“Do I have to go?” He asked his girlfriend in protest.

“Yeah, all of their boyfriends and husbands are going.”

“Ok, let me get dressed.” He sighed in submission.

It’s not that he didn’t like her friends, or their boyfriends, no. They were all chill people. It was something else…something deep inside him that made him feel a bit off about this whole group. He could t point a finger on it, and shrugged it off as him getting older and less extroverted.

Well, this time it was weirder than ever before. The group met up at a seafood restaurant, and after exchanging pleasantries - with everyone at the restaurant - it became clear to him that this wasn’t just a hangout with a few friends. This was a larger group.

“What’s going on?” He asked his girlfriend, “Who are all these people?”

“These are all our friends,” she smiled at him, “today is a holiday for us.”

“Holiday?” He was utterly confused, “Wait, who’s ’us?’”

“It’s my second family, my secret family.” She hugged him tightly, “One I want you to be a part of.”

He stood in silence - processing the implications of what he just heard. His mind running wild with all manner of scenarios.

“Are you in a…?” Before he could finish she gave him a passionate kiss.

“You trust me, right?” And there it was, her eyes. Her voice. As if mesmerized, he just nodded.

And that was the last he protested for the rest of the evening.