CHAPTER SIXTEEN
(chapter title - Meet the Parents)
"C'mon Rog! I want you to meet my mom and dad!" Crystal was saying the next day. Roger sighed and rolled over on his back, wanting to stay in bed for as long as he possibly could.
"Roger Theodore Davis! Get your butt out here before I come in there!" Crystal yelled from the bathroom. They were the only ones that were in the loft - Mark and Destiny were out celebrating Destiny's birthday while Caitlyn and Jason were visiting Maureen and Sophia.
"Number one - my middle name isn't Theodore: it's Samuel. Number two, no force of anything is gonna make me come out of here!" Roger mumbled. Crystal let out a frustrated sigh and walked into the bedroom. Today, she was wearing a peach colored shirt and a floor length peach skirt. Her hair was tied back with a peach colored ribbon. She climbed on top of Roger and kissed his forehead.
"Come on Roger! I promised my parents that we would meet them at one and it's almost twelve." Crystal pleaded, tugging on his hand. Roger grabbed her arm and dragged her into bed with him. She shook her head and climbed out of bed. Making her way over to Roger's closet, she threw a pair of nice black pants and a white dress shirt at him.
"Ow!" Roger exclaimed as the belt she threw at him hit him in the head.
"I'm sorry baby!" she apologized, making her way over to him. The cut was bleeding a little bit, but nothing too serious. "Are you okay?" she asked after a while.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Roger told her, getting out of bed and got dressed. Crystal smiled as she exited the room and sat on the couch, waiting for her wonderful boyfriend to hurry up and get dressed. As she waited, she looked at the various CDs and DVDs that the family owned, taking her time looking at each one.
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Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Manhattan Country Club where they were meeting Crystal's parents - Nadine, a computer programmer and George, a large animal veterinarian. Crystal led Roger into the country club and looked for her parents.
"Sugar! Over here!" Nadine called out to them. Crystal smiled and dragged Roger over to where her mother was sitting. After hugs and kisses from her parents, Crystal smiled at Roger.
"Mom, dad, this is Roger Davis, the man Mark set me up with at work." Crystal introduced Roger to her parents.
"Nice to meet you, Roger." George greeted him, shaking his hand. Roger smiled and shook George's hand.
"I'm so glad that Crystal finally got rid of that abusive boyfriend of hers and found a handsome young man." Nadine said as Roger and Crystal sat down, Crystal next to her dad and Roger on the other side of her.
"What's for lunch?" Roger asked, looking at the menu in front of him. Crystal poked him in the ribs with her elbow just as a waitress came up to their table and poured them water.
"Thank you, Sandra." Nadine thanked the waitress. Sandra nodded and got out a pen and paper to write down orders.
"I'll have the stuffed crab with the classic garden salad and a glass of white wine." George told her, handing her his menu.
"I'll have the classic garden salad with honey dressing and the soup of the day." Crystal said, handing Sandra her menu.
"That sounds good. I'll have the same." Roger piped up, handing Sandra his menu.
"Anything to drink, sir?" Sandra asked Roger.
"Yeah, Diet Coke." Roger answered.
"What about for you, miss?" Sandra asked Nadine.
"I'll have what my husband's having, thank you." Nadine told Sandra, handing the waitress her menu. Sandra nodded and disappeared, taking the menus with her. As soon as she was out of earshot, Nadine started asking Roger questions about his childhood. Before long, there were questions about his old girlfriends.
"Well, I only had two - April and Mimi." Roger answered, taking a sip of his water.
"Are they still alive?" Nadine asked. Roger shook his head and swallowed his water.
"What happened to them?" George inquired.
"They both died. April in a car crash and Mimi during childbirth." Roger lied. He didn't want to tell them the real reason - AIDS because he was afraid that it might make his girlfriend's parents not like him anymore. Only Crystal knew that April and Mimi had died from AIDS and she had promised not to tell her parents while they were at lunch.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Roger." Nadine apologized.
"It's okay. You didn't know." Roger whispered.
"Moving on to a happier subject, when are you two gonna get married?" George inquired, making Crystal choke on the strawberry she had been eating. Roger patted her back and took her hand in his.
"Daddy! What ever gave you the impression that we were gonna get married?" Crystal asked.
"I can see how much in love you two are." George answered, smiling at Roger. Roger smiled back and took a sip of his Diet Coke. Crystal just rolled her eyes and started a conversation with her mom. She looks exactly like her mom Roger thought, but was pulled back to reality when his food was set in front of him.
"Here's a toast to Roger and Crystal, may they live happily ever after." George raised his wine glass and motioned for Crystal, Roger and Nadine to do the same.
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An hour later, Crystal and Roger decided to head back to the loft. On the car ride back, Crystal rested her head on Roger's shoulder and fell asleep. Roger stroked her soft hair and kissed her cheek. He was so happy that Mark had introduced the couple to each other. He didn't know where he would be without Crystal in his life.
