Is this destiny?

~Seattle~

It's Friday evening, and Sophia is packing for the weekend. She is going with Felix to Montreal, Quebec in Canada to meet his mom.

"Do you think this dress will be fine?" She lifted a tan summer dress with flower details and showed it to Felix.

"Yes. You don't need to be so nervous." Felix showed a hint of irritability.

Sophia noticed frustration in his tone and felt that it was uncalled for. "What makes you think I'm nervous?"

"This is the fourth time you are asking me about that dress."

Sophia realized that he is right. "Oh, sorry... It's all your fault!"

"How is this my fault?" Accusation surprised him.

"For days, you are nervously fidgeting. It rubbed on me somehow... Is there a reason I should be worried?"

"No... Sorry, ma chéri, I was overreacting." Felix embraced Sophia. "It's just that two most important women in my life are going to meet, and I hope that all goes well."

"I'm sure she is a lovely lady." Sophia wrapped her arms around him.

"Why do you say that?" He was curious.

"She raised such a fine man... she can't be a bad person."

"True." Felix smiled. He likes that she called him 'a fine man'. "I'm confident that you two will like each other."

~Montreal, Canada~

After breakfast in their hotel, Felix and Sophia went to Mount Royal Park. The sunny May weather was perfect for spending time in the park. They are sitting on a grass, facing the Beaver Lake.

Felix was reading last email he received from Jeff. "Jeff and JoAnna are asking me to make matching rings for them. Similar to the ones I made for Sarah and Aiden with GPS tracking and some other functions... Would you like us to have matching rings?"

Sophia glanced at her hands. She does not wear jewelry. Seeing expectant look on Felix's face she smiled. "Sure, why not?" She finished sentence silently, '... in worst case, it will be another ring in my jewelry box.'

Sophia remembered that JoAnna called her few times in previous few days. "Anna also spoke with Sarah about security. It seems that what happened last weekend in Reno shook them up."

Felix frowned. "You are the only woman who does not worry about her security."

"Oh, but I am safe. I have you to protect me." Sophia hugged Felix.

"Yes, you do." Felix likes that she sees him as someone who can keep her safe.

Sophia closed her eyes and they sat in silence for some time, leaning on each other. When she opened her eyes, she observed Felix's face. He was gazing toward the lake with a faint smile, it seems that he was lost in a pleasant memory. She caressed his cheek and he got startled at her touch.

"Sorry, I was just thinking how handsome you are, and my hand moved on its own." Sophia justified her action.

Felix smiled, tilted his head lightly and kissed her palm. "It's OK. I was just remembering something."

"Tell me." Sophia wanted to know more about him, and this is the perfect opportunity. They are in a city where he grew up.

He started talking while his gaze went back to the lake. "I was young when we came to Montreal. We didn't have much, so I would come to this park to spend time whenever I could. This lake freezes over winter. I left my winter breaks right there... ice skating..." He tilted his chin toward the lake.

"Ah, this is where you got your ice skating skills*. I was wondering about that. Anything else?" She was hoping to hear more about Felix's past.

He shook his head. "Nothing worth mentioning. Let's go, so that we are not late for lunch."

Sophia stood up abruptly. "Yes, yes. I don't want to be late for my first meeting with your mom."

Felix laughed. "Just relax and be yourself. I'm sure she will love you."

"I wish I'm that optimistic."

…

When they reached the high-end French restaurant downtown Montreal, Felix's mother was already seated, waiting for them.

As soon as her eyes landed on Felix, older lady's face lit up. She stood up, walked to Felix and gave him a tight hug. Then she clasped his face in her hands, pulled him down and planted one noisy kiss on each cheek.

Sophia observed her and concluded that petite lady who is smothering Felix in affection, looks like an older version of Bridgette.

Felix moved one step away from his mother, "Hi maman**, I missed you as well. This is Sophia."

He turned to Sophia. "This is my mother, Sylvie."

Sylvie glanced at Sophia before starting to speak in French. Felix interrupted her. "English, mom, please."

Sylvie frowned for a second before forcing a smile. "Nice to meet you. I heard about you from Felix."

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Martin. I hope you heard good things about me." Sophia smiled. She felt uneasy but could not understand why. Sophia shrugged it off and put on her best smile.

They ordered drinks and food. Sylvie was very excited that her son finally visited. It was obvious that she missed him very much. Sophia didn't want to impose and did her best not to interrupt them. Sylvie spoke in French, so Sophia was not able to understand her and join in the conversation anyway. Few words that she understood were not enough for her to even grasp the general idea what they are talking about. On few occasions Felix reminded his mother to speak in English, every time Sylvie would frown and switch to English, but it didn't take more than a minute before she reverted to French.

Sophia did her best not to be bothered by it. 'She is just used to French, so her brain makes a switch naturally... and Felix is responding in French because that is how she talks to him.' But Sophia did feel isolated.

"Sophia, Felix tells me you have law degree." Sylvie suddenly said in English, and Sophia snapped out of her thoughts.

"Yes. I have degrees in law and business."

"Do you work?"

"Yes. I manage a company." Sophia wanted to keep her answers short. If Sylvie wants to know more, she will ask follow up questions. But there were no follow up questions. Sylvie faced Felix and continued talking in French.

Sophia closed her eyes, counted to ten to calm down and then went back to her thoughts.

"Do you have siblings?" Again, Sylvie pulled Sophia out of her thoughts.

"Yes, two sisters."

"Are they older or younger than you?"

Sophia didn't understand the point of these questions, but she still responded politely. "They are younger."

Small frown appeared of Sylvie's face. "And how old are you?"

"I'm 26 years old."

Sylvie gave a sour smile and faced Felix, again speaking in French.

'Oh. I don't remember last time when I wished time to go faster.' Sophia's discomfort was increasing. Sylvie didn't do anything openly hostile, but Sophia felt isolated because they spoke in French. Also, the rapid-fire questions Sylvie asked made Sophia feel uneasy.. Somehow, it reminded her of questioning session Steve went through when Felix protectively hovered over his younger sister.