A Family Dinner

Friday again... It's been one week since our first kiss. Is this too fast? It feels like it's been longer. Now we face out greatest challenge. Dinner. My mother insisted that Elise and I had to be there for dinner this evening, and that we wouldn't be the only ones. Rouge, Jasper and Minnie had apparently been given similar orders.

I'm glad my mother doesn't want to burn me as a witch, but this is sure starting to feel like a trial by fire.

"Yeah... She's testing you." Trish tells Elise. We'd met up at lunch to plan our approach, no way were we walking into the lion's den without planning it out. "She's got the family around to put you on the spot, it's like when my parents find out I've done something, like an audience for your execution." She continues, her mind clearly drifting to bad memories. Elise's face is pale, usually she shrugs off pressure but it looks like this might be hitting her where it hurts.

"Don't listen to her, my Mum already likes you more than me, plus Rouge and Jasper will be there! We'll be fine!" I reassure her, taking her hand. "You know, I'm sure there'll be plenty of food if you want to join us too?" I ask Trish.

"I couldn't cut in on family time!" Trish smirks. "Besides, Roz wants me in tonight to bring in new stock for the weekend, gotta make that dough somehow!" Well, I tried. Elise smiles meekly at me. She shouldn't be this cute, it's not fair.

We'd organised for her to bring a change of clothes, that way we could change before dinner and head straight out to the bar after... Or earlier if we need to make a swift exit. Soon enough, the end of the school day comes, and we tentatively make our way out of the front gate.

"Hold it." Comes a familiar voice. "If I have to attend this pride rally in the form of a meal I'm not arriving on my own. You two meat shields can draw the attention." Rouge orders, catching up to us.

"Are you usually the centre of attention?" Elise chuckles as we begin our journey home.

"I'm now the only single child my mother has. That makes me as much a target as you, if not more. Great timing on coming out by the way, not like I wanted to do anything on a Friday night." Rouge adds, he voice as deadpan as she can muster.

"Hey, babe, want to make out for like an hour, so Rouge has to go home alone?" I joke, much to my sister's ire, who points at me threateningly. "I'm kidding, if you're worried Mum might get onto you about a boyfriend then just... Get one? It's not like there isn't a legion of guys waiting to answer the call."

"Not interested." My sister cuts me off completely. Okay, touchy subject I guess, I suppose it has only been a week since Gabriel... Seriously, how has it only been that long? Speaking of time distortions, we're already at the door. I'm going to have to be the one to open it aren't I? Fuck it. Can't be any harder than coming out... Probably.

I lead the way in, with Elise close at my side, her hand firmly gripping my own. Rouge takes the clear coast to rush her way upstairs to her room, leaving us to the mercy of the oncoming footsteps.

"Oh, Elise, Honey, it's so good to see you!" Mum's voice sings, as if she hasn't seen my girlfriend in a year. I don't have the guts to tell her she saw her a couple of days ago. "You look worried dear, I'm not that scary!" She observes, before pulling my girlfriend in for a hug. "We'll catch up at dinner, you two go and get freshened up." She commands as she releases Elise from her grasp. I guess I'm not invisible.

We make our way up to my room, and breathe a sigh of relief. "You okay?" I ask Elise.

"I was a bit scared she was going to strangle me, but I'm alright." She smirks. "I was never bothered with my parents, if they'd told me I couldn't see you I'd have just ignored them... Your mother, she's not easily ignored." She explains. Makes sense I suppose, the only major Mum and Elise have had was that shouting match. I reach out to her and pull her into a hug.

"If she tried to tell me to break up with you I'd just... Not. Don't be afraid, you're stuck with me." I reassure her. I need to work on my heroic speeches, that one seemed weak. Elise doesn't seem to mind though. "Are your hands on my arse again?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Nervous habit?" Elise grins, pulling away. I mean, I didn't say stop. She takes her bag and lays it down to retrieve her outfit for tonight. I decide to follow suit, and head for my wardrobe. It's been a while since I really dressed up. T-shirt and jeans is more my speed, but I keep some more fancy clothes, just in case. I go for a dark blue dress with a conservative neckline and short sleeves. I also decide to wear leggings, at least for now, I shaved my legs this morning but I don't fell confident braving this dinner without them.

