Bob sat on his couch staring at the TV. It was two years to the day since he'd buried Melissa. His in-laws were coming over "to remember her," and he dreaded their arrival. It wasn't that he didn't like them; they were great. He had no family other than Melissa's, and had nothing when Melissa brought him home and announced they wanted to get married. Her parents had treated him like family from the start. Katy, her sister, hated him. He'd tried his best in the intervening years, but she still treated him with contempt.
The doorbell rang and he steeled himself for the onslaught. He hadn't expected to see Katy, with her girlfriend Donna. "Hi Donna, Katy."
Donna stepped up and hugged him tightly. "Hey there, how are you?"
"Kinda down, as you can imagine."
"This your idea?" Katy was about as unhappy to be there as he was to have her there. He swore to himself to be nice.
"No, Mom asked if we could do this, and I couldn't say no." (Be Nice!)
"Well, MY mom can be pretty sappy some times."
The doorbell saved Bob, announcing the arrival of his in-laws. Greeting his mother-in-law always made him feel better. She was a tiny East Texas woman, with a heart the size of Alaska. She had never referred to him as her son-in-law, or Melissa's husband, but has her son. He was always amazed by her strength of will. Melissa's father was a tall, quiet man who had long ago learned to pick his battles, and normally gave in to his wife's every whim. When he stood his ground, however, he was the proverbial immovable object. Their obvious disappointment in Katy's lifestyle didn't prevent them from showing Donna the same love as well, for his mother-in-law hugged her and kissed her cheek, just like she did her daughter.
The following four hours went miserably slow. Talking about his late wife, while surely therapeutic, only served to make things worse. Bob tried to save himself as much as possible by making snacks and trying to make dinner, though his mother-in-law insisted on helping or doing it herself, which made the escape value lessen.
Halfway through preparing dinner, Bob's father-in-law stuck his head in the kitchen and asked, "Bob, should we open a bottle of wine?"
"Go right ahead. That's what they are there for."
Turning to his wife, he said. "You know wines, go pick one out." This sent her bubbling out to the bar to select one of the forty or so bottles of wine Melissa had stocked their wine rack with.
As soon as she left, the older man turned to Bob, "Sorry I didn't think of something sooner. She's trying to help as best she can, but she can be a bit much."
For the first time that day, Bob kind of half laughed. "Thanks. Let there be no doubt, I love Mom, but she was driving me nuts."
At that point, she burst back in, talking a mile a minute, carrying a bottle of wine, bustling about looking for wine glasses and a corkscrew. "ThiswasMissy'sfavoritewine. Itsashirazfromaustratlia.Theydon'tmakeitanymore..."
Bob redirected her to under the bar where the wine glasses and corkscrew were.
When she left, his father-in-law asked, "What did she call that stuff?"
"I missed it. Melissa was the wine drinker. I'd generally rather have a beer, myself."
"Me too, but we're wine drinker's tonight."
Dinner and the wine made things go a little better. After dinner, Mom, was feeling the effect of her glass of wine pretty heavily, so the in-laws made their round of hugs, and went home. Bob expected Katy and Donna to bail pretty quickly as well, but Katy sat in the living room and began to vent.
"Well, that was awful. At least we have another year to wait before we do it again."
Bob added, "Don't forget Christmas."
She glared as him, "Thanks for ruining my dream."
"Sorry. As much as I hate this, I'd do it again tomorrow if Mom asked."
"I don't even want to think about that possibility."
Donna tried to change the topic. "That was a nice bottle of wine."
"I've got another ten or so of it. Melissa found out the winery was closing and bought every bottle she could find. Want me to open another?"
Two more bottles of wine and they were sprawled on the carpet doing exactly what they'd done before, talking about Melissa. Only now the stories were covering topics that would never be mentioned in front of her parents. After the third bottle was gone, Bob asked if they needed another.
Katy answered, "It's very sweet of you to keep letting us hang out here and drink, but I know you don't even want me in you house."
Bob leaned over and hugged her, the wine making him speak from the heart, "You are always welcome in Melissa's house. And if I ever move, you're welcome there too." When he finished, he kissed the top of her head and stood up. "You're both too drunk to drive anyway, so I'm getting more wine."
He came back with two bottles and a corkscrew. "Might as well be prepared."
As he filled the glasses, Katy spoke up, "I have to admit it. You're a really sweet guy, and were very good to Missy, but what did she ever see in you?"
"KATY!" Donna was aghast, but drunk too, so she giggled while she was shocked.
"I mean, I know she loved you, but how did you get together in the first place? She was so hot and you were so plain."
"That's so rude!" Donna still couldn't believe her girlfriend.
"She's right. I was." Eyeing Donna he added, "I bet you don't even remember when we met."
"Sure I do. It was after you and Melissa started dating, a couple of months before Katy and I finally came out and admitted we were more than roommates."
"Nope. I sat across the table from you in Durston's chemistry class the fall before that."
"That was you? I cheated off of you on the final."
"Yes, and every other test too. In trade you always gave me a great view down your shirt."
Donna blushed, "And on test days I didn't wear a bra, hoping you wouldn't notice me cheating."
"I remember."
"So you've gotten a look at my girlfriend's tits?" Katy pretended to be offended.
"Yup, several. But the point was, Donna, I was so average you don't even remember flashing the girls at me."
"So still, how did it happen?" Katy demanded.
"You remember Stu, my roommate?"
"Yeah, kinda." Katy demurred.
"Kinda? You fucked him often enough; you should remember him." Donna interrupted.
"Well, that was Stu, always in someone's pants. Anyway, he dragged me to some party and hooked up with Melissa's roommate Tiffany."