"Yep. Sure is. Dorms and everything else are here, too." I hit the button for the divider between us and the driver and it went down. "Bumpkin, would you stop by the cottage my parents will be staying at, please?"

"Yes, ma'am, certainly," he replied, nodding.

"Thank you." Emma must have warned him to be on his best behavior.

He tipped his hat and the divider went back up.

Dad raised his eyebrow. "'Yes, ma'am'? I'm impressed."

I grimaced. "I'm not, it makes me feel old," I objected. My parents chuckled.

We pulled up to the guest cottage and Bumpkin helped carry the luggage in.

"Were you going to be staying here a while, or can I drop you off somewhere else?" Bumpkin asked, shutting the limo's trunk.

I looked over to my parents. "Well? Would you like to see the rest of the school? Meet my friends?"

Mom and Dad gave each other a look. I guess I'd sounded a bit overeager, because Daddy said, "Well, we're tired, maybe just for a few minutes."

I sighed mentally. I knew they weren't crazy about the idea of being around a bunch of mutants. "Okay," I agreed. "Let's go over to the recreation cottage, then. Most everyone should be there."

Bumpkin dropped us off and we went inside. Doing a quick sweep of the room, I noted that the rest of the group was present, except Angelo.

"Hey, Sums! These yer parents?" J asked, coming over to us.

"Yeah. Mom and Dad, this is Jubilee. Jubes, my parents."

"Hi, nice to meet you," J responded, holding out her hand.

Dad reached out rather hesitantly and shook Jubilee's hand. "Likewise," he said, in a forced tone, quickly withdrawing his hand. Mom reached out and quickly shook her hand as well.

I had expected them to be a bit taken back, but the way they were acting, I just wanted to die. I couldn't believe my parents were acting like this, they weren't even trying to be polite. I mean, it's not like we were all diseased or something...

("Don't be upset, Summer, it's okay,") Jubilee sent, sensing my mood.

("No, it's not okay! They're my parents--")

("Who aren't used to mutants. Let's talk about it later, K?")

The rest of the group came up a few at a time and I went through the introductions again.

"So, where's this guy you're marrying?" Dad asked.

"Um..." I closed my eyes and pushed through our "mental fence" and took a peek through Angelo's eyes. I saw the stairwell to the boy's dorm. "He oughta be here soon."

Sean and Emma approached and introduced themselves as the headmasters of the school. I could tell my mother liked Emma even less than she did the rest of the group.

Oh, why couldn't Emma have picked something to wear a little bit less...revealing? Great, I'm sure Momma's thinking such lovely thoughts right now... This was not going well at all. I leaned my chin in the palm of my hand and sighed.

I felt a pair of arms slip around my waist. "Hey, baby," Angelo's voice murmured in my ear. He kissed me on the cheek and I bit my lip to keep from grinning like an idiot.

The room suddenly got quiet and I became aware that my parents were unabashedly staring at the two of us.

"Uhm, Ange..." I began nervously, sending him a feeling of apprehension.

He got my drift and let go of me.

"These are my parents. Mom and Dad, Angelo, my fiancé."

Angelo stepped forward and offered his hand. "Summer's told me so much about you, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said politely, smiling.

They didn't move.

Oh, don't do this to me, please, I begged silently. I drew in my breath and looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to calm myself.

Someone cleared their throat.

Angelo's face fell and he slowly withdrew his hand, nodding in resignation and taking a step back toward me.

I had an overwhelming urge to scream at my parents, ask them what was wrong with them, and why they were spoiling the happiest occasion in my life, but I knew it would only make things worse...

It was at that moment that I realized how much I craved my parents' approval, how much I'd wanted them to like Angelo; how could they not, once they saw how very much in love we were, how important this was to me? I was going to marry Angelo regardless of whether they liked him or not, no question about that, but it hurt me to the very core of my being knowing that they'd already decided to disapprove of him without even taking the chance to get to know him.

What a fool I've been to believe they'd react any differently... Disappointment washed over me and I felt like crying.

Dad broke the silence.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all--"

I couldn't stand being in the room any longer. "Oh, Daddy!" I wailed, turning and heading for the door. I'd just made it to the door when my face fell and the tears began. I started to run blindly, not caring where I was going but only wanting to be as far away from the source of the hurt as possible.

"Summer! Wait, please!" Angelo was running after me.

I turned and flung myself into his arms, burying my face against his chest and clutching handfuls his shirt so tightly my hands shook. We collapsed to the ground and he sat rocking me and stroking my hair.

He gently entered my mind, trying to soothe the torrent of anxiety rushing through my mind. "Shhhhh...don't cry, love...I know, I know. I'm sorry too," Angelo whispered.

"It's--it's not your fault, Angelo..."

Angelo gently wiped a tear away from my cheek with his thumb. He didn't say anything, just sat there holding me close in his arms. His presence and the gentleness of his touch comforted me and I stopped crying.

I looked up at him. "I love you, Angie."

"I love you too, Summer, more than words could possibly say." He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. "It'll be all right, baby." He stood up, pulling me up with him. "Come on, let's go inside."

A part of Shades of Gray

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