“I really thought I was in love with this guy,” Cricket mumbled, her voice shuddering slightly. Cale held his breath, not sure what he would do if she started to cry.

“He took me out to this cabin and it was absolutely beautiful, like chimney stove and everything kind of classic pretty. Then he pulled out his camera and took a picture of me and in it I was smiling really big, Cale.”
Cale smiled in spite of himself.

“And then his parents came out and his mother had her arms folded over her chest and was just glowering at me and his father was looking at me like I was a goddamn prostitute that he’d rescued from the slaughter house. They laid into me right away and he just kind of mumbled in my defense for the first few minutes and then he gave up. I’d been craving family for months and all I got was a flashback to what mine was like. At dinner it was ‘Oh, you don’t need any of that dear. One more bite and you won’t be able to fit into any of your tight little outfits.’ ‘No offense, hon, but you don’t look like you’ve done dishes a day in your life. Best let me handle it.’

“It was infuriating and it just kept on with little jabs! ‘What do you do for a living? Really? Photography? Well, I guess that’s one way to keep out of the halfway house.’ ‘You weren’t planning on sleeping in the same room, were you? We raised him to believe that those activities should be reserved for the institution of marriage, sugar.’”

“And finally, I just fucking snapped! All I wanted was to hear him tell me that it was alright, his parents were just psychos, but his fucking mom was waiting up and the minute I touched his door, she was standing there with this disappointed, disgusted frown. ‘In my day, ladies kept to their own. Shame your parents didn’t teach you better…’ and Cale, I slapped her. Then I got my stuff together and I left. My parents didn’t teach me a lot of things, but they taught me to recognize when I’m not welcome and they damn sure taught me to have some dignity.”
Cale frowned, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s just… I thought it’d be a fairy-tale weekend, Cale,” she choked, brushing the tears that were building up out of her eyes, “but I was dead wrong.”