J,GoB's, Friday Midmorning
Victor had told Olive his mom would have liked her. He'd probably said it more than once, and meant it. It just wasn't the kind of theory he expected to ever have to test, given one of the ladies in question had been dead for well over a year.
But. The island was being both horrible and wonderful this week. And that meant it was time for his mom to actually meet Olive, before she was gone again. He took a seat by the window in the cafe, restlessly twisted a paper napkin into small balls as he waited for two of his favorite people in the world to join him.
Olive Penderghast
Olive had actually gone to the effort of looking nice today. She had put on makeup and a nice button-down and a skirt and tights and oh god she'd totally thought that she could get away with not doing the meet-the-parents dance.
This was so nerve-wracking. Not only was she meeting Victor's mom, but she was meeting Victor's mom who was dead, and it...meant more.
"Hey," she greeted him, bending down to peck his cheek before sliding into a chair at the table. She glad to see she'd beaten his mom there. Unless she was a ghost. Oh god, what if she was like, invisible, like a ghost? What if Olive had sat on her.
Okay, no, she needed to calm down. Seriously.
"So. I never thought I'd be doing this," she said, trying to look more happy than nervous. Because she really was happy, was the thing. She was just also mind-numbingly scared.
Victor Mancha
"Me either," Victor told her, reaching down to squeeze her hand. "She's a normal person. They usually stay normal person dead."
He was maybe a little -- no, a lot -- scared too. The meet-the-parents dance did get extra-intense when said parent was going back to the afterlife anytime now. He licked dry lips, tried to think of something reassuring to say. "We'll be fine. She's fine."
Olive Penderghast
"I mean, of course she is. She's your mom," Olive said, trying for good old logic there. "It's not like I'm facing off against a minotaur. It's your mom."
Still terrified.
Marianella Mancha
Marianella was a little stressed about this. If things had gone differently, she could have had this meeting over a home-cooked dinner, instead of a coffee shop in a town she'd never been to before. What's more, the... fleeting nature of her visit meant that the stakes in regards to liking this girl and setting Victor's mind at ease were pretty high.
Better to not think about that.
She entered the coffee shop, smiling weakly at the both of them.
"Hi, sweetie," she greeted Victor as she reached their table and set down her things on the empty chair. Then she held out a hand toward Olive. "Marianella Mancha. Nice to meet you."
Victor Mancha
"Hi Mom," Victor said, and banished the fleeting thought that at least a minotaur to fight would have been something he'd dealt with before. "This is Olive Penderghast."
Which he'd told her when they were setting this up, but it seemed like a standard part of the formal introductions thing. As was what he was about to say next.
"So, does anybody want coffee or anything?"
Olive Penderghast
"It's so nice to meet you, ma'am," Olive said as she reached to shake the offered hand, pleased that she'd remembered to say that and hadn't just melted into a puddle of terror or something. "I've heard so much about you, and...it's really amazing that I actually get to meet the lady behind the legend."
To Victor, she added, "I'm okay for now." Mostly because the last thing her nerves needed right now was caffeine.
Marianella Mancha
"I wish I could say the same," Marianella offered, meaning it as a joke, but it was... awkward, and fell a little flat. "I'm okay too, thanks, hijo."
Edited at 2013-01-25 10:45 am (local)
Victor Mancha
It was awkward, but the whole situation was awkward. Victor nodded, went back to twisting that napkin into little balls.
"I spent Christmas with Olive's family," he told his mother. "Down in Ojai. She's got two brothers."
Olive Penderghast
Olive nodded along with this. "One older, one younger," she said helpfully. Because that mattered. "Our friend Sia came, too. It was her first Christmas. Victor was really helpful with introducing her to all the traditions."
She was trying really hard not to babble too much. Jury was out on whether she'd succeed.
Marianella Mancha
"Oh, how nice," Marianella said, nodding. She had to approve of a girl who did Christmas, right? "Victor's always loved Christmas probably. Was the church in Ojai anything like ours back home?"
Edited at 2013-01-25 12:15 pm (local)
Victor Mancha
"You always made Christmas special for me," Victor said, before his eyes flickered toward Olive. If she wanted to share she hadn't gone to church, that was fine, but it didn't seem like the kind of thing he needed to bring up with his very Catholic and temporarily undead mother.
