Chapter 114: Impress the Father-in-Law

"Where are they? What's taking them so long?"

Avery put her phone down and glanced to her left. Her lovely husband had his ankle over his knee. He leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest. Every now and then, he sneaked a peek at the entrance—hoping that the two would show up already.

His foot tapped on the floor.

Rolling her eyes, Avery smacked his shoulder and made him look at her. "Stop whining. You sound like a 5-year old kid who is waiting for Santa Claus to drop from the chimney."

"What makes you think I'm not one?"

This time, she used the edge of her phone. The compact metal dug into his skin. She twisted it for emphasis and bared her teeth. "Like hell you are. I'm not a sugar mommy."

Jackson recoiled from the hit. His face contorted in pain as he massaged the sore spot. He had just opened his mouth when a new voice interrupted the scene.

"Interesting conversation we have here."

Eve stood at Ambryan's right. They held each other's hands between them. For this afternoon, she chose to keep the vintage theme from the photoshoot. She wore a white blouse and a flared midi-skirt in autumn. The look was brought together by a dark green belt. 

Together with Ambryan's suit and tie, they looked straight out of a 50s movie—wearing identical bowling shoes. Their presence easily attracted the crowd. Anyone who passed by them would look their way.

"I would disagree," Ambryan retorted. He could predict the rest of the afternoon already. From the way his father stood up, he came to one conclusion. 

Jackson Hathaway was tipsy.

His violet eyes glared at the culprit still on the chair.

Avery merely shrugged and bolted for the redhead. She bumped shoulder to shoulder with her husband. The day finally came! And she was more than excited to spend it with her potential daughter-in-law.

"Evangeline!"

"Aunt Avery." Eve smiled, welcoming the hug and returning it. 

The two women huddle together. They lowered their heads and spoke in hushed voices. Neither of their companions could overhear the conversation. Avery glanced over her shoulder once just to double check if it was true.

When the ghost was clear, she beamed. "How are you, dear? Did the photoshoot go well?"

"Oh, yes." Eve nodded. "I survived."

She considered the real challenge to be tomorrow. It would be a hellish battle to get up. The after-effects started this morning. Since she had done another outdoor activity, the pain would only go up instead of down.

Avery didn't notice her tone of voice. Overwhelming excitement buzzed in her nerves. After all, today was a special day! "How was Ambryan's gift, hm? Did you like it?"

Eve became tongue-tied. Her next words stuttered out of her lips and her eyes averted away from the madam. A subtle blush colored her cheeks. "I… I haven't opened it."

"What?!" Avery exclaimed. She tugged the young woman closer, hissing, "Why not?"

This had been one of the things she looked forward to! And now, she couldn't get it yet because a certain someone forgot to open the gift? If she had it her way, she would have visited only to witness the actual moment. 

Except, Luna protested against the idea.

The silence only lasted a few seconds.

A light bulb appeared on top of Eve's head. Its gleam shined out of her amber eyes. She wiggled her eyebrows and giggled softly. Maybe she could get an answer after all. "Would you mind telling me what it is?"

Avery frowned in response. "You would know if you had opened it."

Now, where did Eve hear that before? She groaned. Mother and son were on the same side for once. Experiencing the same rejection for the second time wasn't any less painful than the first. The hard blow merely increased in force and punched her to the ground.

"I really didn't mean to forget it," she tried to explain but it sounded more like a whine.

Avery assessed her for a moment and chuckled. Of course, she knew the young woman didn't mean to overlook the gift. She patted Eve's shoulder and said, "Well, remember to post it on social media later."

Eve stiffened. Ambryan had mentioned something similar. Should she really share it? Wouldn't it be taken the wrong way? She bit her inner cheek, forming a game plan. Her caption needed to be carefully constructed. "Can I do that tomorrow? Because I don't think I want people to know when the monthsary is."

"Sure. It's a neat feature, isn't it?"

