Page 58 of Festive Flings

The first of many, many times.

~ Lauren ~

I’m still on a high from getting engaged to Tim and my roaring success at Open Mic Night, but I suppose it has to end sometime. Tim wants to tell everyone immediately that we are getting married, and that means going to see my parents. I am still overwhelmed with the love and unabashed affection Tim showers me with, and I must pinch myself at least ten times an hour just to check I am not dreaming, that this is all very real and happening.

Tim loves me and wants to spend forever with me, and luckily, I feel exactly the same way about him. I am actually marrying the most amazing man I have ever met.

If only telling my parents could have been a simple phone call. That is how Tim told his sister. I love that they’re so close. He simply dialled her number and told her, 'She said yes'. To which Fliss screamed and hollered down the phone until Tim told her to calm down or she’ll go into labour.

As we travel by train to my parent’s home in Cornwall, my nerves and trepidation grow. I want my parents to be happy for me, but my mother is difficult and rude and my daddy is meek and does as he is told. I just hope my mother isn’t rude to Tim; I can take her being horrible to me but I’m going to kick up a stink if she is rude or impolite to Tim.

“Don’t worry so much. I will ask your dad’s permission and I’m sure once he realises how much I love you, he’ll be happy for you.” I give him a tight smile; Tim has no idea what we are up against. Not when it comes to my mother.

When I called my parent’s house to say I would be visiting, my mother said, “You may as well bring your Christmas presents to save you bringing them in a couple of days.” I guess that means I’m not invited to Christmas this year! Not that I’m bothered. I am going with Tim to his sister’s house, and I couldn't be happier about it. I’m really looking forward to a family Christmas.

We are staying at Fliss and Marie’s over the festive period as Fliss is due to have her baby any day now and Tim and I will be watching Lyndon and Celeste when her time comes. I can’t wait!

My parent’s home is next to the beach, looking like a postcard in its idyllic wonder. If only people knew about the darkness that lived inside.

I knock on the door and my dad answers almost straight away. He’s probably been waiting by the door. “Dorothy, she’s here! Our lollipop is here and she’s brought a… friend with her.”

“Dad, this is Tim. Tim, this is my dad, Lyle.” They shake hands and my dad invites us into the lounge.

This room hasn’t changed since I was a child: the same wallpaper, the same carpet, and the same furniture. My mum didn’t believe in being frivolous; well she was very generous with her snide comments and backhanded insults, but that hardly counts. The whole house is old and dated but nonetheless clean and tidy. I find it suffocating, like the past is trying to claw me back so I don’t move forward.

Tim and I sit on the settee together, while my dad nervously hops from one foot to the other as he waits for my mother. My father is a slight man; he is nervous and quiet. I often wonder if he has always been this anxious or if years of tolerating my mother made him this way.

My mother walks in like she is the Queen of Sheba. “Lauren, it is rude to invite guests without telling the host. And what have you done to your hair? Purple hair? I hope the neighbours didn’t see you. Sit up straight; your tummy won’t look as huge that way.”

Tim tenses next to me, and I hold his hand to reassure him. I’m used to this talk; it's like water off a duck’s back now. “Hi, Mum, I want you to meet Tim. He’s my fiancé. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

My mother doesn’t immediately respond, and then she smiles and my heart soars. She is happy for me. She is finally proud of me.

My delusion doesn’t last long once she starts to speak. “Is this some sort of joke? I never get your sense of humour, Lauren. I thought fat people were supposed to be funny.”

My stomach turns as I am filled with an anxious sickness. I don’t want Tim to see or hear this. I have such shame about the way my mother sees me; I don’t want Tim to see my shame.

“This is no joke. I have asked Lauren to marry me. I think your daughter is incredible and I cannot wait to marry her. With your permission, of course.” My dad smiles as he extends his hand to Tim, ready to shake it and welcome him to the family.

However, my mother is quicker than the two of them. She slaps my father’s hand away and turns on Tim. “Has she paid you to tell us all this? Are you an actor or a gigolo?”

“Mum, please stop. Tim and I are in love. This is genuine.” But my mother doesn’t believe me; I can tell by the way she laughs mockingly at me.

“A man like him would not be seen dead with a fat waster like you, Lauren…”

I don’t get to hear the rest of her spiel. Tim stands up, takes my hand and tells me we are leaving.

“How the hell did someone as sweet and as beautiful as you come out of a horrible old dog like her? It's no wonder you feel so bad about yourself when your own mother is a bullying hypocrite. I’m sorry, Flower, but no one is ever going to speak to you like that again.”

As we get to the front door, my dad tries to stop us from leaving. “I know she can be difficult but she means well. Please, don’t go like this.”

“Why haven’t you ever stood up for your daughter? How could you let her be destroyed by her own mother? You should hang your head in shame. You are just as bad as her; you may not have said the words but you stood by and let her continually hurt your little girl.”

Tim is furious on my behalf. No one has ever stuck up for me like he has. I have never had someone I could depend on to have my back, until now. The tears roll down my face as he continues to tell my dad exactly what he thinks of him and my mother.

“You allowed the mistreatment of your child, sir. And now she is mine, not you or anyone else will treat her that way ever again.”

My mother remains in the lounge and doesn’t say anything more. I am just about ready to let Tim take me home when anger rises within me.

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