All parents in the world love and cherish their children, especially Tracy who had been staying with the Waters family for the past few days. Mrs. Waters knew exactly how Nana was feeling, and when Jerry brought it up, she looked reluctant to talk about it.
Jerry didn’t like what he heard. He had been protecting Nana since birth, holding her carefully in his hands so as not to drop her or let her melt away like candy. How could she be subjected to such mistreatment by the Waters family?
Although he was more composed than Tracy, Jerry still looked serious as he put down what he was holding and asked, “Is this true? I thought Carl woke up?”
“Yes,” Tracy sighed heavily. “It was only after Carl woke up that his mother started treating Nana better. Otherwise, who knows what kind of mistreatment she would have suffered.”
“How could they bully her like this?” Jerry said sternly. Although Carl’s situation was caused by Nana, no one can predict matters of the heart.
The Waters family was wrong for bullying Nana.
After a while, there was a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” Jerry and Tracy exchanged glances before Tracy spoke up.
The door opened to reveal Mr. Waters walking in; seeing him made Tracy relax a little bit. Compared to Mrs. Waters, Mr. Waters seemed more reasonable and understanding.
“This is Carl’s father,” Tracy whispered softly as she stood up while looking at Jerry before turning towards Mr. Waters with a smile, “Mr. Waters! What brings you here? Is Carl feeling better now? I didn’t get a chance to visit him today because I had to pick my husband from the airport.”
“Oh! You’re Nana’s father!” Mr. Waters greeted them both warmly but then focused on shaking hands with Jerry out of courtesy, “Hello there!”
“Hello,” Jerry smiled slightly but appeared more reserved than Mr. Waters; nodding lightly instead of shaking hands enthusiastically like him.
“Well… Nana told me that you guys have booked rooms here,” Mr. Waters continued speaking after exchanging pleasantries with them both, “Now that Carl has woken up too… I thought we could all come over for dinner at our place tonight and discuss our children’s marriage proposal together.”
Taking a deep breath first, this seemed like his best solution right now. Besides he also noticed how well-behaved Nana had been lately which made him think highly of her character as well-being an excellent daughter-in-law candidate for their son’s future happiness too!
“Okay, that’s settled.” Tracy hesitated for a moment, not looking forward to facing Mrs. Waters, but this was something they needed to discuss together. After seeing Jerry’s expression, she thought about it and nodded her head.
Mr. Waters finally relaxed and said with a smile, “Since you both agree, why don’t we go back now? Carl said he went home with Nana earlier and misses you guys.”
…
Jerry and Tracy had bought some nutritional supplements for Carl since he had just recovered from a serious illness. When they arrived at the Waters family’s house and Mrs. Waters saw Nana’s parents there, even though Mrs. Waters was reluctant in her heart, she put on a good face and greeted them politely.
Nana was overjoyed to see her parents again as well as Carl who had just come downstairs when the parents arrived. “Mr. and Mrs. Lawson! You’ve finally come! I heard you just arrived in Guavo today. Are you tired? Are you getting used to it?”
“I’m doing pretty well actually,” replied Jerry with an easy smile. “Carl, make sure you take care of yourself after being discharged from the hospital.”
Jerry saw that Carl looked much better now than before his illness; they exchanged pleasantries before he patted him lightly on the shoulder.
Mrs. Waters watched everyone enjoying themselves happily but felt uncomfortable inside because although Rory was invited by Nana herself this time around; thinking back on how much Carl had fought for Nana in the past made her feel uneasy.
Soon it was dinner time; everyone sat face-to-face at the table while Carl and Nana sat at one end of it all, seeing each other nervously like two opposing armies readying themselves for battle…
“The food is ready,” Mr. Waters announced breaking up any tension that may have been building up around them all evening long.
“Nana’s father has just gotten off a plane so I’m sure he must be hungry too! Come try our cooking out!” He smiled trying his best to lighten things up again.
Everyone began eating one by one while Nana turned towards Carl seeking comfort, “Why am I so nervous?” She whispered softly.
She knew this meeting would be about discussing their engagement plans since Mr. Waters had already mentioned it beforehand but seeing how nervous her own parents were made her feel uneasy too.
Carl glanced over at her then shook his head slightly before squeezing gently onto hers under cover of their shared tablecloth, “It’ll be okay. Don’t worry about anything.”
After eating for a while, Mr. Waters estimated that it was about time and spoke up in a deliberate manner, “Actually, the reason I invited you two over for dinner this time is to discuss the marriage of our two children. After all, Carl has finally woken up and Nana is carrying his child. If we keep delaying the wedding, it won’t be good for both of our families.”
Nana lowered her eyes and slowed down her fork movements. This day was bound to come sooner or later but she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.
“I understand,” Jerry put down his fork at this point and wiped his mouth with a napkin before saying seriously to Mr. Waters, “Carl’s father, you also know that Nana’s mother and I have raised Nana with great care since she was young. Although what happened was unexpected, we all know that Carl is a good kid. If you’re talking about marriage… we are also relieved to entrust Nana to him.”
“However, I have only one request,” Jerry looked up again,” As long as Carl treats Nana well like his own daughter then everything will be fine; otherwise our child marrying into your family won’t be easy.”
Mrs. Waters sat next to Mr. Waters with an obvious frown on her face during dinner which became even more pronounced now after hearing Jerry speak like this.
“I understand your concerns; every parent loves their child dearly but don’t forget if it weren’t for Nana, how would our son have gotten into an accident? Although he’s better now…”