Shaking his head, Alec laughed at Senior as he opened the door and went Leave it to Beaver or I Love Lucy all over the family. People really do that?
Honey, I'm home! Greg Sr. hung his coat and stowed his work gear in the closet. He examined his shoes, making sure they were clean before walking into the house. Heading to the kitchen, he brought his black lunch pail in, and walked over to Ingrid. He'd missed the kids in the dining room because of the entry angle. Placing the lunch box on the counter, he put his arms around his wife from behind and stuck his face in her hair.
Alec laughed. There was some uncomfortable squirming going on near the dining table. Junior didn't want to say anything, Simone smiled embarrassedly at him as he shuffled, and Holly shuddered before saying, loudly...EEEEEW! Gross-out!
Turning around, Greg Sr. smiled sheepishly before cocking his head and looking at Simone. Frowning, he asked, Holly, who is your friend?
Looking a bit flustered, she stammered Oh, she's -
Gesturing with his hand, Junior said Holl, stop. Dad, this is my fiancée Simone. Simone, this is my father Greg.
As Simone said, It is nice to finally meet you, sir, Alec caught something that the kids couldn't have seen because of the angle. Big Greg's knuckles were white on the edge of the counter, and Ingrid had grabbed the back of his belt, almost unconsciously, as if using it as reins. she whispered something unrecorded, as she let go, and headed to the table with her glass, leaving him with his.
As Ingrid approached the table, Junior asked, Um...dad? as Senior dropped his head in front of him and his hands relaxed. Fiancée? And we're just meeting her now? You're not pregnant, are you?
Alec couldn't make out what everyone said between their simultaneous negations and his own laughter.
Well, I guess not. Will you two be staying for dinner?
As Simone said yes and Greg said no, Alec shook his head. Simone seemed almost confrontational and junior seemed to wish he was anywhere else in the world. After a hushed conversation back and forth between them, Greg Jr. said Not tonight. Maybe later this week, pops. Simone's got work and we didn't really get a chance to warn ma so she could cook up enough for everyone.
Nonsense Greg, you know I always make enough for -
No, its ok ma. Simone's free on Saturday, so that'd be better. Maybe you could make up that fontine dish we like so much?
I'm not making casserole for a guest, Greg Junior. Please. I'll make a special market trip Friday, then.
Great. We're out. See you in a bit.
It was really nice meeting you all. I will see you all on Saturday.
As the couple left among murmurs of affirmation and acknowledgment, Holly got up with them to go to the door. Alec watched the feed - nothing seemed to be happening in the dining room, so he switched to the main entry. Holly had just finished saying goodbye to Simone, who walked out toward the car. Holly grabbed her brother's arm and spun him around, which was kind of odd...
Hols, what are -
Greg, things were going great, what the fuck are -
Oh, please Hols, dad was beet red. It took everything he had to -
Yeah, but he did. You shoulda rode it out!
You just don't even know. I don't wanna make this harder for him than it has to be.
And what about her? I bet she feels real welcome now.
What the hell do you want me to do? I can't just make everything better...but this is how it has to be for tonight.
Hugging him as he deflated somewhat, Holly said Greg, you're such an ass...but a brave ass.
Shaking her off, he said Well, that's the consolation of the year. Thanks a lot. You lemme know what goes on at that table later on, ok? I'll call ahead.
Ok.
Fucking humans. Alec was completely confused now. They'd gotten past the whole pregnancy hurdle, which Alec understood would be somewhat difficult. It'd also explain why the engagement was before the introductions. He imagined that could have been a big deal, so the fact that it so emphatically wasn't was strange to him. Then the conversation in the hall. What the hell? Shrugging, Alec turned back to the monitor and switched to the dining hall feed for the rest of the story.
Favorite Family, part 3 (private)
He'd missed it live, so he had to set up the playback. Big week at the Mullar house. Another huge blowup between Holly and BOTH Gregs...but more interesting was the coldness present between father and son. Something had happened, and that was more intriguing than another engineered argument hastening the growth of Greg Sr.'s ulcer. Until now, things had been textbook Ultimate Father-Son relationship - rare arguments, shared interests, mutual respect.
Now...they weren't talking. At all. Scanning through the tapes, Alec found something. Setting play to normal, Alec smirked. It looked like Greg Jr. was finally owning up, and that he was right about his father.
On the playback, Holly answered the door and waited with it open...after a moment the camera revealed Greg and a beautiful, willowy Asian girl with him as they entered the house.
Hiya Simone - I'm Holly - good to meet you, FINALLY.
Nice to meet you, too, Holly.
Uh...is dad home yet, Hols?
Nope. Ma's in the kitchen cooking some salmon or something. She wanted me to help, but don't worry, I declined...wanted to actually eat tonight. Come on.
Switching feeds to the kitchen, Ingrid was shown busily cutting vegetables with that...damn...song...playing in the background. Walking into the room, Holly switched it off. Looking up sharply, Ingrid mock-frowned and growled at her daughter.
