I spent the next few days finishing up finals and getting ready to go home for winter break. I had made it through my first semester of college and I felt proud of the work that I had done. I finally had the time to tell my Dad that I wasn't going to be at this opening of his building. He was disappointed but was understanding as to why I chose the cruise instead of the opening. When I was done with my last final of the semester, I helped my parents bring down some boxes to the car and I went back in the dorm to say bye to some of the friends that I had made. I said bye to Ryan last.
"I know this isn't saying bye for a while because I will see you in a couple of days to go on the cruise. So I guess it's bye for right now". I said as I hugged him and waved back to him as I made my way back to the car. I opened the car door to see my brothers laughing.
"What. What is so funny?" I asked them a little annoyed that I had to spend more than a month with them. Frankie was the first one to speak.
"Dad asked Mom if that guy you hugged was your boyfriend. We were-" He was cut off by my father's voice.
"Hey! It was a reasonable thing to ask right. I'm just waiting for the day that you bring home your first real boyfriend to Thanksgiving or Christmas." I was about to respond when there was a knock at the window. It was Ryan holding one ticket in his hand.
"Oooh, it's her boyfriend!" Tommy whispered to Frankie and they both started laughing again. I rolled my eyes and opened the door.
"Here's the ticket for the cruise. I wanted to give it to you in case I didn't see you until we were on the cruise." He handed me the ticket and waved to my mother and father sitting in the front seat. "Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Rizzoli for allowing Jane to come on this cruise." He smiled and my parents looked like they were already planning the wedding in their heads.
"Oh, we are so happy for Jane to have this journey to go on. Just take good care of her." My mother responded.
"Ma!" I quickly spat back. Ryan laughed and nodded his head. He closed the door and my father started the car.
"He's such a gentleman too. I like him a lot, Janie!" My mother said while looking back at me.
"Then why don't you go marry him then." I responded feeling happy with my sarcastic response. She ignored my response and I plugged in my headphones. I blocked out the talk between my parents about how Ryan was the perfect guy and how they hoped this cruise would bring us closer together. I looked out the window and texted Ryan.
"You sure did make an impression on my parents. They can't stop talking about how you're such a gentleman and you're 'Mr. Perfect'"
He responded back quickly.
"Oh haha. Yeah, I'm 'Mr. Perfect'. They clearly don't know me that well. But they can keep thinking that, I could get used to being called that.
I responded back.
"Don't get used to it. Haha. I can't wait to go on this cruise in a few days! I'm so excited!"
He responded.
"Well, I'm glad you're excited. I am too actually. I just can't believe that my brother is actually settling down and marrying a girl. He's been such a player that I thought he would never get married. But I guess people can surprise you. I gotta go though, packing some more before I leave. Talk to you soon. :)"
I saw the message and changed the song. I spent most of the car ride looking out the window thinking about the cruise and how much fun it could be. I realized that I didn't actually know a lot about Ryan's family. I knew that he had two brothers and one sister, but I didn't know their names. I was excited to meet his family and have a week without my family. Don't get me wrong, I love my family but they can be just a little too much at times. I was ready to be with Ryan, celebrating his brother's marriage. Little did I know, I would soon be very surprised, and not in a good way.