That weekend, Jennifer had to fly home. Just about an hour by plane—but for a very special occasion: her sister was getting engaged.
This was, of course, the kind of news that made their mother beam like she'd won the lottery. Mother had always believed a woman's happiness depended on marrying the "right" man.
Jennifer had once played that part perfectly—on paper, anyway.
At twenty-three, she'd married Shilem, a promising young politician from a respectable family. The wedding was grand, white, and classy enough to make every guest Instagram it immediately. Mother had invited all her friends—so even if they didn't attend, they would still know her daughter was a complete success.
Then Jennifer did the unthinkable.
Forty-eight hours later, the wedding was annulled. Gifts returned. Promising career in politics abandoned. And she became a kindergarten teacher in some faraway city.
Well, as they say: pride comes before a fall.
And oh, how hard her mighty mother had fallen in the esteem of her friends.
Her second daughter, Jessica, hadn't exactly followed a conventional path either. Boys? Meh. Jessica preferred anime characters and boy idol groups. When asked about romance, she'd shrug and say, "I'm (insert current bae here)'s waifu." Her adult salary could probably support a small army of fictional lovers.
And yet… a miracle had happened.
On her twenty-eighth birthday, at an anime convention, Jessica met a very nice guy who also believed in 2D love.
Somehow, their shared imaginary affections blossomed into a real—albeit slightly geeky—romance.
Now their mother was throwing an engagement dinner, because God knew these two would rather be at a hologram concert celebrating their love.
After twenty years of low-level shame, their mother could finally hold her head high again.
Sure, the eldest might be a kindergarten teacher living quietly somewhere, and forever condemned to single life. But the second daughter? Engaged. And to a computer programmer specializing in antivirus software. It wasn't that their mother knew what antivirus was, but her friends had assured her that her future son-in-law must be very intelligent and they had all heard of the company name.
Jennifer would make sure the dinner looked like a proper social triumph for Mother—and that Jessica survived the pomp without suffering too much. That's what good daughters—and big sisters—did.
Jennifer had just started packing her luggage for the overnight trip when her phone buzzed. A message from Jessica:
"OMG. Mum on phone. She's planning to matchmake you with Terrence at the dinner."
Jennifer froze mid-roll, staring at her neatly folded clothes. Terrence. Yes, she remembered him. Short, painfully awkward, and now working at a bank.
This wasn't the first time Mother had tried to pair them up—because apparently their mothers were best friends, and friendship obligations extended to lifelong matchmaking.
Jessica's next message popped up almost immediately:
"Text Mother now! Tell her you're bringing a plus-one. Quick before she calls anyone else."
Jennifer blinked. She replied with a small smirk, "But I don't have a plus-one. It's not like I can pull one out from a hat."
"Just bring any guy friend and fake it." Jessica sounded desperate on her behalf.
"I'd ask Mike to lend you his bro, but Pete is like ten times more awkward than Terrence and six years younger than you."
Jennifer stared at her open luggage. A plus-one, huh? Any chance… she could fit a guy in there?
Her mind ran through the possibilities.
Her building was full of good-looking men - barring the younger MLs, she still had…
Wait no. None of them would work.
It's not like she could go to her sister's engagement dinner on the arm of the Duke.
Frank was out too, anyone who had read any business of economic magazine would have recognized the conglomerate extraordinaire.
The Alpha King Drake Darkfall would also be too much.
Even Adrian. For one thing, her brain would malfunction. For another, he was still too famous to attend unrecognized.
She even thought of Rolly (not to be confused with Ronan the Dragon). Rolly would have been a perfectly unassuming partner. Their families were even friends after years of living along the same street. Rolly would have been perfect!
Except that she didn't have his number.
Maybe Sebastian.
Jennifer wondered if she might borrow Sebastian for the weekend. Put him in a casual t-shirt and jeans…
Jennifer sighed.
For now, she typed, short and simple:
"Mother, I'm bringing a plus-one this weekend."
Almost immediately, her phone buzzed. A reply from Mother:
"Oh, I was just about to text you. A boy?"
"Yes."
"Ok."
Jennifer stared at the screen. Well, that was settled. Sort of.
Now all she needed was to conjure a 40-year-old "boy" out of thin air and have him pose as her date for one weekend.
Maybe she should adopt a 2D love and show that to her mother instead.