Polite.
Educated.
Successful.
He came from a family I knew.
In my mind, he represented everything predictable and comfortable.
Exactly what I thought Kira needed.
I arranged lunch without telling her the truth.
“It’s not a date,” I insisted when Betty asked.
“What are you calling it?”
“A casual introduction.”
Betty laughed.
“That sounds like a date with better public relations.”
Meanwhile, she arranged for Marcus to meet a young woman from her church.
“She’s lovely,” Betty explained. “Smart, kind, comes from a wonderful family.”
We told ourselves we weren’t forcing anything.
We were simply giving our children options.
But when people need to be deceived into participating in your plan, the plan is probably not as innocent as you claim.
Kira and Marcus discovered the truth almost immediately.
And they were furious.
Part 4 — The Night Everything Exploded
A few evenings later, Bradley and I went to Betty and Rod’s house.
We arrived before Kira and Marcus.
While Betty and I discussed how badly our matchmaking experiment had gone, I noticed something that irritated me.
Bradley and Rod were sitting together in front of the television.
They had beers in their hands.
And they were laughing.
Laughing.
As if our families weren’t supposedly facing a crisis.
I pulled Bradley aside.
“What exactly are you doing?”
He looked genuinely confused.
“Watching the game.”
“With Rod?”
“Yes.”
“You’re becoming friends with him.”
Bradley shrugged.
“He’s a good guy.”
I stared at him.
“You’re supposed to be supporting me.”
“I do support you.”
“Then why are you sitting there drinking beer with Marcus’s father?”
Bradley took another sip.
“Because supporting my wife apparently doesn’t require me to hate a man who hasn’t done anything to me.”
Before I could answer, the front door opened.
Then slammed shut.
Footsteps crossed the hallway.
Kira entered first.
Marcus was directly behind her.
Neither looked remotely calm.
“What were you thinking?” Marcus demanded.
Betty stood.
“Marcus—”
“No.”
His voice trembled.
“Our wedding is one week away, and you arranged for me to meet another woman?”
Kira turned toward me.
“And you sent me to lunch with a man who thought you were trying to set us up!”
I lifted my hands.
“It wasn’t supposed to become a big situation.”
“It became a big situation the moment you lied to me!”
“Kira, please understand—”
“No, Mom. You understand.”
