After everything was settled, Lance gave Mabel a ride home. She even got back before Henrietta.
When she walked through the door, she spotted her dad, Keen, parked on the living room sofa. He looked like he'd been waiting for her, probably hoping for the latest update from her blind date.
"How come you're home by yourself?" Keen asked, his brow creasing as he turned to look at her.
Since their daughter was home, where was his wife?
"We finished up early, so I just came back," Mabel replied, flopping down next to him and sinking into the cushions. She let out a quiet sigh. “Next time you and Mom set me up on one of these dates, can you at least give me a warning first?"
Keen eyed her with curiosity. "What, you didn't like him after all? Your mom said he was really good-looking-your ideal type, wasn't he?"
"He was definitely my type, but that doesn't matter when he's already into someone else."
Keen's expression changed, his voice a little louder in his surprise. "Wait, what? He already likes someone?"
"So why would he agree to a blind date? Sounds like a jerk to me!"
Mabel couldn't help but laugh. Like father, like daughter. Their reactions were always perfectly in sync.
She wrapped her arms around her dad's neck, playing up the drama. "Do I really have to get married? What if I just stay at home with you and Mom forever? Wouldn't that be nice?"
Keen smiled, softening as he hugged her back. “I honestly don't mind. If you never get married, that's fine. We can look after you for as many years as you want."
"But..." He paused, his tone gentler. "We just worry you'll be lonely one day."
"A husband will be there for you your whole life. Even your own kids can't do that. Look at your mom and me—we can't live without each other."
He was speaking from the heart, hoping she'd understand.
"I get it, Dad. But I still need to meet someone I actually like—someone who likes me back. Blind dates like this aren't going to work."
She let out another sigh. "It's not that I don't want to get married, I just don't want it to be some transaction or scheme You and Mom don't need to worry. There's no way m ever going to settle for some lazy freeloader."
Seeing how grown-up and level-headed she was, Keen felt proud. "Alright, I'll talk to your mom later."
He hesitated, then asked, “But are you sure about that Lance guy? Does he really like someone else, or was that just something he said because he wasn't interested in you?"
If it was just an excuse, Keen felt like he had to stand up for his daughter.
"I think he really does like someone, but his parents might not approve," Mabel said, shrugging. She hadn't pushed for details.
Everybody has their secrets and she never liked prying.
"So his parents know who he likes, but still forced him to go on these blind dates and hid it from us?" Keen tried to piece it together getting more annoyed with the James family the longer he thought about
it.
He'd originally thought the James family was pretty straightforward, even with all
that drama about the switched daughters. At least they weren't one of those feuding families fighting over sons.
If Mabel had married Lance, her own parents would always have her back, so no one could mess with her.
Now, though, he felt like Latham and
Octavia hadn't played fair. If they
didn't want their son to date a
certain girl fine.
But couldn't themet
have just let them know before this
whole set-up? It wasn't like his
daughter was desperate or absolutely had to marry their son.
"Dad, it's really fine. To be honest, Lance was pretty straightforward. He told me everything at the start. That made things easier, otherwise I'd be upset, too.”
Mabel couldn't help but smile at the way her dad looked like he was ready to go find trouble for her sake.
"Alright, if you don't mind him, then we'll just leave it for now. I'll let your mom handle things with his mother."
He looked around, suddenly noticing something. "By the way, where's your mom?"
"She left with Lance's mom," Mabel said. "No idea where they ended up."
The truth was, Octavia and Henrietta had gone off to play mahjong together. Henrietta didn't make it home until almost eleven.