"Olive, are you almost ready? Callie said she'll be here in 10!" Mom called out to me.
Tonight, Callie was taking both Mom and I out for dinner. Different from usual.
"Yeah. I'm getting my shoes on now." I said just loud enough for her to hear.
She walked into my room. "Do I look ok?" She asked, tilting her head a little. She had on dark jeans that were tight at the top and flared at the bottom, black heels, and a black blouse that was loose, but then had strings that tied around her waist. Very teenager-like of her. I was 100% sure I could name minimum 6 people in my grade who owned that same top.
I looked up at her. "You look beautiful, Mom." I reassured, smiling at her. I tied my other shoe and then stood up. "What about me?" I giggled, striking a pose. I had gone for tan, loose pants, black high-top-converse, and a bright white, flowy shirt. Not my typical look, but cute nonetheless.
Mom's face lit up, "You're perfect." She told me.
I smiled more, "Thanks. Where are we going to eat, anyway?" Mom told me to dress nicely, but hadn't told me where exactly we would be going.
"Some Italian place in the next town over. Callie said her coworkers said it was good." Mom shrugged.
"I'll never turn down pasta." I said, making Mom shake her head in amusement.
Casual conversation filled up the car ride, and apparently Callie had made reservations. The place was a little fancier than I had dressed for, but it wasn't like anyone was paying attention to my outfit that much, anyway.
Callie and Mom sat next to each other. I sat across. I didn't mind. They were dating- they should sit next to each other. I could see the hesitance on Mom's face at first, but I flashed her a smile and nodded at her, letting her know it was fine.
Callie seemed a little off. Maybe nervous. At least, that's what I thought. About being out to dinner with us? I don't know, it seemed a little weird to be nervous about that, I guess.
After we ordered our drinks, Callie cleared her throat.
"I have something really big to ask you guys." Callie looked between both of us.
I tilted my head in curiosity. This had to be the source of her nerves.
"Go ahead" Mom encouraged.
Callie waited a moment. "Well, I was on the phone with my dad, and... it kinda just came up that I was dating someone."
Mom nodded along.
"So... my parents invited you both to dinner Saturday night." She seemed hesitant to say that. "I told them I would ask you... so... this is me asking if you would like to meet my parents?"
I watched Mom.
She looked happy, at first, then she looked at me.
Personally, I didn't know what to feel. I knew that my mom's parents didn't like that she had me so young(who would like that) but they were mean to her about it. What if bringing me made Callie's parents not like Mom?
Old people don't tend to like teen parents. Or gay people. Nothing against old people. I just feel like that's a common thing.
Callie's parents had to at least tolerate gay people- I mean... they had to know Callie was dating a woman. But, what if they hated teen parents? What if that was where they drew the line?
I think my slight panic was visible.
Mom was quick with an answer, as Callie seemed rather anxious for a response.
"That is... very sweet of you to ask, Calliope." She smiled. "I would love to, but can I maybe talk to Liv about it first? Tell you our final answer tomorrow?"
Oh god.
"Oh yeah totally!!" Callie's voice was quick and high pitched. "Of course!"
I looked down at the table. I didn't know what to say or think. I felt nervous.
"My parents are nice, I promise!" Callie rambled. "They are... tolerant... of me being bisexual."
New information. I hadn't known Callie was bisexual. Not that that really mattered, anyway.
"I told them about you, Liv, and they're excited to meet you!" Callie directed toward me.
I looked up at her.
She smiled reassuringly.
"You two talk it over. I get it if you decide not to." Her eyes were sweet and caring. Her nerves had faded back into the usual Callie, the Callie I had gotten to know, the Callie I had begun to really enjoy. "My sister won't be there, just my parents... but I could try and force her to come," Callie laughed.
"You have a sister?" I asked, a slight attempt to shift the topic ever so slightly. But, also because I hadn't known that.
"I do!" Callie smiled brightly at my question. "She's three years older than me. Aria. That's her name."
I nodded slowly, seeing Mom smile knowingly.
"That's nice..." I gave her a smile back, though I was still unsure of what I would tell Mom later.
I couldn't get over the fact that Callie said they knew about me. Did that mean they knew Mom had me young?
I found myself a lot more worried about potential backlash Mom would receive.
I knew Mom was happy with Callie. Meeting Callie's parents was a risky step. So much could go wrong- it always went wrong in the stupid romcom TV shows.
If you can't tell, that's the only thing I have to compare things to.
But, I didn't want it to go wrong for Mom and Callie. It risked Mom getting hurt. And, she had been doing so well recently.
Meeting the parents was also made out to mean huge commitment on TV. It had only been a little over a month, I think. That felt pretty short.
Then again, I had nothing to compare it to. This was the first time my mom had ever dated. So, I had no way of knowing how soon is too soon to 'meet the parents.'
I also found it all-around risky that I somehow was also meeting Callie's parents. Mom could totally leave me home and go herself.
But I also saw the point of Callie wanting us both to go. Mom and I were kind of a package deal, considering the fact that I am a minor. So, why not kill two birds with one stone and introduce us together? It made sense. Sucked for me- and potentially sucked for Mom- but made sense.