I grab Jackson's hand as we walk behind Kira. She leads us over to my brother, Johnathan. He greets Jackson with the same excitement as Kira and I am so grateful for that. I glance over at my parents as they are still whispering to one another while looking at us. Soon my mom calls all of us to sit and eat. My dad sits at the head of the table while my mom sits to his left. I put Jackson next to my dad and I sit on Jackson's right. Kira sit next to my mom and Johnathan is at the other end.

"Dad," I say to grab his attention before we start eating. "This is my boyfriend, Jackson."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Reynolds," Jackson says holding out his hand for my dad to shake.

"It's nice to meet you too," my dad says skeptically, but still shakes his hand. "And how long have you and my daughter been dating?"

"It's been about 6 months now. Right Rin?" Jackson looks to me for confirmation.

"Mhmm. About to be 6 months soon."

"And how come we are just meeting your boyfriend now, anak?" My dad asks me staring me down.

"Well, I've been busy with graduating and starting my internship. I would have told you sooner but we couldn't find the right time till now," I explain as I gather food onto my plate. I noticed Jackson hadn't grabbed any food for himself yet so I start piling food onto his plate.

"Rin, Jackson can get food by himself," my mom scolds me as I hand Jackson his plate filled with Filipino food.

"I know, ma, but he doesn't know anything about Filipino food," I say grabbing food for myself. I see Jackson look down at his food in curiosity.

"Can you tell me what each food is, Rin?" Jackson asks me quietly.

"Well this is obviously rice," I say pointing at the white grains. "This is adobo-" I point at the chicken cooked in soy sauce, "that's sisig-" I motion to the pork parts dish made in vinegar, "that's pancit-" I point to the noodles with various vegetables and some meat, "and that's lechon-" I point to the pork meat last.

"Oh. Okay. Did you make all of this yourself, Mrs. Reynolds?" Jackson asks as he tries out the adobo with some rice. He observes what I do as I eat my meat and my rice together.

"Most of it," my mom says modestly. "I did buy the pancit from a restaurant."

"Well this all tastes great," Jackson compliments my mother. He feeds himself another helping of rice and adobo.

"Thank you, Jackson. I'm glad you like the food."

Throughout the dinner, Jackson talks to my parents about how we met, what he does, and other things. My mom keeps giving me looks while I catch up with my siblings. I know she'll want to talk to me alone later. But it looks like my dad is enjoying talking to Jackson about sports or something. I know I can't be bothered to join their conversation. Jackson manages to eat two full plates of food. He even tried lumpia, kare-kare(which I don't even eat), dinuguan(something I also don't eat), and puto for dessert. I also fed Jackson an ube bun and he fell in love with it. If I had known he would've loved Filipino food I would've fed it to him sooner. I only know a few recipes but I'm sure I could get some from my mom.

"Filipino food is so good," Jackson says rubbing his stomach as we lounge in the living room with tv playing.

We all moved in there once it got dark and we all finished eating. Jackson and I are sitting on the small couch while my siblings are chilling on the floor. My dad has his own special love seat that we don't dare sit in. We all know he farts on that thing after meals. My mom is standing at the opening of the kitchen. I know she's going to start dishes soon, but she's giving me the look which means we're going to have a talk. I give my mom a nod as I leave Jackson in the living room. He'll survive without me.

"So a white boy?" my mom asks casually as she starts washing the dishes. I sit at the kitchen table watching her do so.

"Yes, ma," I say shaking my head, already knowing where this conversation will go. "I'm dating a white guy. Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no. Of course not. It's just, I didn't think you were into white boys."

"In all honesty, mom, you don't really know what I'm into. It's been a while since I've dated someone."

"I know. But the last person you dated was pinoy."

"Well, I don't like just pinoys. And Jackson is a really good guy."

"Does he make a lot of money?"

"Mom! That doesn't matter in our relationship."

"It should. How do me and dad know if you're being taken care of?"

"Mom, I'm not going to live off of Jackson's money. I have an paid internship for a reason. And that will lead to a job in the future."

"Sure, sure. I know how much that internship means to you. But does he make a lot of money?"

"Yes, mom. He actually makes a lot of money. If you heard Jackson, he works under his dad."

"And do you really live with him?"

"Yes. I do live with him. I told you I was moving out of my apartment."

"Yes, but you didn't say where or with who. You know that, right?"

"I know. I didn't feel like it was necessary yet to tell you."

"Well I'm glad you're including your family in your life."

"Ma, you know I would include you guys in my life, but I wanted to make sure Jackson and I were serious before I brought him to you."

"And are you guys serious?"

"Yes we are, mom. We are very serious about each other."

"Was he the boy that took you to Disney World?"

"Yes. It was his gift to me for graduation."

"And how come he wasn't there at your graduation? I'm sure we would've seen him there."

"He was busy with work. He couldn't make it."

"Mhmm. Okay. So you're really serious about this boy? Like you might get married someday?"

"Yeah, mom. I really do think that's in our future together."

My mom stops watching the dishes to turn to me. I stand up and walk over to her. She opens her arms for me and I jump right in. When I was younger, my mom was always there for me when I had boy troubles. So she worries about me dating. But she doesn't have to worry about Jackson.

"Well I'm glad you found someone you like, anak," my mom says as we pull away from our embrace. "Now you better tell me if you get engaged or I'll stop your wedding myself."

"I know, ma. And you'll be the first person to know," I say laughing at her statement.

Jackson suddenly pops his head into the kitchen as my mom turns back to the dishes. He smiles at me and I smile back. I motion for him to come into the kitchen.

"It's getting late," Jackson says holding up his watch. "We should probably head out."

My mom pulls herself away from the dishes again to look at Jackson. "You guys have to leave so soon?"

"Yeah. I don't want to overstep my welcome."

"You're fine, you're fine. You are definitely welcomed here. Do you want some food to go?"

"Mom!" I groan, putting my head in my hands.

Jackson chuckles as he wraps an arm around my waist. "I would love to take some food to go. I love your food, Mrs. Reynolds."

"Please, call me auntie. You're family now, Jackson. I'll go fix you up some food."

"Really, Jackson?" I say to him, giving him a look. "You want to take home some food? My mom is going to giving you like 5 pieces of Tupperware full of food."

"I don't really mind that," Jackson tells me, grinning boyishly at me. I just shake my head and laugh. "Do you know how to cook those dishes?"

"I know some. I can always just ask my mom for the recipes."

"Well I wouldn't mind a night where you cook for me..."

"I can definitely do that for you."

I look at my mom who is still busy putting different foods in containers for us to take home. When she's done, she hands us a plastic bag full of containers that I know will last us at least two weeks. After that I can just cook for Jackson. Finally it's time to go. Jackson and I hug my mom and dad goodbye even though Jackson felt awkward hugging my parents. But that's how what happens when you're welcomed into a Filipino family. You get hugs. I hug my siblings goodbye and I make Jackson do it as well. When we get into Jackson's car, I grab his face and smash my lips onto his. Jackson reciprocates the motion and we start to make out in his car. We both pull away when we need air.

"You did so well, Daddy," I tell him smiling.

"Thank you, princess," Jackson say gratefully as he starts up the car and then drives off. "I was worried about your dad there though."

"Oh, he'll com around. He's just protective cause I'm first-born that just happens to be a girl. But you really wowed my mom. She's happy for us. My dad will come around. I know my siblings like you. Kira's texting me now about how hot you are."

"Is she really now?"

"Mhmm. I'll show you the text when we get back to the apartment."

"Well, I'm glad tonight wasn't a complete disaster."

"I'm glad, too, Daddy."