Angel (time warp offshoot; May 1992)

[hermit_of]

Exams are out of the way, Angel's stuff is out of the dorm, arrangements for the mini-vacation (if one could call it that) have been made, and the drive to Cleveland is done. Now all that's left is the 'actually dealing with relatives' part.
Angel's not exactly looking forward to it, but at least he's got good company.

Comments

[mitanarchist]

Collins doesn't often care for confrontation, nor does he generally like being in a situation where he doesn't have home-turf advantage. But he gladly makes exceptions in this case.

"Nice place," he comments, eyeing the house.

[the_antiangst]

It is, at that, but it's on the small side; granted, in the early '60s, it was probably rather large. "Mom's got three brothers. I used to wonder how they all fit in here." That out of the way, he rings the doorbell. He's not dressed up today; this is going to be hard enough.

When Angel's grandmother opens the door, the family resemblance is fairly obvious. She's on the short side, and she still carries herself like nothing's going to get in her way. (And until further notice, assume the dialogue's in Spanish; typist is too lazy for that many italics.)
"...Andrew. This is a surprise."

"Hello, Abuelita. We need to talk about things. Without arguing, if we can."

"I see." Collins? You are now getting Eyed. Somewhat suspiciously. "And who is this?"

[mitanarchist]

"My name is Tom Collins." Giving his full name is a sign of respect that the woman won't know to recognize--at least yet. His Spanish accent is flawless.

He puts a hand on Angel's shoulder, a silent message. We come as a set.

[the_antiangst]

That... isn't going to stop the eyeing, not at the moment. He gets bonus points for knowing the language, at least.
"I am Dolores Hernandez." After a brief pause, she sighs. "Well, I suppose this isn't the sort of conversation we ought to be having on the front porch. You might as well come inside."

Angel... resists the urge to facepalm, since he's pretty sure she's only letting them in in case it does fall to shouting, and follows her into the living room.

[mitanarchist]

Collins follows Angel, eyes taking in details of his surroundings.

It is a comfortable place in some respects.

He remains silent for the moment.

[the_antiangst]

Everyone's quiet for a while; Dolores takes a chair, and waves Angel and Collins toward a couch.

There's no easy way to start this conversation, so Angel just dives right in, once the tension's had a while to sink in. "I think that every other time we've tried this, we're both too caught up in defending our own points that we don't actually hear each other. And that's all well and good for the genetic stubbornness, but... we don't get anywhere, and that's not helping."

"You may have a point. Why did you bring him?"

"Moral support?"

Dolores snorts, but doesn't say anything.

[mitanarchist]

"Confrontations generally are easier to deal with if one has support," Collins says levelly. His tone isn't rude. "Angel's important to me."

Angel. Not Andrew.

[the_antiangst]

She could see that, for all she still doesn't quite want to acknowledge it.

"You go first. I honestly don't know why you take so much issue with my life, abuelita." Angel stops before he gets any more argumentative. That's not why he's here.

Dolores takes a deep breath, and then starts explaining. "You know I only left Havana because the politics got unbearable. I didn't want Castro's ideal for my family. I wanted my children to have a chance at a good life - and grandchildren, though your mother and uncles were too young for that to be an immediate concern. So we moved, and now all I can see is you wasting the chance I gave you on choices that could very well put your life in danger."

Angel... is just going to take a moment and be quietly relieved she's not even bringing the Catholic angle to the discussion. A very 1950s mindset, yes, but not the religious nonsense. That? Will help.
Just as soon as he pieces together a response.

[mitanarchist]

"Any choice can potentially put someone's life in danger," Collins points out, his voice still level. "Granted, some might have more risk than others, but living itself involves a certain amount of risk. I doubt you wanted your children and grandchildren to live in perpetual fear of what others would think."

[the_antiangst]

...He has a point. She would really rather not admit it, but he has a point, especially considering how lucky she was that the family got out of Cuba before the US closed its borders.
So she nods, and then turns to face her grandson. "And you?"

"I can't help who I love any more than you can help loving your family. I won't say I've made the best decisions as I've gone along, and in a way you're right - I did put myself in danger before I quite knew what to look for. But if you must look at the bigger picture as a choice... well. I'd make damn sure I'd get to the people I know now before I tried to change anything, if I had the chance."

"You are sure of this?" She hardly needs to ask, but there are certain formalities to this sort of discussion.

"Absolutely. Anyone worth keeping is worth a struggle."
...Angel can only hope there's a suitable middle ground in there.

[mitanarchist]

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy," Collins adds, voice gone soft with reflection. "And no, we don't have forever, but there's no sense wasting what time we do have on regret."

[the_antiangst]

Sorry, did you think the tense silence was gone for good? Not quite yet; it had to stick around for round two, you see.

"I still don't quite understand," Dolores finally says, "and I don't know that I ever will. But you're clearly happy, and you've at least found someone who knows the language. I think I can be at peace with that, Angel."

It's still the masculine pronunciation, but that's enough - it's the first time she's called Angel that since he came out. Besides, convincing her of the other would probably take all eternity. All is not quite as it once was, but it'll do.

"I hope you were planning to stay for dinner, at least?" she adds.

Angel grins. "Well, I suppose we are now."

[mitanarchist]

What confrontation would be complete without tense silences? At least the first hurdle's been crossed.

The second can wait after dinner.

[the_antiangst]

Angel gets pressed into service helping with the food preparation, which doesn't really surprise him. When the food's done, it's pretty damn wonderful - all the better since there's a dearth of decent Cuban food around Juilliard.

And the second hurdle could wait until after dinner, but that would require Dolores being content to let the subject rest that long. "So, what was this about putting yourself in danger?"

It would be useless to avoid explaining just because there's food on the table - see also genetic stubbornness - so Angel fills her in. As many details as he feels comfortable giving, anyway.

"...I see. Do your parents know?"

"Not yet. We're going to Buffalo in a couple of days."

[mitanarchist]

"My parents know," Collins says smoothly, starting on his plate. The food really is delicious. "They're willing to help with medical expenses as they can."

An unexpected bonus, given their family's tendency to find any excuse for a conflict, but a welcome one all the same. The fact that the offer was extended to Angel without them having met him at that point was another welcome surprise.

[the_antiangst]

Especially since Angel's not expecting the parental confrontation to go half as well as this one ended up.

"You're moving to the city, then?"

"I am. It seems the best idea under the circumstances. There are better resources there than there probably are in Buffalo, and... well." There's only a slight hesitation before Angel decides to get hurdle number three out of the way as well. "I dropped out of college."

...That gets a pair of raised eyebrows. "Really."

"I'd been considering it for a while - Juilliard's not what I was looking for, no matter what my parents think of it. And after everything went downhill on the medical front, I decided I needed my sanity more than a degree. I can try to go somewhere else, if I feel up to it after I've recovered a bit."