[PLOT] Engagement Dinner [FINISHED]

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Alba and Sven were putting the finishing touches on dinner for their parents, who would be joining them shortly in Sven's alcove. They were planning to announce their engagement--although it would be fairly plain from the bright white flower in Alba's hair. She'd spent the last few days as if floating on a cloud. Everything was perfect, and nothing could dim her sparkle.

This would be the first time she'd really be meeting Sven's parents. She'd been introduced to his mother at some point, when she used to help her parents in the field, but she'd never really met her as Sven's significant other. And now betrothed. Alba wasn't nervous at all. Sven hadn't said much about his family, but he'd made his feelings fairly clear all the same, and so Alba felt like she didn't really need to make an impression. She'd already made the one that counted--on him. And of course her parents already loved Sven. Still, she did want everything to be lovely for the six of them.

The attention-to-detail power couple had divided and conquered the preparations for this particular meal--Sven handled the food, Alba the decorations--and they were expecting their parents to arrive any moment.

DaemonGabrielle

Off outside the perfected celebration, Deforest was early. He had set his clocks ahead so he wouldn't be late. Cause his wife hated it when he was late.

He even left his bug catching kit at home. Much to his own dismay. Grimhildr had said they were here to set a good impression on his dear son's betrothed family. Which meant no bug catching. Which meant that he was sweating a prim, soft blue out of his hands, which he assumed represented his sadness.

He quickly looked around quickly for somewhere to put his feelings but found nothing.

Turning towards Grimhildr, he held his blued hands out and gave her a look for help.

"My dearest june bug? What do i do?" He whispered , hoping not to alert anyone inside the dwelling.

Daisicle

While he'd stressed nowhere near as much with preparing his place for this dinner party compared to when he'd proposed, everything was naturally clean af and decorated to an impressive extent. Where had Alba managed to source the number of flowers placed throughout the alcove, a touch excessive in number, yet remaining tasteful. And then there were all the little details with the table settings and the cloth and just... yeah. She was so perfect. ❤️

His parents better not ruin the evening.

Rather than wine (as they usually enjoyed), he'd gone for a casket of lambic brew - one he knew Alba's father would greatly enjoy, but not to funky to put anyone else off. If anyone didn't wish for alcohol, there was also some cucumber-and-mint water. No ice tonight, so just naturally chilled.

Dinner would be vegetarian fare per usual - a mushroom risotto with rice recently imported from Sunrise Terrace (he had only just gotten the hang of cooking with it recently) topped with a melted goat's cheese sauce. The surprise here was that this cheese had grown some bacteria and, rather than be spoiled, had a powerfully tasty, salty funkiness to it that paired exceptionally well with the mushrooms. The appetizer would be a simple, clear mushroom soup, and knowing what his father was like, elected to forgo dessert. The man didn't need excessive sugar... even having alcohol was risky...



Grim was mighty pleased that her husband had left that kit at home - she'd almost worried she'd need to hide it instead. They were meeting their younger son's fiancee for the first time as such, and while she worked with Vendimia and Faelon regularly in the fields, it was different to be colleagues than family. Perhaps she'd join Deforrest on an outing after this as a reward. Or perhaps she'd reward him in a different, not-PG-13 manner... Either were good options.

Still though, she came prepared! With a smug grin that showed how proud of herself she was, she untied a small piece of fabric tied to her wrist and offered it to Deforrest. "Here you go. Just wipe your hands off if they start sweating."

It would have been a pain for them to damage their future first daughter-in-law's perception of them if they'd made a mess of visiting. While their own alcove was rather... chaotic... particularly their personal quarters... she had gotten better with years of practice of minimizing the damage.

Looking ahead, she raised a hand as she noticed a familiar pair approaching. "Hey there Vendi! Faelon! Looks we got the date and time right after all. How've y'all been?"

 

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Vendimia hadn't exactly guessed the nature of this dinner invitation, but why invite both your sets of parents to dinner if not to make some kind of announcement? And since Sven had joined their family's Hearthwarming gathering last winter, he was practically part of the family already. And so Vendimia walked arm-in-arm with her dear Faelon toward Sven's alcove (the directions to which they'd been given earlier) with a bit of a spring in her step. "You don't think it's babies, do you?" she joked to him quietly, then brightened as she saw Grim and Deforrest, giving a wave. "What perfect timing!" she exclaimed. "We've been so lovely! Keeping busy with grandchildren underhoof. And yourselves? I expect we'll be seeing more of each other in the fields if this weather keeps warming."