"It was nice," he said. "Smaller then ours, and the priest kind of mumbled, but the choir was better."
Edited at 2013-01-25 01:00 pm (local)
Olive Penderghast
"It was a really nice Christmas, overall," Olive said, taking her cue from Victor and neatly dodging the church issue. "My younger brother still buys into the Santa thing, though this might be the last year, so we kind of got to play with that, too. And my parents were really happy Victor could come," she added carefully. "They both really like him."
And that, at least, wasn't any kind of a dodge, and a hundred percent true.
Marianella Mancha
"Desde luego," Marianella said, smiling. "Everyone likes Victor. I've always said, if someone doesn't like my Victor, he shouldn't like them."
Proud-parent feels didn't go away after death, for the record. They pretty much just got more intense.
"How did you two meet?"
Victor Mancha
Okay, Victor's mom was getting a proud-if-slightly-embarassed son smile for that one.
"They do this picnic at the beginning of every semester," he explained. As he spoke, his hand crept closer to Olive's. "Kind of to give everybody a chance to meet. And she came over to me, back at the start of the school year, and ... we just started talking. I thought she was cute right off, but it took us like a month and a half to realize the crush thing was mutual."
Olive Penderghast
"It was my first semester," Olive added, blushing a tiny bit as she reached out to gently twine her fingers through Victor's. "And I kind of thought he was new too, at first. And then he fixed my computer -- okay, no, you like, super-enhanced my computer -- and we kept talking after that."
Edited at 2013-01-25 06:15 pm (local)
Marianella Mancha
Hearing this story so long after it had happened was a little bittersweet, but Marianella wanted to know everything. "The computer skills," she said, smiling. "And I thought they were only helpful for playing videojuegos with Jorge."
Edited at 2013-01-25 07:56 pm (local)
Victor Mancha
Man, Victor hadn't thought about Jorge in months. He hadn't meant to fall out of touch; there just wasn't a lot to talk about anymore with the East Angeles crew. His smile turned nostalgic.
"I should thank Jorge," he teased. "All that time zapping aliens and pretending to play basketball has turned out to be hella useful."
Edited at 2013-01-26 03:59 pm (local)
Olive Penderghast
"You could write him a nice note," Olive said, perfectly straight-faced. "On stationery. In which you reference actually zapping aliens."
It didn't seem out of the realm of possibility.
Marianella Mancha
"Remind him to do his homework while you're at it," Marianella said. "What that boy must be doing without you helping him with school, I don't even want to know."
Victor Mancha
"I'm pretty sure he's going to graduate even without me?" Victor offered, though he hadn't checked. "But honestly I feel sorry for him. Metal detectors and he doesn't get to have the whole Fandom experience."
Olive Penderghast
"Which is kind of a mixed bag," Olive offered sympathetically. "But for the most part, I'd rather be here than a normal high school. Particularly one with metal detectors, ew."
Marianella Mancha
"Schools like this one don't grow on trees in East LA," Marianella said, quietly and almost a little defensive. She understood Olive's perspective, but she'd done the best she could sending Victor to his old school, after all. "I'm glad you found yourself a school that's safer and more comfortable for you, hijo."
Victor Mancha
"Yeah, they don't build castles between In-N-Out and the check-cashing store," Victor joked. "And ... it's like what you always told me, right? Everything happens for a reason, even if it's hard to see what it is right away. Not that going to a better school remotely makes up for losing you, but --"
But it was something. And if it really had kept him from becoming a supervillain, so much the better.
Marianella Mancha
"I know." That would be a fond, maternal look she was giving him right there, yep. "You're happy and safe. I did my job."
Sorry for the suddenly-intimate-ness of it all, Olive. It was hard not to be sappy under the circumstances.
Victor Mancha
"You did a great job," Victor told her in a thick voice.
He'd never completely forgive his mother for having lied to him about so much for so long, but somehow that was okay too. Seeing her again, he couldn't forget that she'd done the best she could -- and then some.
He gave Olive an apologetic look. "Sorry. We're being sort of sappy."
Olive Penderghast
Olive waved a hand, swallowing a little -- she wouldn't admit it, but she was kind of choked up at the display. But she wasn't about to start emotionally showboating or anything. "I think if any circumstance ever called for people being sappy," she offered quietly, "it's this one."
