C156 A Place To Call Home

Standing in our living room... Were almost both of our families. Mark. Peter. Georgia. My parents. For a few seconds... Neither Alicia nor I knew what to say. Alicia rubbed her eyes, convinced she was still dreaming. "Dad..." "Grandpa..." "Grandma..." She looked around the room in disbelief. "Why are you all here?" Everyone burst into laughter.

Mark stepped forward with a bright smile. "We came to check on our daughter." He looked at both of us before continuing, "Yesterday was your engagement." "So today we thought it would be nice for both families to have breakfast together." He spread his hands dramatically. "A proper family gathering." I glanced toward my parents. Mom and Dad were already fully dressed as though they had been awake for hours.

The table had even been cleaned. They clearly knew this was happening. So... They hadn't come to surprise us. They had planned this together. Mary walked over to Alicia and gently held her hands. "My daughter..." She smiled warmly. "Did you sleep well?" The simple question instantly made Alicia's face turn bright red. Her mind immediately wandered back to the previous night. 'Do... do they know?'

She quickly shook the embarrassing thoughts away. "Y-Yes, Aunt Mary." "I'm fine." Everyone smiled knowingly, making her blush even harder. Fortunately... Peter quickly clapped his hands. "Enough standing around." "I'm starving." "Let's go eat." A short while later... Both families arrived at The Bothy Restaurant, one of Glasgow's most beloved traditional Scottish restaurants.

The warm wooden interior created a cosy atmosphere, while the smell of freshly baked bread and Scottish breakfast filled the air. Everyone settled around one large table. Soon... Breakfast was served. Scottish oatcakes. Smoked salmon. Scrambled eggs. Fresh fruit. Toast. Porridge. Tea and coffee. The conversations quickly became lively again.

Mary happened to be sitting beside Alicia. Without thinking much about it... Alicia began serving food onto Mary's plate. "Aunt Mary..." "Try this." She then turned toward Georgia. "Grandma..." "You should have some smoked salmon." Georgia smiled happily. "Thank you, my child." Peter watched the scene before pretending to sigh dramatically. "Aiya..." "My granddaughter." "You've been feeding everyone except your own husband."

Everyone immediately looked toward me. I simply smiled helplessly. Peter pointed at me. "Look at that poor boy." "He's sitting there watching everyone else get fed." I quickly nodded. "I've noticed it too." Alicia turned toward me with widened eyes. "You too?" The table erupted into laughter.

Trying to defend herself, Alicia immediately picked up another serving spoon and placed a generous portion onto my plate. "There." "My husband won't starve." I smiled. "Now that's fair." Peter laughed loudly. "Much better." Georgia couldn't stop smiling. "Our granddaughter has already become a wonderful wife." Even Quinton nodded in agreement. "Mike..." "I think you've struck gold."

I looked at Alicia before smiling softly. "I know." Hearing that... Alicia lowered her head shyly. The joyful atmosphere continued for several more minutes until... Mark suddenly cleared his throat. The smile on his face slowly faded. "I think..." "It's time we discuss something important." The entire table became quiet.

He looked directly at Alicia and me. "Yesterday's engagement officially made the two of you a couple." He paused briefly. "So..." "Where are you going to live?" The question caught both of us completely off guard. Mark continued, "Will you continue living separately like before?" "Or..." "Will one of you move into the other's family home?"

I slowly exchanged glances with Alicia. Neither of us had actually discussed it. Not once. We had been so busy planning the engagement... Planning our future careers... Planning everything else... That we had somehow forgotten the most basic question. Where would we live? Seeing our silence... Mary immediately raised her hand with a huge smile. "My daughter-in-law should stay with us." Everyone turned toward her.

She looked completely serious. "I still have so many recipes to learn from Alicia." "I want her to teach me everything she knows." "And..." She laughed. "I don't want my son eating somewhere else." Everyone chuckled. Before anyone could agree... Georgia immediately shook her head. "No." She folded her arms proudly. "So far..." "All I've heard is that Mike is a genius."

She smiled at me. "If anyone should stay with someone..." "It should be the two of them staying with us." "I want to see how this genius grandson-in-law thinks." Peter nodded immediately. "I agree." "My granddaughter isn't going anywhere." The two older women stared at each other playfully. Mary smiled. "I asked first." Georgia smiled back. "I refuse."

Everyone around the table couldn't help laughing. Even Mark simply watched with amusement. Once again... Alicia and I looked at each other. After thinking quietly for a moment... I slowly spoke. "I don't think staying at my parents' house would be practical." Everyone looked toward me. "I don't even own a car." "Lucia Goods is quite far from home." "With Glasgow traffic..." "I'd probably spend hours commuting every day."

Mary looked slightly disappointed. Before anyone else could respond... Alicia gently nodded. "And staying at my family's home isn't practical either." She looked around the table. "Once we officially begin working..." "The company will probably keep us busy every day." "We'll need to arrive early." "And leave late." She paused. "So..." "I've actually been thinking..." Everyone waited quietly. Her eyes brightened slightly. "Why don't we buy our own apartment..." "...somewhere close to Lucia Goods?"

The entire table became silent. She continued calmly. "That way..." "We'll be close to work." "We won't waste time travelling." "And..." She smiled. "We'll also begin building our own independent family." Peter looked at her proudly. "My granddaughter..." "...you surprise me more every single day." "I honestly wasn't expecting that answer."

Mark folded his arms thoughtfully. "It makes sense." "But..." "You'll both still have parents." Georgia quickly nodded. "We'll miss you." Mary looked equally reluctant. "Our home will suddenly become very quiet." Alicia smiled before gently holding both women's hands. "We're not leaving you." "We'll visit often." "I promise."

The two older women looked at each other before slowly smiling. Although neither wanted to admit it... They both knew... This was probably the best decision for the young couple.