Elise... Does not do that... Her short plaited burgundy skirt leads into a black top with a sweetheart neckline and no sleeves. I imagine it's to draw attention to the choker I gave her, but after her touching all I can look at is her chest.

"You... Look like a movie star." Elise smiles. "What do you think?" She asks as I remain silent for too long.

"I think... You look... I think..." I try to explain how stunning she looks but all my words turn to dust. "I am way too lucky." I decide. It's basically all I can think anyway.

Elise's face lights up at my display of incapability, as she makes her way towards me. "There she is." She whispers. "Mon Lapin." She explains before pressing her lips into mine. We stay here for a few minutes until reality starts to set back in. We've got to go downstairs. Elise at this point decides to reveal her ace in the hole. She pulls from her bag a bottle of wine, I'm not exactly an expert, but the date is older than me, I imagine this'll be plenty to butter up Mum.

We head downstairs and meet Mum in the kitchen. Elise presents the bottle to my wide-eyed mother who gladly accepts. I struggle to get her to pour me a glass as well, without revealing that I've drank before... Okay, maybe I'm not a complete open book yet. Rouge also requests a glass as she appears, wearing a punky tartan dress with fishnet stockings.

"I get why we're dressed up, but why do you look so good?" I ask my sister as she takes a seat at the table.

"I don't need an excuse, but if you must know I'm meeting some friends after dinner." Rouge reveals. What friends? Trish? Pretty sure she's busy. I decide to let Rouge have her secrets for now, she'll tell me when she's ready. "Nice wine, you make it yourself?" She mocks Elise. Okay. Apparently we're starting early.

We're saved by the sound of the door opening, and Jasper's loud greeting. Soon appearing in the kitchen. Jasper's clearly wearing his work clothes, but he went to the effort of taking his tie off, so good for him. Minnie, on the other hand has gone all out. Minnie's a tall woman, almost as tall her her fiancé, and equally as skinny, with flowing blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. She's wrapped in what looks to be a slim ball gown, which shimmers as she moves. She looks intimidating, but her sharp physique gives way to a bubbly personality underneath, hence her endless annoyance of Rouge, who'd rather her bubble burst.

"Sorry we're late, work ran on, had to come straight here." Jasper explains, hugging Mum, before she moves on to Minnie.

"We brought a little something, I can't have any but I thought you might like it." Minnie offers, passing Mum another bottle of wine.

"How original." Rouge mutters, taking another sip. Wasn't she making fun of Elise's wine a minute ago?

"Baby sister!" Minnie smiles joyfully, hugging Rouge's sitting form as she passes. "We missed you the other night, where'd you vanish to?" She asks with a smile.

"Out." Rouge answers swiftly. The more friendly Minnie gets, the more abrasive Rouge becomes, which Minnie finds adorable. It's a weird cycle that usually ends with Rouge getting annoyed and leaving. Hopefully she can at least get through dinner.

Undeterred, Minnie turns her attention to Elise. "I don't think we've met, I'm Minnie, you're Ellie, right?" She asks as she sits next to me.

"Erm, Elise, but it's lovely to meet you." My girlfriend corrects my soon to be sister-in-law.

Minnie looks shocked for a minute before slapping Jasper on the shoulder as he takes his seat. "Why'd you tell me her name was Ellie?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, she doesn't even know who I am." Jasper jokes, forcing a snort from Elise. Mum takes advantage of the commotion to check on the food, leaving me at the mercy of my siblings' commentary. "You three are awfully well dressed, heading out on the town after?"

"These two are, I'm going to see some friends." Rouge answers bluntly.

