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She hadn't been nervous about dinner with her family until the day of. It wasn't really anything special, an official meeting of her parents to her boyfriend. That was it.

It was even super lowkey? No fancy clothing, nothing fancy for dinner (unless you counted her mom cooking). Just a simple, lowkey dinner and meeting that was it.

So why was she so nervous??

"You're pacing, pumpkin," her father teased, glancing up from the small laptop he sat in front of where he'd been working on his next article. "Relax, there's nothing to be worried about."

"You say that, and I know that... But it could. This whole thing could turn out horribly some how." Having turned to look at her father, Melody found she missed the long length of her hair suddenly. It was harder to play with like this, having to consciously move a hand up to the strands that brushed her shoulders.

Though it might have been a blessing in surprise because she did have a tendency to pull on the longer strands when she was anxious.

"Breathe. Take a deep breath and hold it." He smiled as she did so, watching her eyes close and just breathe. He could tell she was a little calmer by the time she let the breath out.

"Is he here?" called her mother from the kitchen before peering out to where her husband and daughter were. "He's not going to be late is he?"

"He's not here yet and he might be. I already told you that he did have some errands to run for his job today." A puff of her cheeks which had her parents chuckling a little.

"Well then, if you have all this time to worry come help me in the kitchen. Your father can answer the door."

"Yes mama," she replied with a soft sigh, heading for the kitchen as her father gave a soft chuckle.

As her phone went off with a text, Melody glanced down and rolled her eyes playfully before sending a reply. How many times did she have to tell her boys it was fine if they were late? She'd known this was a possibility because of the nature of his job with Jaida, they had some time.

"Was that your phone?"

"Yes mama," a sweet smile was given as she went back to adding the finishing touches to the cake she'd helped make for dessert. "They were actually making good time but ran into an accident, so they're running late."

"Bah!" she huffed, pulling the rice from it's container and into a nice bowl. "Don't people know they have places to be?"

"Yes because the accident was caused purely to keep Zachary from arriving on time."

"Clearly!"

A small groan from the younger woman as she covered the cake and moved to help finish the last bit of cooking.

-----

As the door bell rang Alexander stood from the table and moved to answer. He'd just finished setting the table and the girls had their hands full finishing that last few things and moving food to the table. He'd have taken over the last touches to let Melody answer the door but Linh was very particular, and Melody took after her mother in that regards.

So being the loving husband and father that he was, and knowing his place just was not in the kitchen at the moment, he answered the door. The boys on the other side would be greeted with a friendly smile on a handsome face, glasses perched on his nose. It was easy to see where Melody got her smile from.

"You must be Zachary, it's a pleasure to meet you."