After finishing his meeting with Daniel, Bert met Catherine again. He looked at her thoughtfully and said,
"We're going to have a lot of dinner engagements in the near future."
Catherine noticed how gentle his tone was when he said "we." She liked it very much—the way he unconsciously included the two of them together, as if he and she were already a family.
Bert began counting them off one by one.
"Karl and Marilyn said they want to invite us to dinner. Laurent and Dave have also asked us out. We'll need to have a meal with my father as well. And I'd like to take you to the U.S. to meet my mother."
Catherine didn't feel much about having meals with Karl or Dave, but the moment he mentioned dining with his father—and going to America to meet his mother—she immediately grew nervous.
"Maybe… we could wait a little before meeting your parents…"
