The 'rents, and a few surprises
So the 'rents got into town Thursday. ...Calling Lucius and Narcissa "the 'rents" is a bit like calling the Manor "my crib"; it just doesn't fit. But there you go.
Harry was a little nervous about their arrival, I could tell; and I was a bundle of nerves, worrying about the house being clean enough and so forth, since they've never approved of my Muggle lifestyle. But everything went all right. I made a roast for dinner, with little potatoes, and it came out perfectly; Father and Mother complimented me lavishly on the meal. And both of them were only too pleased to welcome Harry to the family; it was a congenial first evening, much more relaxed and mellow than I'd expected it to be.
Abbie was thrilled to see them, of course. Almost knocked Father down with his first hug, and spent hours chattering on about his school, his new friends, and all the things we've done together during his visit. I cringed a little inwardly when he got to talking about the more Muggle things, but the folks didn't say or do anything amiss, or indicate that I'd done wrong; on the contrary, they praised Harry and I repeatedly for the good work we'd done taking care of him. So that was a load off my mind. After Abbie was in bed - after three bedtime stories from Father and repeated hugs - we adults sat around and chatted over tea. Not too long, as Father and Mother were weary after their long day's journey - so I unfolded the sofa-bed for them, which they both found fascinating, enchanted the mattress to be thicker and fluffier, and charmed a set of curtains to hover around their bed for privacy. Still I felt embarrassed that I didn't have a proper guest room to offer them. I'm definitely set on remodeling the house to have more space, now.
Yesterday I showed them around the city some, and brought them to Harry's coffee shop. Father was very favorably impressed by the quality and environment Harry's built, and spent quite some time discussing the shop with him over dinner. (French, expensive - naturally.) And then they dropped the bombshell - that they've been looking for a place in Vancouver, so as to be closer to me. A few years ago, I would have been screaming bloody murder, resenting the infringement on my existence - now, I'm glad. I've missed having them close by, and I definitely will enjoy seeing more of Abbie.
And then Father hit me with an even bigger shock - he thinks it's time for he and my mother to start acclimating themselves to the Muggle world! I just sat there with my mouth hanging open for a little while; I never thought I'd hear words like that from my father's mouth. We spent half the night discussing electricity, and computers, and how cars work, and I felt as if I'd been dropped into some surreal alternate universe, into Bizarro-land; it just felt so unreal.
So this morning I've taught Father - who's always been an early riser - how to operate the espresso machine, and the joys of a good latte. He seems to have taken to coffee immediately, and is currently making himself another. After I finish this, I'm going to show him a few computer basics, and the power of the Internet. The idea of being able to find information on damn near anything fascinates him. I think he'll have a fine time, once he learns his way around. Meanwhile, Abbie came out of his room half-asleep and crawled into bed with Mother; they're cuddled up together the way I remember cuddling with her when I was that age, and the image is adorable. A good start to what I hope will be another good day with my family.
More later.
Harry was a little nervous about their arrival, I could tell; and I was a bundle of nerves, worrying about the house being clean enough and so forth, since they've never approved of my Muggle lifestyle. But everything went all right. I made a roast for dinner, with little potatoes, and it came out perfectly; Father and Mother complimented me lavishly on the meal. And both of them were only too pleased to welcome Harry to the family; it was a congenial first evening, much more relaxed and mellow than I'd expected it to be.
Abbie was thrilled to see them, of course. Almost knocked Father down with his first hug, and spent hours chattering on about his school, his new friends, and all the things we've done together during his visit. I cringed a little inwardly when he got to talking about the more Muggle things, but the folks didn't say or do anything amiss, or indicate that I'd done wrong; on the contrary, they praised Harry and I repeatedly for the good work we'd done taking care of him. So that was a load off my mind. After Abbie was in bed - after three bedtime stories from Father and repeated hugs - we adults sat around and chatted over tea. Not too long, as Father and Mother were weary after their long day's journey - so I unfolded the sofa-bed for them, which they both found fascinating, enchanted the mattress to be thicker and fluffier, and charmed a set of curtains to hover around their bed for privacy. Still I felt embarrassed that I didn't have a proper guest room to offer them. I'm definitely set on remodeling the house to have more space, now.
Yesterday I showed them around the city some, and brought them to Harry's coffee shop. Father was very favorably impressed by the quality and environment Harry's built, and spent quite some time discussing the shop with him over dinner. (French, expensive - naturally.) And then they dropped the bombshell - that they've been looking for a place in Vancouver, so as to be closer to me. A few years ago, I would have been screaming bloody murder, resenting the infringement on my existence - now, I'm glad. I've missed having them close by, and I definitely will enjoy seeing more of Abbie.
And then Father hit me with an even bigger shock - he thinks it's time for he and my mother to start acclimating themselves to the Muggle world! I just sat there with my mouth hanging open for a little while; I never thought I'd hear words like that from my father's mouth. We spent half the night discussing electricity, and computers, and how cars work, and I felt as if I'd been dropped into some surreal alternate universe, into Bizarro-land; it just felt so unreal.
So this morning I've taught Father - who's always been an early riser - how to operate the espresso machine, and the joys of a good latte. He seems to have taken to coffee immediately, and is currently making himself another. After I finish this, I'm going to show him a few computer basics, and the power of the Internet. The idea of being able to find information on damn near anything fascinates him. I think he'll have a fine time, once he learns his way around. Meanwhile, Abbie came out of his room half-asleep and crawled into bed with Mother; they're cuddled up together the way I remember cuddling with her when I was that age, and the image is adorable. A good start to what I hope will be another good day with my family.
More later.