Chapter 12
Two and half months later, it was mid-November and close to Thanksgiving.
Work was great, but busy. Right after Labor Day weekend, Amy and I got busy, busy. Our boss acquired new clients and we had do paperwork and research for other clients as well. We loved it.
My friendships were great. I had three BFFs now: Amy, Torrie, and Stephanie McMahon. The four of us all got together as much as we could. Our boyfriends also got together as much as they could too. Stephanie's boyfriend, Paul Levesque was super nice and he treated her like a princess. All my girls were treated like princesses from their boyfriends. Phil and Randy were both hard asses at times, but they loved Amy and Torrie so much.
My parents and sisters were all doing great. Christie's wedding plans were coming along great. She already had her dress. She had picked one out shortly before I moved to Boston. Melissa and I were bride maids, of course. We both had our dresses as well. Her wedding was in April and it would be coming very quickly.
My parents were both very healthy. That was always good to hear. Melissa was single still and looking very hard for a boyfriend. My dad preferred his baby girl be single.
My relationship with John was excellent! He ended up having to work a lot of night shifts right after Labor Day weekend for a few weeks. That had been annoying. I had gotten to see him on his days off and we would have lunch dates for the times he worked night shifts.
But Thanksgiving was just a few days away and it was the first major holiday for our relationship that really involved family. Since I was originally from Canada, I had family back there. I had aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. When my parents had time off for Thanksgiving and me and my sisters can time off from school, we would go back to Canada and spend the time with our family. Then we would see them again at Christmas.
This year was different, however. I was living in a whole other city and state compared to previous years. I also had a very serious boyfriend. We had only been together for three months, but we were serious.
Anyway, my parents, sisters, and I all made plans. My parents and Melissa would be coming out to Boston to see me and meet John. Christie and her fiancée, Jake would be spending Thanksgiving with his family in Georgia. Then my parents, sisters, Jake, and I would spend Christmas in Boston. We decided not to go to Canada, because that family would be coming for Christie's wedding in a few months away.
But I was very excited everyone was coming out to Boston for Christmas, because of me. It was going to be lots of fun with my immediate family and John's.
Yes, my parents and Melissa were finally going to meet John. I was very scared and excited all at the same time. I didn't need to worry about Melissa. I only had my parents to worry about. I wanted them to really like John. They were very happy that I was so head over heels in love. I had had a real serious boyfriend all through high school, but we ended up breaking up because he went to college in another state. John was the third guy I was ever in love with.
Amy and I not only had Thursday off for Thanksgiving, but also the Friday after Thanksgiving. We had a four day weekend. I got to have my parents and baby sister for four days too.
"I can not wait to see my parents and Melissa," I said to Amy on Wednesday morning.
"Yes, that will loads of fun," Amy said. "When does their flight get in?"
"At one," I said. My boss had given me Wednesday off work too, because of my family coming in. Whenever it came to a family situation or something, my boss was always quick to help me or Amy. He was a devoted family man himself.
"Well, you go and get them today," Amy said. "I'll get lots of work done today. Then I'll see you in the evening. Then tomorrow will have a nice family get together with John's family."
John's dad was having the restaurant closed on Thanksgiving. That was where the Cena clan was getting together for the holiday. John said that was what they did every year and they did the same on Christmas day.
"Yes," I said.
Amy headed off to work shortly after this. I made sure the apartment was cleaned up for the visit for my parents and baby sister. They would be staying in a hotel for their visit, but still, I didn't want the place to be a mess. Amy and I cleaned up after ourselves, though.
At 11:30 am, I left the apartment and headed to the airport to pick up my parents and sister. I had gotten a new car. I had gotten a used Honda Accord. It was an older model and it ran good. It had A/C and heat (I was using the heat more right now). The CD player worked well too, along with the radio.
I had been able to talk to my mom. She said the flight was on time, which was awesome. Traffic was bad heading into the airport. Traffic leaving the airport looked fine, though.
It had taken me thirty minutes to get to the airport and it was noon when I arrived. I decided to grab something to eat while I waited for my parents' and sister's flight to get in. Once I had my food, I went to where I was supposed to pick up my family.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was in the driver's seat of my car. My mom was in the front seat while my dad and sister were in the back. There had been big hugs and kisses the moment I saw all of them. Now after claiming baggage and getting back to my car, we were off and ready.
"How is school Melissa?" I asked as I drove slowly moving through traffic trying to leave the airport.
"Great," Melissa said. "I'm looking at A's and B's."
