I knew something was up the moment i saw my mom's name flash on my phone screen.
"MOMMY š šš©āāļø" ā yes, that's her name in my contacts, and yes, she made me put all those emojis.
"Elara," she said, no hi, no good morning, just straight-upĀ ElaraĀ in that tone she uses when she's either about to give me a Birkin or arrest me emotionally.
"Hi, Ma? Is this the one where you love me or the one where you tell me i've disappointed the family name again?"
"Come home. Tonight. 7 PM. Bring that boy."
"That boy? What boy?" I asked, even though we both knew what boy she meant.
"Cairo. Bring him. We have to talk."
And just like that, I knew i was doomed.
I stood in front of my closet like a woman preparing for war.
"This is not just a dinner," I muttered, flipping through my clothes. "This is a trap disguised as lasagna and awkward questions."
I called Cairo.
"Hey," I said the moment he picked up. "My mom wants to talk. Tonight. At our place. And she wants you there."
"Talk about what?"
"I don't know, maybe your intentions with her only daughter or if your family plans to offer twelve cows and a hectare of land for me."
"ā¦Twelve cows?"
"Focus, Cairo. This is serious."
After a moment of silence, he said, "Okay. I'll come with you."
-
We arrived at exactly 6:59 PM because i didn't want to give them a reason to say,Ā "You're already late to your own engagement dinner."
Cairo looked dashing, of course.
Like he just stepped out of a K-drama, smelling like expensive cologne and quiet panic.
I looked like i curled my hair twice out of stress, wore my lucky earrings, and said three novenas before walking in.
We rang the doorbell.
The door opened, and there stood my momāin pearls, power shoulder pads, and judgment.
And the first thing she said?
"So when's the wedding?"
I. Choked. On. Air.
Cairo froze beside me.
"W-Wedding? We're still young and cute," I said, already sweating. "And... we love each other in a very aesthetic, Instagrammable way, and we plan to enjoy that first before... you know... becoming legally one."
My dad appeared from the kitchen, holding a glass of red wine like he was in an Italian mafia movie. "But if you do get married, I have a venue in Tuscany in mind."
"Okay!" I clapped my hands nervously. "How about we all sit and pretend we're normal?"
The night was already spiraling when the doorbell rang again.
And when i say i felt the floor collapse, I mean it metaphorically... and spiritually.
Standing there, in all their high-society glory, were Cairo's parents.
"Surprise!" said his mom, air-kissing mine. "We thought it would be lovely to catch up properly."
I turned to Cairo with wide eyes.
"DID YOU KNOW?"
"No! I swear. My mom just said we had dinner plans. I thought it was tomorrow!"
Then came the bigger plot twist.
"Elara?" Cairo's dad blinked. "You'reā¦ Felicia's daughter?"
Felicia. That's my mom.
No one calls her that unless you're a college friend, a business partner, or someone who's held her hair while she vomited sangria in the '90s.
And thenā
"Wait," my mom said.
Everyone went silent for a solid five seconds.
Then, like a badly written teleserye, both sets of parents looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"We go way back!" my mom said. "You were at our wedding!"
"We were pregnant at the same time!" his mom shrieked.
"What is happening," I muttered under my breath.
Cairo leaned over and whispered, "Is thisā¦ some weird royal arranged marriage type of plotline?"
"Oh my god,Ā are we childhood sweethearts who forgot?!" I whispered back.
Somehow, the dinner went on.
There was pasta.
Laughter.
Wine.
Cairo's dad told the story of how he once carried my mom out of a beach party because she sprained her ankle dancing toĀ 'Macarena.'
I wanted to crawl under the very expensive rug and never be found again.
-
Later that night, as Cairo and I walked out of my parents' houseāshellshocked, slightly tipsy, and full of embarrassing storiesāwe decided to go on a spontaneous walk.
"Want to go to the park?" he asked.
"Is that where you're planning to propose? Because i already sweated out half my makeup and i want cute proposal photos, okay?"
"No proposal. Just air. Trees. Maybe a squirrel."
We got to the park and that's when we saw him.
Ari.
My best friend.
My soulmate.
My gossip hotline.
Sitting on a bench.
With a man.
Holding hands.
Wearing matching bracelets.
"Ari?!" I screamed before I could help myself.
He jumped. "ELARA?!"
"Who's this?" I asked, eyes gleaming.
"This is... Kenneth," Ari said, blushing. "My... boyfriend."
I gasped.
I practically skipped over to their bench like i was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial.
Cairo followed behind me, holding two drinks he picked up from a nearby stall because, in his words,Ā "hydration is the foundation of all chaotic decisions."
Ari was still frozen in place, like a deer caught in headlights or in his case, like a diva caught mid-sneaky romantic rendezvous.
"So," I said, plopping down beside him, "are we gonna pretend i didn't just witness you holding hands with this fine specimen of a man? Or are we going full confession mode?"
"Hi," Cairo greeted politely, nodding at the guy beside Ari. "I'm Cairo."
