Chapter 36: Chapter 36 – Hugh: Not the parents

I pulled into the parking lot of a casual dining chain restaurant as guided by the GPS. Decent food. Decent price. I had no issues with the choice. As soon as I pulled into a spot, Natalie checked her phone for the time.

"I'm assuming we're meeting someone or someones," I said.

"Yeah, and we should hustle. We're running a little late." Nat sent a text.

The stop on the side of the road had taken a while, and I wasn't the fastest driver. Better to arrive late because you drove too carefully than never to arrive at all.

As we were walking inside, her phone dinged.

Nat charged right past the hostess. "Our party is already seated. Thanks."

I followed her.

She led us to a table in one of the back areas where a young lady about our age was seated alone. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Fit and toned. Her general appearance gave me very cheerleaderish vibes. Before I'd started dating Nat, I probably would have given this girl a second glance. Maybe even a third.

I actually thought that Natalie would walk past the table toward an older couple seated in a booth, but she stopped by one of the chairs next to the young lady. Though surprised not to find Nat's parents waiting, I pulled her chair out for her.

After we'd both gotten settled, Nat said, "Hugh, Julia. Julia, this is my boyfriend, Hugh."

We quickly exchanged the most banal of greetings and pleasantries as we all looked over the menus. Our selections made, it quickly became apparent that, however close Nat and Julia might have been as middle schoolers, they had little in common now. I totally didn't get the big drama in the car over meeting one of Nat's old friends who she was obviously no longer even all that close to.

After we all had put down our menus, I mostly listened as the two exchanged small talk about common acquaintances and how their parents and siblings were doing, and that was great for me. It gave me a chance to really observe them.

Frankly, the atmosphere was odd. The few times that Nat said something and Julia disagreed, however mildly, Nat would immediately backtrack. Why was she walking on eggshells around this girl? And why did Nat keep glancing over at me as if watching for some kind of reaction? I honestly had zero clue what she was expecting or why it would be important.

The girl seemed perfectly fine on the surface. Smiled. Said all the right things, but - it was hard to describe - everything she said rang false somehow. I wasn't usually the most adept at picking up on subtleties, but her cheerfulness seemed to be a thin façade.

And there was that tension between them that I couldn't figure out.

"You and Julia would probably get along great," Nat said. "She graduated high school with a 4.0 just like you did."

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Yeah. I was positive that this pretty, well endowed blonde girl ran in the same kind of geek circles that I did. Should I have started asking her about her favorite video games and anime?

The waitress came right after that, though, and we all ordered.

Conversation continued to be strained, and, ever so often, Nat would throw out something like, "As long as I can remember, guys have literally drooled over Julia." And another time, she said, "And Julia isn't just smart and pretty. She'd very kind hearted, too. She was always telling me about her rescue animals and how she volunteered at the shelter every summer."

It would have been one thing if Nat had been going with the flow of the conversation, but each of them seemed to come out of the blue. Julia, for her part, looked as confused by what Nat was doing as I was.

Finally after the most excruciatingly awkward, stilted conversation I've ever experienced - and that's saying something because, hello, introverted geek here - we all finished our meals. The server showed up and asked if we wanted any dessert. I literally prayed that everybody would say no.

I shook my head, and Julia instantly demurred. Nat, though, asked to see the menu again. Did she have no ability to read the room? What the heck? The only thing that kept me from running screaming from the table was my promise to be on my best behavior. I could put up with just about anything for the reward that she had offered.

Just go with the flow, I told myself. It'll all be over eventually. Then I get Nat to myself and it will all be worth it.

Then Nat said, "If you weren't dating me, don't you think you'd be into Julia?"

My jaw dropped. I couldn't have formulated a response to that if my life depended on it.

It was only then that the penny finally dropped for me, and I finally understood exactly what Nat intended. I cursed myself for being so slow on the uptake.

A blue box popped up.

Usually, I could glean some information from a skill's title, but this one told me little. What equipment was being upgraded? Control over what?

It didn't matter all that much at the moment, though, as I was sure I'd figure it out eventually. The important thing that needed to happen immediately was for Nat and me to get on the same page.

"Julia," I said, "if you'll please excuse us, I think Nat and I need to visit the restrooms."

 

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