When my mother and father oddly asked me to eat dinner with them one night, I couldn’t have imagined it would become a dinner I’d never forget.

My dad began to ask how school was going, I gave the generic, “OK.”

Then he uncharacteristically asked how the football team was doing, I answered, “Not very good… we suck.” The questioning brought up a red flag. I stopped eating and suspiciously stared at him.

He then asked, “So, do you have a girlfriend?”

“What the hell is going on?” I shouted.

He warned me that what he was about to say might seem unorthodox, but to stay open minded. He explained that our neighbors, immigrants from Mexico, were bringing over their daughter in about a week. She was my age, and they were hoping when she got here I would marry her and make her a U.S. citizen.

I awkwardly paused and laughed. “Very funny Dad,” I said. He looked back at me with a stern face. I knew he wasn’t joking.

“Seriously, think it over Oscar,” my mom said. “These kinds of opportunities don’t come along every day.”

For a moment I wondered what century, country and state of mind they were in.

I was a senior in high school and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life at that point, but marrying an immigrant girl wasn’t something that crossed my mind.

Needless to say, my parents and neighbors are really old fashion Roman Catholics from Mexico. That’s the way marriage is sometimes done in some rural parts of their country.

But my dad was pitching the idea like a crack-addicted used car salesman.

“She knows how to cook, clean and raise children,” he said. “She doesn’t know how to speak English, but they’re willing to pay you a little for your troubles.”

At that moment I had problems trying to speak English myself. I sat there in a state of speechless shock as the reality of the situation set in.

I could tell they were excited at the prospect of their son marrying an old fashion girl from their mother country. But going from never having a girlfriend to marrying a girl I’d never met in one week, was a quantum leap.

They begged me to think it over for a few days before she arrived.

That week, I didn’t tell anyone about the arranged marriage. Marriage, to me, was a huge commitment and would be very constricting, especially right before college. I had no sense of connection or feelings of love for my pseudo bride, and I told my parents and neighbors that I would not be taking them up on their offer.

And when the girl arrived, I was shocked that she was incredibly beautiful. She took a liking to me and would come over and ask me to teach her English. I thought of asking her on a date, but I knew that the marriage and citizenship she was hoping for wasn’t something I could provide.

I still stand by my decision, but there are days where the idea of that arranged marriage sounds tempting.