“Stop fidgeting.”

“I’m not fidgeting.”

“You are. Look, I know you’re nervous, but they are going to love you. How can they not?”

“OK, JC do you want to know the truth? I know that I’m 29 and this is going to sound ridiculous, but this is the first time I’ve met the parents before. I knew Pat the whole time we were growing up so his parents were like parents to me. And with Jake, he was raised by a single mom and she passed away before we met. Those were my most serious relationships; I never really made it to the parents’ stage with anybody else.  So I’m sorry that I’m making a big deal out of this, but it’s new, OK?” she said, obviously annoyed.

JC sighed as he turned the rental car onto his parents’ street. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know it’s a big deal to meet somebody’s parents. But my parents are really cool. You don’t need to try to impress them. You make me happy. That’s all they care about.”

“I will try to relax. I promise.”

JC pulled into his parents’ driveway, shifted to park and shut off the car. He turned to Hannah for one last private moment before they were assaulted with questions. “You look beautiful today. I love the dress.”

“And you wanted me to wear jeans,” she said with a teasing tone to her voice.

“And you’re wearing the snowflake,” he said while leaning in to kiss her lightly. He looked up at her and smiled. “You ready for this?”

“Yeah, let’s go in.”

JC and Hannah gathered their gifts from the backseat – JC carrying a bouquet of flowers and a small jewelry box and Hannah carrying a gift bag. They started up the walk to the house and before they even made it to the stoop the front door swung open.

“Joshua, you’re here!” a petite blond woman said as she stepped onto the porch.

“Hi mom!” JC exclaimed as he wrapped the short woman in his arms. “Happy Mother’s Day!”

“Oh thank you, honey. I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, momma,” He said while pulling back from the embrace.  Noticing Hannah standing awkwardly behind him, he stepped aside and nudged her forward. “Mom, this is my girlfriend Hannah.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Chasez,” Hannah greeted while extending her hand.

“Oh please dear, call me Karen. And we hug in this family,” Karen said while pulling Hannah into an embrace. “You have no idea how excited I am to meet you. Joshua hasn’t brought a girl home in almost 10 years.”

“Mom…” JC knew the embarrassment was evident in his voice. But Karen continued.

“I have one son who won’t stop raving about you,” nodding her head toward the house, “and another son who has told me nothing about you,” she concluded, gesturing toward JC. “I can’t wait to find out everything Joshua has been keeping from me.”

“If you keep embarrassing me mom, you’re not getting your flowers.”

“Oh stop it Joshua. Give me those.”  She grabbed the flowers from his hand.

“So mom, are you going to invite us in, or do we have to stand on the stoop for the rest of the day?”

“Why of course, come on in,” she said while ushering them forward. “And the flowers are beautiful, sweetie. Thank you so much. I’m so glad you are home.”

“Me too, mom.”

“Your father and brother are on the patio firing up the grill. We got some beautiful steaks. I hope that is OK, Hannah. Tyler said he didn’t think you are a vegetarian.”

“Oh, no.  I’m not.  Steaks sound wonderful.”

“Great. Why don’t you guys go out back and say hello, and then join me in the kitchen. I would like to chat while I finish up dinner.”

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” JC whispered as they set their gifts on a table in the foyer and headed out to the patio.

“No, it wasn’t. You mom seems really sweet.”

“There’s my girl!” Tyler shouted as he slammed the screen door while running into the kitchen. He ran to Hannah, picked her up and spun her around.

“Tyler James, do not slam the door and set the poor girl down. She just got here; we don’t want to scare her away already.

“Oh she loves it, don’t you Hannah?” He grinned.

“It is part of you charm,” she giggled.

JC sat down on a barstool around the large island and smiled. This is how it should be, he thought. Nothing was better than spending a Saturday afternoon grilling out with his parents; his girlfriend joking around with his family. For the first time in a really long time, he felt content. If he never got his career back on track, he was starting to think it would be OK. Maybe he didn’t need that to be happy. Maybe he just needed this.

Karen snuck up behind him and whispered in his ear. “I see you smiling like a fool, Joshua. She really makes you happy doesn’t she?”

He turned and beamed at his mother. “Yeah mom, she does.”

“Josh!” JC heard a shout from the patio. “Aren’t you going to come say hello to your father, slaving over the hot grill?”

“You’d better go, honey.” And Karen gave him a light pat on the back.

JC pulled Hannah away from Tyler’s innocent flirting and they stepped onto the patio, where Roy was grilling the steaks and baked potatoes wrapped in tin foil.

“Josh, how are you doing, son?” Roy asked as he pulled JC into a long embrace.

“Good dad. I haven’t seen you guys in such a long time. You need to get out to L.A. soon.”

“And you need to come to Chicago more. And Florida. Your sister was complaining to me the other day that she never sees you anymore.”

“I know, I’ve been really bad about that lately,” JC admitted.

“Now tell me who this lovely young woman is.”

“Dad, this is my girlfriend Hannah, Hannah, my dad, Roy.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Hannah spoke shyly.

“Likewise my dear. And please, sir makes me so uncomfortable. Please just call me Roy.”

Hannah nodded. “Those steaks look amazing!”

“They will be. My dad makes the best marinade,” JC added.

“Well I don’t know about that, but I do know its damn good!”

“Josh, Hannah – I need your help in the kitchen!”

“Good luck you guys. She’s going to grill you with 100 questions.” Roy chuckled before returning his attention to the grill. “I’ll get caught up on everything I need to know about you two later.

And with that, JC and Hannah returned to the kitchen for their inquisition.