I was listening to that, Missy! I can put the salad away and get out the Brussels sprouts. You know how your father likes them.
You wouldn't do that tonight, ma. We have a guest!
Shaking her head, Ingrid asked What did Melissa do this time? That girl is always in trouble.
Walking into the room, Little Greg said No ma, I have someone I'd like you to meet. This is my girlfriend, Simone. Simone, this is my mother, Ingrid.
Rinsing and drying her hands, Ingrid came around the counter and smiled warmly. It is nice to meet you, dear. Have you been given the tour yet?
No...not yet ma'am. It is good to meet you.
Holl, can you show Simone around?
Deciding to keep to the main storyline, Alec stayed on the kitchen recording. Probably where the bulk of the story would play out.
Shaking her head, Ingrid smiled. Well, I'm proud of you, Greg. I take it you're pretty serious, then?
Blushing, Greg nodded. Yeah. I figured that I should probably bring my fiancée home to meet my mom and dad no matter how hard it would be.
Clapping her hands over her mouth, Ingrid...squee'd? Quite an unusual sound. Something that Alec had only ever heard from Carol. Maybe it was common among humans. OhmygodGreg...that's wonderful! You know I'll support you in any way you two need to get started.
Having been pounced, junior accepted the hug, grinning like an idiot. Alec'd seen that look in the mirror from time to time after staring at Ginnie. It looked like junior had it pretty bad for Miss Simone. Some things don't seem to change. Thanks, ma. I just hope it won't be necessary.
There's always something that people getting started for the first time forget. Your father and I forgot silverware and curtains, including the shower curtain. Your aunt forgot bedding and seating. There's always something. Oh, there's your father. Best go get the girls.
As Little Greg left, something strange happened to Ingrid. She looked...worried. Frowning sadly, she went to a cupboard and poured two glasses of some sort of liquor. Having a small sip, she winced and waited.
Alec was a bit puzzled at this point, but felt he was going to get to the meat of the matter soon. Family dynamics were obviously a bit more complicated than he'd thought. He might have to revise his theories. Was everything Ingrid just said to her son a lie? Academically, Alec understood that parents frequently lied to their children, but that sound seemed to be out of sync with deception. Shrugging, he watched as everyone gathered in the kitchen around the table.
Smirking a bit, Holly went to the fridge. Pouring out Pepsi into three glasses, she brought them over to the table. She seemed...excited. Alec knew she liked her soda, but guessed it was because of the event rather than the beverage.
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Returning to the kitchen feed, Alec took a small sip from his own glass, and leaned back in his co-opted armchair. Altering the Royce inheritance had been an interesting bit of theft - altering the last will and testament of a dead man to have a fictional person become the property beneficiary who then sold the house to a small remodeling company that was, in turn, absorbed by a larger agency...that only existed on paper. A bit of clever forgery and he'd taken the house for free. Just as well. A nice place like this shouldn't be going back to Uncle Sam - it'd get either sold and torn down as part of a deal, or divided out as cost housing. Both would negatively affect the neighborhood, and Alec wasn't interested in that. Easier to just alter a few documents and let the lawyers sort it out.
Back on the monitor, Greg Sr. was on his second glass of what had turned out to be whiskey. That only came out on the bad days, so maybe Junior had read everything correctly. Eating a lump of popcorn, Alec upped the volume as the conversation started again.
Greg, in an icy tone, spoke first. Ingrid...did...did you know about this?
Sitting down across from him, she folded her hands and replied. I knew something was going on, but I didn't know with who, or why he'd been so evasive until tonight.
Shaking his head, he took another slug. In the background, there was a bit of movement by the door, but Holly decided to simply eavesdrop instead of joining in. Smart girl. Scowling, Senior asked, "What the hell did I do wrong? How'd our boy end up with a motherfucking gook?"
Placing her hand on his, Ingrid sighed. "Look, I don't really all know what went on over there, since you don't talk about it with us. Obviously it was horrifying, and that is all we need to know. At the same time, that girl will very likely be the mother of your grandchildren. You have to accept that."
Scowling, face contorted with anger, he pushed his wife's hand away. Standing up, he drained his glass and smacked it down on the table. "Like HELL I do. No boy of mine is gonna have any god damned slit-eyed yellow babies. They just ain't getting married. That's final."
"Greg..."
"No. No Ingrid. You always try to soften things up. You put these damn hippie thoughts into the kids heads, and now our boy is bringing home the devil to breed with and you want me to just SMILE at it? I just thank God that she's not pregnant and that it isn't too late for me to set him straight. You're not going to talk me out of this."
Alec had seen him go into "stubborn mode" a couple of times, and he invariably managed to mess things up. How things had been soured between father and son were pretty clear now. Ingrid sighed, and stood as well, eyes downcast. Face contorting, her rage bubbled to the surface, and she went from a look of demure acceptance to Unholy Estrogen Fury. Locking eyes with her husband, she said, "Fine Greg, that's wonderful. I'll just sit back and watch as you and your bigotry and stubbornness tear apart the family I've spent two decades building. I'll just sit aside as you drive your son and his future wife from our home. Don't you remember how hard things were for us because of your dad? Christ, you're becoming him. You don't have to!"
