Millie
Today was my mums birthday BBQ and the first time that Max was going to meet my parents. I was nervous and so was Max but after everything that's happened I didn't even want to go. Me and Max have been working on our relationship after all the issues we had about him lying to me about Helena. He promised me it was the only time he lied and he would do anything he can to prove to me he loved me and only wanted me. I didn't doubt he loved me and I didn't doubt he wanted to be with me, the biggest thing to me in a relationship is trust and Max broke it with his lying. He told me he called Helena and told her to leave him alone but I wasn't present for the conversation so I wasn't sure what was really said.
My mother could read people like a book and I was worried she would notice that me and Max were having issues and she would question me about them, I couldn't lie to her so I would have to tell her the truth. I didn't want her to have a bad opinion of him the first time that they meet, first impressions were everything and if she wasn't 100% satisfied with our relationship then Max would know about it. I obviously didn't want that to happen so me and Max promised each other we would be on our best behaviour and pretend to be the happiest couple in the world that have no problems. It was for only one afternoon so hopefully we could manage it, Max would be fine, he does this stuff at work all the time on cases but I'm more of an open book. The test was really on me.
As Max wanted to make a good impression on my parents he made sure he knew everything he was supposed to know and he made an effort with his outfit. He wore a clean and crisp white shirt with the top two buttons open. He wore a pair of his new jeans that made his bum look great, I picked them out of course, he also put on his new black shoes which were supposed to be for work but I let him wear them for today. It was a special occasion after all. I wasn't sure what to wear at first but I went with a light pink high waisted skirt and a white over sized top tucked into the skirt. I put on my nude kitten heels and left my make up light. Max preferred it when I looked more natural, he said it made me look more beautiful.
When we were ready I made sure we had everything we would need before leaving the apartment, Max insisted we take his new car. It was a Ford Fiesta with a 2014 plate, he had brought it new from the showroom and wanted to drive it everywhere, it was his baby. I had to admit that I did like the car a lot, although it looked small it was really quite spacious on the outside and it was smooth to drive, I was only allowed to drive it the once. Max wanted to show it off obviously so he can prove to them he had the financials to look after their daughter, the car cost nearly £15,000 and you could tell by looking at it.
Thankfully the drive to my parents wasn't all that long so within 10 minutes we had reached our destination, Max pulled into the driveway and cut off the engine. I looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile before we got out of the car. We made our way through the back gate, like my mother had instructed, and walked into the back garden where my parents were already entertaining guests "Hi mum" I said as we approached her, she turned around and hugged me "Happy birthday" I said and kissed her cheek.
"Oh thank you baby" She replied as I handed her a gift bag with her present and card inside.
"Mum this is Max, Max this is my mother Jennifer" I said as I introduced the two.
My mum hugged Max and he hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek "Happy birthday" He said.
"Thank you" She replied "Let's go and see your father" She stated and started walking off towards a crowd, me and Max followed behind her and she reached them before she did "Millie is here with her boyfriend" I heard her tell him.
"Excuse me" He said to the people he was standing with and took the couple of steps towards us.
"Hi daddy" I greeted and hugged him "Dad this is Max, Max this is my dad David" I told him.
The two men shook hands and my dad started asking questions about how work was going and he started talking to Max about CID work. My mum disappeared but came back a few moments later with a beer for Max and a wine for me, Max said he would only have the one as he was driving and he didn't want to wreck his new car. He's been itching to tell someone since we came here it was a new car, he knew my dad liked cars so it started a new conversation between the two of them. Me and my mum started our own conversation but soon my dad and Max disappeared, I'm assuming it was to have a look at Max's car. This was the perfect time for me to ask my mum what she thought of Max now that he wasn't here to listen in.
"So what do you think?" I asked her.
"He seems really nice and hardworking. I know we didn't really want you to be with another police officer but you two seem to be making it work, so far so good" She told me.
"Yeah he's not so bad" I replied.
"Well doesn't sound too convincing" She commented.
"His ex has been causing trouble" I told her.
"Well like I said he seems nice so hopefully he'll tell her to back off" She said "How was it meeting his parents?" She asked.
"His mum, Paulina, she hates me. She kept going on about Max needing a housewife, not a career woman and according to Max, Paulina pushed for Max and the ex Helena to get together in the first place. She's a good Polish girl who is more then willing to be a housewife to Max" I explained to her "His dad seemed really nice though and he seemed like he wanted to get to know me" I added.
"I don't think she hates you, she probably wanted something different for Max like me and your father wanted for you. At the end of the day I'm sure when she realised how happy you and Max are she'll warm up to the you and she won't even remember Helen's name" She said.
"Helena" I corrected.
"It doesn't matter what her name is, Max is in love with you. I can see it in his eyes and I don't think he will stray" She told me.
"You seem to know a lot about him considering you met him ten minutes ago" I stated a little irritated but then I felt bad, it was her birthday after all "Sorry" I said.
"It's ok. I know it can be tough when ex's come out of the woodwork and cause trouble" She told me.
Max and my dad came back, they both looked slightly pleased with themselves. My dad went over to my mother and kissed her and Max made his way over to me "Are you ok?" He asked and I nodded in response, he wrapped his arm around me and placed a kiss on the top of his head "Your parents seem a lot better then mine" He commented.
"My mum likes you, she thinks you're really nice and you seem hardworking" I said.
"Your dad is pretty cool, he was telling about some of the cars he's owned in the past. Some real classics. I showed him the new car and I think he was impressed with it, especially when I told him how much it cost" He said.
For the rest of the party me and Max mingled with family and friends, I introduced him to everyone and everyone seemed to think he was really nice. There were no dramas and both of my parents seemed happy with him, it went better then I expected it to go but me and Max decided that we should go when it reached 10pm. Mainly because the wine was started to have an effect on me, Max was getting a little bored as everyone was drinking but him and we both had work tomorrow so after saying goodbye to my parents we slipped out.
As Max pulled out of the driveway we smiled at each other, today couldn't have gone better. My parents seemed to like him and he seemed to like them. We managed to act like we didn't have any problems going on behind closed doors and my mum reassured me that Max loved me "Shall I take you home?" He asked as he started driving.
"No, let's go to your place" I replied with a smiled which Max matched.
Max stopped the car in his normal parking space and sitting on the curb outside the building was a woman with long brown hair, she noticed the car and stood up. She was wearing a black playsuit matched with some wedges. I had to admit that she was a beautiful woman, I looked over at Max who looked like he had just seen a ghost "Who is it?" I asked him.
"Helena" He replied
