Our story thus far: Charles Crafton just had dinner with his mother, his mother's friend Christine, and Christine's daughter Marissa. He broke a date with his girlfriend Alina Stanton to be there.
Dinner over, Charles, his mother, Christine and Marissa were relaxing when Christine suddenly surprised Marissa and Charles with two tickets to an upcoming Symphony concert.
Marissa had been so pleased and excited, she threw her arms around her mother's neck. Charles had no wish to be rude, nor did he wish to mar her happiness, so he merely acquiesced and smiled.
A few days later his mother phoned, her voice all breezy and light.
"So, Charles darling, what did you think of her?" she asked, but before he could answer she kept talking. "She's just a doll, and I knew you would like her. Christine tells me Marissa raved on and on about you, and now you're going together to the Symphony! What a stunning move on Christine's part!" Charles could just see his mother, clasping her hands together in delight and grinning famously.
"But, mother," he began, realizing now the error of his ways in not telling her of Alina, but she hushed him by saying she was dreadfully late and had to go.
He hung up the phone, rolled his eyes heavenward, then turned back to the case he was slaving over.
Alina had asked about his dinner with his mother, but he said little and she didn't press him. He knew it hurt her feelings that he'd never introduced them, but he couldn't quite get her to understand that it had nothing at all to do with her. He didn't quite know how to explain that his mother would find fault with something about her -- her hair, her car or her career -- and that he didn't want to listen to it. He especially didn't know how to explain that because of his mother he had stopped dating many a fine young woman, and that he did not want to stop seeing her.
Secretly he was glad that he had stopped dating all of the others, for he liked the fiery Alina best of all. And had he been dating someone when they wrecked, he would have simply thought she was pretty and never would have spoken to her again.
"Now who is this again?" Alina asked, a puzzled look marring her pretty face.
They were sitting in Alina's messy, inviting office after a late lunch and she was showing him some of her new fabrics. He was trying to explain why they couldn't go on a date that Friday night, and was slightly nervous.
"It's my mother's friend's daughter, Marissa Fairbanks. She's just moved back into town, and her mother bought her tickets to the Symphony, only she doesn't have anyone to go with..." His voiced trailed off at the slight lie; he didn't know how to tell Marissa that he was dating someone without it getting back to his mother, nor did he want to hurt Marissa's feelings, for he thought he did like her. He also didn't know how to tell Alina that he was looking forward to seeing Marissa again.
"You won't have too much fun, will you?" Alina asked anxiously, showing him a lovely green swatch of silk.
"Oh, no," he said, shaking his head and nodding somberly, "I won't have any fun at all."
