“I don’t know if I can go through with this.”
“Why, what’s a matter, baby?”
“I’m too nervous to meet your parents. I just- I mean everything has been going so well, but I’m gonna fuck it up somehow and then they’re going to hate me.”
“They won’t hate you. I’ve talked about you to them before. They want to meet you, they keep pestering me about bringing you over. It’s just a barbeque, not a state dinner.”
He sighs. “What if they bring up my stint in rehab? How am I supposed to answer that?”
I reach over to hold his hand, entwining our fingers together. He latches on to me with a strong grip. “Just tell them you don’t think it’s really appropriate to be talking about that now, but if they have questions they can discuss it later with you in private. Besides, you’re completely clean and have been free from drugs for years, you should be proud of that. Both my parents have done stuff in their youth that was questionable anyway. They shouldn’t bring it up.”
He sighs again, squeezing my hand still. I rub his thumb knuckle with my own thumb for reassurance.
“Ok, I think I’m gonna be ok. They’ll like me, and it’ll be great, and I’m freaking out for nothing.”
I tilt my head. “Is it really so important to you that accept you?”
“Yes!” he hisses. “Cause you’re important to me. This relationship is important to me. I want our families to like each other, and well – I still have pretty low self-esteem from my flophouse days. Their approval of me also goes a long way in reassuring me that you’re not too good for me.”
“Aww baby,” I coo. I lean to the side and kiss him. “I love you, and that’s one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said to me. Well the fact you’re so serious about this means that you’re good boyfriend material..”
“You mean it?”
“I mean it.”
He pauses a moment. “Ok. I’m ready.”
I press another kiss to his cheek, then knock on the door before letting myself inside. “Mom, Dad, we’re here!”

______________________________________________________________
Text is fictional. I couldn’t locate the source. It looks like it came from a movie.