On Set

26

"How long do you think it'll take to get all your nerd books into boxes?" Chris not so casually questioned as he stood in my room looking at my bookshelf. This was one of his not so subtle hints about him wanting me to move to LA. The bookshelf he was looking at was actually the size of the wall and it was all filled. It had books, movies, pictures, candles, binders anything you could think of was on the shelf. I stood on the other side of the room fixing my dress. I smoothed down the black dress in the mirror. I put on my nice earrings and checked my make up.

"Not yet." I told him kissing his cheek. I walked downstairs and he followed me. I grabbed my purse and we walked out the door. We were running late thanks to yours truly. We were supposed to meet Chris' family for dinner. Like his whole family. I was a little intimidated. I've only had short conversations with them individually. I've never talked to them all in one place or for so long. But I was never one to back down from a challenge.

I was worried I had dressed up a bit to much. My dress was casual enough to be for everyday use but it was also dressy enough for a dinner with clients. It had sleeves and a v-neckline. The skirt of the dress wasn't tight, it flared out a bit. I wanted to look good, I wanted his family to like me. I know how important it was to Chris that we got along. I wanted to be someone he was proud of. I picked at the end of the dress in the car just for a distraction.

We parked at the fancy restaurant and Chris ran to the other side of the car just to get my car door. He opened it and smiled at me.

"You look beautiful Lucy." He complimented me taking my hand and kissing it. How did I get stuck with such a man? I was sure my face is red and I'm sure Chris was wallowing in his pride. He took my hand and I followed him into the restaurant. I took a deep breath before entering and walked in like I owned the place.

"You don't look to bad yourself Chris. I like the tie."

"Well you should because you picked it out."

His family was seated all ready but I was thankful their faces were still stuffed into the menu. That meant we weren't that late. They all stood and hugged Chris. His brother Scott shook my hand along with his sister Carly and Shana. His mom took me in for a nice hug. His dad shook my hand and we all took a seat. The waiter asked what I wanted and I almost answered a bottle of wine, but I went with water instead.

The conversation started slowly. Chris was the subject of the conversation so all I had to do was to play the supportive girlfriend, which I could play. His family already knew my job somewhat. But they asked about it anyway in search of a good conversation. And I tried to give them just that. I told them about Danny and how he thought the national mall was an actual mall. The story got some laughs, which made me feel good. My nervousness seemed to slowly wash away with time. I slowly became more myself as dinner went on.

I started to some crazy travel stories I had, when Carly mentioned that she had found bed bugs in her hotel one night. I told her about the time I found them in Germany, but couldn't explain to the hotel manager, so I had to catch one. Chris' father, Chris and I had a nice conversation about politics, and the crazy election going on. With Shana and Scott I spit out some random movie and music trivia I knew.

By the end of the night I had surprisingly charmed my way into the family. I got multiple hugs before leaving the restaurant. Chris beamed at me as we walked back to his car. I took a deep breath into his car and took down my hair and took off my shoes.

"Well I think that was a success! I think they like me."

"I think they love you"