I let my head hit the back of the couch. “Ma I’m not interested!” I barked.
“Why? Do you have something more important to do?” She began to yell at me.
“No I just want to choose the man I want!” I bitched back.
“The men you want do not exist. They live only in your books!” She pointed at my overstocked bookshelves. “Do you think I loved your father when we first met?” Ah here we go again.
“I know ma I know, love comes after years of going through troubles. I get it already.” I exasperated.
“You are a stupid girl!” She continued, so I guess it will be takeout tonight. What should I order? I was going through the menu choices as she berated me with the stupid choices I made for myself, making me end up alone and lonely in her eyes. I was so far gone in my mind, a defense mechanism that I picked up that I hadn’t notice she stopped talking.
“Alexia?” His voice threw me for a loop. I jolted out of my daze and stared at Lukas standing in my living room. I turned to see my mother’s mouth slightly opened making a small o. Lukas bowed a little and extended his hand. “I’m Lukas Blakk.” He said flashing his million dollar smile, not knowing that it didn’t work with Greek moms.
He sat himself down in the cushy armchair after my mom ignored his hand. He was flanked by both of us just staring at me.
“Did I come at a bad time?” He asked me.
“No, it’s ok.” I whispered back.
“Ma, this is Lukas.” I smiled. Her eyes told me she would make sure she knew how she felt afterwards.
“Alexia…” she said in a loud Greek voice “I do not like him. You will come tomorrow night to the house and meet Manoli.” She reached for her coffee and ignored his presence completely.
“What’s a Manoli?” Lukas asked, obviously picking up the most appropriate word out of my mother’s Greek.
She turned to him in her broken English. “He is a boy I want her to meet, to marry. Understand?”
Lukas smiled unbuttoning his suit jacket and leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. “Not going to happen.” He said calmly looking straight at my mother, still smiling I may add.
“What?” She cried.
“Alexia and I started dating and I’m very interested in your daughter and I would like it if you stop setting her up with idiots that will never understand her.” Holy shit, was he being serious?
“She is my daughter and I look out for her happiness!” My mother retorted.
“Yes, you’re her mother but I’m her lover and I know what she needs and wants. And what she doesn’t want is for you to tell her who she can or cannot marry.”
I stood up after his comment to my mother. “Lukas I can handle this.” I walked over to the kitchen and my mother followed
“What are you doing?” She screamed in Greek.
“What I have always been doing.” I said to her calmly not trying to make this worse.
“You are the most selfish child. We gave you everything and you still disobey us, when will your rebellion stop?” I couldn’t stop the tears form coming, fuck, I pinched my eyes closed. I knew I was a selfish person she told me every day. She loved me and only wanted what she thought would bring me happiness, never did she think that what she wanted was nothing that I dreamed of.
“I love you but you need to stop this now.” She stood not two feet away from me with an incredulous look on her face. Fuck she did not take any of this well.
“If you loved me you would do as I say.” She had opened up her repertoire and taken out the emergency comments. I wiped the tears away.
“I do love you, as I get older I love you more, your wisdom, your hard work ethic, even your humor. But at one point I need to love me more.” She nodded her head in disapproval. “You always have.”
She then pointed at Lukas “and him? Who is he?” I didn’t bother looking at him.
“We’re dating.” I said in Greek.
“Dating? Will he marry you?” I just starting seeing him, it was too soon to tell where all this was going, she didn’t bother to wait for my reply.
“Will you marry my daughter?” She asked him.
“MA!” I screamed. Lukas stood from his seat and walked over to where my mother was.
“I plan to.” He reassured her, she gave him her most questionable eyes.
“I do not trust you.” She walked by him and picked up her purse, “I expect you there tomorrow night.” She said in English making sure he would understand as she stormed out.
I wiped whatever tears I had left. Lukas waited for me to say something.
“I like the kitchen.” I gave him a fake smile.