Narrative

[afterglow_npc]

Who: Oliver, Lisa, Oliver's Gram, Lisa's Dad, Oliver's family
Where: Scotland
When: Christmas Eve, late afternoon
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Oliver's family arrives. Could an unexpected visitor ruin Oliver's Christmas?

Comments

[bright_lisa]

It was a strange feeling, to be alone in a house you were still a bit unfamiliar with. And now she had to entertain strangers-- no, even worse-- Oliver's family, people who she had to really impress if she wanted to get any farther with Oliver. Couldn't she just hide in Oliver's old bedroom and read? Not wanting to be rude, she decided just to deal with it, and that Oliver would be out of the shower soon. She could faintly hear the shower upstairs from her spot in the living room.

Well, what was the worst that could happen? Lisa returned to her book, something she had picked up a few months ago and had brought to read when she wasn't with Oliver. Anna Karenina, it was called, and it was apparently a classic Muggle novel. She was only a few pages into the first chapter.

[woodatdawn]

It wasn't long before the fire in the floo started to flame green and a tall man stepped into the living room. He was broad at the shoulders and slender at the hips, like Oliver - and as Lisa would come to find out, most of the Wood men. He was older maybe a bit older than Lisa's father, though looking good for his age. He had thinning and greying red hair and was pale. He wore a pair of black frame glasses on his long, thin nose

[bright_lisa]

She had watched the man, not sure whether she should welcome him. God, she was nervous. Her heart was pounding. Oliver's family. He looked a bit like Gram to her, with the jaw and the eyes.

When he finally noticed her, she closed her book and got up, smiling. Figuring that the man was an uncle that Gram forgot to tell her was coming, she extended her hand for him to shake. "Hello," she said kindly. "I'm Lisa Turpin, Oliver's girlfriend. Gram just went out to deliver some food. Aunt Evelyn is upstairs sleeping and Ollie's in the shower-- I believe there's water boiling in the kitchen, would you like a cup of tea, then?"

[woodatdawn]

Oliver's girlfriend? James smile faltered a bit, but he plastered it back on - looking very similar to Oliver as he did. He nodded graciously and shook her hand then stepped back and allowed her to enter the kitchen before him. He wondered if she knew who he was, wondered what Oliver had said about him - then he wondered if Oliver said anything about him at all.

"Yes, tea would be wonderful. Thank ye." James's accent wasn't nearly as thick as Oliver's, though had it been, they might have sounded quite similar. Gram often thought Oliver had turned out quite a bit like James, though she never said so to Oliver's face. Oliver's coloring and face shape was all from his mother, but his eyes and lanky legs and wide set shoulders were Wood through and through and Lisa would soon find out that the Wood men were all built this way.

"How is Oliver?" James finally asked, figuring that was a safe question. It would make him seem polite and nice, whether Oliver has portrayed him as a bastard to Lisa or not.