While holding the restaurant door open for Isla, I try to push to the back of my mind that both of our families are here, somewhere in this building, somewhere at a table, with no idea of who I'm bringing into their lives to meet. 

The thought of it makes me nauseated. Having to lie is something I'm not familiar with. I'm not a liar, it's one of the few things Lily praised me for. It's not that I believe profoundly in honesty; it's just that I've never found a reason to do or be anything different. 

Everything has always felt true. Real. 

Except now.

She strolls inside, I can tell by the way she carries herself confidently that she's been here before as Isla. Technically, she does own it too. In a strange, surreal world.

One of the new supervisors, Belinda, spots me from across the dining area, and she carries with her an excited grin as she jogs towards me. 

"Evening, boss," she says, her eyes fall onto Isla. "And co."

"Evening." I say back. "How's it been?"

She smiles, opening her arm sideways. "See for yourself."

Isla watches with me; both of us glancing at every table, smiling at how happy and satisfied every person seems. "Where are we seated?" Isla asks her suddenly. 

"Oh, yes, this way. We reserved five tables, as you asked for."

Isla and I follow her across the noise, and I make it known what Isla is here for, as my hand entwines with hers, gently guiding her with me. All eyes from the staff turn to stare at me, retreating to corners to whisper to each other. Some things never change.

Along the back wall, seats every face that means something to both of us. Isla's hand tightens, her fingernails slightly dig into my skin as she braces herself. I turn my head to look at her, but she stares forwards, she stares hard and mechanically.

She stares at only three faces amongst the bodies. Three faces that appeal to her, that grab her entire attention, that cloud her eyes with every emotion possible. 

"That's them." she says.

"Yes."

She looks from left to right, then back again. A smile suddenly springs to her face, as the three faces return the stare. 

"They're looking at me."

"They're looking at us." I correct. "Come on."

"Here he is!" my father announces as we approach the tables. "Late as usual."

Everyone turns to look at us, leaving behind their conversations. The tables fall quiet as they observe the new dynamic.

Isla's eyes fall onto her parents, then her sisters, then her nieces and nephews. I can't tell if it's over-whelming her or encouraging her, but she stays silent by my side. A statue.

"Good to see you again." David says. 

Sarah mimics the reaction with a nod of her head. 

"Dad." Jade calls. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

I look to my children with a lump in my throat. "This is. . ."

"Isla." Isla responds, releasing her hand from mine. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Isla?" Jade responds, the look on her face shows she remembers her. "Wait, aren't you-?"

"My girlfriend." I say, before Jade has the time to finish that sentence and ignite chaos. 

"I knew it." Jessie mumbles under her breath. 

Jamie has become disinterested, as his girlfriend drags his attention back to her. 

Jade still tries to finish. "But isn't she-"

"Hungry?" I say loudly. "Yep." I pull Isla through a gap of the tables, and we shuffle ourselves against the back wall carelessly, not paying attention to who we're sitting across from. And it turns out to be Rosie and her husband Luke.

Ah, shit.

"Jason." Rosie nods. "Good to see you."

"You too." I mumble, grabbing a menu from a holder and spreading it across the air to hide her from my view.

As I glance up temporarily, I see Rosie and Isla exchanging a look of sadness. Not a look of greeting or introduction, but a sadness that flows from both of them within a few, short seconds. 

She knows. 

"So, how long have you been seeing each other?" David, Rosie's father, asks. "This is the first we've heard of it."

"It's the first any of us have heard of it," my father echoes from down the line of tables. 

"A few weeks." Isla says for me. "We only just made it official."

"Oi!"

Suddenly, the menu is ripped from my hands and it bounces across the table. I look upwards, with the rest of them, to see Jade hovering above me with a sinister scowl. 

"Can I talk to you?"

"About what?" I smile, trying to act normal.

Isla bumps shoulders with me, trying to push me out of the seat. She doesn't want it all to come out, especially not here, not now, not like this. "Go," she hisses.

"Okay." I say to Jade. 

I lift myself up, dodging the corner of the table as I skim myself around it. I still end up banging my knee into it somehow and it leaves behind a tremble as I follow Jade over to a quiet wall away from the tables.

She folds her arms across her bright, red dress that forces me into a blinking fit. "What is she doing here?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Dad. Jessie and Jamie have somehow forgotten her, but I remember."

"Remember what?" I laugh in defense, but it doesn't convince her.

She narrows her sparkling, brown eyes. "You know what. Don't insult me right now, I remember more than you think."

I nod, biting on my lip. "She's changed."

Her eyes pull back, relaxing. "How did you even come across her again?"

And here it comes. The lie. "We met a few weeks ago, we got talking and she apologized for the way she acted. For the things that she said and believed. It was all a huge misunderstanding."

"So you shake her hand and walk away, you don't date her."

"It just happened." I shrug. "I'm not going to justify it to you, who I date is my business."

Jade struggles to accept that, and she unleashes a tremble from her lip. "W-what the. . . she's the same age as your son."

"She's mature for her age."

"She's playing you."

"You don't know her." 

The moment I say it, I regret it. Because it holds a deeper meaning, a heart-breaking meaning, one that Jade could never understand. It washes over her as though it was nothing.

"And you do?" she demands, with her eyebrow raised. "Do you know her?"

"I know her better than you think."

"Dad. The girl thought she was Mum. She thought she lived at our house, she spent her entire childhood in therapy. Do you really want to get involved with someone like that?"

I take a deep breath. "This has nothing to do with you. Just trust me, okay? Because once this dinner is over, it will hopefully make sense."

She stares for a moment, then narrows her eyes again. "What will?"

"Just keep your mouth shut, and I promise, I'll explain after."

She lets out a sigh, unfolding her arms and turning her body back to face the tables. "You better. Because if you don't, I'll tell Jessie and Jamie everything."