"That's my girl."
Melissa chuckled.
"Now this Best Western that you are staying at is just a few blocks from my apartment building," I said.
"That was the same place we stayed at when we came to help you move in," My mom, Alice said.
"Yes, that's right. I forgot."
"So when do we get to meet John?" My dad asked.
"This evening," I replied. "He's working right now, Dad."
"I know that. I was just hoping I didn't have to wait until tomorrow."
"No, we're going to meet him at his dad's restaurant for dinner."
"Aren't we having Thanksgiving there tomorrow as well?" Mom asked.
"Yes," I said. "I've been told that it won't be their normal restaurant food, but actual Thanksgiving dinner food."
"Oh, okay, that had me wondering."
I nodded my head.
We got out of the airport and onto the main road. I then drove off to the hotel. My parents caught me up on the latest with their jobs, family in Canada, Christie and Jake, and then Christie and Jake's wedding.
"My boss and I have already talked," I said. "I have taken the necessary days off work for the wedding, so you have no problems there with me. John is coming with me too."
"Can Amy take time off work too?" Mom asked.
Since Amy and I had been friends for so long, we were like sisters. Christie and Melissa called Amy their adopted older sister. Amy claimed them as her adopted little sisters.
"No, because both of us work for the same attorney, so he doesn't want to be without both his legal assistants," I said. "However, Amy is going home for Christmas, so she'll see her mom."
"Good," Mom said. "Her mother keeps wondering when she'll be home. Of course, her mother could come visit her daughter too."
"Very true. Thank you for coming to visit me."
"We'd much rather be with you than Jake's entire family," Dad said.
I smiled. My parents liked Jake's parents, but the rest of his family was annoying. Jake was also an only child, so they would have had to deal with Jake's aunts, uncles, and cousins. They liked his grandparents too.
Once my parents and Melissa were settled into their hotel room, we headed over to my apartment. We sat at my apartment and caught up more on the latest. I showed my parents and Melissa countless pictures of me with John, his family and our friends. Most of them had made it onto Facebook.
"He has a nice looking family," Mom said.
"Yes, he does," I said.
"Are any of them single?" Melissa asked.
I chuckled. "Only his youngest brother. Sean and his girlfriend broke up about a month ago."
"How old is he?"
"He's your age, actually."
"Hmm," Melissa said.
I chuckled. My baby sister was boy/man crazy.
Amy was home at 5 o'clock. Our boss left the office at 4:30 like he had for Labor Day weekend. There was big hugs and kisses for her from both my parents and Melissa when she arrived. The four of them all caught up. Amy talked about work and Phil. Melissa loved hearing all about him.
At 6:45, my parents, Melissa, Amy, and I all headed out to meet John at Cenas' for dinner. Phil had gone home for Thanksgiving. Randy and Torrie would be joining us.
I was very nervous now. My parents were about to meet my boyfriend. Not to mention, they would be meeting his dad and some of his brothers. They would also be meeting Torrie and Randy. I really hoped Randy did not say anything stupid.
"Here we are," I said, parking in the parking lot next to the restaurant.
We all got out of the car. I locked the doors and then everyone headed to the entrance. It was a few minutes until seven o'clock. My dad got to the door first. He held the door open for us all. Amy and Melissa were the first inside. My mom followed and then me. My dad was then behind us.
Amy had linked arms with Melissa. She dragged Melissa to where John and everyone else were seated. My parents were behind me. My dad had his arm around my mom.
"Hello everyone," Amy said.
"Hi," Torrie said.
"Hey," John said, getting to his feet.
I smiled. I saw Torrie and Randy sitting. It was just the three of them at the table.
"Where's your dad?" I asked John.
"He'll be out in a minute," John said. "Hello to you by the way.
"Sorry," I said. I gave him a kiss. I looked at my parents. "Mom and Dad, this is my boyfriend, John Cena. John, these are my parents, John and Alice Stratigias."
"It is so nice to finally meet you," John said. He shook both my parents' hands.
"Same here," Mom said.
"Yes, it is," Dad said. "We have a problem, though. There are two Johns."
"Three actually," John said. "My dad's name is John as well."
"You can just call him Jay," Mom said.
"That will make things much easier."
"Mom, Dad, this is Torrie Wilson and Randy Orton," I said.
"Hi," Torrie said.
"Pleasure to meet the both of you," Randy said, standing up. He shook hands with them.
"The pleasure is all ours," Dad said. "Patricia talks a lot about the both of you when she calls."