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The cab pulled up to the apartment building twenty minutes later. Roger handed the driver a twenty and carried Crystal up to the three flights of stairs to the loft. Her dad's right a voice inside Roger's head spoke up you two should get married and move the hell away from here. Roger shook his head and opened the door to the loft. As he entered, he saw Destiny and Mark snuggled together on the couch. They had fallen asleep while watching a movie on TV. Deciding not to disturb them, Roger carried Crystal to a spare room and put her on the bed, fully clothed. He then kissed her cheek and let himself out of the room.
"Hey Mark." Roger whispered. Mark straightened his glasses and looked up at the towering figure.
"Hey Roger." Mark whispered back. He sat up and stretched.
"Good movie?" Roger inquired. Mark nodded. Roger smiled.
"Caitlyn and Jason asleep?" Roger asked. Mark nodded sleepily.
"Where's Crystal?" Mark inquired. Roger made a sign with his hands that she was sleeping. Mark nodded, smiled and slowly stood up.
"I'm going to bed. Both of us have work tomorrow." Mark said, indicating to Destiny, who was now curled in a ball. Roger smiled as Mark scooped Destiny in his arms and carried her to their room. Roger decided that he would go to bed, too, since everyone else was. He went to the room where Crystal was and laid down next to her, thoughts of Mimi, Angel and Collins bouncing around in his head.
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The next morning, Roger and Crystal woke up to the smell of something wonderful. It smelled like omelets, pancakes and sausage. Roger looked over at Crystal, who had changed into one of Roger's oversized sleep shirts sometime during the night.
"Wonder who's cooking?" Crystal croaked, stretching. Roger shrugged his shoulders and swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Crystal smiled and walked out of the room.
"Morning sleepyheads!" Maureen's cheery voice greeted Crystal and Roger as they came into the kitchen. Sophia was in a playpen in the middle of the living area, fast asleep.
"What the heck is going on here?" Destiny inquired, coming out of her and Mark's room, Mark right behind her. Caitlyn and Jason were still asleep.
"Hey Maureen. What are you doing here?" Mark asked as Destiny went to wake up Caitlyn and Jason.
"Joanne kicked me out of our apartment, so I decided to come here." Maureen informed him, putting pancakes onto a plate and carrying it out to the balcony.
"Mo, where are you going with our breakfast?" Roger questioned, his stomach growling.
"It's a beautiful day, so we're eating out on the balcony today!" Maureen explained, excited. Roger took Crystal's hand in his and walked out to the balcony. Crystal stopped halfway to the balcony, blushing.
"What is it?" Roger asked, standing behind her and putting his arms around her waist.
"Imnotwearinganythingundermynightshirt." she mumbled.
"What?" Roger inquired, gently kissing her neck.
"I said - I'm not wearing anything under my nightshirt." she whispered.
"Let me get you some sweatpants. I'll be right back, sweetie." Roger pulled away from her and went to get a pair of faded blue sweatpants. He smiled and handed them to his girlfriend.
"Thanks." she sat down on the couch and put them on.
"Feel better?" Roger asked, kissing her forehead. Crystal nodded and walked out to the balcony.
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After breakfast, Roger and Crystal decided to stay home and watch Jason and Sophia for Maureen and the Cohen's. Caitlyn was going to school and then was going over to a friend's house.
"I've been thinking about what your dad said yesterday at lunch." Roger started, picking up Sophia and holding her close. "I think we should get married someday."
"Really?" Crystal inquired, picking up Jason and bouncing him in her lap. He giggled and wrapped a hand around Crystal's left index finger. She smiled and kissed his forehead. Roger smiled and put Sophia back in the playpen.
"Yeah - you're gonna be a great mom some day." Roger told her.
"Aww. Thanks sweetie. You're gonna be an awesome dad, well I know you already are - you have Jules and she loves you very much." Crystal said, tears rolling down her cheeks. Roger frowned and pulled her into his lap. He never liked to see Crystal sad, hurt or depressed.
"Shh, it's okay, sweetie." Roger soothed as he gently rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair and caressing her in kisses. After a while of holding Crystal, he sat her on the couch and went to get something from his room. She watched him curiously, drying the tears from her eyes. He returned a while later, carrying a small box. Crystal pulled her knees to her chest as Roger kneeled in front of her.
"Crystal Michelle Stewarts, will you marry me?" Roger asked, blinking tears out of his eyes.
"Oh my God! Roger!" she squealed. That was Mimi's reaction when I asked her to marry me Roger thought.
"So, I take that as a 'yes?'" Roger inquired, taking the ring out of the box. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a plain gold band.
"As close to a yes as you'll ever get!" she laugh/cried. Roger smiled and slipped the ring on her left ring finger. It fit perfectly. Roger kissed her passionately, his hands on her waist. She laced her fingers together behind Roger's neck. He kissed her deeply, his hands making their way up her T-shirt. That's when she pulled away and straightened her T-shirt.
"What?" Roger asked. Crystal nodded her head at Jason and Sophia, both of whom were sleeping soundly.
"Oh. Forgot about them." Roger said, sheepishly. Crystal giggled and sat in Roger's lap, resting her head on his shoulder. He knew that they would be so happy together, no matter what.
