09.01.06
the parents
So I met A's parents yesterday. The plan was to meet his mother and sister but his Dad put in an unplanned appearance as well. Everyone froze when his car pulled up in the driveway, they just kept moving their eyes around the room, looking at each other but sliding right by me. When he came in A introduced me as his "friend Alana". He stared at me for a second and then shook my hand. He sat down with us in the lounge and asked me a few questions about myself and then went to make some phone calls. He wasn't there for long at all, he left soon after without the explosion that everyone was expecting. He was quiet and calm and quite nice. Extremely suprising!
His mother and sister were lovely as well. They sat down and talked with me for a little while but we were all a little nervous and unsure of what to say to each other. So A, his sister and myself watched a Hindi film together in the lounge while his mother cooked us dinner. It was pretty funny and we spent a lot of time just paying the movie out. His mother came in and checked on us a couple of times, she was worried at me being so quiet. After the film we had some dinner. A told me after we left that the Korma his mother made is something she only makes for special guests and her serving me was also a really lovely gesture, appartly its a really motherly thing for her to do.
What suprised me most about the visit was our goodbyes. Just before we left, A left his mother, sister and myself alone to talk for a while. It was really nice, we actually developed something of a conversation, awkward, but not as awkward as before. Then when we got up to leave A's mother pulled me into a hug and kissed me on the cheek. I was so suprised, I wasn't expecting it at all. I really appreciated the gesture, combined with everything else it made me feel like she really accepted me. According to A she thought I was really lovely, pretty and demure! So, all in all the visit went about as well as it possibly could and I don't feel so worried about A moving out of home anymore.
I called my parents tonight just to check how their holidays were, see how it was being back at work. I told Dad about my visit to A's parents and he was really happy for me. After I'd told him all about it and discussed the ramifications of it he said, "yes well, I hope you'll tell your mother". So it turns out that my guesses about my mother's thoughts on A and I moving in together were correct, she is worried about his family and the difference in culture. So I told her about the visit and about A's mother and she didn't seem noticably relieved. I'm not quite sure how to take her reaction. I thought she'd be really happy about it, and she was, just not as happy as I expected her to be. I guess her fear runs fairly deep.
Dy and Simon found a place on the weekend and they're moving in this weekend. I came home today to find boxes all over my living room and after I've helped them move on Saturday the place is going to be empty, or rather half empty. I'll spend a week here on my own with just my stuff before I move the weekend after. It's going to be a strange, strange week. I just wish that the waiting was done already. I'm ready to move, the house in Newtown is empty, I'm just waiting to sign the lease.
I can't believe how much stuff is happening these days.
9:19 p.m.