Conrad
Maya and I arrive outside of the restaurant where we are meeting my little sister and her mysterious boyfriend. We walked since it was a short distance from our hotel. Maya pulls me aside before we can enter.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, but before you go inside, I need you to promise to be nice and not get angry.” She says softly.
I look at her, confused, “Why are you telling me this? Do you know who he is? He isn’t married or like eighty or something, is he?”
Maya snickers, “No, he is not eighty or married.”
“Then who is he? Why are you warning me to behave?”
“It isn’t my place to tell you.” She says softly.
I groan, “We don’t have secrets, remember.”
I don’t understand why she is being so adamant.
“No, we don’t, but it isn’t my place to tell you who he is, Conrad. It is Chelsea to tell you. I just need you to stay calm. Can you do that for me, babe?” she asks.
I sigh, “Yes, I can do that, but you have me worried now.”
“You don’t need to be worried. She is happy with him. They have a good relationship, and he is good to her. Isn’t that all that matters?”
I nod, “Yes, I guess so.”
Maya smiles and reaches up to kiss me softly. She takes my hand, and we finally head inside. I try to think of what would make her warn me to be nice. Is she with someone I know? An ex-boyfriend of her. God, I hope not; her exes are all fucking idiots who don’t know how to treat women and think they have the right to lie and cheat.
I give my name to the front-of-house staff, and we are guided to our table. The closer I get, the more I believe I am imagining things. I see Chelsea and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is a familiar face to me. No, it can’t be. When we finally reached the table, I realised I was right.
“Adrian?”
He looks up, and a worried look takes over his face, “It has been a while, Conrad.” He says nervously.
“Wait, what? How? When?” I ramble.
Adrian is an old friend of mine. We attended college together, and we were close friends. We drifted apart a few years ago when he moved away, but the last I heard, he had moved to Australia, so why the hell is he in London with my sister?
“Conrad, sit down, and we can talk,” Chelsea says calmly.
“Why have none of you told me?” I ask, annoyed.
Maya squeezes my hand and looks at me, “Conrad, calm down and take a seat.”
I sigh, but I do as she tells me. Maya sits next to me.
“Now explain. Explain to me how you ended up with my little sister and didn’t have the decency to tell me before it even happened.” I say through gritted teeth.
“I moved to London about six months ago. We ran into each other in a bar and got to talking.” Adrian says.
“And then what? You thought it was okay to screw my sister.” I snarl.
“Conrad, stop. I am a grown-ass woman. I can do as I please.” Chelsea snarls back.
“He is too old for you.”
“Conrad, the age gap between them isn’t much different than ours,” Maya says, placing her hand on my knee.
“Conrad, I know this is a shock. It was to us, too. It was never part of the plan for us to be together, but we started spending time together, and things changed. Yes, I probably should have told you, but we wanted to wait and see how it worked out. We wanted to tell you together face-to-face and not over a call.”
“What, so you weren’t interested when we were friends?” I ask with a raised brow.
Adrian shook his head, “No. I wasn’t. I didn't look at Chelsea like that back then. You have the right to be angry with us for not telling you, but we are adults and old enough to make our choices without your permission.”
“I need a damn drink before I can deal with any more of this.”
I grab the attention of one of the staff and order a drink; everyone else ordering one too.
“Conrad, I am sorry we didn’t tell you, but please stop being mad. You have no reason to be. Would you rather not me be with someone you know and trust than a stranger or someone like my ex-boyfriends?” Chelsea asks softly.
“I promise I won’t hurt her, and I will take good care of her,” Adrian adds.
I don’t look at them; instead, I focus on Maya again. She is glancing at me with a soft smile on her lips, “You need to give him and their relationship a chance, my love. Yes, it is a surprise and unexpected, but that is okay. Look what happened with us? I don’t think either of us expected that one night would change our entire life. It was the same for Chelsea and Adrian.”
I sigh because I know what all of them are saying is correct. I am overreacting. I take a deep breath and turn back to face my little sister and Adrian.
“I am sorry. I overreacted. I was in shock. You were the last person I expected to see with my sister. I know you are a good man who will take care of her, but I need to make one thing clear, you hurt her, lie to her or cheat on her, you better run and hide because I will make you regret it.” I state firmly.
“I understand. I know how protective you are of her, but it is not part of my plan to hurt her in any way.” He replies.
“Okay. So how long have two been seeing one another?”
“Nearly four months. No one else knows. I wanted you to be the first to know since you two were close at one point.” Chelsea says.
“I appreciate you telling me and not letting me hear it from someone else.” I smile.
“You know I would never do that, Conrad,” Chelsea replies.
Our drinks soon arrive at the table, pausing the conversation for a moment.
“What made you leave Australia?”
“I needed a change. It was too warm and not for me. I prefer being here. I planned to return home, but then I ran into Chelsea and decided to stay.”
Adrian smiles and looks at my sister. He seems smitten. She smiles back and blushes.
“You stayed in London for Chelsea; that is so sweet.” Maya gushes.
“I know, right?” Chelsea grins.
Adrian and I look at each other, laugh and shake our heads at their girly outburst.
“How is business?” he asks.
“No! No work or business talk tonight.” Chelsea warns, waggling her finger at us.
Adrian chuckles and holds his hands up, “Fine. No work or business talk. I promise.”
We enjoyed our drinks as we chatted, Adrian and I catching up on each other’s lives. It has been a long time since we even spoke. We promised to try and stay in touch when he left, but life and work get in the way, and people drift apart and lose contact. These things happen.
“Should we order food? I am hungry.” Chelsea suggests.
Everyone nods, hungry too. I wasn’t sure how the night would go when I realised who my sister was dating, but now, I believe it will be a good night for all. Chelsea seems happy, and I know Adrian isn’t a jackass, that is all that matters. My family will be happy with her choice too. Not only because they know him but also because he was raised in the same society as us.