Soul Mates by Thomas Melo Page B

did occur. 
    “Hey guys, over here!” Tyler called to his parents. They promptly waved back. 
    “I don’t think your parents like me,” Lilith said. 
    “Don’t be silly.” That was all he could say. He couldn’t elaborate and explain  why  it was a preposterous thing to say, because deep down, he knew she was probably right. Tyler was a smart kid and he understood that his parents made the correlation between his declining grades and his relationship with Lilith. Tyler had made the same correlation, but he couldn’t break things off with Lilith. Not only did he not want to (she had showed him many things that he was quite certain other girls around his age could not,) but he wasn’t confident in his ability to physically let the words leave his mouth. Not to mention, he tried to avoid conflict. 
    “Hey, long time no see, Ty,” his father joked, “Hi, Lilith. Nice to see you.” Her husband was merely being affable, but it burned her ass nonetheless. 
    “Hello, Ty. Hi Lilith,” Cindy joined in trying to keep her inflection identical for both greetings, and barely succeeding as she twisted her wedding band with her other hand. 
    “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Swanson. How is everything?” Lilith said.
    “Oh, you know, can’t complain. Are you a fan of Italian food?” 
    “It does the trick,” Lilith smiled. 
    Cindy didn’t know why, but this answer irked her. If Cindy was honest with herself, she would realize that she was being overly censorious and looking between the lines of every statement because she didn’t care for the girl…simple as that. She had to try for her son though. What people do for their children. For crying out loud, what did she want from the girl? “Oh yes, Mr. Swanson! I just adore Italian food! Why, my grandmother used to make it every Sunday, yes she did; and let me tell you, it just stole my wool, for the love of Eve!” Now, how utterly counterfeit and quite frankly, stupid, would  that  have sounded? Yes, she had to try for her son, but being a woman, and therefore wired with the proper female hardware and circuitry, she wasn’t sure if she was up for such a challenge. 
    Lilith and the Swansons entered the restaurant and were promptly seated. About ten minutes went by before they were even greeted by their waiter. Cindy and Ray passed the time by making benign chit-chat with their son’s girlfriend, hoping that they were talking enough for their son’s liking, but careful not to speak too much and embarrass him. Tyler sat there nervous, laughing extra hard when his parents or Lilith had said something that was meant to be perceived as funny or lighthearted; just trying to maintain the armistice. It was working too, but this waiter was just the “fucking pits,” Tyler heard his father say under his breath. Ten minutes elapsed before the lazy bastard even came over to their table; and it wasn’t because the restaurant was hopping on this particular night. It was a Wednesday night, not Friday or Saturday. The waiter could be seen grab-assing with the female wait-staff and checking his phone incessantly. This did wonders for the overall mood and atmosphere of the table.
    “God, I’m so thirsty. When is this guy going to take our goddamn drink orders?” Lilith complained loud enough for a couple of people around their table to turn their heads. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a point, she did; but the Swanson family was just different. They come from a long line of relatives who refused send food back that wasn’t satisfactory and they  certainly  wouldn’t DARE complain about service…at least not so the server could hear it. 
    Everyone at the table was taken aback. Ray, being the head of the family, lord of the manor, leader of the band decided to take the reigns in order to make an awkward situation…well, a bit less awkward. 
    “Wow, you really must be thirsty!” Mr. Swanson joked. His exterior defense mechanism aimed at blasting away awkward