Because I work on a highly classified government research project, I always tell my family I’m just a high school science teacher. When I went home for the holidays, my snobby relatives lectured me: “What’s the point of being a high school teacher? You should be like Chloe’s advisor, the youngest tenured professor at Columbia. That’s where the real future is.” …Wait a minute. Your precious Chloe, doesn't she call me "Mrs. Professor"? 01. After three grueling years of research, my classified government project finally reached a major milestone. With the holidays approaching, I decided to head back to my hometown a bit early. To surprise my mom, I didn’t call ahead. I just lugged my suitcase straight to our front porch. Just as I got to the door, someone was walking out of my house. “Oh… hey there, Claire! You’re back!” I stared at my Aunt Susan, who was awkwardly hugging a brand-new blender. I was confused but politely said hello. She guiltily tried to hide the blender behind her back and gave an awkward laugh. “I just came to borrow something. It’s nothing, I’ll get going now.” She practically jogged a few steps down the driveway before turning around, feigning helpfulness. “By the way, your mom isn’t home today. You should probably give her a call.” I walked into the house, feeling more suspicious by the second. That blender looked exactly like the one I bought for my mom a few weeks ago. “Mom, Aunt Susan just came over to borrow the blender. Did you know about this?” I called my mom. She sounded surprised, then let out a helpless sigh. “She came over a couple of days ago and mentioned she wanted to borrow it. I guess she just came and took it.” I frowned. “Mom, did you still not change the keypad code for the front door?” “Your aunts told me since I live alone, it’s good for them to know the code in case of an emergency. So I just… left it.” I bought my mom that new blender specifically because my other aunt took the old one! A terrible premonition washed over me. I quickly scanned the house. I couldn't believe my eyes. The espresso machine, the Le Creuset Dutch oven, the KitchenAid mixer… even the nice coffee mugs I bought her were gone! When I asked, she casually mentioned they were all "borrowed" by my various aunts. Wow. Are my relatives playing a game of Raid the House? “They’re family, Claire. If they took it, they took it. Let it go…” I wanted to cry but had no tears. I felt incredibly guilty. “Mom, why didn’t you tell me earlier?” “It’s just small stuff, what’s there to talk about? I rarely use those things anyway. Forget it.” My clueless mom finally realized something else. “Wait a minute, Claire, you’re home?!” 02. With my mom trying to keep the peace, I had to swallow my frustration about the "borrowed" appliances. She values her relationships with her sisters a lot, and I didn’t want to break her heart. I went online, ordered a whole new set of kitchen appliances, and practically forced my mom to change the door code. “You can’t just let people walk into the house whenever they want. It’s dangerous.” My mom sighed. “This is all because you’re never home.” “You say you’re a teacher, but other teachers get summer and winter breaks! You only come back for a few days around Christmas!” My national research project had top-secret security clearance, which was why I always told my family I was just a teacher. In the past, the project schedule was insanely tight. I’d rush home for Christmas dinner and leave almost immediately after. I hugged my mom and cooed, “Don't worry, Mom. This time I’m staying as long as you want. I’ll stay until you’re sick of me!” My mom finally smiled. After cuddling with her for a bit, I went to my room to unpack. My phone buzzed with a new message. Professor Davis: "Not at the lab today?" Oh, crap! I completely forgot I had a boyfriend. "I went home." Fearing that sounded ambiguous, I added, "Back to my hometown." Professor Davis: "?" Just one question mark, but I could vividly picture him slightly raising his eyes, that deep gaze carrying an innocent yet undeniable pressure. Uh, what was I supposed to say right now? I froze. Thankfully, my mom yelled for me from the living room, giving me an out. "My mom's calling me, gotta go!" Thinking for a second, I added: "See you after the holidays." I let out a sigh of relief, dropped my phone, and sprinted out of the room. My mom was sitting on the couch, waving me over. “Your Aunt Brenda knows you came back early this year. She said she wants to introduce you to a nice young man. She wants you to grab lunch with him tomorrow.” 