🎄The In-Laws (5 Book Series)

Ben took my hand and said, "We do not need to go to my parents' house. I know they have been way too much lately."

Squeezing his hand, I said, "No, let's go. But we will be firm on our boundaries."

He sighed and said, "I was hoping you would have said no. Let's stay at home and watch a movie."

Chuckling, I said, "Ben, it's your Grandpa's birthday. We have to rescue him from the madness."

Now, let us back up a bit. My name is Ashley, and I met my Fiancé Ben five years ago while I was a senior in high school. We would sit in the school courtyard and talk about everything. One day, I asked him, "Are you going to ask me out?"

He explained that yes, he wanted to date me, but he was scared I would not be able to take the abuse from his family. His exact words were, "They are crazy and will try to interfere with our relationship."

I reassured him that I was strong and we would be fine. That weekend, Ben picked me up for our first date. We went to dinner in a town over, and then we went to an evening town market. We spent the night talking, and when he dropped me off, he kissed me and said, "One day we will tell our kids and then Grandkids about our first date." 

But as our relationship progressed, his family tried to interfere with everything we did. My family adored Ben, and my parents treated him like one of their own. When Ben mentioned his car was acting weird, he spent the day with my Dad, and they fixed his car. Ben adored my parents. 

When we went to prom, my parents took so many pictures of us for their photo album that they started labeled Ashley and Ben the early years. I finally said, "Mom, we have reservations for dinner."

They hugged us and told us to be safe. When we got into the car, Ben said, "My parents want us to stop by. We have enough time to say hello."

"It is only right," I said. 

We drove to his parents' house, and when we walked in, his parents looked us over. His Mom said, "Where did you get the dress dear? It looks like you got it from a thrift store."

"Mom," Ben warned.

Placing a hand on his arm I said, "It is a vintage 1940's Coco Chanel that my Grandma wore to an awards dinner when she worked for the governor's office. It is not a thrift piece. There are only three of these left, one in Channels main offices in Paris, one in the Smithsonian, and this dress."

She shut her mouth and his Grandparents walked in. His Grandpa smiled and said, "Look at you both. Ashley, you look beautiful. Come do one of thse self pictures with me I need to show all the guys at the club how you both look."

Ben and I flanked Frank and I took a series of selfies with him. When we were done I showed Frank the pictures and he pointed to the ones that he wanted. I sent them to his phone and asked his parents, "Would you like to take a picture?"

His Dad said, 'No we are good,"

Ben took my hand and said, "We have reservations for dinner so we do need to leave."

Frank followed us out and opened the door for me. I climbed into Ben's car and Frank shut the door. I saw Frank say something to Ben and then Frank stuffed something into Ben's pocket before he climbed into his truck to head to the VFW. When Ben got into the car, he said, "Grandpa insisted that he pay for dinner. I am sorry my Mom was such a bitch to you."

Taking his hand I said, "Its alright, Your Grandpa made up for it."

We headed to the restaurant and met our friends there.