The Story: To Ireland and Back

By the time my parents arrived for the Ireland trip, I was pretty confident that Jesse would be talking with them at some point. I just didn't have a clue about the timing. And I really wasn't sure at all how my parents would respond. After all, they'd made it no secret through the years the type of man they'd imagined for their daughters. And well, someone with a child by a previous girlfriend didn't quite fit their expectations. It was easy enough for me to tell myself (or others) that he'd changed, but how objective was I really being? And while my parents are well past the point of trying to dictate my life, I do respect their opinions and advice very highly.

We did have a wonderful time in Ireland. I enjoyed site-seeing with my parents. Sometimes Jesse would join us--when he wasn't helping his brother cat-herd their sister and the other teens. And as Jesse noted, the group in general seemed to just make it easier for Jesse and I to be together on the bus, at meals or events, or for snatches of freetime through the trip. And for about a week of the trip, I got to room with Jesse's sister.

Though I didn't ever really state what I expected, my parents weren't oblivious to what was happenning. And when they asked me questions like, "What is your relationship with Jesse?" I really wasn't sure how to answer. Jesse and I had never discussed it. Despite all I guessed, for my emotional well-being, I was doing my best to still think of Jesse as just a friend. (And that was getting harder by the day.)

My parents stayed with me for a few more days in Virginia after we returned from Ireland. About a day or so before my parents left, my mother and I headed to Leesburg to pick up our pictures from the trip and do a bit of shopping. We left Dad at home to take a nap. A couple of times before we headed home, I tried to call to see if there was anything we needed to pick up for Dad. But the phone was busy both times. When we arrived home 30 minutes after we'd first tried to call, we were suprised to find that my dad (who seldom talks on the phone for an extended length of time with anyone) was STILL on the phone. VERY conveniently, the battery on my cordless handset died as we walked in the front door, so we didn't hear any of his conversation. Curious, we asked if Dad had called his parents.
"No, that was Jesse. He called to ask if Charlessa wanted a copy of his digital pictures from the trip on CD."
Um....yeah. That's why you've been on the phone for over 30 minutes.

Continue: The Story: The Big Day