The server led them inside the pavilion to a dining hall off the side of the lobby. The doormen bowed their entrance. She recognized Jeriah’s parents sitting off to the side of a wrinkled woman in a stern monochrome suit. The server announced them.
“My lady, Gareth and Jeriah. Accompanied by Miss Amery Dahla, Jeriah’s fiancé.”
“Thank you. Leave us.”
The server bowed and left, closing the door.
“Grandsons. Sit.”
Amy shifted a little before realizing she hadn’t been called. Jeriah touched her arm gently—in comfort? Or as a reminder?—before sitting roughly opposite his grandmother around the circular table. Across the table Jeriah’s parents sat with quiet smiles stitched over their faces. Cousins Sherman and Valerie sat on Grandmothe’rs other side. If Amy thought they looked detached before, they looked almost hostile now.
Grandmother leveled her gaze on Amy. The head of Krovstoff Group was smiling pleasantly, but after spending the mid-afternoon with that smile’s relatives outside, Amy couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. Even more, she could feel the intelligent and calculating gaze of a businesswoman behind the misleading smile. “Amery, tell me about yourself.”
“Yes ma’am,” she said instinctively, making sure she was standing straight with her hands held loosely at her side. She opened her mouth to recount their backstory when she realized the question posed and changed her mind on the spot. “I studied psychology at Ashnim University and was doing clinical and theoretical research there. I moved back here in June after I was accepted to the Cognitive Sciences PhD program at Fair Ridge, but will hopefully will not be starting until next fall. With your blessing, Jeriah and I would like to get married later this year.”
“You said you moved back for school and romance, yet you worked part-time at an ice cream parlor once you were back and didn’t start living with my grandson until this past week.”
Amy felt her head spin. She thought she had until the end of the month to perfect her act! But she focused on what she knew about their relationship and what their story was. She looked down for a second, intentionally showing her embarrassment, before looking back up with a smile and chuckle. “Yes. My first day back in town, I really wanted to get ice cream and they were desperately short-handed. At the time I hadn’t secured my position in the Dreams lab and was reluctant to not have any income over the summer. And…Jeriah didn’t propose until last week.” She glanced down at him shyly, doing her best to seem like she was blushing.
“She likes to stay busy,” Jeriah put in helpfully.
“No ice-cream maid, no matter her good intentions, could ever be good enough for my grandson or accepted into this family.”
Amy met the calculating gaze of the woman she was supposed to impress.
“I-I’m sorry you feel that way,” she replied, holding her head proudly. “But I love him,” Amy started, even looking towards him to make sure the act looked the part. “So if you meant that, I would tell you that I’m willing to fight for our relationship and our marriage. And I believe that he would fight for me as well. As for my intentions…I want to support him.”
Someone coughed.
Amy laughed as well and and replied gracefully. “I suppose that’s odd, that an ice-cream maid wants to support the son of a multi-million dollar international company. But we didn’t meet like that. We were just old high school acquantances at first, and then coworkers. Jeriah’s on so many projects at the lab, and he’s always reading up on new research; I can really see his passion for his field, and his kindness in small things. And I want to be by his side through that, helping him however I can, be it making a snack when he forgets to eat or,”—she turned to Jeriah with a mischievous grin— “offering another opinion on a transliteration graph.”
Jeriah’s poker face cracked for a little bit in to show her what looked like an embarrassed flush. Her smile was easier to hold after that. She looked back up to his grandmother, her words sharp but deliberate. “But you aren’t actually asking me all that, are you?”
Grandmother nodded, but whether it was in approval or dismissal Amy couldn’t really tell. “Well rehearsed.” Amy feel the blood rush out of her head and it took all her self control not to snap her head up in surprise. Instead, she lifted her head slowly, pinching her eyebrows like she had just noticed the odd choice of words.
Then Grandmother laughed. It was a rumble at first, and too short to build, but she laughed. “Amery, sit,” Grandmother finally welcomed her to the table. “If you are an actress, then you are a fairly good one, and an astute girl as well. Jeriah, tell Martin he can serve us now.”
Amy slipped into her seat, exchanging smiles of relief with Jeriah as he got up. She wanted to just sink into it and stop talking, but even when food was served, she was the center of conversation:
“Amery, Jeriah never says anything to us, so we know nothing. How did you two meet?”
Finally, a question she had rehearsed. She told Jeriah’s parents the story about her being out birdwatching and nearly tripping over an old classmate who was engrossed in his reading. Catching up had led to getting ice cream, and similar research interests had kept them in contact.
The other guests kept the questions coming. Amy felt like she was the target of a shooting range rather than an interview. Jeriah jumped in sometimes, answering for her so she could eat.
“You have a healthy appetite,” Valerie commented during a slightly sour dessert.
“I would think this is better stuff than the kind you served at the ice-cream parlor?”
“The dessert reflects the company,” Amy shot back. She almost slapped her mouth shut and stuffed another bite of lemon meringue and fruit-tart ice cream. When there was no response, she risked a glanced up. Valerie and Sherman were glaring at her.
“I do like sour treats,” Grandmother said, entirely too innocently and composed. Amy’s heart pounded in dread, imagining the worst. What if Grandmother kicked her out here and now.
Then she noticed Gareth grinning unabashedly and flash her a double-thumbs up.
“Grandmother thought it was funny,” Jeriah whispered to her. She realized he was trying to hide a laugh.
They finished the meal without another comment questioning Amy’s background.
Finally, Grandmother dismissed them, arranging to meet with Sherman, Gareth and Jeriah over the next few weeks.
“And Jeriah. If you hear from Lynna, please ask her to stop by as well.”
Everyone at the table seemed to be surprised by that. Amy took careful note of everyone’s reactions: Most of them seemed upset; Sherman looked visibly annoyed, while Gareth just seemed perplexed. Jeriah just nodded and took Amy’s hand, and they left the luncheon in high spirits.
Outside, away from the skin-searing smiles of his family, Amy cheered. “That went well!”
Even Jeriah seemed less uptight than usual. He took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. “Good job.”
“This calls for celebration,” Amy declared. “Let’s get ice cream. My treat.”
He indulged her with a nod and smile. “Something sweet?”
“Yes!”
He laughed and offered her his hand again.
She wasn’t sure if it was an act or just the moment, but she took it, giddy with excitement. “It’s a date then.”
Notes:
Another scene that was written and edited and spliced together maybe a dozen times. Grandmother’s character kept changing and wavering and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with her. Jeriah’s parents originally had a bigger role and following this was supposed to be a scene where Jeriah and Amy run into Amy’s parents at the ice-cream parlor, but that all ended up too much for what I wanted for the scope of the story so it’s just this :).
Love your writing! Keep up the great work <3
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