"Well, Randy and John are BFFs and roommates," Torrie said. "The four of us double date as much as Amy and Phil."
"Too bad Phil isn't here," Randy said.
"Yes, it is," Mom said. "We refer to Amy as our adopted daughter, because she and Trish have been friends for so long."
"Well, where should we sit?" Melissa asked.
"And you must be the baby sister," John said.
"Oh, yes," I said. "John, this is Melissa. Melissa, this is John."
"Hi," Melissa said.
"Hello to you," John said. "You two are definitely sisters."
I smiled. Yes, my sisters and I all looked a lot alike.
"But yes, where should we sit?" Mom asked.
I directed everyone where to sit. I told John to sit back down next to Randy. I had my parents sit directly across from me and John. Then Amy and Melissa sat down across from Torrie and Randy. John's dad could sit at one of the ends.
"Good, everyone's here," John Sr. said coming over to the table.
"Hi," I said. I got up and gave him a hug.
"How are you doing?" He asked.
"Great. These are my parents, John and Alice Stratigias, and my baby sister, Melissa."
"Good to meet you," John Sr. said shaking hands with my dad and mom. "It's nice to meet you, Melissa."
"You too," Melissa said.
John Sr. sat down.
"So there is no confusion, call me Jay," Dad said.
"You got it," John Sr. said.
"You have a nice restaurant here," Mom said.
"Thank you. It has been open for twenty years. My boys worked with me when they were old enough to. My oldest and youngest still work with me. My oldest is working on his master's and my youngest is in college. John and his brother Dan are both cops. Then my fourth son, Matt is a fireman."
"Glad your oldest and youngest are working on their education," Dad said.
"Both want to be teachers."
Boog came over then. He was waiting on us tonight. "Good evening, everyone," He said.
"This is my youngest right here," John Sr. said.
"Yes, I'm Sean, John's baby brother," Boog said.
"Yeah, we actually call him Boog," John said. "These are Trish's parents, Alice and Jay, and then her baby sister, Melissa."
"Nice to meet you," Boog said to my parents. He then looked over at Melissa. Melissa smiled. "I see good looks run in the family." Melissa blushed. "What would everyone like to drink?"
My dad, John's dad, John, and Randy all got beers. My mom, Melissa, Amy, Torrie, and I all got Diet Pepsi, Diet Mountain Dew, or Wild Cherry Pepsi. Boog then walked away to get the drinks.
"Dad, you have to try their signature burger, The Cena Burger," I said.
"Yes, you must!" John said.
"Okay," Dad said. He turned the pages of his menu and found the burgers. He then read the description of the burger.
"That is just a clotted artery waiting to happen," Mom said.
"It is, but it is good," John said.
"Trying it this one time isn't going to kill me, honey," Dad said.
Mom shrugged and went back to looking at the menu. Amy was recommending things to Melissa. John leaned forward and whispered into my ear.
"Do I get to stay over tonight?" He asked. He then pulled back and looked at me.
I smiled. I leaned forward and whispered to him, "I'm an adult! My parents don't care. Correction: they just don't want me getting pregnant right now."
"I think all of us want that," John whispered back.
"Yeah," I said.
Boog came back with the drinks. He then took our order. Everyone, except my mom and Melissa knew what they wanted.
"All right, and what will it be for the lovely mother and baby sister of Trish?" Boog asked.
"I'll have the club sandwich," Mom said.
"I'll have the Cena Burger," Melissa said.
"Excellent choice, Melissa" Boog said. "You'll take extra special care of it for you." He winked at her. He then walked away.
"He is definitely taking after his older brother," I said.
"Why do you say that?" Dad asked.
"The evening before my first date with John, Amy and I went out with him, Phil, Randy and Torrie. We came here. But John was flirting with me nonstop."
"Oh, I see."
"Yep," John said. "I was very taken by your daughter the first time I saw her."
"Was it love at first sight?" Mom asked.
"Yes."
Amy and Melissa giggled. I smiled. I knew what they were thinking. They were thinking of how I had said how I wanted to mount John the first time I saw him and him vice-a-versa with me.
The conversation was taken over by my dad and John's. My parents mainly talked with John and his dad. Torrie and Randy were talking with Amy and Melissa. Melissa was having a great time.
"So your second oldest is getting married in April, huh?" John Sr. asked.
"Yes," Mom said.
"Yep, and Christie is getting excited, because she likes to be the center of attention whenever she gets the chance," Dad said. "She is the middle child after all."
