Dinner with The Wu Family

“What should I say? How should I behave? Is there no rehearsal?” Trinity asked rapidly on the way to the main door.

“You’ll do fine as long as you follow my advice.”

“What advice?” She whispered.

Damien opened the main door without replying. Trinity straightened her back, put on a smile, and stood properly like how she would welcome guests in the restaurant she used to work at.

“Damien, my boy!” A woman who looked no older than 40 practically jumped into Damien’s arms the moment the door opened. A man whose wrinkles only made him look wiser walked in after the woman.

“Mmm, it’s been too long since I last met you!” She said against Damien’s shoulder.

A lively laughter rang throughout the area. “What’re you saying, mother? Didn’t you see big brother just last week?” An attractive young man walked in after the older one.

“Oh. Is she that girl you promised mother and father?” The young man said without looking at Damien even once.

The woman in Damien’s arms also turned to look at Trinity.

“Yes. This is Trinity. Trinity, my parents, and that’s Oscar.” Damien went through the introductions without much fanfare. He did not look as excited as his brother and mother.

/I guess he takes after his father?/ Trinity thought to herself while she bowed a little in greeting. In an effort to match Damien’s temperament, she toned down her smile a little. “It’s so nice to finally meet all of you.”

Her mother looked at her from head to toe before her smile grew wider to show her approval. “It’s nice to finally meet you too, Trinity.”

They walked to the sitting area together. Dainty cups filled with hot tea and coffee were already placed on the coffee table. Trinity discreetly looked around but still did not see Phil around.

“So, tell me all about how you met! I want to hear all about it!”

Trinity’s smile froze for a second. “Oh, I don’t know… Damien doesn’t really enjoy talking about his stories much… Right?” She looked at Damien to confirm.

His mother giggled. “Exactly why I’m trying to get it out of you! That boy’s so stubborn like his father.”

“Mmm… Damien?”

Damien’s mother raised her eyebrows. She quietly watched how Damien nodded and how sweetly Trinity smiled back in response.

“Well… I met him in an alley… About to get beaten up by gangsters…” She weakly laughed. KNowing that she could not lie well, she decided to go with telling vague truths.

“Alley?! Gangsters?! What?! When?! Why?! Ohhh I told you that you’d be safer staying at home and not going out! With how you look now, people would either pick a fight with you or bully you! The world’s really unkind!” His mother wailed.

Trinity pursed her lips lightly and looked at Damien to check if she had said something she should not have.

To everyone’s surprise, Damien burst out chuckling. Although it was a small and quiet one, it looked big since it came from Damien. “Silly girl, don’t worry. That’s just how my mum is. It’s really okay to tell everyone how we met.”

Seeing how his features softened with his seemingly genuine smile, Trinity’s heart skipped a beat. /What the hell… That’s some oscar-worthy act./

Her red face was however interpreted differently by his family members. “Psh. How shameless, flirting in front of everyone like that.” His mother lightly tapped his leg.

Feeling an intense gaze on her, Trinity looked around and found out that it came from his father. She returned a polite smile and resumed her story. “Apparently he had brushed shoulders with some gangsters on the street, but like you said, he was too stubborn. He refused to apologise, so they decided to pick on him. I overheard them threatening him and was worried a man like him did not know to fight. So… I guess I kind of… Just… Charged in…” She died down, realising how dramatic and unlikely that sounded even if it was the truth. She left out how she thought he was some weak and starving beggar.

“Oh my goodness, did you get hurt?”

“You know how to fight?” HIs father chimed in for once.

“Oh. Yes. A little. A girl got to know how to protect herself on the streets." She shrugged. "Like you said, the world's unkind and unsafe."

His mother beamed now that she had someone on her side.

"That's wicked." Oscar commented. "Can you show me some moves? Maybe some time next time?"

Trinity laughed it off. "I believe you're better off learning from a proper coach."

"You gotta be strong enough to defeat gangsters my bro can't." He insisted.

"Nah…" She waved her hands and shook her head. "They underestimated me and I took them by surprise after negotiations fell through. It probably won't end well if I met them again."

"What happened next?" Damien's father prompted.

"Well…" Trinity recalled how she scolded him badly before giving him food, drinks, and clothes and leading him to the safer part of town. "I chatted with him then went our separate ways."

"Just a chat?" Damien asked with an eyebrow raised.

Trinity's eyes grew a little wider in surprise. Her face turned a little red as she admitted, "Okay, scolded him. A little."

"So who contacted whom first?" His mother probed.

"Now that I think about it, it’s him. He hung around my workplace to catch me before, between, and after my shifts.”

His mother’s and Oscar’s jaw dropped. “Damien did that?” They asked at the same time.

/Well, sort of./ She thought to herself as she nodded.

“Oooh, I didn’t know my son was such a romantic.”

The conversation continued ceaselessly. It carried over into dinnertime. It was mostly the women and Oscar talking. Before they knew it, dessert was over and the sun began to set. Trinity sat between Damien and his mother. She placed a hand on hers and said with full earnesty, “Trinity, I don’t mind that you’re from a humble background. I’m very happy that you don’t mind my son looking like this. Thank you.”

For the first time this night, Trinity’s eyebrows twitched. However, she could not yet understand what she detected that ticked her off. “It’s nothing.”

“I mean it. You don’t have to pretend. You’re about to marry my son. I know there’s that saying to marry someone whom you can at least tolerate seeing every morning. Not many people can do what you’d be doing soon.”

Trinity finally understood what annoyed her. What his mother said was true but it was still brutal to say it in front of her son like that! Moreover, Trinity refused to subscribe to such a thinking. Trinity clenched her jaw and clutched her dress tightly in her fists.

/Don’t be so uppity and ready to fight./ Damien’s voice suddenly sounded in her head. She then realised that this could be the advice he spoke of before she met his parents.

“Then, there’s also the sex-”

“It’s really okay.” Trinity’s smile became extremely stiff. “Really. It doesn’t matter as much as you think it does. Your son’s a great person. Anyone who doesn’t see that has poor eyesight. Pardon me but if you’re worried about the sex, you should know that there’re many ways to have fun. So, really, you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh.” His mother fell silent.

“Gloria, you went overboard.” His father pointed out like it was a matter of fact.

His mother nodded.

“Sorry, I guess my fiancee loves me more than even I thought too.” Damien pulled her head towards his chest and firmly planted a kiss on the top of her head.

All thoughts flew out of Trinity’s head. Her mood recovered and she went bright red as she pushed off his chest. “Oh my gosh, I went overboard, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. You were just trying to be considerate.” Trinity rambled on.

Damien’s mother’s spirits recovered as well. She laughed gently and patted Trinity’s hand. “No, no, Alastair’s right. I was the one who went overboard. Thank you. My son really found someone great.”

Trinity looked into her eyes and found her gaze odd. It was as if she was truly relieved. /Why this relieved? He’s… Her son./ Trinity blinked her eyes in a dumbfounded manner. She suddenly realised how little his mother had really looked at Damien for this entire afternoon and evening. Her heart instantly ached for him in reflex. /No way.../

Trinity shook her head and laughed nervously, “No, no, no. I’m not.” /It’s society that’s harsh.../