The next day Daniel met with his parents. He had to be as calm as possible and tell them the news as matter-of-factly as possible; without wavering, trying to follow the storyline to the letter or no one would believe the charade.
-Well, here we are, son, what do you want to talk to us about? - asked his mother.
-I'm getting married.
- What do you mean, you're getting married? What are you talking about, Daniel? - His father was a little surprised, it was something he didn't expect to hear from him again.
-I'm getting married in a few weeks, Dad, and I want the whole family to meet her,' he said.
-Wait a minute son, wait... -Who exactly are you getting married to? -
- Deanna...
- Who? Who's Deanna? -
He knew his mother would fill him with questions, she wanted her grandchildren to have the presence of a woman growing up that wasn't herself or Susan, but this was too sudden. Neither was prepared to hear what Daniel had to say.
-Deanna is Harry's college roommate, we've been dating for a few months now and I've decided to marry her,' he said.
- Harry's roommate?!
-Yes, mum, I know what you're thinking. That's why we decided to keep our relationship as discreet as possible.
- You're 15 years older than Harry, so if she's his classmate... she's his age! You're going to marry a woman much younger than you and you've only been going out with her for a few months? -
- That's right -
- You're crazy, Daniel! My grandchildren need a mother not a sister -
- Please, Mom, don't involve the kids in this -
- How can I not? For God's sake, Daniel! What are you thinking of? Don't be silly, you're not going to marry her -
- That's my decision and I've made it, there's nothing you can do about it -
- Charles, say something to him, for God's sake! Your son has lost his mind! -
His father leaned back in his seat and looked him straight in the eye.
- Is she pregnant? - he asked.
- What?! No, Dad, please! -
- Then why are you marrying her? -
- Because I'm in love and I think she'll make an excellent companion. Is the only way a woman like her would marry someone like me is if she were pregnant? -
- Or is she after your money! - her mother added.
- You're being ridiculous, Mom -
- The ridiculous one is you pretending to do something crazy like that. I'm sure if she messed with you, it's because she wants something.
- Well, Mom, I didn't know you thought that of me -
- You know what I mean. Lately I've been seeing those kinds of women approaching men like you just to get money out of them. That's what happened to Madison's son with his so-called girlfriend -
- Deanna's not like that -
- How do you know that? Men can't think straight when they've got a pair of nice legs in front of them.
- I know because she's friends with Harry and Laura and she's shown no interest in my money. She has a job that I plan for her to leave when we get married -
- This is all very sudden, Daniel,' his father told him.
- I know, Dad, but you must trust my judgement. You know me better than anyone, and you know I wouldn't take a chance if I wasn't sure.
- That's true, you've never taken a wrong step... Well, it looks like we're going to have a wedding, Camilla -
- You're both crazy! You'd better bring your 'future wife' as soon as possible, do the kids know her yet? -
- No, of course not -
- Better, if it doesn't work out at least they won't have to watch their father being abandoned by a younger woman -
-Mom, please... -
- No, Daniel. No. You're trying to bring a woman that no one knows into your home where your children are and make her your wife. You know you'll be the talk of the town? -
- I'm not interested in -
Well, it hadn't been a resounding success, but at least his father seemed to trust him. The real problem would be his mother who was going to inspect Deanna from every possible angle to find every flaw she had. He knew this and so he called his sister-in-law to ask her to 'train' her a bit and accompany her to choose a more suitable wardrobe.
Laura had to do a fairly passable job and give Deanna a lot of advice to warn her off her mother-in-law. Camila could be relentless when she set her mind to it and make life miserable for her new daughter-in-law until she tired her out. She was not nearly the kind of woman she wanted for her eldest son.
She had tried her best to get Daniel to meet and date women she considered suitable. Most of them were daughters of her friends or acquaintances. But her son showed no interest in them and always asked her to leave him alone. And now he said he was about to marry someone no one knew. Of course he was going to do everything she could to expose the 'young girl interested in his money'.
The first person she would question would be Harry.
- How did your brother meet this Deanna? -
- I introduced them. Mum, Deanna is a very nice person, you have nothing to worry about.
- Of course I have to worry, she's going to share in raising my grandchildren -
- You're overreacting, don't you trust your little boy? -
- Of course I don't trust you -
- Mommy! -
- This is all very sudden, Harry, there's something wrong here...
- There's nothing wrong, it's just that Daniel decided to move on with his life. I don't see anything wrong with that. He has every right to find someone to love and be loved by -
- I don't question that, son. I've been waiting for this moment ever since Emily left us in that horrible way. But not like this! -
- Come on, mum. You're being intolerant. I've known Deanna since we started college, Laura's known her too. She's a wonderful person in so many ways, I can't understand how she didn't run away from Daniel -
- Because your brother is an important and powerful man... -
- Dean doesn't go after his money, mum... -
- Is that what you call her? So you know her well enough -
- That's what I'm trying to tell you -
Now more than ever they had to tread carefully, at least until the wedding was finalised. The problem wasn't whether Camilla would accept it or not, because they were going to get married anyway. The problem was convincing them long enough so that Harry and Laura would have no obstacles later.
Daniel was determined to break with his family's prehistoric tradition; his children would never have to go through that. He would prioritise their happiness over an inherited mandate that only served to put people in ridiculous situations. None of this circus would be necessary if they could simply live their lives freely.
But the truth was that Deanna had made an impression on him that he had not expected. Despite her age, she seemed to be someone who knew what she wanted and had a goal in life, who could stand up for herself and who could stand up to anyone who tried to impose himself on her. She didn't look bad and was quite polite, you could tell she didn't belong to the same social level as them, but somehow that didn't stop her or scare her.
He had only met her two days ago, but he couldn't get her image out of his head when she got out of the car, obviously annoyed with him, walking up to the entrance without turning around once.