Alba's ear twitched in the direction of the door as she heard voices outside. "I think they're....all here," she said to Sven. She gave him a little kiss. "I'll let you get the door when you're ready." It was, after all, his home. They hadn't yet discussed living arrangements in light of their new relationship status just yet, but she pushed thoughts of those particular details to the side for now. There'd be time to plan all that later.

DaemonGabrielle

Gladly taking the strip of fabric, Deforest quickly wiped his hands off and threw the rag over his shoulder. Bewteen the nerves of strangers, and being around his overly serious son, tonight he would need this.

Paling a bit as Grimhildr called to someone over his should, he grabbed the rag and began mopping at his hands as he worked to control his nerves. There was no way he'd be rewarded if he embarrassed his love tonight. So manning up, he turned when the talking began, and smiled at the newcomers. Thank goddess that he had years of practice with talking to his supervisors. Otherwise, he'd be in trouble.

"Yes. I believe so. Though if it stays warm, i fear we will have an infestation of spider mites when we finally get the plants to sprout." He added, stopping himself from elaborating on the the mite itself, since neither his bisses nor his wife ever seemed to appreciate his lectures.

"It would be detrimental to the summer harvest if this is the case." He nodded an d then looked over at his love for reassurance that he was behaving properly. Other than his wringing of the lovely scarf his wife had given, leaving behind various shades of blue from his sweating hands, he felt mostly normal.

Daisicle

Faelon gave Vendi a wry smile at her suggestion, then shook his head. "Them? With children at this stage? I'd highly doubt it." Didn't seem in-character, no matter how much Alba was clearly pining for some. And while he'd love them all the same, it would certainly be convenient for the current ones to be a bit older - four grandchildren was already handful enough. How strange, though, to be a grandfather... Was this how his own father had felt when the kids were born?

He followed-up Vendi's comments with a hand wave and a "Good to see you're doing well!" Oh, that Deforrest really was as strange a character as he'd remembered. Spider mites, huh... He couldn't care less, but smiled warmly all the same - that constantly-positive attitude was his carefully-crafted, defining trait after all. "That really would be a shame - I hope you'll share some tips for those of us working the fields on what to look out for." That should make him feel validated and keep him happy.



Grimhildr gave a hearty laugh and pulled Vendi into a quick hug at that comment before pulling back and wrapping an arm around her darling husband's shoulders. "I've heard! It's the talk of the fields as I'm sure ya'know. Four lil' ones and two mothers? My oh my, we ain't had something so interesting happen with children since the Adviser came on home carrying himself." She took a pointed smile from Faelon as cue to shift away from that aspect. "Our own eldest is finally stickin' around for a bit with two little ones of his own. I got an inklin' on the mother, but..." she shrugged. "...she's not come 'round, so I'm not gonna stick my nose where it don't belong." She stroked Deforrest's shoulder softly, subtly, in reassurance that he was doing well.

Social settings weren't his strongest suit, after all.



Sven took a deep breath to calm his quickly-accelerating anxiety before nodding at Alba. Yes. This was as prepared as they'd get. He returned her kiss with one of her own and brushed a strand of hair that'd managed to escape back behind her ear.

"By Earthmother's graces, let's get this over with." He walked over to the door and, after pausing for a few seconds than normal with his hand just above the doorknob, took a small breath through his nose and opened it up. "Evening everyone - thanks for arriving on time. Please, do come in." He gestured for them to, in fact, come on in while trying his best to keep a pleasant (but slightly twitchy) smile.

Oh man, was he going to need a social-detox via cuddle session after all of this was finished.

 

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Vendimia kept a warm, relaxed smile on her face, though once Grim had released her from her hug, she'd slipped her arm back into Faelon's--tightly. "Mm, that does make things easier," she agreed, hoping that Grim would keep said nose out of their business as well. "And congratulations to you on becoming grandparents as well," she added, addressing both Grim and Deforest. "It's a rare joy, isn't it?"

