On the evening of the gala, all three members of the Limlendez household not away at college were busy preparing for the festivities of the evening. Mei-Li could hear her parents mutually lamenting about the upcoming event, but she was looking forward to tonight. Well, she was excited and nervous all at once. She heard a knock on her bedroom door and she said, "Come in."
Lim entered the room, wearing a floor-length blue dress with a gold pattern design on it. She came in behind Mei-Li and laid her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "I don't think I've seen you wear a dress like this since your senior prom."
"And I'm still not any better with walking in heels since Dad put my first pair on me eleven years ago," Mei-Li chuckled and turned around to face her mother.
"Hey," Lim grabbed Mei-Li's hands and said, "Don't worry about what others think and have fun tonight. And if you have any problems, you know I'm more than willing to take care of it."
"Oh, it's not that," said Mei-Li, "It's just that I haven't been on an official date since Jenny and I broke up."
"Getting back into the dating scene is hard after a tough breakup," Lim nodded in agreement, "But don't let your past experiences with relationships keep you from being happy."
"Sounds like some saying you'd find in a fortune cookie," Mei-Li joked, "And Dad had to practically pull your teeth to get you to go out with him."
"What can I say? Both Lims and Melendezes are stubborn. And you have both sets of genes," said Lim.
Mei-Li glanced at the time and said, "Well, I promised Caroline I'd pick her up from her apartment at 6:30. I'll see you at the hospital."
"Okay, I love you sweetheart," said Lim.
"I love you too, Mom," said Mei-Li.
Mei-Li drove over to Caroline's apartment building and made sure she had the correct number before hesitantly knocking on the door. Caroline answered and softly said, "Hi."
"Hi," said Mei-Li, "May I come in?"
"Yeah, of course," said Caroline, stepping aside.
After Mei-Li entered the room, she took a good look at Caroline, who was wearing a floor-length emerald green dress, "Wow," said Mei-Li, "You look beautiful."
"Thanks. You do too," commented Caroline, "With your red dress and my green one, we'll match with the Christmas/holiday theme."
"That we will," admitted Mei-Li, "Well, I guess we should get going?"
Caroline nodded, "Our first official date."
When the women arrived at St. Bonaventure, there was already plenty of action around them. White lights twinkled overhead; there was a Christmas tree along with a table that had a menorah and a kinara on top of it. People were talking, laughing, dancing, eating, and drinking. Mei-Li glanced around the room and noticed Shaun, Claire, Morgan, Park, and Mia all standing around one table while her parents were conversing with former president, Dr. Marcus Andrews, and his wife, Isabel. Megan was at the open bar and Eric was talking with another woman, whom Mei-Li assumed was his girlfriend. She felt someone grab her hand and squeeze it before Caroline asked, "Are you ready?"
Mei-Li nodded, "I'm ready," they entered the ballroom hand in hand and Mei-Li asked, "So did you want to get a drink?"
"You read my mind," said Caroline.
They ordered a glass of bourbon and a margarita before joining Eric. He smiled and said, "Mei-Li, Caroline, nice to see you."
"Same," said Caroline.
"Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Kate Burke. Kate, this is Mei-Li Lim-Melendez and Caroline Cho."
"Nice to meet you," Kate smiled.
"You too," said Mei-Li.
The four conversed for a little while longer when Lifehouse's You and Me began to play. Eric led Kate onto the dance floor and Mei-Li saw Lim and Melendez, Andrews and Isabel, Shaun and Claire, and Park and Mia join the many other couples. Caroline hesitantly looked over at Mei-Li and asked, "So…did you want to dance?"
Mei-Li glanced at Caroline and casually said, "My parents are here."
"So?" asked Caroline.
"Okay, maybe you'll understand it this way: my overprotective Latino father who has the power to make your life a living hell is here," Mei-Li clarified.
"Well, I'm not scared of Dr. Melendez," Caroline chuckled and dragged Mei-Li out onto the dance floor. The two women wrapped their arms around each other and swayed in time with the music. Mei-Li noticed her father staring at them, only to have Lim look over in their direction and promptly turn Melendez around; that didn't stop him from turning his head again.
"Just to let you know, I'm pretty sure Dad is still a proud, unofficial member of Fathers Against Daughters Dating," said Mei-Li.
"He cares about you; it's nice to see that," said Caroline.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Melendez and Lim were dancing and Melendez said, "They're dancing together, Audrey."
Lim turned her head to find her daughter and Caroline slow dancing together. She quickly spun her husband around to keep him from spying on them, but it wasn't successful, as he immediately turned his head, "Neil," she said teasingly, "Your wife is in front of you, not behind you."
Melendez went back to looking at Lim and said, "Should we consider forbidding her from dating until she's thirty-five?"
"That's less than nine years from now," said Lim, "If you think you're nervous with Mei-Li dating again, remember how nervous you were to start dating again after you ended things with Jessica?"
Melendez sighed, "Fair point. But I still have the right to be protective as her father."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," said Lim.
"I just can't help but always wonder…what if this relationship leads to marriage? I'll be walking her down the aisle. Then, I become an abuelito if she wants kids…"
"Neil, you're getting ahead of yourself. Just try to enjoy the ride," said Lim, kissing him.
He leaned his forehead against hers and asked, "What would I do without you?"
At the end of the night, Mei-Li drove Caroline home and walked her up to her apartment, "I had a really nice time with you tonight."
"I did too," said Caroline, "Proud that the only person staring at us the entire night was Dr. Melendez."
Mei-Li laughed lightly and said, "So…given the fact that we had a good time tonight, I was hoping that…we could see each other again sometime. And then again after that, and then again after that, and…"
"Mei-Li," Caroline interrupted her, "Are you asking me to go steady with you?"
"I don't know," said Mei-Li, "If you want to keep it casual, that's fine too."
"Well, do you want to keep it casual?" asked Caroline.
Mei-Li pondered the question before she whispered, "No, I'm just scared. I really like you and you're the first person I've considered dating since my last relationship ended."
"Mei-Li, we can take things slowly. We don't have to rush anything," Caroline said comfortingly.
"Okay," said Mei-Li.
Caroline leaned in and softly kissed Mei-Li. She smiled and said, "Have a good night, Mei-Li."
"You too."