[OOC: NFI. Preplayed with the fantastic dirtiest-skank and the beautiful dollpocalypse.]
But. The island was being both horrible and wonderful this week. And that meant it was time for his mom to actually meet Olive, before she was gone again. He took a seat by the window in the cafe, restlessly twisted a paper napkin into small balls as he waited for two of his favorite people in the world to join him.
Olive Penderghast
Olive had actually gone to the effort of looking nice today. She had put on makeup and a nice button-down and a skirt and tights and oh god she'd totally thought that she could get away with not doing the meet-the-parents dance.
This was so nerve-wracking. Not only was she meeting Victor's mom, but she was meeting Victor's mom who was dead, and it...meant more.
"Hey," she greeted him, bending down to peck his cheek before sliding into a chair at the table. She glad to see she'd beaten his mom there. Unless she was a ghost. Oh god, what if she was like, invisible, like a ghost? What if Olive had sat on her.
Okay, no, she needed to calm down. Seriously.
"So. I never thought I'd be doing this," she said, trying to look more happy than nervous. Because she really was happy, was the thing. She was just also mind-numbingly scared.
Victor Mancha
"Me either," Victor told her, reaching down to squeeze her hand. "She's a normal person. They usually stay normal person dead."
He was maybe a little -- no, a lot -- scared too. The meet-the-parents dance did get extra-intense when said parent was going back to the afterlife anytime now. He licked dry lips, tried to think of something reassuring to say. "We'll be fine. She's fine."
Olive Penderghast
"I mean, of course she is. She's your mom," Olive said, trying for good old logic there. "It's not like I'm facing off against a minotaur. It's your mom."
Still terrified.
Marianella Mancha
Marianella was a little stressed about this. If things had gone differently, she could have had this meeting over a home-cooked dinner, instead of a coffee shop in a town she'd never been to before. What's more, the... fleeting nature of her visit meant that the stakes in regards to liking this girl and setting Victor's mind at ease were pretty high.
Better to not think about that.
She entered the coffee shop, smiling weakly at the both of them.
"Hi, sweetie," she greeted Victor as she reached their table and set down her things on the empty chair. Then she held out a hand toward Olive. "Marianella Mancha. Nice to meet you."
Victor Mancha
"Hi Mom," Victor said, and banished the fleeting thought that at least a minotaur to fight would have been something he'd dealt with before. "This is Olive Penderghast."
Which he'd told her when they were setting this up, but it seemed like a standard part of the formal introductions thing. As was what he was about to say next.
"So, does anybody want coffee or anything?"
Olive Penderghast
"It's so nice to meet you, ma'am," Olive said as she reached to shake the offered hand, pleased that she'd remembered to say that and hadn't just melted into a puddle of terror or something. "I've heard so much about you, and...it's really amazing that I actually get to meet the lady behind the legend."
To Victor, she added, "I'm okay for now." Mostly because the last thing her nerves needed right now was caffeine.
Marianella Mancha
"I wish I could say the same," Marianella offered, meaning it as a joke, but it was... awkward, and fell a little flat. "I'm okay too, thanks, hijo."
Edited at 2013-01-25 10:45 am (local)
Victor Mancha
It was awkward, but the whole situation was awkward. Victor nodded, went back to twisting that napkin into little balls.
"I spent Christmas with Olive's family," he told his mother. "Down in Ojai. She's got two brothers."
Olive Penderghast
Olive nodded along with this. "One older, one younger," she said helpfully. Because that mattered. "Our friend Sia came, too. It was her first Christmas. Victor was really helpful with introducing her to all the traditions."
She was trying really hard not to babble too much. Jury was out on whether she'd succeed.
Marianella Mancha
"Oh, how nice," Marianella said, nodding. She had to approve of a girl who did Christmas, right? "Victor's always loved Christmas probably. Was the church in Ojai anything like ours back home?"
Edited at 2013-01-25 12:15 pm (local)
Victor Mancha
"You always made Christmas special for me," Victor said, before his eyes flickered toward Olive. If she wanted to share she hadn't gone to church, that was fine, but it didn't seem like the kind of thing he needed to bring up with his very Catholic and temporarily undead mother.
"It was nice," he said. "Smaller then ours, and the priest kind of mumbled, but the choir was better."
