Sweet&Salty

“Hi. We’re here for the Reservation under Santiago, party of four?”

“Right this way, the other members of your party arrived just a few minutes ago.” The host said, directing the two of them to follow. They did, Mia clinging to Matthew’s hand.

Mr. and Mrs.Santiago were already at the table waiting for them. They were both dressed nicer than they usually would be when working, Mr.Santiago in a suit and tie that both looked like they’d seen better days. Both of their eyes widened when seeing him walk in with their transformed daughter. Matthew pulled out a chair for her, and they both sat down.

Both of her parents were stupefied for a moment, seeing her changes. Her father spoke first between the two of them. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright. I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly in the middle of my shift last night.”

“That’s alright.” He assured her. “You said you were feeling sick last night?”

Mia looked down at the table, embarrassed to have lied. “Yes, I did.”

“And you’re feeling better?”

“Yes, I am.”

Mr.Santiago looked at his wife. “¿Cómo puedo preguntar sobre ella?”

Mrs.Santiago spoke, addressing their daughter. “Mija, there are obvious changes. Your body is different. Your acne scars are gone. Dios mío, even your eyes are lighter. What happened to you?” Her accent was thicker than her husband’s, and Mia had none at all.

As both Mia and Matthew were trying to figure out how to answer, they were saved for a moment by the waitress arriving. She was in the same formal uniform as most of the staff.

“Good Evening. My name is Fern, I’ll be your waitress tonight. Have you all had a chance to take a look at our drink menu?”

“Just water.” Mathew said, and Mia nodded along with him. Mrs.Santiago also turned down the waitress’ offer, though her husband ordered a brand of rye Matthew had never heard of. Then the brief respite offered by the server’s appearance was over, and the question came again. “What happened to you?”

Mia looked at him, appearing to think the same thing he’d been grappling with all day. What do we say?

He took the lead. The truth might be scary, but how could we lie? “What happened to her is partially my fault. If you’d allow me to explain, I promise that I’ll do everything I can to make up for it.”

Mr.Santiago stared at him, and the young man was beginning to assume the worst. “I trust you, Matthew. Explain, and I hope you won’t prove me wrong.”

He gulped. No pressure then. “Do you remember hearing about the gas leak at that gym two days ago?”

Both of them nodded.

“My neighbor Sherrie was caught in it. She tried to escape, but it still affected her.” He decided to do what he could to skirt around the sexual parts of it. “Her exposure to it made her look for someone to devote herself to. However mentally sound she was when she made the decision, she chose me. Her body morphed and shifted into a sort of idealized version of herself, and she negotiated with me how she could become my girlfriend.

“What I didn’t know at the time was that her altered state could be contagious. I mentioned to Sherrie in what I thought were just conversations bonding as a couple that I’d nursed a crush on your daughter. She took that as inspiration to expose her to what she’d gone through, and by the time Sherrie showed me Mia was already deep in the swelling and physical transformations. She was ready to devote herself similarly, which I’m trying to handle responsibly. She-”

Mia asserted herself, wanting to step in now that the topic had become her own mental state. “I already wanted something with him though. What Sherrie did just made it easier to express it.”

“She’s right. She stared at him even before he started tutoring.” Mrs.Santiago said quietly.

“She did?” Her husband asked, surprised.

“A mother notices these things.”

Fern dropped off the table’s drinks. “Have you all decided what you’re interested in?”

“I’m sorry, we’ve barely looked at the menu. Would you mind coming back in a few minutes?” Mr.Santiago requested. Fern nodded, going off to check on her next table.

After the waitress left, Mr.Santiago looked like he was considering his next question. Instead his daughter said something that caught all of them off guard.

“She’s single.”

“I’m sorry?” Her father frowned.

“The waitress. She smells lonely.”

They were all left with questions about what that meant. Left with the unexpected example of her unseen changes, Matthew tried to take the initiative back. “We’re both still trying to figure out all the changes she’s going through.”

Then Mia spiked his effort into the ground. “We’ve been talking about getting married.”

What. Why would she say that? The closest that they’d come to talking about a wedding was him asking her several times to stop looking at wedding dresses.

Her father didn’t seem to be taking it well either. Mathew felt like Mr.Santiago’s scowling glare looked like it could burn a hole through him.

His wife seemed to be slightly calmer. “Mathew,” she said in her thick accent. “Is that true?”

If I lie, then they’ll be unnecessarily angry. But if I tell the truth, how will Mia react? “I’m not sure we’re there yet, but I want the best for her. Just like you both do.” He hedged.

