Chapter Eighteen

At the close of work Steve drove down to Joan's parents house to talk with them.

"I know you didn't just drop by for a courtesy visit. So what brings you here, Steve?" Joan's father asked him as the three of them sat in the living room, while a maid served them refreshments.

"Uhmm, actually it's regarding the..."

"Don't worry let me help you out. You are here to find out if you can change our minds about you and Joan getting married, am I right?"

"Yes sir, the thing is we really..."

"My answer is no. And I believe I speak my wife's mind as well when I say no." Joan's father turned to look at his wife who was seated beside him.

She gave him a nod, "Yes, you are."

"But you can't do that, you can't just decide for us who to get married to or when to get married. We are adults for crying out loud!" Steve looked scandalized.

"This is for the best interest of you both, as well as for our families. You may not understand it yet, but eventually you will be glad we made this decision," Joan's mom told him calmly.

"Our best interest? I'm sorry but I don't see how..."

"Steve?" Joan's father interrupted him.

"Yes sir."

"My wife here tells me she found you and my daughter in some sort of emmm...." Joan's father paused as he thought about an appropriate word to describe what he wanted to say "In a compromising state?" He asked, and Steve looked down at his shoes the moment he realized where Joan's father was driving to.

"Now if it were to be in the days of my father, I don't need to tell you what would have happened after you both were found that way."

"I'm sorry sir, but whatever happened between your daughter and I was mutual."

Joan's father raised his hand to stop him. "I don't want to hear it."

"But sir this is the 21st century," Steve protested.

"And that is why I am giving you the opportunity to do the right thing."

"And what if I don't marry her?"

Joan's father chuckled, "Oh trust me, you will. You will my boy," He stood up, "Now if you will excuse me, I have an important call to make." With that, Joan's father stood up and walked away, leaving Steve and his wife.

"Please ma, you have to do something, you can not allow this to happen. Neither I nor Joan will be happy if we get married." Steve pleaded with Joan's mom.

"I'm sorry but I'm with my husband on this," She replied.

"But why? Why would you people want to do this? Don't you care about your daughter's happiness?"

"We do, and that's why we are insisting you both get married. Who else would be the best person for you to marry, if not your best friend?" She asked matter of factly.

"This is unbelievable!" Steve groaned in anger.

"I would advise you go home and think about it. You will realize that it's not as bad as you think," Joan's mom said with a smile on her face before standing up, "I need to join my husband, if you don't mind," she said, and walked away before Steve could respond, leaving him feeling more frustrated than he had been when he entered the house.

Why was all the adults suddenly being unreasonable? This whole thing was really pissing him off and he it annoyed him that he didn't even know what to do about it. Was he missing something? He wondered as he stood up and left the house.

Once he was in his car driving home, his phone started ringing and he received the call since he had his airpod in his ear, "Yeah?" He asked impatiently when he realized it was his younger sister.

"Good evening. How are you?" Lilian asked as she lay on the couch of her apartment with her head on her boyfriend's lap.

"How am I supposed to be? I'm not fine!" Steve said irritably, and Lilian sighed.

"What is the update? I went to see mom at her office today," Lilian said, and Steve's brow shot up.

"You did? What did she say?" Steve asked hopefully.

"She said the decision is for the best of everyone, and that I should try and convince you to do it," Lilian said with a sigh, "What about Joan? How is she taking all of this?" She asked in concern.

"I don't even know. I was trying to talk to her earlier on and she blew up. This whole thing is fucking annoying!" Steve hissed.

"It would have been best if they at least tell you why they're forcing you to do this," Lillian said apologetically.

"I don't think any reason can ever be reasonable enough to support this nonsense decision! See abeg, my head is paining me. Let's talk later, I'm driving," Steve said and hung up.

Meanwhile in Joan's family house, her father was seated on their bed, while her mother held out a glass of water to him with some medicines. She waited patiently for him to swallow everything before dropping the cup of water on top of the bedside drawer, and sitting down beside him.

"Are you sure we are doing the right thing? What if they both end up not being happy? Our responsibility to Yinka is to make sure she is happy, isn't it?" She asked with a concerned frown.

"How will either of you be happy if I die today and everything is taken from you? My responsibility to the both of you is to keep you safe, and not just happy. And the only way I can do that is by making sure she is married to someone I can trust," He said, and she nodded.

"I understand what you're saying. I'm just saying this because you know how children of these days behave. And you know how stubborn your daughter is too," her mother said.

"Who else do you think can make her happy if not her best friend? Besides, the fact that they were both attracted to each other enough to sleep with each other, should tell you that we are on the right track," he said when his wife still looked unconvinced.

"Don't worry, I've called her boss already. By tomorrow morning they will both realize how serious this issue is. They may think they have a lot of time, but I don't. And I can't wait for them to come around," Joan's father said with a tone of finality.