It was her turn to chuckle. The madam really was clever. The app's design was intricate like it always had something up its sleeve. Then, her conversation with Andie came to her mind.

"Definitely. I think a lot of couples would like the app. Maybe it can be a business," Eve stated, really meaning it. Andie had pointed this out to her and they talked about the possibilities. One of them being if the relationship turned sour…

… the couple only needed to uninstall one app and the memories they shared in it would be gone. No need to browse through pictures in order to delete the right ones. No need to erase multiple conversation windows from different apps. 

Everything would be in a neat package. 

It could even store all the dates they had.

"We'll see." Avery shrugged. She wrapped her arm around Eve's and led her to their designated sitting area. Her mind conditioned itself for the upcoming game. "For now, let's bowl!"

While the females conversed, the boys stood near the bench with a chat of their own. Drinks had been served on the coffee table. The cold tea condensed the air, coating the glass in water droplets.

Ambryan nodded in greeting. "Father."

"Son." Jackson scowled. He straightened out his lapels and glanced towards the two women. He cleared out his throat, hiding his hands behind his back. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"Calm down. Mother is still talking to her. You know how she is."

Both of them watched their partners for today's game. They talked in their own bubble as if the boys didn't exist. Their voices lowered in volume until they couldn't hear anything. There was no escape from the invisible wall that the ladies created.

"You're right." Jackson sighed. "If we interrupt now, she'd skin me alive."

"There's still plenty of time." Ambryan picked up a glass of iced tea. He drank half of it and took a deep breath. "Ahh… This is actually quite good. Although, it's not as good as a bottle of beer."

"Try three of them." His father snorted. 

"Seems like you enjoyed it though."

Jackson waved his hand, predicting his son's thoughts. "Did I know that your mother wanted me to be intoxicated? Yes. Did that mean I couldn't enjoy a bottle or two of beer? No. It's rare for her to let me drink that much so, of course, I grabbed the chance."

Ambryan merely shook his head. He did agree that his father was easier to talk to after a bit of alcohol. He could also be hard to deal with when provoked the wrong way. 

It would be something they need to look out for.

The women turned around and headed in their direction. Before Avery and Ambryan could say anything, Eve took the first step. She held out her hand towards Jackson and beamed. "Mr. Hathaway, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Please, call me, Jackson."

"Alrighty. Huh…" She pulled him closer and squinted at his face. Confusion projected out of her gaze. Avery froze. Her heart began to race. She couldn't tell where this was going. Ambryan, on the hand, frowned at the exchange.

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "What is it?'

"You're much more handsome than your son."

.

.

.

Jackson turned to the side, giving him a clear view of his son's glower. It didn't matter if he was overreacting. Raw delight shocked him like a taser gun. He pointed towards Eve, saying, "Why didn't you tell me that she had excellent taste?"

"Jackson!" Avery scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. Internally, she thanked the alcohol in his system. She'd rather deal with this than his grumpy attitude.

In return, he scowled at her. "What? Isn't that supposed to be a compliment? I mean, you had excellent tastes too when you married me." 

She shook her head slowly. "A couple of beers and you're already so shameless."

"A compliment back! Why thank you. That was unexpected." Jackson shifted his attention back to the main "Now, Evangeline. Do you know how to bowl?"

Eve gave him a sheepish smile. "Unfortunately, this is my first time."

"No need to fret. I'm sure Yan will teach you." Jackson laughed. He rubbed his hands together, conditioning himself. They may be younger than him but he wouldn't go down that easily. He had the edge of experience.

Stepping closer, Eve lifted her hand and whispered loudly in his ear. "Do you have any advice so he won't yell at me if I make a mistake?"

Ambryan scrunched his eyebrows. "I won't yell at you."

Eve wasn't convinced. Her eyes crinkled at the corners while her lips drew out in weird angles, clearly displaying her doubts. She shrugged and kept it up for a few seconds. 

"Maybe not with your mouth but definitely with your eyes."