Mia’s father started to speak. “We cannot-”

Mrs.Santiago interrupted him. “Manuel.”

He looked at her, and they both flipped into Spanish. They were speaking far too quickly for him to understand, though Mia looked nervous listening to their debate. After an agonizing back and forth, Mr.Santiago switched back into English. “You two care about each other?”

“Yes, we do, Sir.”

“And you want to stay with him?” He addressed the second question directly to his daughter.

“Yes.”

“It’s far too early for marriage, considering it after one date is out of the question. But your mother wants us to give you a chance. With some stipulations I can allow this.” He paused, waiting to be challenged before moving on. “Mia, you will need to call us at least once each day. You will also meet us at our home or in a public place at least once a week, and it must be without Matthew at least once every other visit. You will be honest with me if I ask where you are going, to avoid the kind of alarming disappearance you had last night. You are my heart and soul Mia. Your safety is more important than anything else.”

Mia nodded.

“And Mathew.” Mr.Santiago turned to him. "I’d like to check in separately with you once a week. Both to discuss what you’ve learned about what’s happening to my daughter, and to check in with you. I do like you, young man, and that’s the only reason I’m allowing this.”

Matthew nodded as well. “Thank you for your trust, Sir. And for your grace, Mrs.Santiago. I promise not to let you down.”

“I know you won’t.” Mrs.Santiago said kindly. “You may call me Carmen.”

It was at that moment that Fern came back to check on them.

***

The dinner proceeded fairly peacefully after that. Most of it was focused on what the process would look like for her to move in. Her father tried to probe several times to ask about symptoms, and Matthew did his best to answer without getting overtly sexual.

There was one moment with her that caught him off guard. Mia had ordered the prosciutto wrapped scallions with an anchovy vinaigrette. It wasn’t his taste, but he had to admit it smelled good when Fern set it down on the table.

What made it noticeable was the fact that she kept adding more salt. Both her parents had already noticed, glancing over as she used the salt grinder and set it back down. But neither of them had said anything yet. Matthew decided to check on her first.

“Hey, babe. Is there something wrong with it? We can send it back if you need.” He whispered to her.

“No, it’s fantastic.” She assured him.

“It’s kind of a lot of salt. Are you sure everything’s alright?”

She paused, trying to decide how to explain it. “This is the only thing preventing me from crawling under the table right now.” She murmured. “I’d love to do that at home, but not in front of my parents.”

He looked at Mr.Santiago and thought about how protective he’d been earlier. “Her palate’s changed a little bit,” he said out loud to the table. “We’re still in the process of investigating exactly how and why, but we’ll fill you in once we know.”

Her father nodded, still looking concerned but willing to give them time.

I wish I understood more of what was going on.

***

At the end of the night, Mr.Santiago ended up paying for dinner despite Matthew's objections.The four of them all took the same subway back, and Matthew noticed Mia repeatedly positioning herself away from her mom.

Once back in their own neighborhood, her parents insisted on loading several suitcases of Mia’s things for her to take, even though she’d still be right down the street. He didn’t think it was a good idea to remind them that at least half the clothes they were packing for her wouldn’t fit. Her physical changes were obvious, but he didn’t want them thinking about any reasoning behind why they’d happened.

Both her parents had a clear anxiety with their daughter moving out, which he thought might be why they were so concerned with packing for her. They had a couple things they wanted to say on their way out, not all of which he caught while helping to put things away. When he came to the door to see her parents out Carmen was reminding Mia about her economics seminar early tomorrow morning.

“Matthew,” Mr.Santiago addressed him. “If you ever need anything, I’m always right down the street. I appreciate your honesty tonight, and we’ll figure this out for her together.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“But,” Manuel continued. ”If you ever hurt her, then I’m always right down the street. Remember that too.”

He chuckled nervously. “Yes, Sir.”

The cook patted him on the shoulder and turned to his daughter. “Mija. I love you more than anything. If you ever need us, we’ll always do what we can to help.”

"Dad. I’m not going away, I can see the restaurant from his office window. I’ll be talking to you tomorrow!”

“You better.” He said, squeezing her in a bear hug. Afterwards he and his wife gave one last look around the apartment before closing the door.

Her parents gone, Mia turned to him. “I think that went really well.”

“It really did. Like impossibly well.”

Mia made eye contact with him, her eyes tan and light. “Now that we’re home and all alone, there’s kind of something else I’m craving...”