Page 57 of Far

At the table sits an older woman about my mom’s age, along with a man who appears to be around my age. I sigh internally, already knowing what this is about.

My mother beams. “This is Margaret van der Fall, an old friend from university. And her son Stefan, who just completed his medical degree in Vienna.”

My father shakes their hands. “Pleasure to meet you both.”

Ella smiles at the two strangers as she introduces herself. “Hi, I’m Ella.”

“And this is Mary, my eldest daughter.” My mother yanks me forward.

“Nice to meet you both.”

Stefan offers a nervous grin while his mother nods.

“Please, sit down.” My mother forces me into the chair next to my future-husband-prospect.

“Stefan is a very accomplished young man. He graduated top of his class in Vienna. And he just finished his residency in plastic surgery.” She smiles widely at me. “Doesn’t that sound impressive, Mary?”

My mother would probably excel at a car dealership or something. “Oh yes, very impressive.”

Mrs. van der Fall chimes in. “His father is a prestigious surgeon as well.”

I nod along, feigning interest, while Stefan ogles his glass.

My father clears his throat. “Well, our Mary is accomplished, too. She helps manage our family’s hotel chain, a very demanding job.”

“Still unmarried, though. A lovely girl like her should settle down soon, don’t you agree?” My mother gestures for the servers.

Mrs. van der Fall nods. “They’re at this age now, right?”

Very subtle.

The servers come in, placing food in front of each of us.

Ella fidgets with the pies, appearing as uncomfortable as I feel. Meanwhile, Dad stabs the meat on his plate with more force than necessary.

“Stefan, tell us more about your time in Europe,” my mother says.

“Well, it was quite an adventure. The city is really beautiful. I even stayed at a hotel of yours once.”

Oh, he can talk.

My father interjects, “Speaking of the hotels, I’ve hired a new security consultant, Connor Milton. He’s already improved things immensely. What kind of experience do you have so far as a doctor, Stefan? Any real-world experience yet?”

Stefan dabs his mouth with his napkin. “Well, I just finished my studies and did some interning at a plastic surgery office.”

Dad nods. “I see. Still quite green then.”

“Richard.” My mother scowls.

Is my father seriously throwing shade at the suggested candidate for marriage from my mother?

He turns to me. “Now Connor, on the other hand, he came to me fully seasoned. What was it… ten years of working in cybersecurity? Fifteen? He started very, very young.”

I hide a smile behind my water glass. This is just too good.

“And the improvements he’s made at the hotels already are just tremendous. We’ve seen a twenty percent drop in incidentssince he came on board. Can’t believe I didn’t bring someone like him in sooner.”

Total lie. Connor’s only been there for a week. Tops.

---