"Hi, I'm Kenneth," the man said, giving us both an awkward smile. "You must be Elara. I've heard... so much."
"Oh? Oh." I smirked, turning to Ari. "You've been talking about me?"
"He said you're, um,Ā intense," Kenneth offered carefully.
"Intense?! Ari Elijah Valderrama, you snake!" I shrieked.
Ari groaned and covered his face."I didn't meanĀ intenseĀ like scary, okay! More like... passionate. Animated. Sparkly with rage."
I gasped in mock betrayal. "I am sparkly with poise!"
"You're sparkly with noise," Cairo muttered under his breath.
I threw him a look.
Eventually, we all migrated to the grass under the huge acacia tree that looked like it had seen more drama than an entire teleserye network.
We sat on a picnic mat that Cairo magically pulled from somewhereāseriously, this man might secretly be Doraemonāand Ari opened up his tote bag full of "date snacks" that were obviously prepped with care.
There were tiny cupcakes.
Artisan popcorn.
And an alarming amount of gummy worms.
"Okay, so how long have you been together?" I asked like a detective in heels.
Ari looked at Kenneth, and they exchanged that look, thatĀ look, you know? The one people give each other when they're trying not to get too emotional but also want to scream "I like you so much i could implode."
"Two months," Ari said softly.
I blinked.
"WHAT?!"
He flinched.
"You've had a boyfriend for two months and didn't tell me?! That's like thirty-eight episodes of emotional development and i got NONE of it??!"
"I was going to tell you, I swear!" he defended. "But we weren'tĀ officialĀ until like three weeks ago, and then you got busy with Cairo and the wholeā¦ fall-in-love-with-your-racecar-boyfriend arc."
I crossed my arms dramatically. "I could've been your flower girl."
"I haven't proposed."
"Details."
Cairo leaned toward me. "Do you want to double date or cause a public scene? Because i'm into both."
I beamed. "Both it is!"
We ended up playing P.I.C.T.I.O.N.A.R.Y. on Ari's tablet, which turned into a full-blown shouting match.
I was paired with Cairo.
Ari had Kenneth.
Kenneth, it turns out, could draw really well.
Cairo, it turns out, could not.
He handed me the tablet with something that looked like a chicken doing ballet.
"Umā¦ Dancing duck? Angry goose? Ballet bird?"
He blinked. "It'sĀ 'Black Swan'."
"THAT IS NOT EVEN REMOTELY A SWAN."
"Okay, but look at the wings!"
"They look like burnt tortillas."
We lost that round.
And the next three.
Meanwhile, Ari and Kenneth were killing it.
Like, psychic level killing it.
Ari would draw two circles and Kenneth would be like,Ā "Oh, that's obviously 'falling in love on a rollercoaster while eating nachos.'"Ā And they'd be right.
"Stop being cute," I told them. "This is not a Now we love, again novel."
Ari smirked. "You're just mad you lost."
"No. I'm mad because your boyfriend is apparently an undercover art prodigy and Cairo thinks swans look like angry chickens."
After an hour of games and laughter and minor emotional damage, we packed up.
Cairo and I walked ahead, leaving Ari and Kenneth trailing behind like lovesick turtles.
The park had thinned out by then.
The streetlamps flickered to life, casting that soft, golden glow that made everything look a little more romantic.
A little more cinematic.
Cairo's hand found mine as we strolled.
"Your parents like me," he said suddenly.
I glanced at him. "Of course they do. You're hot and polite. They're not idiots."
He laughed.
"But seriously," he continued, "they were warm. And funny. Your dad showed me baby photos of you in a banana costume."
"I WILL END HIM."
"You looked adorable."
"I looked like a fruit-themed curse."
He tugged my hand gently, pulling me to a stop.
"You knowā¦" he said, his voice lower now, more serious, "if they ever bring up marriage againā¦ just know that i don't hate the idea. Not now. Not yet. But someday."
My heart did a full somersault.
I blinked. "Someday?"
"Someday," he repeated. "When we've had more Pictionary meltdowns and park nights. And embarrassing family dinners."
I stared at him, my voice catching in my throat. "You want embarrassing dinners with me forever?"
"If it means i get you foreverā¦ yeah."
And that was it.
No fireworks.
No cheesy music.
Just a quiet moment under a park lamp, where my loud, messy, glittery heart suddenly felt very, very still.
Safe.
Home.
We ended the night outside my condo unit.
Ari had already messaged me that he was back home, and Kenneth "smells like vanilla and temptation," which I will unpack with him later.
Cairo and i stood under the awning.
I fiddled with my keys.
"I had fun tonight," he said, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "Even if you yelled at me over my chicken swan."
"I'm passionate. It's part of my charm."
He smiled.
Then kissed me.
Soft. Sweet. No pressure.
Just lips on lips and laughter between them.
When we pulled apart, I whispered, "You're not gonna propose right now, are you?"
He grinned. "Nah. But maybe one day."
I winked. "Better draw a better swan first."
He laughed, and I disappeared into my unit, heart pounding like a drumline.