Outside Oklahoma City, Wednesday evening

[vdistinctive]

Trudy had said Eliot and his family were going to be her guests, so he wasn't allowed to cook dinner. He'd said she shouldn't have to cook it either, and they'd both refused to make everyone eat leftover funeral casserole.

So Eliot pulled the rental car — rental van, because four adults was a lot to fit into a sedan and renting a van was almost tradition — into the lot of a little mom&pop Italian restaurant.

"There's Tru's car," he said as he set the parking break and turned the car off. He looked back towards Kathy and Parker. "Y'all ready for this?"

[ooc: FAMILY DINNER TIME! For those who know, and epic slow play.]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was doing her best to look more confident and ready than she actually was. "Uhhh...yeah?" she said, keeping her hands by her sides rather than letting them wring each other in her lap the way they wanted to. "They know I'm coming, right?"

This was the fourth time she'd asked that since getting to Oklahoma. It was possible she was the tiiiiiiiiniest bit nervous.

[vdistinctive]

And the fourth time that Eliot nodded and said "They do."

He left off the "they're excited to meet you" part this time, since it might just make her even more nervous, what with thinking she had to live up to expectations or something.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"They know I'm weird, right?" Parker hadn't asked this before. But Kathy's nerves might be infecting her.

[vdistinctive]

"You'll be fine, Parker," Eliot assured her. "You haven't stabbed anyone in ages."

[spin_kick_snap]

Good call, Eliot.

"Well, what are we going to tell them?" Kathy asked. "We should get the story straight. They're not the kind of people you can mention zombies and dead girls and magic wishes in front of, right?"

[vdistinctive]

"I wouldn't bring it up all casual-like, but, darlin'. You ain't gotta tell 'em anything if you don't want."

[spin_kick_snap]

"But if they ask how this happened," Kathy persisted. "You realized you thought of me like a daughter when you were grieving."

You needed a plan Eliot! One agreed on before you all went in!

[vdistinctive]

"Sure. Because I thought I lost you. Then I got you back." Eliot shrugged. "The sum total of things from my life I ain't never tellin' my sister about could fill a phone book, darlin'. If we don't offer details, they ain't gonna press."

[spin_kick_snap]

"O-okay." Kathy nodded, still looking uncertain, then realized that she was still buckled into her seat. They were never going to enter the restaurant at this rate.

Quietly, she murmured as she unfastened the seatbelt, "They'll like me, right?" She wasn't the quality of niece she'd been last year, with her scholarship to Stanford and her plans to become a doctor and her future that still existed. Now she had no plans, no goals, no nothing beyond 'try to have tomorrow suck less than today.'

[vdistinctive]

"I mean, I can't guarantee it," Eliot said. She'd see through it if he wasn't honest. "But probably."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Are any of them really stabbable? Should I avoid sitting next to any of them?"

[vdistinctive]

"Well. Ellie's kinda much, and I don't really know Jake too well, but I'm sure they'll be polite."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Okay. Maybe I'll just eat with a spoon tonight." Parker was biting her lower lip now, but seemed a little calmer. "Ellie, Jake. Cassie, Trudi. Wait, who am I missing?"

[vdistinctive]

"Johnny. He's the youngest. Not much of a talker." Eliot shrugged and opened the door to the restaurant. The hostess showed them to a back table, where Trudy and co. were already seated.

"Hey Tru," Eliot greeted, then pointed around the table. "Parker, this is Johnny, Jake, Tru —" Only one of the twins was at the table, and she raised an eyebrow at him with a little smirk. "— and I'm ninety percent sure that's Cassie. Where's your sister?"



Cassie rolled her eyes. "College. Like a nerd."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Hi." Parker just barely managed to keep that from being "hi!!!"

"Thanks for inviting us." She nodded at everyone and kept the smile on her face. Nothing to see here. Nope.

"You guys are old enough to go to college? Eliot didn't say that."

[vdistinctive]

Cassie propped her chin on her folded hands and smirked. "What did Eliot tell you?"

"Don't be a brat," Jake said.

"Ellie had to stay in Austin for her finals," Trudy said, getting up and circling the table to give her brother a big hug. "Cassie . . . is figuring things out."

"I got caught up online," Cassie grumbled. "It's fine."



"So she says," Tru said shaking her head. "The joy of raising teenagers." She let Eliot go and turned to Parker. "It's lovely to finally meet you, hon. Do you hug?"

Eliot gave Parker a look that hopefully made it clear the answer didn't have to be "yes".

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Not... really," Parker admitted, and was so, so grateful that Trudi had asked. "Reflexes kick in. People get hurt. Unless I start the hug. Then it's not bad." She couldn't help smiling back and relaxing a little though, because Trudi sounded like Eliot and kinda looked like him around the edges, and added, "Maybe by the time we leave?"

She smirked over at Cassie and said, "That you made him do stuff he didn't want to. Good job."

[vdistinctive]

"She didn't make me," Eliot grumbled.

"Ain't no trouble at all if you don't," Trudy assured Parker. "We're just glad you're here."

"Do you hit people?" Cassie asked, looking interested. "Dad says I'm not allowed to."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Why?" Parker asked, sitting down and looking bewildered, and shooting a confused look at the guy who had to be Jake. "I mean, it's way better than stabbing them. Which I don't do! Nope."

[vdistinctive]

"Stab them with what?" Cassie asked, looking very interested.

Jake looked between the two of them with a frown. Eliot intercepted before he could say anything, swooping in and engaging Jake in a conversation about sports.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison was thankfully free of any self-doubt when it came to spending time with Trudy and the family this time around. He'd gotten it out of his system last visit. Sure, he still had some lingering guilt about yelling at their dying dad, but Eliot wasn't holding it against him, so he wasn't giving it much weight.

Which meant he could take the lead a bit and keep the spotlight off of Parker and Kathy. "Hey, hey folks," he said, walking into the restaurant. "Y'all brought the baby pictures, right?"

When in doubt, throw Eliot under the bus.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"A fork. I mean, nothing!" Parker paused, then asked, "So, who'd you hit?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"That's fair," Kathy said and slid out of the car. She grabbed for Eliot's hand as they headed for the restaurant, but let go right before he opened the door.

Look, it was one thing to need support and something entirely different to look like you needed support.

"Hi," she said, with a shy smile and a wave.

Oh god, there were so many people. Well, okay, just four, but it suddenly felt like a lot.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"They may start thinkin' you're weird," Hardison said, because you didn't try to con crew and you didn't try to con at all over something obvious. "But they'll still end up thinkin' you're great. They're a damn open an' lovin' family. Nana would like 'em."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parke gave him a hopeful grin. "Well, if Nana would like them..." Because clearly Nana was the last word in Okay People. "I still feel like I should've brought them a present. Or a money basket. Something." A sorry-your-dad-is-dead-present? Parker had no idea what one of those would be like.