April and Jackson had been living in their new apartment for two weeks already. They still had things they needed to unpack and they made time for it after work and during breaks since the apartment was so close to the hospital. They had both finished their shift for the day and headed home. April had decorated the kitchen and she added some flowers to the counter.
"How does it look?" She asked Jackson.
"Great because you're in it." Jackson said as he walked over to her and gave her a kiss.
"You're going to make us late for dinner with my parents." She laughed. Her parents had finally came in from Moline. She was really excited to see them, but she was also happy they were going to meet Jackson.
"They can wait a few minutes.. Or hours." He said as he kissed her and walked over to the bedroom with her. They had sex and then they started getting ready for dinner. They walked over to a new Italian restaurant that had opened in the neighborhood. They got a table and waited on her parents to show. Jackson was extremely nervous, this was the first time he ever wanted to make a good impression on a girlfriends parents. Right then an older couple walked in and walked over to the table.
"April - We missed you so much." The lady said as April got up and gave both of them a hug.
"Mom, dad - this is my boyfriend Jackson. Jackson these are my parents, Karen and Joe." April said.
"Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Kepner." Jackson said as he shook both their hands. They all sat down and ordered.
"So honey, how's work?" Joe asked.
"Great, I passed my boards and now I'm a general surgeon." She said.
"And Jackson, you work at the hospital too?" Her mom asked.
"Yes, I'm a plastic surgeon ma'am." He responded.
"Oh that's great. You keep her on her toes all the time, okay? Make sure she's on top of her game." Karen said.
"She's a great surgeon." Jackson smiled.
"April we miss you. We were in your old room last week and we were looking at that portrait you have up of the farm - your mom started crying." He laughed.
"I'm going through menopause." Her mom laughed.
"Oh mom." April said.
"We thought you'd like to have it." Her dad said as he look the portrait out of a bag.
"This is great - we could put it up in our bedroom." April smiled to Jackson.
"Your bedroom? As in both of you?" Her mom asked in shock. Both April and Jackson stood silent.
"April you're not married. How could you - We raised you better than that." Her mom cried as she walked to the bathroom. April followed her there.
"Mom I -" April began before her mom cut her off.
"We didn't raise you the way we did so you can come to Seattle and throw it all away on a boy." Her mom shouted at her.
"A boy? Mom I love him." She responded.
"You don't even know what love is. You're still a girl." Her mom said.
"But I'm not though. That's what you don't understand. You need to stop babying me. You have all these thoughts in your head of who you want me to be, but I like who I am." April responded as she walked out. She headed back to the table and got Jackson and her father.
"I guess dinner's over." Joe said. They all left the restaurant and Jackson and April went home while April's parents went to their hotel
"I don't know if she'll ever forgive me." April cried to Jackson and he hugged her.
"I'll be back." Jackson said as he got his jacket and left. He went over to their hotel and saw them waiting in the lobby.
"With all due respect, I love your daughter very much. If I didn't see a future with her, I wouldn't have asked her to move in with me. But I do and just because we're not married right now, doesn't mean we won't be down the line. Now she cares about you guys and wants your approval. So can you please look beyond marriage and look at the fact that we love each other more than any legal paper could say?" He asked them. They both stood in silence. He shook his head and went back home. April and Jackson were laying on the couch while watching tv when they heard a knock on the door. April went to go open.
"Mom what are you doing here?" April asked.
"I know sometimes my expectations are unrealistic, but it's only because I love you and want the best for you." Her mom responded as she hugged her. "And maybe this young man is just that." She said looking at Jackson. They said their goodbyes and the Kepners left. April couldn't have been more happy than she was at this moment.
"I can't believe they came back. I wonder what changed their minds." April said as she cuddled up with Jackson on the couch.
"Yea me too." He responded. He kissed her forehead and right then his phone rang. He picked up to his mothers voice.
"Jackson, it's your grandfather." His mother cried.