03. I was stunned. “Here’s his contact info. I’ll text it to you. You guys should chat first.” Seeing my mom about to send a stranger's profile to my phone, I grabbed her hand. “Mom, I am not going on a blind date.” My mom wasn't surprised. She easily pulled her hand away. “I’m not trying to pressure you, Claire, but you’re pushing thirty. It’s not good to not have someone to take care of you. “I’m not forcing you to marry the guy. Just chat with him. If it doesn't work out, don't force it.” I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I stopped her hand again. “No, Mom, seriously. I have a boyfriend.” Now it was my mom’s turn to be shocked. “Where did you get a boyfriend?” Her expression was so incredulous that it made me doubt if I even deserved to have one. “He’s a colleague at the university. We just started dating two months ago.” “He’s a teacher too? Why haven't you mentioned him before?” My mom immediately went into interrogation mode: “What’s his name?” I puffed out my chest. “Liam Davis. He’s incredibly handsome. He could easily be a Hollywood actor!” “What kind of guy is he? Where is he from?” I blinked. “Uh… I forgot to ask. I think he’s from New York?” “What do his parents do? Does he have siblings?” I smiled awkwardly. “I… I haven't asked that yet.” My mom asked a few more basic questions about Liam, and I couldn't answer a single one. The atmosphere grew tense. We stared at each other. She sighed, putting on an "I see right through you" expression. “You just don't want to go on the blind date, so you’re lying to your mother, aren't you?” “No, Mom, I swear…” “Forget it. Tomorrow at lunch, I’m saying yes for you. You have to go.” 04. That night, I lay in bed, staring blankly at my chat with Liam. My relationship with Liam was entirely transactional. We had absolutely no emotional foundation. We were both getting older; he needed a girlfriend to get his family off his back, and I had been single my entire life of nearly thirty years, so in a moment of impulse... Plus, when Liam proposed we date, he explicitly said that if I found someone more suitable in the future, we could end it whenever I wanted. Thinking about this, I texted Liam: "Professor Davis, would you mind if I went on a blind date?" "?" Liam replied almost instantly, short and to the point: "I would mind." He was a man of few words, known at Columbia University for being refined, aloof, and very difficult to approach. "Hahaha. I'm just kidding." I tried to laugh it off. Liam coldly replied with a simple, "Ok." Although I could sense his dissatisfaction, in the end, I didn't go to the blind date lunch. I told Aunt Brenda I already had a boyfriend who was also a teacher. Aunt Brenda made a huge fuss on the phone: "The guy I’m introducing you to, Kevin, is a regional manager at a big tech company! He makes $200,000 a year. What kind of teacher can compare to that?" Uh, Liam's speaking fee for a single international seminar is probably more than that. "Kevin is five years older than you. He’s at the perfect age to know how to spoil a woman, and he’s not bad-looking either. It’s your loss if you don't meet him." Kevin wasn't ugly, but comparing him to Liam was an absolute insult to Liam. "Aunt Brenda, my boyfriend isn't… worse than Kevin. Please, don't worry about me." Aunt Brenda clearly didn't believe me and started lecturing me: "Claire, with your background, I had to cash in a lot of favors just to get Kevin to agree to meet you. Don't act all high and mighty and treat people like they're beneath you. "You need to think about your age! By the time a woman hits thirty, having kids gets risky! Aunt Brenda is only saying this for your own good!" "..." Her barrage of words made my head spin. I barely managed to keep my polite composure until I hung up. I never expected that at the annual family holiday dinner, they would be even more ruthless to my face. 05. Early the next morning, before I even got enough sleep, I was woken up by a racket outside my room. Aunt Brenda, Aunt Susan, a few other relatives, and several loud kids of varying ages were gathered in the living room, laughing and making a mess. I opened my bedroom door in my pajamas, instantly becoming the center of attention. Aunt Susan, whom I had only seen briefly the day before, immediately started her passive-aggressive routine: "Wow, it's so late, Claire is finally awake." I awkwardly greeted everyone one by one. My eyes swept over a pretty, twenty-something girl standing at the back, and I paused. Noticing this, Aunt Brenda quickly grabbed the girl's arm. "Chloe, come here. This is your cousin Claire." Chloe was stunningly gorgeous. She gave me a dismissive nod. "Cousin." My impression of this younger cousin was stuck in a memory from over a decade ago. I gave a stiff nod back. I intended to retreat to my room after saying hello, but Aunt Brenda decided to use me as a conversation starter. "Claire, our Chloe is studying in New York now too. You guys should hang out when you have free time." I politely asked, "Oh really? Which university?" Aunt Brenda, waiting for exactly that question, puffed out her chest. "At Columbia. She's a grad student." They waited for a look of awe to appear on my face, but my reaction was flat. "Oh. Well, if you ever need anything in New York, just let me know." I don't know what I said wrong, but Aunt Brenda's face instantly fell, and Chloe started sizing me up. She even let out a soft scoff, her eyes seemingly saying, "How exactly could you help me?" I looked innocent. Aunt Susan chimed in: "Columbia is an Ivy League, top-tier university. Claire, you’re just a high school teacher. You’ll probably be the one asking Chloe for favors in the future." When I told my mom I was a teacher at a "higher education institution," she must have misunderstood and told everyone I was a high school teacher. These relatives had no idea I was actually an associate professor at Columbia. I didn't care about the misunderstanding, so I just brushed it off. "Well then, please look out for me in the future, Cousin Chloe." I turned to go back to my room. Through the door, I could still hear Aunt Brenda's loud voice: "Chloe, don't aim low like your cousin. When you become a teacher, you have to be at least a full professor." Me: "???" 