Christmas Dinner [timed after Day in Hell]
Rich was nervous. He had every reason in the world to be nervous, because this was possibly a cataclysm in the making, never mind a disaster. Nita would be meeting his family for the first time after Robbie lost his finger, he'd be seeing Namora the first time after the article in the Star, and it was going to be a disaster. He knew it was.
But he wanted to spend Christmas with his family. And he wanted to spend it with his girlfriend, and he wanted to take Namora up on her offer of dinner and try to make amends for doing something that made her BUY A WHOLE NEWSPAPER, and...he just wanted this to work.
But it was going to be a disaster.
Rich adjusted his tie for the umpteenth time, and resumed pacing in the living room as his parents chatted in the kitchen, and tried not to look at the presents under the tree, opened earlier in the day, because then he'd feel guilty all over again at not being able to afford anything for them. (Rob'd got him a very rare Joe Dimaggio baseball card he'd had his eye on only forever, with all the money he was raking in before he'd even finished graduating from selling all the software he developed).
"You keep pacing like that and you're going to wear a hole in the carpet," his brother remarked, arms crossed, leaning in the doorway to the kitchen. "Listen, it's going to be fine."
Rich laughed an abrupt laugh, and kept pacing, and Bobby came over and put his hands on his shoulders, stopping him.
"It's. Going. To be. Fine."
"I know. I...I know," Rich said, relaxing just a little. "I just want everything to go perfect."
"Well, I wouldn't say 'perfect,' but I think 'fine' is a very reasonable estimate for how tonight is going to go. It's okay. I mean, figure it this way, Rich--if anyone has a legitimate reason to dislike Nita, it'd be me and I don't. I'm happy for you both. So take a deep breath, stop worrying in that typical Rich fashion of yours, and stop pacing before you drive me crazy with it."
Rich laughed again, another short, nervous laugh. "Okay."
But he wanted to spend Christmas with his family. And he wanted to spend it with his girlfriend, and he wanted to take Namora up on her offer of dinner and try to make amends for doing something that made her BUY A WHOLE NEWSPAPER, and...he just wanted this to work.
But it was going to be a disaster.
Rich adjusted his tie for the umpteenth time, and resumed pacing in the living room as his parents chatted in the kitchen, and tried not to look at the presents under the tree, opened earlier in the day, because then he'd feel guilty all over again at not being able to afford anything for them. (Rob'd got him a very rare Joe Dimaggio baseball card he'd had his eye on only forever, with all the money he was raking in before he'd even finished graduating from selling all the software he developed).
"You keep pacing like that and you're going to wear a hole in the carpet," his brother remarked, arms crossed, leaning in the doorway to the kitchen. "Listen, it's going to be fine."
Rich laughed an abrupt laugh, and kept pacing, and Bobby came over and put his hands on his shoulders, stopping him.
"It's. Going. To be. Fine."
"I know. I...I know," Rich said, relaxing just a little. "I just want everything to go perfect."
"Well, I wouldn't say 'perfect,' but I think 'fine' is a very reasonable estimate for how tonight is going to go. It's okay. I mean, figure it this way, Rich--if anyone has a legitimate reason to dislike Nita, it'd be me and I don't. I'm happy for you both. So take a deep breath, stop worrying in that typical Rich fashion of yours, and stop pacing before you drive me crazy with it."
Rich laughed again, another short, nervous laugh. "Okay."