"Yes, you have to give all your children as much attention as possible," John Sr. said. "Some even think you have favorites at times."
"Yes, they do," Mom said looking at me.
"What?!" I said. "You always took Christie's side whenever she and I were fighting!"
Despite loving both my sisters, there were times Christie and I fought like cats and dogs. I never really did it with Melissa. I think it was because there was an eleven month age difference between the two of us and we were together a lot. Plus we were also a lot alike. Sometimes you butted heads with the person who was most like you.
"Oh, no," Melissa said. "Please do not start about you and Chris, Trish. I had enough of it growing up."
"Well, my oldest is engaged," John Sr. said trying to get control of the conversation again.
"When are he and his fiancée tying the knot?" Dad asked.
"This summer. It is going to be a small wedding. Steve graduates with his Master's in English education in May. He'll look to get a job at the high school level when the high schools will start back up next fall."
"What does your future daughter-in-law do?" Mom asked.
"She's a nurse."
"Wow, your sons have good careers or working toward good careers and then have girlfriends that have good careers or working toward good careers," Dad said.
My parents had been told all about John's brothers and then their girlfriends.
"Thank you," John Sr. said. "John, Dan, and Matt are all very happy with their career choices. John wants to be a detective and then a captain of a department. Dan has a dream of becoming a police commissioner. Matt is good at just being a fire man/EMT/first responder."
"How long have you been working as a cop, John?" Dad asked.
"A couple of years, sir," John said. "I went college for all four years on a football scholarship and got a Bachelor's degree in Criminology. Then I looked into getting into the police academy."
"Yes, Trish said you played football."
"Yeah, he sure did," John Sr. said. "He played pee wee football and then he played ball in high school. He got a scholarship to Springfield College, which is in Massachusetts. He worked hard on the field and in the classroom. Then he excelled in police training and now he's a police office with the Boston PD."
"Working hard for what you want," Dad said. "I admire that in people. It is a trait I want my girls to look for in their boyfriends. Jake has it and John has it. Two down and one to go."
"Yeah, me and my ex-wife pushed our boys to finish high school and then look into some college or into a tech school. I'm proud of all my boys. Sean is working hard."
"That is all you can ask for of your children," Mom said. "You push your children to make the right choices and all of your boys have so far. All our girls have made the right choices so far as well. Our girls have seen some very dark days too."
"We all see dark days, Alice," John Sr. said. "It sometimes very hard for some people to get through those days, but I think as long as people have someone there who will help them through those dark days, everything will be all right in the end. I also know all about your girls and I am very sorry."
"Let's make a toast to good family and friends," I said.
That got Amy, Melissa, Torrie and Randy's attention.
"We're toasting?" Randy asked.
"Yes, we are," I said.
"All right, to good friends and family," Randy said. "Even if they are all the way back in Missouri, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia, and Canada."
"Here, here," John said.
We all raised our drinks and took a sip. Boog came over with our food then.
My dad and Melissa loved the Cena Burger. My mom enjoyed her club sandwich. I was very glad for that. John and his dad were very glad for that as well. At eight o'clock, everyone was ready to leave. We all said good-bye to John's dad and then headed outside. My parents said good-bye to John and then let him and I slowly make our way to my car.
"I'll be over by nine," John said.
"Sounds good," I said. "Melissa has decided to stay at the apartment with me and Amy. But she is going to stay in Amy's room."
"That's really sweet how close they are."
"Yes, Amy only has a brother, so my sisters are sisters. I'm her sister too."
"That's real nice. I'll see you in a little bit."
"Okay." I gave John a kiss. He opened my car door for me and I got inside.
"I'll see everyone tomorrow and later," John said.
"Have a good night, John," Mom said.
"You too. Night, Jay."
"Good night," Dad said.
John closed my door. I started the car and turned the heat on. It was very cold out. I buckled my seat belt. "Bye, baby," I said.
"Bye, sweetie," John said. He gave me one last kiss and then closed the door.
I then drove to my parents' hotel. Amy and I went to their room with them. Melissa needed to grab her bag. Once Melissa had her bag, the three of us let. My parents were actually happy to be alone for the night.
"So Melissa do you have a new crush?" I asked when we walked to my car.
Melissa chuckled. "A little bit, yes."
I laughed. "Thinking of transferring out here?"
"I don't think so. But tomorrow will be lots of fun."
"Yes, it will," Amy said. "But tonight your sister is going to have a little fun."
"Good for her," Melissa said. "John is hot!"
"Yeah, he is," I said. "And he's all mine."
