Chapter 11

It was the day before Christmas Eve. Ilse and I were getting ready to visit my parents. A day earlier, I had called my mother with the message that I had an important announcement to make and that I wanted to do so in person. My mother, being the ever-curious woman that she was, had wanted to learn more right away, but I had been adamant about it and teased her that she’d just have to wait until the next day.

Since my parents lived in the same city as Ilse’s, Anna and Erik had agreed to babysit Bram and Naomi when I introduced Ilse to my parents. We’d likely run into a confrontation with them and a house filled with arguments was no place to take our children to. Not to mention, it’d probably be too much for my parents to handle as well. It was better to ease them into it and allow them to get used to Ilse first, before I introduced Bram and Naomi too.

I parked my car on my parents’ driveway. My mother greeted us at the front door.

Ilse wore heeled shoes, a pair of denim jeans, and a tight fitting sweater. She had opted to wear her hair loose. We weren’t going to create a perfect picture with her in a cocktail dress, instead I wanted to introduce her in the way she felt best. As such, she had selected clothes that would be comfortable to wear and keep her warm in the cold, winter temperatures.

“Hello mother, I’d like you to meet Ilse, my fiancée.”

I figured there was no easy way to bring the news to her so I thought it best to cut right down to the issue at hand. To say that she was surprised would be an understatement. I had never indicated that I was involved in a serious relationship and now meeting my fiancée was something she hadn’t expected.

My mother gave Ilse a contemplative look, before she introduced herself.

Offering her hand, she said, “Hello Ilse, I’m Patricia.”

My mother led us inside and as she stood on the first step of the stairs, she yelled with some urgency in her voice, “Hans, will you come down? Tom is here!”

“Yeah, give me a minute, I’ll be right down!” He yelled back.

“Come; let’s go into the living room. You have a lot of explaining to do, young man,” my mother stated with her ‘I’m not amused’ voice.

She always used the same voice when I did something I wasn’t supposed to do.

It was hard to read her thoughts, but let’s put it this way, if she were happy and supportive she’d have responded in a much different manner and she would be far more cheerful. This wasn’t going to be easy.

My mother asked us if we wanted coffee or tea. I opted for coffee while Ilse preferred tea. We sat next to each other on the couch, when my dad entered the living room.

“Where is the emergency—” My dad jokingly started, until he saw Ilse and his voice trailed off.

“Why, hello there,” he said, not sure what to think of the unexpected guest.

“Dad, this is Ilse. Ilse, this is Hans, my father,” I introduced them.

My father walked over and kissed her with the three customary kisses to introduce himself, after which he sat down.

“So, Tom, is Ilse your girlfriend, or—?” He left the question hanging in the air, not sure of what to say.

“No dad, Ilse is my fiancée,” I replied with a calm, but serious tone of voice, while holding Ilse’s hand and giving her a supportive squeeze.

“Fiancée, eh? How long have you been keeping this news from us, son?” he asked, taken aback by my response.

“Perhaps it’s easier if we wait until mom is here too, that way I only have to explain everything once,” I replied, with a smile on my face.

He nodded his assent and there was an uncomfortable silence while we waited for my mother to return.

After four minutes, my mother finally reappeared with cups of coffee and tea. Once she served us all she sat down on the couch opposite us, while my dad sat in his lazy chair next to me.

“I’m sure you both have a lot of questions,” I started, while looking them both in the eyes, “but perhaps it’s best if I give a synopsis first of the events that led me to ask Ilse to be my wife, earlier this month.”

Both my parents nodded in agreement and with a hand gesture my dad beckoned me to start, which I did. I told them about how I had met Ilse and how our relationship had evolved from her cleaning my house, to my taking Ilse and our kids on day trips to the beach and the zoo. When I told them about our discovery of Ilse’s pregnancy, I thought my mother was going to have a stroke. Her face flushed red, but she kept her peace and let me finish the story.

After I was done, my dad didn’t really know what to say while my mother looked ready to explode.

“Can I have a word with you in the study, son?” She insistently asked me.

Actually, the way she said those words, it came more across as a command, refusing wasn’t an option.

I had anticipated as much and I already knew what was coming. She wanted to talk this ‘silly’ idea out of my head and set my priorities straight for me. Well, she was in for a surprise.

“Can you keep my father company for a minute, my dear?” I asked Ilse with a sweet voice, “It seems my mother wants to have a chat with me.”

“Certainly, my love,” Ilse replied, giving me a soft kiss on my lips.

To ensure we had the upper hand, we had actually practiced this for maximum effect. I wasn’t going to give an inch when it came to my relationship. Making it clear right away that we really loved each other and that we enjoyed a well-established relationship, rather than puppy love, would help me get the upper hand.

Our small, casual exchange even took my mother by surprise. I wasn’t too worried about leaving Ilse alone with my dad. After all, I had inherited my wuss genes from him while my stubbornness definitely originated from my mother. Ilse would have no problem handling my dad. His biggest concern would probably be that we couldn’t supply in our income, but we had already anticipated his questions, and we had come prepared.

