Chapter 5: May - "Reality Check"

Meeting a girlfriend's parents is a defining moment in a relationship; theoretically, you'll make a lasting impression on your honey's parents that won't make them go for the shotgun. Yes, ma'am. I do think your daughter is a lovely, talented young woman and I think the world of her. No sir, I wouldn't consider for a second bringing her home even a hair past eleven. Not that easy, of course. Oh hell, no. Every gesture is significant and every facial expression speaks a thousand words, none of them good. Is there a hint of disapproval in that quirked eyebrow? Or is it a trace of suspicion in what sounds like an awfully pointed question?

Or I could just take that storm cloud on Mrs. Reed's face as a giant-sized clue. Jahn decided, as his girlfriend's mother got a good look at just what Jen was wearing and made the logical deductive leap on the significance of where she was wearing it. He couldn't think of a single thing to say, and from the palpable surprise on Jenny's face, he understood that her mother's return had not been announced.

Not that Mrs. Reed's comings and goings required broadcasting, of course. He understood from Fiona that their mother had turned over the title to the house for a token sum that would ensure financial responsibility on their part, and security on hers. What otherwise might be converted a guest room was reserved for their mother when she took a mind to visit. According to what he'd been told, those visits were infrequent as the woman had taken a liking to travel and spent most of her time going cross-country. And here she was...

"Ummm. Hi. Mom." Jen squeaked out awkwardly, a touch of panic clear in her wide blue eyes. Bruising momentarily forgotten, she gave an odd little sideways wave of her hand and said. "I need to change, I'll be right back." In the harsh light of the kitchen and living room, the reason was abundantly clear – the outfit his girlfriend wore could only leave anything to the imagination in a shadowy room. All of her goods were on display.

"Please do," the silver-haired woman said frostily as her daughter hurried away to find something more decent. Turning her attention back to Jahn, she now examined him with greater scrutiny. Her stare was not like Donovan's. No idle curiosity; her brown eyes were knives that pared the flesh from bone like skin from a potato. Likely the only question in her mind was where to dispose of his body when those sharp brown eyes finished eviscerating him.

"Mrs. Reed, this really isn't how it seems..." he began awkwardly, before realizing that the explanation might be even worse to her than what she already thought.

"Do tell," Mrs. Reed said coldly, and he started to continue. She cut him off. "On second thought, don't. I'd rather have the explanation from my daughter."

"Yes, ma'am." Bug on a windshield, yep, he thought as he waited silently with the silver-haired Fury staring bloody death at him

Jen returned a few minutes later, clad in a loose-fitting sweatshirt and jogging pants, greeting her mother somewhat lamely, bright spots of pink on her cheeks, "Hadn't heard you were coming home..."

With words that seemed to cut stone, Mary Reed addressed her daughter. "I hadn't planned on it, but I got a call last month from Fiona about a charming young man she'd been seeing for the last few months. Given that I can't recall either of you girls having had a boyfriend that lasted more than a week or two, I thought I'd drop by and meet the special man that caught my daughter's eye. A young man named Jahn Halvers," she said, anger still providing an edge to her words. Her daughter winced. "My question should be rather obvious. Does Fiona know about this?" Mrs. Reed said, gaze shifting to the clothing Jen now wore

"Well, yeah." Jenny hedged and shifted around on her feet, trying to work out her next words. "Jahn's my boyfriend."

Uncertainty crossed the silver-haired woman's severe features, and she asked. "Pardon? Fiona was rather explicit about this young man being her boyfriend, even describing him in depth for me." Mirth very briefly touched her lips, and died there. "She's not prone to telling stories."

"No, she's not." Jen agreed, still refusing to meet her mother's gaze. "We're both going out with him."

From the thunderstruck expression on Mrs. Reed's face, Jahn guessed her ready to keel over, and he reached out to steady her elbow only to be completely ignored. Having raised two daughters on her own, surviving one husband and the other in prison, Mary Reed was made of far sterner stuff. No heart attack, no fainting.

"I ... see. Fiona will be in tonight, or is she gone for the weekend?"

"She'll be back later. Choir at that rest home," Jen said, still shifting around on her feet.

Gaze still sharp, Mrs. Reed paused for a moment then said, "Stop fidgeting, Jenny. I'll make dinner and we'll have this conversation when she gets home." Grudgingly, she extended invitation to Jahn. "I suppose you should be here for that discussion as well."

Fiona had the benefit of some forewarning; she saw her mother's car in the crowded driveway when she pulled in, and took a noticeably long time to get in the house. Obviously not enough warning, though, and with light rose coloring her cheeks, she came into the kitchen looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hi, Mom. It's good to see you again; I didn't expect you'd be dropping by again so soon."

"So, I'm told," Mrs. Reed returned coolly, glancing at Jahn and Jen, who were busy setting the table. "I just had to meet this young man you spoke so enthusiastically about. Imagine my surprise."

While the sisters had made it an unspoken rule to not be in the house for each other's "dates", Fiona knew perfectly well what her mother was referring to, and wisely didn't ask, though she did shoot her sister a few questioning glances. Jen nodded grimly at her while Mrs. Reed's back was turned and Jahn gave her an apologetic shrug.

Jahn was granted the dubious honor of being seated directly across from Mrs. Reed at the four-cornered table and kept his head down as much as possible, keenly aware of her withering gaze on him. The hot seat ... this was going to be great, he thought bleakly. Just swell. The lasagna, while delicious, went down like cold clay and sat like it in his gut.

When they'd finished eating, the silver-haired woman turned her attention to Jen. "So, I've heard all about Fiona's boyfriend, and how they met at Vander & Porter," she commented acerbically, referring to the sisters' shared employer. "Perhaps you should tell me about your new boyfriend and how you met."

"Ah, heh heh." Jen hemmed, in response to her mother's request, diverting a glance towards Fiona. "You've probably heard all about Jahn from Fiona, no need to go into all the gory details."

Mary Reed's smile could have frozen the fires of Hell over. "No, I'd really like to know all about it. Perhaps it would shed some light on this ... arrangement," she finished, gifting Jahn another shot of that penetrating stare.

She got the whole story, of course. It was never in question, and both Fiona and Jen had rather hunted looking expressions on their faces when she was through interrogating the pair. He could empathize; he was dead certain the next target on the woman's shooting range was him. Sure enough...

"So, Tommy," Mrs. Reed began, the reference setting Jen's face to scarlet, and Fiona's to an unhealthy mahogany, "from what the girls are telling me, I understand that you've made quite the ... impression on them. Do you make it a habit to encourage arrangements like these for yourself? Live the playboy lifestyle?"

Well, he reflected, if I were that damn sexy, it might have occurred to me...

Fiona jumped in. "Now mother,, he's nothing like that. Jahn's wonderful: considerate, sensitive, intelligent..."

Jenny rattled on in similar vein at the same time, interrupting her sister, " ... totally hang around with, not a jerk like the guys at V&P. Daddy doesn't hate him, either..." Color rushed into his cheeks at the flood of virtues that the two sisters each attributed to him. He understood that they both felt strongly about him, but neither of them had really put it into words before now, other than Fiona's offhanded 'I love you.' His chest felt uncomfortably warm beneath the outpouring.