Edited at 2013-01-25 01:00 pm (local)
Olive Penderghast
"It was a really nice Christmas, overall," Olive said, taking her cue from Victor and neatly dodging the church issue. "My younger brother still buys into the Santa thing, though this might be the last year, so we kind of got to play with that, too. And my parents were really happy Victor could come," she added carefully. "They both really like him."
And that, at least, wasn't any kind of a dodge, and a hundred percent true.
Marianella Mancha
"Desde luego," Marianella said, smiling. "Everyone likes Victor. I've always said, if someone doesn't like my Victor, he shouldn't like them."
Proud-parent feels didn't go away after death, for the record. They pretty much just got more intense.
"How did you two meet?"
Victor Mancha
Okay, Victor's mom was getting a proud-if-slightly-embarassed son smile for that one.
"They do this picnic at the beginning of every semester," he explained. As he spoke, his hand crept closer to Olive's. "Kind of to give everybody a chance to meet. And she came over to me, back at the start of the school year, and ... we just started talking. I thought she was cute right off, but it took us like a month and a half to realize the crush thing was mutual."
Olive Penderghast
"It was my first semester," Olive added, blushing a tiny bit as she reached out to gently twine her fingers through Victor's. "And I kind of thought he was new too, at first. And then he fixed my computer -- okay, no, you like, super-enhanced my computer -- and we kept talking after that."
Edited at 2013-01-25 06:15 pm (local)
Marianella Mancha
Hearing this story so long after it had happened was a little bittersweet, but Marianella wanted to know everything. "The computer skills," she said, smiling. "And I thought they were only helpful for playing videojuegos with Jorge."
Edited at 2013-01-25 07:56 pm (local)
Victor Mancha
Man, Victor hadn't thought about Jorge in months. He hadn't meant to fall out of touch; there just wasn't a lot to talk about anymore with the East Angeles crew. His smile turned nostalgic.
"I should thank Jorge," he teased. "All that time zapping aliens and pretending to play basketball has turned out to be hella useful."
Edited at 2013-01-26 03:59 pm (local)
Olive Penderghast
"You could write him a nice note," Olive said, perfectly straight-faced. "On stationery. In which you reference actually zapping aliens."
It didn't seem out of the realm of possibility.
Marianella Mancha
"Remind him to do his homework while you're at it," Marianella said. "What that boy must be doing without you helping him with school, I don't even want to know."
Victor Mancha
"I'm pretty sure he's going to graduate even without me?" Victor offered, though he hadn't checked. "But honestly I feel sorry for him. Metal detectors and he doesn't get to have the whole Fandom experience."
Olive Penderghast
"Which is kind of a mixed bag," Olive offered sympathetically. "But for the most part, I'd rather be here than a normal high school. Particularly one with metal detectors, ew."
Marianella Mancha
"Schools like this one don't grow on trees in East LA," Marianella said, quietly and almost a little defensive. She understood Olive's perspective, but she'd done the best she could sending Victor to his old school, after all. "I'm glad you found yourself a school that's safer and more comfortable for you, hijo."
Victor Mancha
"Yeah, they don't build castles between In-N-Out and the check-cashing store," Victor joked. "And ... it's like what you always told me, right? Everything happens for a reason, even if it's hard to see what it is right away. Not that going to a better school remotely makes up for losing you, but --"
But it was something. And if it really had kept him from becoming a supervillain, so much the better.
Marianella Mancha
"I know." That would be a fond, maternal look she was giving him right there, yep. "You're happy and safe. I did my job."
Sorry for the suddenly-intimate-ness of it all, Olive. It was hard not to be sappy under the circumstances.
Victor Mancha
"You did a great job," Victor told her in a thick voice.
He'd never completely forgive his mother for having lied to him about so much for so long, but somehow that was okay too. Seeing her again, he couldn't forget that she'd done the best she could -- and then some.
He gave Olive an apologetic look. "Sorry. We're being sort of sappy."
Olive Penderghast
Olive waved a hand, swallowing a little -- she wouldn't admit it, but she was kind of choked up at the display. But she wasn't about to start emotionally showboating or anything. "I think if any circumstance ever called for people being sappy," she offered quietly, "it's this one."
[OOC: NFI. Preplayed with the fantastic dirtiest-skank and the beautiful dollpocalypse.]