IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER - SEASON 9 EPISODE 39

“So what happened then?” Lawrence urged Mike to tell him more. He now faced Mike and was interested with what he was about to say like it was a secret trick he needed.

“I haven’t returned home and have found all kinds of excuses to avoid my Dad. So I am safe. For now, I guess,” Mike answered blandly. He laughed at the thought. “This morning, he called and scolded me because I hadn’t come back home for a long time. He threatened to break my legs if I don’t come home today. So why would I come back home?” he added jokingly and laughed very hard.

“If your legs were broken, I would send a helicopter to your window to save you,” Lawrence joked.

They both laughed. Mike and Lawrence shared this inside joke to themselves about their family and how they would save each other in case one of them git stuck with their rich but dysfunctional families. But Mike was actually moved by Lawrence’s words. He would always know that Lawrence was there for him no matter what. With a light pat on the latter’s shoulder, he replied with great joy, “You’re my good buddy. I’d rather die outside than go home and be at the mercy of my Dad.”

“If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can live in my house or I can buy you a villa,” Lawrence offered.

“There is no need. How would I end up without no place to live? If I really got no choice, I don’t mind sleeping with you,” Mike teased and he grinned at Lawrence.

“What if that Lily mistakes us for gays?” Lawrence asked out of the blue. He was just trying to sway the conversation to a light mood.

Mike almost choked on his whiskey. After swallowing the wine, he cast a surprised glance at Lawrence. “Does she?” he asked with his eyes widened.

“It’s possible. You know Lily, don’t you?” Lawrence replied curtly. He was in no mood to introduce Lily. Mike knew everything about him and his family and how inappropriate they could be sometimes.

Mike had a hard thought on what Lawrence said. He paused for a while to think more about it but realized that Lawrence was just changing the subject on why the latter was here.

“Why are you suddenly interested in marriage? Are you hiding something from me?” Mike asked as if he was questioning a criminal. With uncertainty, Mike continued, “Did your parents urge you to settle down?”

“Seriously?” Lawrence said sarcastically. “My parents wouldn’t force me to do anything like that and you know that very well,” he continued. Lawrence believed that his sensible mother would never push him on marriage issues. Lawrence knew that she had always respected his opinions and would never force him to do anything. For his father, though Jackson was a tough one, he knew that his father wouldn’t go far on him with marriage. Whatever his mother said, his father would always agree.

“So is it your Uncle Wilson?” Mike surmised. He couldn’t think of other person that would force Lawrence into something he didn’t want to do. And Mike hit the jackpot.

“What’s worse is that Uncle Mond and Uncle Derek joined him. My shrewd Aunt Selina already made several appointments for me,” Lawrence confirmed, “One is in JY Hotel at 8:00 tonight. One is in KX Restaurant at 8:00 am tomorrow. And the other one is in JN Hotel at 8:00 tomorrow night…”

“Seriously? Aunt Selina did that?” Mike asked, with his jaw dropping in disbelief. He knew Aunt Selina but he couldn’t believe that she would go that far just to find Lawrence a wife. But he thought it was a good thing for Lawrence. He knew his friend needed this push from his family to get over some things especially marriage. But Mike couldn’t help but feel a little pity for Lawrence because he knew what it felt.

“Oh, do you need a company? You can take me with you. I can have free meals and meet the beautiful girls. I can give you my advice by the way,” he suggested teasingly.

“How about you go there on my behalf?” Lawrence asked without giving too much thought about it. Then, he grumbled, “You have no idea how hard it was for me to bargain with my Aunt.”

“Of course I know! Your Aunt is a meticulous person. Only few people can handle her and you are one of the very lucky persons,” Mike praised Lawrence indirectly. He admired and appreciated his friend deeply. In his eyes, only three people in the world can take care of Selina: Lawrence and his parents. Selina was a tough woman to handle. She would insist herself on everything and it would be hard not to acknowledge her.

“Mike, how about you pretend to be me and attend those appointments?” Lawrence proposed. He was desperate to get out of this situation whatever it had to take. He was unwilling to go on blind dates. He’s not that type of a man.

More than that, Lawrence was sure that he wouldn’t like any of the women his Aunt Selina set him up with. Knowing Aunt Selina, she was only concerned about family backgrounds and financial status which didn’t matter to Lawrence at all.

Mike didn’t give his reply immediately. He knew that Lawrence was serious but he also had his own reservations about the thought. He didn’t want to go on a sudden blind date but neither did he want to disappoint his best friend.

“How about you attend tonight’s appointment? I will go to the meeting on your behalf tomorrow. You can give it a shot. After you try it once, you can decide whether you want to continue to go on the blind date or not. When your uncles or aunt ask you about the meeting, you can tell them your real thoughts. If you don’t even attend one meeting, you will be at a loss for answering the elders’ questions.

They will know if you’re fooling them,” Mike advised. He gave a careful analysis to his friend. After all, Aunt Selina would sense if Lawrence was lying. Mike didn’t care about his friend’s Uncle Wilson. It was only Aunt Selina that he thought about because he knew the woman held all the power.

“You go and attend tonight’s meeting on my behalf. I will go with tomorrow’s appointment,” Lawrence negotiated with Mike. The latter could sense that Lawrence wasn’t really keen in going at any of them.

“What if your Aunt tracks you tonight? It is your first blind date anyway. I’m sure she has something planned to know you’ll attend those.” Mike reminded. He was also scared of Aunt Selina after all. Who wouldn’t?

When he heard Mike’s reminder, he knew that he couldn’t miss tonight’s appointment. ‘Mike’s right, ‘ Lawrence thought. He knew that his Aunt was determined to get him married and was capable of doing anything just to make her plans work. But Lawrence was more determined to not let his family run his own life. He decided to go to the first date tonight and agreed that the next would be Mike’s. He was sure that he would be bored tonight. But how sure would he be?