My parents knew that I was very fond of everything related to economics, from the books of the grocery store around the corner to the financial state of our country. However, unknown to them, I was also actively investing in stocks for several years already.

It was a natural extension of my job and I loved playing the market. Although I had started only three years ago, I was already making a decent profit, which I kept investing back in more stocks. I took the safe route though, by only investing half of my savings every month in stocks, while the other half went into my savings account. It was through this smart investing that I could afford such a big house and a nice car, since my wage alone was nowhere enough with just a single income.

I just didn’t like to brag about it and since the stocks were a long-term investment I never really bothered mentioning that little fact to my parents. After all, I couldn’t touch the money anyway. I hadn’t even mentioned this to Ilse, until we tried to come up with ways to win over my father. She had been worried about our finances. She promised me that she’d get a job as soon as she was able to work again after she recovered from her pregnancy. Learning that she wouldn’t have to worry about our finances in the immediate future had been a big relief to her. She could work if she wanted to, but it would only mean extra spending money for her and not a necessity for us.

My mother walked with me to the study and after she made sure the door was closed, she insistently hissed, “Really son, couldn’t you find something better?”

My mother was clearly not amused, but neither was I with her attitude. She made it sound like Ilse was some kind of tramp.

“Ilse is a wonderful woman, mother. I know that she doesn’t live up to your standards of an ideal daughter-in-law, but the hussies you tried to hook me up with, were always interested in only one thing, my money,” I spat back. “Ilse cares about me for who I am and not for how much money I make or what kind of car I drive.”

Even without people knowing about my stock investments, I realized I was quite the catch for many women who wanted a secure future. However, I wasn’t interested in becoming a sugar daddy for a woman that was too lazy to work. Ilse had already demonstrated that she was nothing like that and she eagerly accepted all the work she could get.

“She doesn’t even hold a steady job!” My mother exclaimed, her face flushing red from anger at my reaction.

“On top of that she also has two children of another man and she’s several years older than you! This is the biggest mistake of your life,” my mother continued. She had a feral look in eyes and ground her teeth when she spoke those last words.

“The biggest mistake in my life would be if I let her go. You also seem to forget that she’s carrying my child. Your grandchild,” I replied, emphasizing those last words.

Really, I love my mother to death, but she could be such a royal pain in the ass when it came to her involvement in my love life. I knew she wanted the best for me, but getting her to see that Ilse was the best would be a challenge.

“She could get an abort...” However, before she finished that line I gave her a furious glare and held my finger to her lips, stopping her dead in her tracks.

“Don’t even finish that line if you ever want to see me again,” I stated with an ice-cold voice, emphasizing every word, while shaking my head in a slow, disapproving manner, as I gazed at her.

Remember what I said about anybody touching my family? I normally tended to agree with my mother on many things or was at least willing to compromise. However, this was one of those cases where no compromise was possible. It was either my way or the highway. I would fight for my family until my last dying breath and it seemed that this got through to her as well. She saw a completely new side of me that she had never seen before and it would take her time to get used to it.

“I see,” my mother replied and with a voice that held a tone of defeat, she continued, “I guess you made up your mind then?”

“Yes, I did. It would mean a lot to me if you were supportive of my decision, but no matter how you feel about my choice, I won’t change my mind. I’m going to marry Ilse and raise her children as my own, with, or without your approval.”

“Very well, I might as well get to know my daughter-in-law then,” my mother said, admitting defeat.

Considering what had just occurred, that went rather well.

When we returned to the living room, my mother had a smile on her face and hugged a surprised Ilse. I winked at my love and indicated that everything was okay. It took Ilse a moment before she returned my mother’s hug.

“Welcome to the family, my dear,” my mother said with a soft voice.

My dad looked just as surprised as Ilse, but he had a wide grin on his face once he overcame his surprise.

“I was getting worried that you’d never get a girlfriend, son,” he said, “However; I didn’t expect you to introduce such a lovely fiancée to us on such short notice. It really sounds like you two thought things through and you have my blessing.”

“Thanks, dad, that means a lot to me,” I said, returning his grin with a smile of my own.

With the icy atmosphere cleared, we spent the next couple of hours talking about our plans for the future. We also shared more information about what Bram and Naomi were like and showed my parents pictures of their newest grandchildren. My parents were getting eager to meet them and were looking forward to Boxing Day when I promised to bring our children with us and introduce them to the family. Given that my family had only invited adults to the reunion at Christmas Eve, I wanted to give Bram and Naomi a chance to adjust to their new extended family at a pace where they’d be more comfortable.

I had already informed my grandparents from my father’s side by phone about Ilse and our children, so they at least knew what to expect. As I had expected, they were eager to meet them and would prepare a warm welcome. Overall, my father’s family was a lot smaller anyway and with my grandfather in charge, I didn’t expect any trouble. He had often been my confidant in the past when I was struggling with an issue and his down to Earth attitude had always been a great support to me.

When we picked up our kids that night, Anna and Erik were pleased to hear that things had gone well. I had really been dreading that conversation with my mother and gaining her support would make it a lot easier to introduce Ilse to the rest of my family.