Dylan looked at me as I hyperventilated, sitting in his car as I looked at his huge house. "Hey! Meg, you alright?" he asked and halted the car, slowly on the side, and looked at me closely. I felt my hands go numb all of a sudden, I couldn't feel my feet, and my mouth went dry. This had never happened to me before. I didn't understand what was happening to me.
He immediately took my hands in his and looked into my eyes, deeply. "Look at me, Meg! You are going to alright, you are safe! Now, breathe!" he said as he showed me how to breathe, and I realized because of him, for a second, I forgot how to breathe. I was drowning in a place that I knew nothing about, but for some reason, he came to rescue me. My breathing normalized as I kept looking into his eyes and imitated the way he was breathing. My hands and leg were feeling good again, as the blood flow restored in my body to normal.
"I don't know what happened to me, Dyl! I couldn't breathe for a second," I recounted as I sat in my seat, straightening myself. He switched the ignition back on in the car, preparing to continue the little drive that was left to arrive at his 'mansion.' "I think it is quite normal. You just had a panic attack. Maybe you are worried about meeting my grandma again. I low-key have them too before I walk into her presence."
I chuckled at his response and tried not to think much about it yet. Our car arrived and stopped at the porch. A servant came running to us and opened the door for him and then for me. It was already dark, but the whole landscape around his house was lit up, which was the most beautiful sight to watch.
There was a huge fountain right in the middle of the garden that overlooked the mansion that looked about four floors high looking from the outside. The fountain was lit up in many different colors, which gave the water that flowed through the faucets a hue of those colors, making it spectacular. The bushes around the garden were thick but if they had any flowers on them was not something that could be, said in that darkness.
I felt Dylan's hand over my waist as I realized I was watching the garden for some time. "Whenever you are ready," he whispered near my ears. I looked up at him, and I saw a silhouette of someone watching us from the window on the ground floor. It was a beautiful moment, and I knew if we both were really in love with each other, we would let this moment pass without a kiss.
I threw my right hand around his shoulder and pulled him to me by his neck. He smiled at me as we kissed softly, which quickly became a passion-filled, eating each other out kind of kiss. And I was sure whoever was watching us would have retreated a long back. "What was that?" Dylan asked with a smile. "Someone was watching us from the window, so..." I answered and started walking, holding each other's hand, to the front door where the servant was waiting for us.
"Good evening, sir! Good evening, madam!" he wished us as he opened the door for us with a smile. As we entered, my eyes were left wide-open, gasping at the cinematic structure of his family house. The welcome area was grandiose. My eyes shot up to the ceiling as I saw a chandelier-lit up in its full glory. Overlooking the door was a wide and grand staircase.
"Oh, dear! Mom, look whose here!" I heard Kizzy's overpitched voice echoing through the hall, followed by her shortly into the hall. She took me into a tight hug and saw Dylan was watching us with a heartful smile. He looked so satisfied at the fact that Kizzy already liked me. "Are they here, Kizzy?"
A woman walks into the hall shortly after with a huge smile just like Dylan and Kizzy's. She was in a very casual outfit, precisely loose fit trousers and a top that floated around her body. I smiled at her from Kizzy's shoulder. She released me finally and looked at Dylan and me. "You look gorgeous, babe! As always!" she complimented with a wink at Dylan.
The woman came closer to us as though she was waiting for this moment for millions of years. Her eyes couldn't hide the anticipation. Kizzy made way for the woman to walk in towards me. I smiled at her, "Meg! This is my mom, Shaelin Hill. She is a very proud homemaker. And mom, this is..." before Dylan could complete, she hugged me closely.
It was a surprise for me that I was getting a welcome like that. From what I understood from his grandmother's attitude, these people were supposed to be looking and behaving sophisticated and not this open-heartedly accepting a girl that her son brought home. As she looked at my face, I noticed her eyes were a little wet; she was emotional for some reason.
"Mom, don't be ridiculous," Dylan retorted in my defense. I looked at Kizzy, and she too was a bit emotional looking at her mom's reaction. "I am so sorry, Megan. I just never thought that he will finally find the one. You are so beautiful, much more than the pictures," she said, as she looked at me and then Dylan.
"Are we suppose to stand here, or can we go in now?" Dylan joked. She nods at him and takes me by my hand into the living room. "I hope Dylan is keeping you happy if you have any problem with him, don't make rash decisions. I have tried to bring him up with the right values, but I can never know if I have failed until the woman who loves him is truly happy, right?"
Dylan smiles at her and then at me. I had no idea how to respond to her innocent question. "He is the best person that I have met in my life, Mrs. Hill!" The living room was decorated in a minimalistic design unlike, the entrance, the furniture was a little more modern, and the lighting was softer. She made me sit on the beige-colored velvet couch, took my hands in hers with the sweetest of smiles.
"Don't call me, Mrs. Hill. I am his mom, so am I for you." Dylan sat on the single chair looking at us, adoring his mom, and her happiness. Kizzy brought a tray of juices, which she placed on the coffee table and, sat down on the handrest of Dylan's chair. "So now I am out? Right, mom?" she joked. Dylan looked at her and said, "well, you are too bossy for my mom so, you can see yourself out now!"
Kizzy laughed and started hitting Dylan playfully. As we got acquainted with each other, I heard someone coming down the stairs, making me a little alert. 'I hope that is not granny, not yet,' I thought as I looked at the doorway of the living room. "Are they here, Shaelin?" I heard a male voice approaching the hall.
"In here, dad!" Kizzy called out. I got up immediately as I saw his father enter the living room. Everyone got up, following my lead and, greeted him. "Meg, this is my dad, Dr. Richard Hill. And dad, this is Megan Clarke, my girlfriend," Dylan gave him a brief introduction as he watched me with a soft smile. As I looked at him, I realized from where Dylan inherited his looks, beneath the gray hair over his head and his face, he looked like Dylan but just a little stouter than him, which could be the result of old age. But both his parents didn't look older than the early '60s.
"It's an honor to meet you, Megan! Please make yourself comfortable. He said as he proceeded to sit next to his mom. We all resumed our conversations back to getting to know each other better. They kept asking many questions about my career and hobbies, to which they responded very supportively.
I felt how much I craved acceptance from my family since I was a child. My family never considered writing a career or anything related to it, even after being a prodigy in almost everything I did, I defied everyone's expectations by choosing a career like this and became a disappointment to everyone.
When all my family nagged me for my career choices or moving to a new country, it always felt something was missing with them. But for the first time, I felt seen and accepted for who I am, and I felt proud for making the choices I did. Including my choice of helping Dylan through this as if I didn't, I would have never met these people who made me stop aching for not having a loving family.
"Where is she, dad?" Dylan asked as he checked his watch. I knew he was asking about grandma. And I felt a stirring inside me, which I knew was the fight or flight response triggering inside my body. "She should be here by now. I will give her a call. Well, queens are never late, right?" his dad said as he laughed and walked out of the room with his phone.
My heart was still beating at the thought that what would grandma say now after the encounter she had with her yesterday.