*****************

Forty-five minutes later, everyone was gathered around the patio table on the large deck passing the salad Karen assembled. JC and Hannah assisted with chopping the vegetables as Karen questioned them about their weekend in Chicago. Hannah fielded many questions about her speaking engagement, and JC fielded many questions, albeit silently with motherly glances, when he mentioned Tony’s concert the previous evening. Karen did an admirable job avoiding questions about their relationship until Roy could join them at the table.

“Well, I would just like to start dinner by saying how grateful your mother and I are to have you boys home this weekend. This family doesn’t get together nearly enough. I spoke with Heather earlier and she said to tell you all she is here in spirit,” Roy paused for a moment. “And Hannah, it is a pleasure to meet you and to welcome you into our home tonight. I know we don’t know each other that well yet, but I hope tonight is one of many nights that we get to spend with you. Obviously you’re something special to Josh, so you’re always welcome here.”

Hannah smiled broadly and a slight blush washed over her cheeks. JC gave her hand a reassuring squeeze under that table and flashed her an “I-told-you-so” look.

“Thank you so much for inviting me here this evening. I’m having a great time so far, and I am looking forward to getting to know you better, as well.”

“OK,” Karen spoke up. “Enough of the pleasantries. We’re all glad everyone is here, yada, yada. I want to know everything about you two. Joshua has told me nothing, and Tyler for once is keeping his mouth shut and telling me it is not his place to tell.”

“Thanks mom,” Ty muttered.

Hannah chuckled. “What would you like to know?”

“Easy question first. Where did you guys meet?

“Well,” JC began. “I had to go to Minneapolis to do some voiceover work for that movie I shot. Of course of all the weekends I had to go, Minneapolis was walloped with a blizzard.”

“I’d hardly call 15 inches a blizzard. Just typical,” Hannah interrupted.

JC winked at her. “Anyway, there I was at 8:00 a.m. already sliding around in 3 inches of snow, and I got completely lost. I found this little tavern and nearly took out the mailbox when I hit some ice. I decided to go in and ask for directions. And there was this beautiful woman working behind the bar.”

“I own a bar with my brother. My parents started it not long after they were married, and Jens and I took over after our father passed away.”

“It’s the greatest bar. I hung out for a little bit admiring all of this one’s hockey trophies. She used to be an Olympian, you know.”

“Almost an Olympian,” Hannah emphasized.

“A hockey player with a brother named Jens Janssen? This sounds like a bad Minnesota stereotype,” Roy joked.

Hannah chuckled in return. “I know. My family is 100% Norwegian. My father did not let us forget it. Ever.”

JC continued. “While I was enjoying a beer at 8:30, I got a call that the session was canceled because it was supposed to snow all day. So I hung out for awhile and pretty much got snowed in.”

“Luckily I live in the apartment above the bar, so I didn’t have to unleash JC on the roads. He almost crashed in three inches of snow. I couldn’t let him go out there in 12 inches. I love my fellow Minnesotans too much to put their lives in danger like that,” Hannah joked and everyone laughed.

“I left the next morning but we stayed in contact through e-mails and phone calls. Sometimes multiple times a day.  And it just so happened that Hannah was coming to LA for a conference. We hung out that weekend and things just progressed from there. So we didn’t technically get together until LA.”

“Ew.” Tyler muttered from across the table.

“Not what I meant, ass.” JC kicked Tyler under the table and Hannah blushed with embarrassment. “I mean, that’s when we started dating. Before that we were just friends, but,” JC paused. “We weren’t though. We were just trying to pretend we were just friends because of the distance.”

JC looked at his parents to gauge their reactions. His mom had a goofy grin on her face and his dad seemed to be processing it all.

After a few moments Roy spoke up. “Wasn’t your trip to Minneapolis the first week in April?”

‘Shit.’ JC thought. This was the line of questioning he was trying to avoid. He knew what his dad was getting at.

“It is May 9.” Roy added.

“Yup.”

“So…you’ve been dating since, what? Late April?”

“I know it seems fast dad, but I mean, we talked every day for a month. We know each other better than most people who have been dating for much longer.”

“I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with that Josh. I was just making sure I had my facts right.”

“We’re not questioning your feelings, honey,” Karen spoke up. “It’s just so unlike you.”

“Well, this one is different,” JC said as he smiled at Hannah. Tyler made gagging noises across the table, and this time Hannah was the one to give him a kick.

“I can’t help but notice your necklace dear. It is beautiful.”

“Why thank you,” she said as she gently touched the charm. “JC gave it to me.”

“Aww, to remind you of the day you met, I’m sure. I never knew you were such a romantic, honey,” Karen gushed.

They continued to chat over dinner, mostly talking about Hannah’s family and business and Tyler’s summer classes. They also caught JC and Tyler up on what Heather was doing in Florida. JC was happy with the way the evening was playing out. Conversation flowed easily and Hannah seemed to fit right in. After JC, Tyler and even Hannah gave Karen her Mothers’ Day gifts, Tyler cleared the table of the desert dishes.

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Roy spoke up. “So guys, what is the next step then? Things are moving pretty fast…I assume Hannah is moving to LA?”

The air was heavy for a moment while JC and Hannah sat in shock.

“I, um...,” Hannah began. “We haven’t really discussed that yet.”

“Well would you consider it? I mean, Josh can’t work out of Minnesota.”

“Dad!”

“Well, wow. Um…I’m not really sure, I…” Hannah stammered.

“I’m sorry, dear. We don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. How about we all have a glass of wine and play a game or something. Trivial Pursuit?”

JC shot Roy an angry look before resting his hand on Hannah’s back and leading her into the house. “I’m sorry,” he whispered quietly. “He wasn’t trying to be rude or make you uncomfortable.”

“I know.”

But the ease they all felt earlier was gone, as they gathered together for an awkward round of Trivial Pursuit.