Their conversation was cut off by Sven opening the door, which prompted Vendi to smile more genuinely and greet him with an open-armed gesture, though she was just smart enough not to go for a hug. A bit prickly, this love of her daughter's was. Moving past Sven, she went to Alba and did give her a hug. "My goodness, this is all so beautiful!" she gushed, looking around at the spread.



Alba returned her mother's hug with a smile. She thought for sure Mother would notice and say something about the flower, but she didn't. At least, not yet? Alba couldn't tell if she was disappointed or relieved--that meant she got to announce it.

Addressing Sven's parents, she offered a small wave. "It's good to meet you. I'm Alborada."

DaemonGabrielle

Deforest made no haste in slipping past Sven and Alba, giving them the briefest nod. His discormfort was growing and his rag, that was currently being mangled in his hands was growing a touch green from the yellow of nerves, so to speak.

There were far too many people outside in the narrow hall and not enough room for him to breath. And he didn't give a fig who went about birthing what. He just needed to breathe.

He stopped just past the couple as soon as the door opened, as they gave the usual welcoming compliments one does. He also gave a brief nod in acknowledgement of Alborada's wave, but his eyes were for the food. There was no dessert. Why was there no dessert?

"Where's the dessert?" He asked hinself rather abruptly, forgetting his social graces for a split second. There should have been a dessert. Every meal required one. "Your mom said there would be dessert."

Realizing his mouth was running away from him and he might be seen as rude, he quickly made moves to correct the situation. The situation being....where was the damn dessert?

Not realizing that he was acting rather odd, he bowed to the group and said "I have some berries in our alcove, i'll just go and retrieve them. A meal as lovely as this deserves something sweet at the end."

He then headed towards the door again. It was then that he noticed the bright white flower in Alba's ear instead. He knew that flower from somewhere....

Then it hit him.

Instantly grinning, he lurched foward and gave Sven's arm a brief tap with the back of his hand. "By the Earth Mother's Grace, he's done it, Grim!" He said, suddenly excited for this party and the berries all but forgotten. "Look!" He stage whispered, nodded his head toward the small, statuesque blonde besides his pale son.

Daisicle

It hadn't even been two minutes since Sven had opened the door and he was mortified by his father's behavior. He closed the door behind them before any of the noise leaked outside.

"There is no dessert." He responded pointedly. He explicitly had not made any for this reason. "If you would please--" he tried to coerce his father to his seat, only to be cut off. "Look now-- just sit--" his frustration was quickly rising as he was unable to control this quickly-forming chaos.




Grim watched her honey go off with slight amusement, certain he'd either calm or tire himself out soon enough. And sure enough he did. When Deforrest returned, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and nodded. "By the looks of it, I'd say he has. Good job you two."



Faelon simply stayed quiet and exchanged a look with Vendi - he was pretty sure they hadn't been meant to comment on the very obvious white flower adorning their daughters hair.

 

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Vendimia blinked a few times. Truthfully she hadn't initially noticed the flower, or if she had, she'd assumed it was some kind of hair adornment. A large smile spread over her face, but she quelled any kind of outburst she might have bubbling up.



Alba, who loved to be the center of attention, abruptly found that this was too much focused attention, and shifted from one hoof to another, blushing. She could practically feel Sven's blood pressure rising, however, so she straightened up and took his hand reassuringly. She wasn't used to hosting yet, so she wasn't as in control of the situation as she would have liked to be.



Although Vendimia wasn't as detail oriented as her daughter, she was pretty good at diffusing tension. "What wonderful news! Why don't we all sit," she suggested, doing so as she did. "And then Alba and Sven can tell us the whole story while we share this lovely meal."

DaemonGabrielle

Deforest, ever the doting father, readily agreed. And did just that.

Everything at once forgotten, he sat by Alba, against all traditions and manners, and excitedly grabbed her hand.

"Tell me, newest daughter in law. How did it happen? Did he make the room sparkle incandescently with fireflies? Sprinkle rose petals and such around the foyer? Did he ask you with the love and emotions choking his throat?" He asked, mimi ng out each option as though from memory.

