Mom & Dad (Rules of Engagement)

Mom and Dad, characters from the Rules of Engagement series, were the parents of Main Character, Brother, Bookish Sister, and Party-Girl Sister. They are first mentioned in Book 1, Chapter 1.

Personality
Mom is described as kind and caring by Aunt.

Book 1

 * Chapter 1: The Heiress (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 18: Last Call (Mentioned)

Book 2

 * Chapter 14: Recipe for Disaster (Mentioned)

Book 3

 * Chapter 4: Painted Sky (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 5: Modern Mosaic (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 12: Memory Lane (Mentioned; Determinant)
 * Chapter 15: Everything is Illuminated (Mentioned)

Book 1

 * Chapter 1: The Heiress (Mentioned)

Book 3

 * Chapter 4: Painted Sky (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 5: Modern Mosaic (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 9: When in Rome (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 12: Memory Lane (Mentioned; Determinant)

With Each Other
In Book 3, Chapter 5, Main Character mentions to her fiance that her parents were high school sweethearts. Dad loved to tell the story of how they met in math class and she asked to borrow his pencil but he gave her his heart. They were married in a church in Barcelona. Aunt reveals to Main Character that their parents separated for a year. Main Character and Brother turn to Dinesh for confirmation because he knew both their mother and father in college. They were both on Student Council.

Nana and Pop Pop
Nana & Pop Pop were Mom's parents. Nana was devastated by the death of Main Character's and her siblings' Mom. In Book 3, Chapter 15, Cousin tells Bookish Sister that she overheard Pop Pop saying that Nana kept the brooch because it originally belonged to Mom, and it was a way of keeping Mom close to her.

Aunt
Aunt is Mom's sister. The division between sisters began before the events of Rules of Engagement and before Nana's death. Aunt always felt that Mom was the favorite daughter of their parents, the bubbly one that had a big smile on her face, the one that everyone loved. Their parents would give Aunt advice on what to do, and while they probably wanted her to find her own way, Aunt felt they were always disappointed in her. Aunt felt like Nana and Pop Pop wanted her to be more like Mom and that resentment built up over many years.

When the Main Character's and her siblings' parents died, Aunt fought to have custody of the siblings. However, Nana was awarded custody over her, despite Nana's health. To Aunt, it felt like the last straw, because she felt Nana didn't trust her to raise her sister's children. Aunt was mad and hurt about it, feeling it drive a bigger wedge between her and her late sister, as well as her and Nana.

During Main Character's wedding, Aunt tells her that she loved Main Character's mother. She regrets not being able to tell Mom that, leaving so many things unsaid.

Main Character
In Book 3, Chapter 12's premium scene, the siblings and Cousin can browse through Nana's photo album and read her notes. Nana wrote that her mother, the siblings' great-grandmother, had a strawberry shortcake roll recipe and that she used it to help Brother and Main Character make a birthday surprise for their father.

Brother
Brother is Mom and Dad's oldest child.

Bookish Sister
In Book 1, Chapter 18, Aunt uses the memories of her late sister to guilt Bookish Sister into leaving the ship and pursuing her projected career path. She tells the younger woman that Mom would be disappointed in her goofing off and not acting like her "usual" self.

In Book 3, Chapter 15, Bookish Sister lights the candle she received at the beginning of the book. It contains a fairie brooch in Art Nouveau style. Bookish Sister remembers that it was Nana's favorite brooch but as Cousin reveals, it originally belonged to the siblings' mother. After her death, Nana used to wear it all the time as a way to always keep her daughter close. According to Cousin, the mother loved fairies.

Party-Girl Sister
In Book 2, Chapter 14, Brother says Mom used to eat olives and orange slices when she was pregnant with the twins. When Party-Girl Sister has a pregnancy scare and eats the same things that Mom did, she feels it confirms her pregnancy.

In Book 3, In Chapter 4, Main Character mentions that their mother, just like Party-Girl Sister, once took Singkil dance classes. Party-Girl Sister taught some steps to their father, but he kept tripping over the bamboo poles.

In Chapter 9's premium scene, Party-Girl Sister tells her love interests that their dad used to make spaghetti and speak in a fake Italian accent. He'd serve each bowl and say, 'This is the most delicious dish you've ever tasted!' in his cheesy accent. In Chapter 12's premium scene, it is revealed that after Brother and Main Character's birth, they thought they could never have children again. Nana wrote that Bookish Sister and Party-Girl Sister were miracle twins.

Cousin
Cousin is Mom's niece.

Dinesh Singh
Dinesh Singh is the executor of Nana's will. He was college friends with Mom and Dad.