Christmas in Madeira

“Your mother wants us to spend Christmas in Madeira?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure she wants me to go too?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t she?”

“I still don’t think that she likes me.”

“Maybe in the beginning she wasn’t as warm and welcoming as she should have been, but I thought things were improving.”

“I wish they were.”

“Hopefully, they will. By the way, I was thinking that we should stay at a hotel.”

“We can’t do that,” she exclaimed.

“Why not?”

“Your family, especially, your mother will feel put out. I’m sure she’s fixing up your old room or the guest room. You can’t disappoint her by staying at a hotel, Sabastian.”

“What about when we want to make love?”

“We can make love but we just have to be mindful that we’re not at home.”

“What if the bed creaks?”

“If the bed creaks, we can do it on the floor.”

“Do you know how uncomfortable that is?”

“We’ll try not to make noise.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Well, if we make too much noise, your parents can wear earplugs or something.”

“I still think we should stay at a hotel. We’d be free to come and go as we please and not have to worry about disturbing them.”

“If we stay at a hotel, your mother is going to blame me. She’s going to say that it was my idea and that you went along with it because you wanted to please me.”

“Do you want me to call her and tell her that we have decided to spend Christmas here instead of –?”

“No! Then, she’ll really hate me.”

“My mother doesn’t hate you.”

“All right. Maybe hate is too strong a word. She already dislikes me and us deciding not to go to for Christmas will only make her dislike me more.”

“All right. We’ll go. Why do you think that my mother dislikes you?

“I don’t know. I know it isn’t because I’m black because she gets along very well with Stefan’s fiancée, Idara who is Nigerian. Maybe it’s because you used to be a Catholic and now you’re a Seventh-day Adventist like me.”

“My mother doesn’t have anything against Seventh-day Adventists. We believe in the same God and accept Jesus as our Savior. The only difference is that we go to church on different days.”

“Well, there are other differences beside the days on which we worship.”

“Is it possible that you’re mistaken about my mother’s feelings for you?”

“No, I don’t think so. And I think she was expecting you to marry Brooke. After all, the two of you had been dating for five years.”

“Four years.”

“You were dating long enough for your mother to expect you to marry her and when you didn’t, she must have been very disappointed.”

“But, I didn’t want to marry Brooke.”

“Did you love her?”

“I thought I did until I met you. And that’s when I realized that what I felt for her was not even close to what I felt for you.”

“I watched you with her at the party. You made a very attractive couple. I’m sure everyone there expected you two to tie the knot.”

“While you were watching us and thinking about what attractive an couple she and I made, I was trying my best not to stare at you but it was really hard. That whole week was tough for me. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I felt like a wretch because of Brooke. Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer so I broke up with her and then, I called Andrea and asked her for your number. And here, we are, three and a half years later, married and blissfully happy.”

“Did you tell your mother why you broke up with Brooke?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why she doesn’t like me. You dumped Brooke for me.”

“Should I have stayed with Brooke when I wanted to be with you? Do you think that would have been fair to her? Would you want to be with a man who wanted to be with another woman?”

“I guess not.”

“Let’s not talk about Brooke or my mother anymore.” He discarded the towel which was around his neck and walked over to her. Cupping her face between his hands, he lowered his head and kissed her.

She put her arms around his waist, pressing against him as she responded to his hungry kisses. Several minutes later, he scooped her up and carried over to the bed where they made passionate love.

Sources: Current Results; European Best Destinations