13 Dinner with the family

The first thing I do when we arrive home is to check the cars parked in front. There’s the blue BMW M8. I smile relieved, I’ll get to see him today. I go in to look for Stefan, but I don’t have to look far, he is waiting for me in the hallway.  

“I’m glad to see you didn’t stay overtime today,” he says before giving me a sweet kiss on the lips. 

“Me too,” I reply blushing. He hands me a small plastic card. “What’s this?”

“A new number for your phone. I can’t have my girl out of reach,” he replies. “I honestly don’t understand why you didn’t get one yourself.”

“Because it’s more dramatic to be disconnected,” I say jokingly, but wonder if it’s true. Why didn’t I just get a new number? Am I such a drama queen?

My dad walks in and his eyes darken, he stares at us in silence, his eyes go from Stefan to me and back. He looks like he’s assessing a business problem, not in front of his own daughter.  

“Olivia, you’re home,” he says unenthusiastically. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in days.”

“I’m sorry, Vittorio, it’s my fault, she spends a lot of time with me,” Stefan replies before I can even talk. 

My dad groans quietly as if he disliked that answer. I fear he’s going to tell Stefan to go home, but instead, he surprises me. 

“Since you’re here, Stefan, stay for dinner,” he says using the same dull tone. “Come to my office, we have some issues to attend to before we eat.”

Stefan follows my dad to his office and I just watch them leave astonished. My dad must really like Stefan if he just invited him to have dinner with us. Not once in my whole life have I seen him invite an intruder for dinner... to be fair, no intruder has ever dated his daughter, but still, this entire situation is so out of character for my dad. It’s unsettling. What is it about Stefan that my dad is so fond of? And yet there was that quiet groan of his... so he’s ok with this relation, but not really? I wish I had the kind of relationship with my dad where I could just openly ask him what’s on his mind, but that’s not the case. Maybe when pigs fly. 

I can’t waste more time thinking about this, I have to get ready for dinner. I go up to my room to freshen up. I retouch my makeup, just slightly so it’s not too obvious. I brush my hair and tie it up into a ponytail. 

“So that man is having dinner with us...” My mom is watching me from the bedroom door, her tone is bitter as if the words left a bad taste when coming out of her mouth.

“You don’t like him?” I ask as I put on deodorant. 

“I dislike all of them. I’d rather keep the intruders and your father’s business out of our lives,” she replies coldly. 

“My dad’s life is his business... and he’s always so distant, keeping us away from everything he does. Maybe it’s a good thing that we finally mix both worlds. Besides, it’s just a dinner and it’s only one intruder; and he’s a great guy, I promise, mom.”

“Such a naive girl,” my mom whispers before she walks away. 

What’s naive about what I just said? My parents have never seen eye to eye, and that’s mainly because they live separate lives, my mom buried in her sadness and my dad working tirelessly behind closed doors. Would it be so terrible if they got closer to each other? 

I follow her downstairs. We enter the dining room and I’m about to ask her what she meant, but Stefan and my dad walk in right behind us. We take our places at the table. My mom glares at Stefan as if he was an undesirable imposition, but luckily, he’s not looking in her direction, his eyes are fixated on me. He smiles smugly, he doesn’t seem even a little bit intimidated to be having dinner with my parents, he’s so cocky.

Martha, our cook, comes in carrying a tray. Ugh, she made her infamous beef stew. I hate it, it’s so dry and salty. For some reason my dad loves it, so she prepares it very often. 

“Thank you, Martha,” my dad says. 

“Can you hand me the smash potatoes?” I ask my mom. 

She places the bowl in front of me carelessly without even looking at me, her eyes are still focused on Stefan. What’s her problem? Is she seriously unable to be kind to a stranger for one meal?!

We eat in silence, this is even worst than dinners with Mike and Roxana, at least Roxana says something funny and inappropriate every now and then. Stefan grabs my hand under the table, I feel instantly better. I just wish my mom would stop with the death stare. 

“So, Stefan, how long do you plan to stay in town?” My mom breaks the silence with her hostile tone. 

My dad takes a sip of wine while staring directly at my mom. 

“As long as necessary,” Stefan sneers at my mom, he raises his chin as if he’s trying to show her he’s not intimidated by her. 

“And how long is that going to be?” She asks bitterly. “How much longer do we have to put up with your presence in our house?”

“Mom!” I glower at her. What’s her problem?

“I think it’s best for your family to keep me around. You should know that,” Stefan replies in a menacing undertone.  

I don’t like this at all. I definitely don’t like how my mom is talking to Stefan and I certainly don’t like how he’s responding. 

 My mom is going to say something back at Stefan, but my dad interrupts her. 

“Why don’t you shut up already?” He says coarsely. “You have no idea what’s best for us.”

“Best for us? Don’t you dare pretend for a second that he or his father care about us one bit!” My mom exclaims pointing her finger at Stefan. 

I feel like I’ve missed a part of the conversation. Whose father? Stefan’s? How does my mom know him? Stefan has never mentioned his father to me, but my parents seem to know him for some reason. I have a million questions, but no one is paying attention to me. My parents start arguing between them and Stefan watches them with a cocky smile. 

“Can’t you just stay quiet for once in your life?!” My dad shouts furious. 

My mom gets up and storms out of the dining room. My dad strides after her angrily.

“Wow, your parents sure know how to entertain their guests,” Stefan mocks them.

I scowl at him. “What just happened?” 

Stefan raises his eyebrows as if he was surprised by the question. 

“Your mom had a mental breakdown?” He shrugs.

“Stop joking. It’s not funny,” I reprimand him. “Something is definitely going on between the three of you that I’m unaware of.” 

Stefan looks at me with benevolent eyes, as if my anger was endearing.

“It’s late, you have work tomorrow. It’s better if I go,” he says while standing up.

“Are you serious?” I ask baffled. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say, doll. I can honestly tell you I’ve never spoken to your mom before tonight. So I’ve done nothing to deserve her rudeness.” 

I get up and follow him to the exit. “But you must know something I don’t,” I insist. 

“The only thing I know is how gorgeous you look tonight,” he grabs my chin and lifts my face so our mouths meet. He kisses me softly, but I flinch back. I’m sure he knows more than what he admits. 

Stefan snorts. “Good night, doll,” he says before heading to his car. 

I turn around and sprint upstairs dissatisfied. I hear my parents arguing in their room, but I pass their door by, there’s no point in asking them anything, I’ll just receive elusive responses. 

I get in bed and cover my head with my pillow. I can’t believe what just happened. This house is a circus.