"My father was a great man and he'd not have put up with this either!"
"Great or not, he was still an asshole. And he didn't put up with us, and we STILL got married! Your disapproval will NOT change anything, and will only drive them away like your DAD drove US away! HEY! Don't walk away from me! You think this over HARD before you do it. Everyone else has to live with your actions whether we like it or not."
Switching cameras to the entryway, Alec caught a brief movement on the stairwell as Holly ducked out of sight. A moment later, Greg stormed through the entry, grabbed his jacket and slammed the door behind him. Popping back to the kitchen feed, Ingrid was at the counter, looking like she couldn't decide on whether or not to break everything within reach or to cry.
Leaning back in his chair, Alec sighed. Yeah. Family dynamics sure are fun.
Back on the monitor, Greg Sr. was on his second glass of what had turned out to be whiskey. That only came out on the bad days, so maybe Junior had read everything correctly. Eating a lump of popcorn, Alec upped the volume as the conversation started again.
Greg, in an icy tone, spoke first. Ingrid...did...did you know about this?
Sitting down across from him, she folded her hands and replied. I knew something was going on, but I didn't know with who, or why he'd been so evasive until tonight.
Shaking his head, he took another slug. In the background, there was a bit of movement by the door, but Holly decided to simply eavesdrop instead of joining in. Smart girl. Scowling, Senior asked, "What the hell did I do wrong? How'd our boy end up with a motherfucking gook?"
Placing her hand on his, Ingrid sighed. "Look, I don't really all know what went on over there, since you don't talk about it with us. Obviously it was horrifying, and that is all we need to know. At the same time, that girl will very likely be the mother of your grandchildren. You have to accept that."
Scowling, face contorted with anger, he pushed his wife's hand away. Standing up, he drained his glass and smacked it down on the table. "Like HELL I do. No boy of mine is gonna have any god damned slit-eyed yellow babies. They just ain't getting married. That's final."
"Greg..."
"No. No Ingrid. You always try to soften things up. You put these damn hippie thoughts into the kids heads, and now our boy is bringing home the devil to breed with and you want me to just SMILE at it? I just thank God that she's not pregnant and that it isn't too late for me to set him straight. You're not going to talk me out of this."
Alec had seen him go into "stubborn mode" a couple of times, and he invariably managed to mess things up. How things had been soured between father and son were pretty clear now. Ingrid sighed, and stood as well, eyes downcast. Face contorting, her rage bubbled to the surface, and she went from a look of demure acceptance to Unholy Estrogen Fury. Locking eyes with her husband, she said, "Fine Greg, that's wonderful. I'll just sit back and watch as you and your bigotry and stubbornness tear apart the family I've spent two decades building. I'll just sit aside as you drive your son and his future wife from our home. Don't you remember how hard things were for us because of your dad? Christ, you're becoming him. You don't have to!"
"My father was a great man and he'd not have put up with this either!"
"Great or not, he was still an asshole. And he didn't put up with us, and we STILL got married! Your disapproval will NOT change anything, and will only drive them away like your DAD drove US away! HEY! Don't walk away from me! You think this over HARD before you do it. Everyone else has to live with your actions whether we like it or not."
Switching cameras to the entryway, Alec caught a brief movement on the stairwell as Holly ducked out of sight. A moment later, Greg stormed through the entry, grabbed his jacket and slammed the door behind him. Popping back to the kitchen feed, Ingrid was at the counter, looking like she couldn't decide on whether or not to break everything within reach or to cry.
Leaning back in his chair, Alec sighed. Yeah. Family dynamics sure are fun.
Alec Devereaux
17 years ago
Scanning through the remainder of the week, the other bits had happened off camera. Things had certainly factionalized within the household, but were in a state of cease fire. Doing some digging, he'd found some references to Greg Sr.'s tour in Vietnam at the end of the war. Frowning, Alec considered how much trauma one might have to go through before just generally hating another group altogether. Since Ingrid was still alive, and Greg Sr. was still alive and mostly unscarred...well, unscarred compared to Alec, anyway, he just didn't understand.
Maybe seeing a specific group kill enough people somewhat similar to yourself would bring something like that about, if the opposition group had something broad in common as well. An interesting theory.
Either way, it meant the issue was deep seeded, and not likely to change quickly. Alec had an interesting decision to make. Watch his favorite family dissolve and rupture, trust in them to make the right decision, or intervene in some way...
((ooc: Alec out, lock up))
Maybe seeing a specific group kill enough people somewhat similar to yourself would bring something like that about, if the opposition group had something broad in common as well. An interesting theory.
Either way, it meant the issue was deep seeded, and not likely to change quickly. Alec had an interesting decision to make. Watch his favorite family dissolve and rupture, trust in them to make the right decision, or intervene in some way...
((ooc: Alec out, lock up))