Joe looked confused at my mother's reaction, but then looked at her a bit closer. A few seconds later, his befuddled expression changed to that of joy, and he immediately ran past my father and gave my mother a big hug. It seemed that I was asking this a lot but, what the hell?

"Oh my goodness, Lupina Lobon! I haven't seen you since the 1973! What happened to you and Mike? He said you left!"

My mother hugged him back. "Dear lord, that was a long time ago! My family moved, Joe!"

Meanwhile, my father and I were putting together the pieces and getting a picture. Mine wasn't complete, and so far it was taking me to a scary place.

"Mom, don't tell me you used to go with Joe!" I cried in horror. That would just....no!

My mom looked amused, then saw the expression of dismay on my face and quickly shushed my concerns. "No, Dear. But I was going with his protégé, Mike...it was pretty serious. But then my family moved here and Mike couldn't follow for certain reasons, so we broke up. But, oh dear, it's so nice to see you, Joe!"

Have you ever had your worldview completely and totally flipped beyond comprehension within minutes? Have you? Well, I will tell you now that it is one of the most unpleasant experiences in the known universe. Especially when it involves your lovelife and your parents...

My father waved a hand before my face. I blinked, and then grabbed it irritably.

"So, I'm guessing you have no problems with me and Joe going out?" I asked in a stupor.

My father cocked his head sideways. "Well, we'd like to have a nice sit down dinner and all with him, but we have no problem with you and he having a relationship. He is one of your mother's old friends."

I soaked that in, then turned to Joe. "Isn't that great?"

"Of course, dear" he answered, disengaging from my mother. He then walked over to me and pulled me into a comforting embrace. It did help, but I was mad and remained stiff instead of leaning into him like I always did.

"I'm awful sorry, Luna..." he whispered to me, "I just wanted to meet them. And I knew you'd be able to sway them to your side and...and I never knew that your mother was...who she was. I'm sorry to upset you, honey..."

I couldn't stay mad at him. I couldn't. I mean, I knew he loved me, and that he'd never do anything to hurt me on purpose. And I loved him. I allowed my body to melt into him, telling him without words that I accepted his apology. He smiled a small smile, then began to rock me soothingly with his arms, slowly pulling me towards the couch. When we sat, I nudged him, telling him to loosen up for a moment. My parents were in the room, and if he did that any longer, we'd end up kissing and then.... Not a good way to sway parental units in favor of your boyfriend.

I was about to speak, but my father spoke first. "Honey, you don't have to say anything. We understand. It was the same way with your mother and I" they held hands, "They thought we were too young, but eventually they understood. Seeing you two right now, holding one another, Joe comforting you, Luna, we knew justwhat that was like. We know this is no teenage crush, but real love. And, looking the man up and down, I trust him. You have our full support in this."

Damn good thing I taught him to dress then...If they'd seen him like I saw him our first night out, I doubt they would have let him in the door, let alone trust him. But, my mind was shouting with joy, they liked him. They liked Joe! They had no problem with him. Sing the Songs of Joyous Praise for the Lord; they liked him!

I turned and looked at Joe, who was smiling his head off. "Told you so..."

"What do you mean, 'told you so'?" I asked with a grin.

"I told you that, because I love you, everything would be okay...Told you so."

Well, to my mind, there was only one way to shut him up. I kissed him hard on the lips. My parents laughed. When I stopped kissing him, Joe smiled up at me.

"Not a bad night, eh?"

"No, not at all..."

Fin