Which it probably was. Tho it had been many moons ago, he could remmeber his beloved Grim with such a flower in her hair. "You must tell me everything." He said conspiratorially.

Oh, by the tree and acorns, one of his sons had finally accomplished everything his parents could ever dream. His pride was written clear on his face as he looked at the young boy who had finally become a man.

Daisicle

"That's a wonderful idea Dear," Faelon commented before taking a seat next to Vendi. Man, these two were even more of a riot together than he'd imagined. Now if only his soon-to-be son-in-law would calm down a bit - his parents were clearly proud, yet he was obviously so darned stressed.



Oh no no no, his father was in his spot. There were designated spots for the designated pae, and that wasn't the right one. He breathed in through his nose and willed the anxiety down, then moved to sit on the other side of Alba. It wasn't his ideal spot, but he could handle this much. Just put up with the chaos.



Grim sat in the remaining seat, whether or not it was actually beside her beloved, and leaned forward against the table. A certain smug, but somewhat distant smile touched her lips as she remembered fondly the day Deforrest has proposed in a manner very much similar to what he'd just described. She'd almost.... almost.... just broken tradition and tried to get a flower for him instead, but she was glad she'd remained patient.



Actually, no. He was going to move this along while they were still somewhat smooth. Standing up, he simply stated, "Let me get the first course..." and then walked off the kitchen to begin the meal service.

Dad wanted Alba to describe it, so it'd be a good distraction as any to keep him in place.

 

[Daisicle]

Menelie

"Now, Deforrest, she can't tell us the story unless you quit talking," teased Vendi gently, still trying to diffuse the tension. Good green apples, she'd forgotten how much Deforrest was. She relaxed her body language and kept her tone light and cheerful.



Alba smiled perhaps slightly too wide as she tried to think how to tell this story. Her inclination was to focus on the details, about how much planning and thoughtfulness Sven had put into their meal, but she also didn't want to turn the spotlight on him too intensely. He was already pretty tightly wound, and Alba didn't want to heighten that. She cleared her throat and gently took her hand back from her soon-to-be father-in-law. It was certainly clear who, between Sven and his brother, took after which parent. "Well," she began, "we have a custom of having dinner privately on a regular basis, so when Sven invited me here for dinner I didn't think much of it at first." She flushed, remembering how she had felt. She glanced over at Sven, wishing he would tell it from his perspective, since he'd done all the work for it. "But everything was even more special and romantic than usual. Fresh flowers, ice to chill a bottle of wine, that sort of thing." She giggled softly. "I suppose I should have known something was out of the ordinary, but I think I was too starstruck to think about it too hard." She looked lovingly at Sven. She'd brush her hand against his next time he came to the table. She went on to describe the food and how delicious it had been. "And after dinner he brought out the flower," she finished simply, touching its petals gently

DaemonGabrielle

Deforest ooo'ed and aaahhh'ed at all the appropriate moments. His boy was a love machine! Turning toward the kitchen, he yelled out "i knew you had it in you! My baby's a machine!" Before clasping his hands together and giving a sigh towards his wife. "He reminds me so much of you sometimes, my sweet Grimhildr." She was radient at their ceremony. And hearing how well his son proposed just made him giddy with glee.

Turning towards Alma's parents in the mext breath, he said conspiratorially "You'd never guess it by his childhood. I was worried that my other son would drive him insane." Then again, he was also sure that Yipes would have driven everyone insane. "He had a thing for pineapples. I was worried my next daughter-in-law was gonna be a plant." He tittered at the end behind his hand.

Could Deforest read a room? Of course not. Did it matter to him? Of course not.

But was he proud of his son? Unconditionally.

Daisicle

Sven let Alba do the talking as he took it upon himself to bring in the plates, explain what they were for each course, and then collect the dirtied dishes as each one finished. Perhaps if one looked at him they'd notice a bit of an embarrassed flush slowly growing redder as the night went on.

And in a way that was certainly not OP just trying to handwave the evening so that it could be wrapped up neatly and quickly, the evening did, in fact, progress more-or-less smoothly and with less gossip than there could have been before it was time for the newly-engaged to say goodbye to their parents, which they did in about as smooth a manner as one might expect, given the parties involved. Good job everyone!