Awkward Supper

Sam rubbed the palms of her hands against her thighs for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. Not only did this allow her to straighten the pleats of her dress, under the watchful eyes of her father who, she knew, never approved of what he called her ‘’harlot hems;’’ it also allowed her to make a rather futile attempt to dry the sweat from her trembling hands. Sam knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to convince her parents that her new beau was a suitable match for her...a suitable suitor. Sam almost laughed out loud at her awful pun. 
Across from her, Jeremy, Sam’s brother, sat mocking her with his stupid, freckled, bespectacled face, just as he always did when Sam brought boys...young men over to the house. God, he annoyed her! Mom was always on his side, too...he was her little ‘’Jeremy pie!’’ Sometimes, she felt as though she were adopted. There was no way she came from the same gene pool as Jeremy. He was such a jerk! 
Sam could feel the judgemental eyes of her father leering at Stephen. Her father really had a way of letting people know when he didn’t approve of them, and her boyfriends tended to suffer the most. Ever since she was a young girl, her father had always been there to judge and give his approval, or disapproval, as was most often the case, of the people in her life. He was like an omnipresent, unforgiving god who dealt his judgment openly on those who displeased him, thus restricting her social circle to three people: her mother, her father, and her brother. Well, all of that was about to change. 
Her mother, of course, was bound to side with anything her father said. It wasn’t all her fault: the woman had grown up in an era of patriarchal dominance and had always had a man telling her what to do, what to say, and what to think. Sam had tried, on numerous occasions, to help her mother’s emancipation along, but she had been met, time and time again, with a firm stubbornness of a woman stuck in her ways. Samantha knew that if she were to gain her parents’ approval on this matter, she would have to win over her father first: everything would fall into place after that. 
Dredging up the last vestiges of courage from the depths of her soul (vestiges: what a perfectly-placed word, thought Sam), she cleared her throat, stared at the roast on her plate - there was NO way Sam was going to look her parents in the eyes right now - and started the speech she had practiced ceaselessly for the past two days: 
‘’Mother, Father, I feel that - sorry, Stephen and I feel that the time has come for us to speak openly with you about our relationship. Now before you say anything, just know that we have already given this a great deal of thought and we haven’t come to this decision lightly.’’ 
Sam paused, took a deep breath, smiled at Stephen - who knew better than to speak up in this situation: it wasn’t his place, after all - and continued: 
‘’I want Stephen in my life...for good. I would like for Stephen to be my life mate...we’re planning on getting married. I know you think that this is a bit sudden, but we really are meant for each other. Stephen and I share many passions, not the least of which is our love of running. Ironically enough, Stephen and I actually met while running in the park. I knew, right from the start, that he was the one.  Of course, it took him a bit longer to realize it, the big dope, but you know how men are, right mom?’’ 
Sam allowed herself a quick glance at her mother and, in that brief moment, she was sure that she had caught the smallest of smiles on her mother’s face. For all her complaining about her mother’s overbearing nature, Sam shared a fondness for the woman who had given birth to her and guided her through the ins and outs of womanhood. 
‘’After a few weeks of trying to get his attention, Stephen finally picked up on my not-so-subtle hints. I started running with him in the woods on a regular basis and, before he could do anything about it, Stephen was mine.’’ 
Sam could feel her cheeks turn red as she thought back to one of their wilder moments in the woods together.  It had been raining that evening and the two of them were drenched to the bone.  Stephen had pushed her to run a bit further and just a bit faster than usual: he had been playing hard to get, which was a huge turn on for Sam.  
When she had finally caught up to him, Sam opened the floodgates to all the pent-up desires she had been holding in for so long and she threw herself at Stephen like a wild animal claiming its prey.  
Her memories of the next hour were slightly muddled yet Sam could clearly remember the clothes being ripped off, the smell of the wet soil as they rolled over and over in it, Stephen’s cries of joy mixed with her own guttural moans.  Had anyone been unfortunate enough to be passing through that part of the woods that night, they might have been taken aback by the sight of the two of them, locked in a lover’s embrace.  Sam could only imagine what her father would have said, had he been present.
Sam giggled slightly, casting a loving glance at Stephen. 
‘’Well, now I want him with me forever and I have come to receive your blessing.’’ 
Having reached the end of her prepared text, Sam looked up at her father. For a long time, the only noise in the dining room was that of the grandfather clock’s pendulum, tick-tocking in sync with Sam’s nervous heartbeat. Then, almost imperceptibly, her father’s stern demeanor softened into a smile. It was subtle, and only someone who knew her father well would have seen it, but it was there. She had done it!  Her father approved!  In a flash, Sam jumped up, ran over to her father, and kissed the old grump on both cheeks. 
‘’Oh, father! I am so happy! I knew you would approve of him!’’ 
Sam then ran over to her mother, embraced her, and kissed her on the forehead. Maybe it was because she was swept up in the emotion, but Sam even ran over to her brother, hugged him, then remembering how he despised any form of physical contact, tousled his hair with her hand. 
Sam picked Stephen up from the floor where she had left him - she hoped he hadn’t taken it personally: she had to be sure her family approved before finding him his own spot at the dinner table - and hung him on the empty hook on his chair at the dining-room table. She really had done a spectacular job with him, capturing the youthful glow in his cheeks and the prey-like look in his eyes. The stain of the wood on which his head was mounted matched perfectly with the mounting plaques of her parents’ and brother’s heads. The family was complete! Her father had scoffed at her for wanting to study taxidermy. Boy, was his face red now! Sam didn’t contain her laughter this time: she let it ring out loud and clear. 

‘’There you go, darling, you’re part of the family now. I told you my parents would love you and I just know you’ll grow fond of Jeremy once you get to know him.’’ Kissing him on the forehead, Sam returned to her spot at the table. 

Feeling complete and utter contentment for what felt like the first time in a long time, Sam picked up her knife and fork and began eating. She flashed another smile at her beau - she really was the luckiest girl in the world!