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“He’s trying too hard.”
Oliver sighs quietly to himself. Don’t respond, don’t respond, just don’t say anything at all–
“Did you hear me Oliver–”
“Of course I heard you, mother.” He hisses softly under his breath. Oliver quickly glances back towards the living room to make sure the occupants haven’t moved before whipping his head back towards the woman next to him. “Would you stop being so judgmental?”
His mother huffs lightly before giving a small shrug of her shoulders. “It’s obvious, anyone can tell. He’s trying too hard.”
“Trying too hard?” Oliver sputters. “He’s trying to make a good impression.”
“Oliver, men who try too hard are usually trying to compensate for something.”
He sighs again, exasperated and eager for the conversation to be over. He gives the pot another stir as he strains his ears, trying to hear the conversation in the living room as his mother continues to drone on beside him as she tends to another dish. Something about mothers always knowing best…
He was a bit nervous about this dinner. Bringing home boyfriends to meet the parents hasn’t exactly gone well in the past. But Connor is different. Connor is not just some casual boyfriend, he’s something more. He’s possibly the one.Possibly the guy Oliver happily spends the rest of his life with. There might be a real future for them. And the first step to that, the first test rather, is meeting the parents.
How was he supposed to know that his confident, collected, and usually composed boyfriend would be an even bigger mess than him? Gone is Connor’s usual swagger and sly, seductive charisma. Instead, he’s awkward and clumsy, stuttering and stumbling over words, making a fool of himself more often than not… To say it’s unexpected would be an understatement.
Oliver cringes as he thinks back to all the attempts at humor that fell flat. Even he couldn’t crack a smile at the lame jokes. And those awkward silences…
Silences that are severely lacking at the current moment. He rolls his eyes at his mother, finally realizing that she hasn’t stopped speaking–softly enough to not be overheard, thank goodness–once in all the time he stopped paying attention to her.
“Mom, could you please stop–”
“–he’s too young for you.”
“What? What??” He sputters helplessly.
She simply raises an eyebrow at him. “He’s too young for you. You should be with someone more mature.”
“And the last guy you said was too dumb,” he says through gritted teeth. “The one before that had no ambition. You always find something wrong with the guys I bring home.”
“This one isn’t right for you, Oliver.”
“How would you know–”
“I know,” she says sternly. “A mother always knows.”
Oliver sighs tiredly again. He tilts his head to the side, trying to hear pieces of conversation happening in the other room. It sounds like Connor and his father are setting the dining table. “Please let me help–I insist–I can–”The clang of silverware clattering on the floor, followed by a slew of apologies has Oliver closing his eyes in trepidation.
“–and he’s still in school.”
He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts, and reaches for a serving spoon for the pot. “Law school mom,” he clarifies for her. “And law is a very admirable profession,” he adds quickly. He just wants to get through this dinner without any further incidents–if possible. Is that so much to ask?
“Just stop, okay?” He hisses under his breath, as he lifts the pot from the stove top. “Stop. And be nice. And stop trying to set me up with Mrs. Cheng’s son!”
He brings the steaming pot to the dining room where his father and boyfriend are sitting silently at the table. In all their time together, Oliver’s never seen Connor look so much like he wants to crawl under a table and die. But now the table is set, and the food is ready, and Oliver thinks nothing else could possibly go wrong. So long as he leads the conversation and steers away from any objectionable topics everything should be–
A yelp next to him and the clunk of glass hitting the table interrupts his thoughts, proving him wrong. Water spills across the table and Oliver groans silently to himself as he watches Connor upright the glass–too late. Connor’s not usually so clumsy. But today, it seems he’s lost all coordination of his limbs…
“I’ll grab some towels,” Oliver mutters as he stands and heads back into the kitchen. As he leaves, he hears Connor apologize–again–profusely. The man’s done a lot of apologizing today. In truth, he feels a bit bad for him. He had been really nervous about meeting the folks, and Oliver telling him that his parents have never liked a boy that he’d brought home, probably didn’t make him feel any better.
He’s not quite out of earshot, so he can still hear Connor’s bumbling apologies as he searches the drawers a clean dish towel.
“I’m–I’m so sorry. I feel like I haven’t made the best first impression today. I’m–I’m not usually like this, I swear.”
Oliver tilts his head slightly as he hears Connor break off with a nervous, shaky laugh. He grins softly to himself, still not used to seeing his boyfriend nervous for any reason.
“Um… your son means a lot to me. He’s uh… he’s… by far, the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I… I was really nervous today–I’m sure you could tell–meeting you guys um… I’ve never done this before… I’ve never… never had a relationship serious enough to meet the parents. I know that’s kind of weird–I’m twenty-five years old–never met–um anyway…”
Oliver feels his chest warm as he listens to his boyfriend’s stumbling words. It’s sweet. And cute. He grips a fresh towel in his hand and slowly, softly walks back towards the other room, careful not to interrupt Connor’s stuttering monologue in front of his skeptical parents.
“I–I get the feeling you guys don’t like me much, and I certainly haven’t done much to give a different impression. But Oliver means the world to me. I know we’ve had our rough patches, like everyone, but I love him, so much. I–I want you guys to like me–because he loves you, and he means so much to me… I know I haven’t done a great job today, but if you’ll give me chance, I think he and I really have something here… I love your son. And… as long as he’ll have me, I’m going to be here…”
Oliver feels a prickle behind his eyes, and blinks quickly before any tears can form. Even his parents’ expressions have softened as Oliver makes eye contact with them. Connor hasn’t noticed him behind him yet, and he jumps slightly when Oliver rests a hand on his shoulder.
“I love you too, Connor.” He says softly.
Connor grins sheepishly as he looks up at him. Oliver glances expectantly at his parents as he drops into the seat next to the other man.
His father looks down at the table, like he’s trying to hide a grin. His mother though, she smiles softly at them. “I think this one’s a keeper, Oliver.”
Connor blinks dumbly in shock as Oliver’s grin widens. “Yeah?”
She nods, finally showing her approval. “A mother knows.”