and Matt's wedding."

Of course it was, Veronica thought sarcastically. "Oh..."

"I have more pictures," Kim said, walking away to grab another photo.

"Mom," Matt called after his mother. "I don't think she wants to see them."

"You're right. What was I thinking?" Kim laughed, pressing her hand to her face. "Well, how about dessert?"

Veronica looked up at Matt, silently begging to leave without being rude.

"Actually," Matt pretended to check his watch, "we should get going. Veronica lives a while from here and she has to go to work in the morning."

"Oh, okay." Kim seemed disappointed.

They got up from the sofa and Veronica held his hand all the way back to the foyer. He took her jacket from the coat closet, handing it to her.

"Dad, we're leaving!" Matt called to his father.

"I knew she'd scare the girl away," Gary came in, shaking his head. He kissed Veronica's cheek. "It was very nice to meet you, Veronica."

"Same to you, sir, er, Gary." Veronica shrugged on her jacket.

"Matt, you come back again and bring her with you, you understand?" Kim kissed her son's cheek and then hugged Veronica.

Veronica reluctantly hugged back. She didn't feel as welcome as she did when they first arrived. His mother's actions seemed to be backwards.

"Okay, Ma." Matt opened the front door.

"Get home safe! I love you," Kim shouted from the doorway as they left.

"Love you too." Matt's tone was less than convincing as they walked to his car.

In the car, Veronica released the breath she hadn’t realized she'd been holding.

"I'm sorry about my mom," Matt said apologetically. He turned his key in the ignition. "She doesn't usually act like that."

"Uh, yeah, she was... different." She had no other way to describe his mother without offending him. "Moms will be moms."

"She shouldn't have asked you all those questions," He sighed. "I promise she won't act like that once she really gets to know you."

Veronica stayed silent as he backed out of his parents' driveway. With her overnight bag already in the backseat, he could take her straight home. She leaned her head against the window, silently questioning his mother's motives. She wondered if Kim was actually oblivious or if she knew exactly what she was doing.