"Ok, everyone! Remember to send me your essays be noon tomorrow! Have a good day; I'll see you next week!" I dismissed the group of students who were already packing up and heading for the door. I did the same, gathering up my worksheets and whiteboard markers; I used a lot of markers. Class hadn't ended nearly five minutes and my phone was already ringing. Without checking who it was- I knew- I pressed "answer" while trying to shove everything into my bag.
"Hey beautiful. How was class?" Jose's voice rang from the other end. "Good, just finished up." "I'm on my way to meet Paul for a coffee before our next lecture. Care to join us?" "Sure, I'll be there in a few minutes. Go ahead and order without me; I'm coming from the biology building." "Will do. See you in five," click! Grinning, I set my phone down and zipped up my backpack. Putting on my rain jacket, I was about to slip it into my pocket when my phone began buzzing again. This caught me off-guard as Jose and Paul never called me back-to-back like this. An inward groan echoed through me at the sight of my mother's picture.
"Hi Mom." "Hi baby! Where have you been?! Why haven't you called me?" "What do you mean? We always talk on Thursdays." "I meant why didn't you call me after your date! I've been waiting like mad over here!" Oh, yeah….. that. Sigh, great; now I gotta deal with this. And here I was hoping to entirely forget about that miserable night. Taking in a deep breath, I shut my eyes to steady my nerves before she carried on.
"Sooooooooo how was it?! Was he as gorgeous in real life as he looked in his photos? Was he kind? Charming? Did he pick you up in the limo like it said online?" "Oh sure, he was uh… handsome," that wasn't a lie per se; the man was drop-dead pretty. It wasn't his looks that was the problem; it was the horrible personality they disguised. Mom squealed loudly, making me cringe. "Don't hold back on me! Tell me everything! How perfect was he? Ignoring all those pesky little legal misdemeanours, course." Ha! "Little" legal misdemeanours; I bet he went to jail for pissing the wrong person off. Someone with more hard power than he wields, and he has a lot. "Uh, he was uh, nice? Tall? Had a deep voice? He ordered for me at the restaurant." "Gasp! He did?! That's SO romantic!" Romantic, controlling- same thing, I guess. Of course Mom had to keep prodding for more. "What else? What else? Did he hold your hand? Compliment your hair or clothes? Did he say anything special to you?" "Uh, well, his parting words were sure….. special," if you'd call them that.
"Oh, Anny! I'm so happy for you! You see? This is just the thing you need to break out of your solitary single shell. Going on a few dates will show you that romance isn't so bad." Oh my god, what do I even say to that…? I had to count to ten in my brain, all while pinching the bridge of my nose continuously. "Mom, it was just one date. Look, I appreciate the time and resources you poured into this- I really do. But….." "But nothing! Just tell me one thing, Ana: did you have a good time with Christian?" Don't lose your patience, Anastasia; she paid a lot of money for his farce of a date you went on. Sucking in a very long inhale, I closed my eyes again, unable and unwilling to open them. "… Yes, I…. had a good time with…. Christian," it felt insanely weird calling Mr. Grey by his first name like that.
I could practically feel Mom's sense of accomplishment and victory radiate through the phone. "I knew you would," she said with that superior tone older ladies can- and do- use. It made my skin crawl, lying felt so wrong. "Listen, Mom, I….." "No need to say anymore, baby girl. I know you're grateful for the experience and had a wonderful time; I knew you would from the first time I saw his profile." "Yeah, but….." "Take this as a learning experience, Ana. When your mother tells you that dating isn't so bad, you should believe me. Who knows! You might meet a man like Christian someday out in the world." Oh Jesus, I hope not! I didn't see a point in talking anymore; Mom was enjoying herself too much in the dreaded illusion for me to get a word in edgewise. She kept going on and on from her end, all of it making me cry inside. "Just keep an open-mind, Ana. You never know what might happen or who you might meet. After all….
There's only a handful of Christian Greys in the world."