06. The whole group headed to a restaurant for lunch. On the way, my mom, Aunt Susan, and I shared a car. "Sarah, I’m so sorry, I forgot to return that blender I borrowed the other day." Aunt Susan put on a fake apologetic face. "I saw you bought a new one for your kitchen. So the old one..." Before my mom could even speak, I cut in with a bright smile: "Aunt Susan, you can just return it when you have time. I actually need a blender for my apartment in New York." Aunt Susan froze on the spot. I continued, "You can keep using it for now. I'll pick it up before I head back to the city." "Oh… okay. Okay." In the dim light of the car, my mom shot me a scolding glare, but she didn't say anything. For the rest of the ride, Aunt Susan looked incredibly uncomfortable and didn't speak again. The moment we got out of the car, she couldn't wait to run over to Aunt Brenda. The two of them huddled together, whispering. Nearby, Chloe shot me another look of pure disdain. "I heard Claire got a boyfriend? What does he do? Why didn't you bring him back to show us?" At the dinner table, Aunt Susan opened fire on me like she was seeking revenge. I looked up at her. "He's a teacher too. He went back to his hometown." Aunt Brenda immediately put on a pretentious, lecturing tone: "What's the point of being a high school teacher? You should be like Chloe’s advisor, the youngest tenured professor at Columbia. That’s where the real future is." The youngest tenured professor at Columbia? Isn't that Liam? I was confused. I heard Aunt Brenda boasting, "Chloe, what’s your advisor’s name again? How does he treat you?" Chloe put on a bashful, girlish demeanor. "Professor Liam Davis is the best advisor I've ever had. Since he found out we’re from the same hometown, he takes special care of me..." Hearing that name, I swallowed hard and glanced at my mom, who looked completely lost. The other aunts started making a fuss: "Oh my, Chloe, does the professor have feelings for you?" "A college romance between a professor and a student is totally normal. If you like him, Chloe, just be bold." "Wait, is this Professor Davis from our town?" Liam is from my hometown? I didn't even know that! I stared in shock at Chloe, who looked incredibly flushed and shy. I genuinely doubted if there were two professors named Liam Davis at Columbia. At that moment, a waiter opened the private dining room door to bring in the food, and a figure walked past the hallway. Chloe, who happened to look up, froze. She immediately yelled out toward the hall, "Professor Davis!" The entire room fell dead silent. Chloe excitedly jumped up and ran toward the door. I stared blankly in that direction, completely unprepared as my eyes locked with the person outside. LIAM!!! 07. I looked shocked, but Liam's gaze and expression were impossibly calm. As Chloe ran up to him, he casually withdrew his gaze from me. "Professor Davis, what a coincidence! Are you eating here too?" The door to the private room was wide open, and Chloe's voice clearly carried to everyone inside. "Yes." Liam's coldness was obvious. He shifted his feet, clearly preparing to leave. Chloe acted like she didn't notice. She raised her hand to tuck a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear and continued talking to him in a sickly-sweet voice: "It's almost the holidays, so I came out to eat with my family. We just got here." "I’m not interested in your personal life." Liam shifted his feet again, but before he could take a step, he was stopped by Chloe's persistent chatter. "Professor Davis, then you..." I had been staring at Liam the whole time. Seeing his awkward leg movements trying to escape, I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Well, that was it. Everyone in the room simultaneously turned to look at me. I immediately covered my mouth, waved my hand at the two people by the door, and offered an apologetic smile: "Sorry, sorry. Please, continue. Carry on." Liam's gaze landed on me, and it felt distinctly chilly. He let out a light scoff, and this time, he finally walked away cleanly. "Wait, Professor Davis..." Chloe called out frantically but got no response. Seeing Liam walk far away, her face darkened, and she stormed back into the private room. "Cousin Claire, what is your problem?" I was bewildered, looking at the suddenly furious Chloe, completely lost. "I was having a perfectly nice conversation with Professor Davis, and you intentionally made a noise to interrupt us. What exactly are your intentions?" Me: ???
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