The server went down just as we were about to finalise the order, and we spent half a day waiting for the tech team to bring it back up. The deal almost slipped through can you imagine the loss that would have meant?
I noticed Pippa, my colleagues partner, listening to Andrew halfheartedly as they sat in a coffee shop opposite her office. He was rambling about some new project at work, while she kept watching his hands fidget with a napkin, thinking about how, after six months together, she still hadnt met his family.
She was thirty, the age when you stop flirting with romance and start craving certainty. Andrew was a solid bloke diligent, considerate, reliable. A month ago hed proposed in the very café where they first met. Pippa said yes, but a quiet anxiety lingered. Whenever she tried to bring up his parents, Andrew would steer the conversation elsewhere a comment about the weather, an urgent phone call. She chalked it up to shyness, perhaps he was embarrassed about his modest upbringing or simply not used to sharing personal matters.
Do I ever get to meet your parents? Pippa asked, pushing her cooling coffee aside.
Andrew tensed. The napkin in his fingers turned into a crumpled ball. He met her gaze, a flash of unease passing through his eyes.
Well go this weekend, he said after a pause.
Relief flooded Pippas chest, washing away all doubts. At last! She could picture herself walking into Andrews family home, his mother wrapping her in a hug, calling her darling, and them sharing tea and scones around a big wooden table.
The days before the weekend were spent on preparation. She toured three shopping centres hunting for the perfect presents. For Andrews mother she bought a luxurious silk shawl and a bottle of French perfume. For his father a highquality toolbox that any gentleman would envy. For his sister Emily she picked out a stylish handbag shed been eyeing herself.
On Saturday morning Pippa rose at six to stay on schedule. Shower, hair, a light makeup touchup. She chose an elegant kneelength beige dress and classic heels timeless and appropriate for a future daughterinlaw. In front of the mirror she turned, assessed the look, and decided it was spoton.
Andrew slipped into the car in silence. Pippa started the engine and merged onto the motorway. Soft, lyrical music whispered from the radio as roadside cafés and petrol stations slipped past. She smiled, imagining the upcoming meeting, while Andrew kept a tightlipped silence.
You look sombre, Pippa said, giving him a quick glance. Nervous?
Just, Andrew clenched his fists on his knees. Dont worry if something goes wrong, okay?
She frowned, shifting gears.
What do you mean go wrong? What could possibly go wrong?
Theyre particular, he muttered, looking out the window. Just keep that in mind.
Before she could press further, the GPS announced a left turn. The village they were heading for turned out to be a tiny hamlet two dozen cottages stretched along a single lane. The road weaved between sagging fences and garden plots. The navigator finally led them to an old timber house with peeling paint on the shutters.
Pippa eased the car to a halt and looked around. The garden was overgrown grass sprouted everywhere, a stack of firewood loomed in a corner, and rusty tools lay by the shed. She forced a smile; it wasnt wealth she was after, but the people.
On the porch three figures waited: an elderly woman in a worn housecoat, a man in a stretchedout Tshirt, and a twentysomething daughter with a sour expression.
Finally youre here, Andrews mother said, eyeing Pippa with a measuring stare.
Pippa stepped forward, extending her hand. Hello, its a pleasure to finally meet you.
The mother shook her hand weakly, the father merely nodded, and Emily crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes.
Pippa turned to the boot to retrieve the gift bags. She opened the lid, leaned in, and at that moment a loud hissing filled the air.
From behind the house a massive white goose burst out. It was the size of a small dog, its long neck coiled like a rope, eyes glittering with menace. The bird barreled straight at Pippa, spreading its wings and opening its beak.
What the Pippa leapt aside, dropping the perfume bag.
The goose didnt slow. It swooped at her with a fury she hadnt expected from a farm bird. Its wings slapped her legs, its beak jabbed sharply at her calves. Pippa staggered, trying to shut the car door, but the goose chased her relentlessly.
Andrew! she shouted, dodging another assault.
Andrew stepped forward hesitantly, but a booming laugh erupted behind them, raucous and gleeful.
Oops, she didnt pass the test! Andrews mother cried, clutching her belly from laughing. Look, look! Gosh has caught her out!
Emily snorted, clearly enjoying the spectacle. A real woman wouldnt be scared of a goose, she sneered. Shes turning pale in that fancy dress.
Andrews father whipped out his phone and started filming, his face lit up with amusement as if this were the best entertainment of the month.
Andrew, do something! Pippa pleaded, trying to fend off the bird, but the goose kept returning, pecking at her shins, beating her thighs with its wings.
Andrew raised his arms awkwardly, trying to shoo the goose away, when his mother shouted sharply:
Dont interfere! Let Gosh sort it out himself! He can sniff out bad people!
Andrew froze, glanced at his mother, then at Pippa, and stepped back obediently, retreating toward the porch where his family stood.
Pippa leaned against the car, cornered by the aggressive bird. Her dress was stained, her shoes slipping on the uneven ground, red marks dotted her calves. She stared at Andrew, his mother, his sister, his father with his phone, and a cold dread settled inside her.
They were humiliating her on purpose. This wasnt an accident; it was a test. A cruel, mocking trial staged by Andrews family to put her in her place, while Andrew stood by doing nothing.
She dived into the car. The goose pecked at the window for a few more seconds, then lost interest and strutted away proudly across the yard.
Andrew walked to the vehicle and knocked on the window. Pippa lowered the glass a few centimetres.
Pippa, calm down, please, he said hurriedly. Its just a family tradition a little test for the bride. Mum always does it to see if youve got character.
Pippa looked Andrew straight in the eye. Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Inside, hurt, anger, and disappointment boiled.
There will be no wedding, she said quietly, but firmly.
Andrew blinked, as if he hadnt heard.
What? Pippa, whats happening? It was only a joke?
No wedding, she repeated, sliding the engagement ring off her finger and pushing it through the cracked window. Take it.
Youve gone mad! Andrew tried to open the door, but it was locked. Dont be foolish! Lets talk this through!
Theres nothing left to say.
She turned the key, the engine roared, and the car lurched forward. Andrew lingered, clutching the ring, bewildered. Pippa put the car in reverse, backed away, and drove toward the exit. In the rearview mirror the silhouettes of his family lingered on the porch, still laughing.
The first few miles she drove on autopilot, barely noticing the countryside flashing by. Her hands trembled on the wheel, her heart hammered in her throat. Tears gathered, but she brushed them away. Shed cry later, at home; now she just needed to get away.
That evening her phone buzzed nonstop. Andrew called again and again, sent messages apologising, pleading for another chance. Pippa read them but didnt reply. Once she answered, his frantic, apologetic voice came through, and she hung up immediately.
A week later she blocked his number on every app, deleted photos of them together, and threw away the knickknacks that reminded her of Andrew his Tshirt, the novel hed lent her, his coffee mug.
Life settled back into its normal rhythm: work, catching up with friends, the gym. She tried not to think about the incident, but sometimes, as she drifted off to sleep, the image of that goose, its angry eyes, and his familys cruel laughter resurfaced.
A month later a friend mentioned shed heard from mutual acquaintances that Andrew had married a local girl his mother liked straight away. No geese, no tests.
Pippa listened, feeling a faint relief. That goose, that family, their mockery had shown her the truth before shed ever tied herself to them. She ran a finger over the spot where the ring had been, smiled, and thought how right it was that everything fell into place.
