Mateo walked into the room, heart beating above the normal pace.
He looked around for any sign of a chore he forgot to do, the usual food wrapper he forgot to throw away, the sock or shoe he left in the living room, an unwashed plate left in the couch.
Unfortunately his search was fruitless since that usually meant that the chore had been done for him and a speech awaited him, or the chore was kitchen-based which was worse in his opinion.
Stealthily approaching the kitchen, he stuck his head out to catch a glimpse of the situation when all he saw were three smiling women.
The council of mothers.
With a resigned look on his face he sauntered into the room, his innate confident demeanor now nowhere to be found.
Sure he may be built like a big bronze wall with the strength and the fighting experience to back it up, but before these three women, he might as well have been a newborn tiger cub.
Someone with the potential for destruction but currently weak, blind and in need of care.
To the idiots asking why he was acting subservient to a trio whom he could easily overpower and beat in a physical confrontation, well, they are idiots for a reason, and they probably messed up their family relationships.
Seated on stools in-between the kitchen island and the stove and facing him were three mature women well into their forties who still appeared youthful enough to be mistaken for people in their thirties.
To his right side was the only blonde among them, wife of Daniel Whyt and mother to Leone, she was the one and only;
Angel Whyt.
An ex special forces intelligence agent in her homeland Great Britain who retired to play the role of housewife, Angel was a dangerous and tricky woman to deal with, a trait that made her appear as the unofficial leader of the council of mothers.
To the extreme left was Jamila Whyt, a dark haired, light skinned Egyptian woman who also happened to be the Whyt patriarch's second wife.
Despite the obvious thought process about how the marriage came to be, it was Angel (Daniel's first wife) who set things in motion and basically strong armed her husband into marrying Jamila and accepting her daughter, Sara as his own, something that took Daniel a while to get used to.
Seated in the middle of the Whyt women was Mateo's mother and the one who called this meeting to order, the kind hearted Maria Smith.
A beautiful Mexican woman who moved to America before she attained adulthood, the Mrs of the Smith household was someone who had seen her fair share of hardship.
Meeting Julian Smith shortly after her arrival, the two hit it off, started dating and she eventually got pregnant with Mateo's older brother, Wilson, though unfortunately the timing coincided with the time Julian had to leave for the army.
Raising her first child practically on her own with some support from her family members since Julian had no living relatives they knew off was not an easy feat.
Neither was swatting away all potential suitors in order to remain in their long distance relationship, but she somehow managed to do both, proving how tough a woman she was.
Her suffeing, perseverance and dedication were among the reasons why she was especially pampered by her husband and sons who knew how easy it would have been for her to give up.
Unfortunately, her daughter didn't really appreciate her as much as the others but everyone just attributed the reason to be teenage hormones and an instinctive defiance of authority.
Standing behind the lone stool left for him, Mateo offered his greetings to which they responded before finally discussing the reason for his summon.
"So Mateo. Happy birthday once again. It seems like my little baby is maturing into a big man." Maria sniffled, wiping away the invisible tears from her eyes.
"Yes. Little Mateo is now a man. Did you guys notice how he didn't come and give each of us a hug like he did when he was younger." Jamila accused with a smile, playing her part in the planned trap to perfection.
Hearing them, Mateo didn't even make a move to try and hug them but rather stood in place thinking about what trap they had formed for him this time.
Not letting the silence brew any longer, Angel delivered on her part and suddenly the veiled trap became clear.
"Since Mateo is now a man, it is only natural that he does what men do. After all why would he want to hug old women like us when there are young beauties out there for the taking."
'Oh shit. They know about Amber. Shit. Shit. I'm dead.' Mateo thought internally while keeping a thin smile on his face.
"Hey. Who are you calling an old woman. I'm still in my prime you know. Isn't that right, Mateo darling?" Jamila asked with a pout.
"Huh please. You're a fossil compared to Mateo's hot catch. And he doesn't like to be called darling. He prefers Mr Mafia, isn't that right Mateo?" Angel asked with a teasing smile.
"Hot catch? Mr. Mafia? What are you two mumbling on about?" Maria asked, acting confused.
"Why don't you ask your son?" Angel suggested before countering the first offer a split second later. "Why don't I show it to you instead."
With that Mateo felt his blood run cold as he was forced to listen to the cheesy words he said earlier that dawn as his mother watched a video and basically reacted to every sentence he said.
'Is that romantic background music I hear? Who did this and did they even find the time to?' Mateo pondered, though he would have been pleased to see the sender of the video saved on Angel's phone as Son.
Finished watching the most cringe moment of his life, Mateo's mum turned to him with the brightest he had seen in a long time.
"Praise the heavens. My son has finally gotten a girlfriend. Oh Mateo, I feared you would turn celibate just like your brother, but look at you. Bagging a 10 as your first girl. You're truly like your dad."
Feeling the world deafen at the embarrassing words and praises he received, Mateo looked around for a ditch to hide in when he caught his two Aunties laughing.
'Damn you aunties. Laughing at my misfortune. This is why I don't like bringing friends over.'
His mother's excited rambling that he had forcefully tuned out returned when she shook his shoulders and asked, " When is she coming for dinner?"
With that simple question, Mateo remembered something very important.
'Shit I've not responded to Amber's text. Eh, I'll tell her I just woke up.'