"Aww, do none of the boys want to kiss little Rougie?" Jasper asks with a over pronounced pout. Wow, guess she was right about the targeting, serves her right for abandoning us at the door.

"Oh leave her be, Jas, I bet she's got her pick of all the guys!" Minnie scolds him.

Unfortunately, Rouge is unable to take a complement when Minnie is involved. "Yeah, that's me Minerva, I'll just fuck anyone, right?" She spits. Unfortunately, Minnie is unable to be insulted... Well, ever.

"You're so funny!" She laughs. "What about you Scarlet, you seeing anyone?" She continues. That's... An odd question. I look to Rouge, who remains blank, to Jasper, who's looking decidedly awkward, to Minnie, who looks genuinely involved. Oh my fucking God. He didn't tell her. Why on Earth wouldn't he tell her?

"I... Yeah, yeah, I've met someone really special." I answer, getting cut off by Minnie's squealing before I can explain further.

"Oh my Gosh, I knew it, I told Jas, the only time a girl gets as low as you is when a boy's involved!" She announces. I think she just set back women's representation by a decade, but at least she's enthusiastic. "Go on, what's his name?" She asks me.

I'm going to kill Jasper. He tries to get Minnie's attention, but she hushes him to hear my response.

"Erm... Minnie, apparently my brother skipped some details, this is Elise, my girlfriend." I explain, interlocking my fingers with hers.

Minnie takes a few moments before she reacts to what I said, her face shifting to one of surprise, then turning to Jasper.

"I may have forgotten to bring that part up, to be fair she only told Mum yesterday!" He justifies his complete lack of explanation.

"Wow... I feel so stupid, I'm so sorry about that!" Minnie stumbles.

Rouge chuckles at this reaction. "Not a new feeling, I'm sure." Jasper's face begs Rouge to give it a rest, Minnie doesn't even seem to notice.

"Well, you're a gorgeous couple, you've got to tell me the story, how did you meet?" Minnie insists, prompting me to tell a highly abridged version of the story, some parts I'm okay with leaving out. I finish as Mum returns with two steaming pans, placing them on the table.

"Rouge, darling, grab the bowls for me." She asks. My sister nips to the cupboards and pulls out an array of bowls and utensils, taking one and passing them to Jasper. Mum's gone all out, treating us to her garlic prawn tagliatelle, with a special variation made for Elise, which I guess is just garlic tagliatelle, but she seems more than pleased.

We all wolf down the food, aided by Elise's wine, then Minnie's when that runs dry. Honestly, it's not bad, if we hadn't had the good stuff moments before I'd have no complaints. before we know everyone's done.

"I'll handle the dishes." Jasper declares, reaching for our now empty bowls.

"I'll give you a hand." Minnie offers, before a stern warning comes from Mum.

"You'll do no such thing." She orders. "You keep your feet up, you've got precious cargo, we'll take care of it." She adds before her and Jasper take the dishes away.

Minnie returns to her seat. "There's something, you don't have to worry about getting pregnant and your mum wrapping you in cotton wool." She giggles, nudging me. Again with the kid talk, I'm 18, not really at the forefront of my mind.

"Yeah, Scarlet, ignore all of the prejudice in the world, you won't accidentally get yourself knocked up because you forget how condoms work." Rouge adds on. I think she's about ready to burst. The awkward silence following her statement is not fun to endure.

"So, who are these friends you're meeting?" Elise speaks up. Rouge's eyes are suddenly filled with rage at her enquiry.

"Oh, not sure if you know them it's 'Nunya' and 'Bizniz', they're old Russian royalty, from the 'Fuckov' dynasty." Rouge answers harshly.

"Wow, that's amazing, you always know the most interesting people!" Minnie smiles. This is clearly the last straw for Rouge, who downs the last of her wine and swiftly makes her exit. "Oh, I guess she realised she was late." My sister-in-law decides. "To be honest, me and Jas are just going home after dinner, but I thought this might be my last chance before the baby bump to dress up, where are you two going?"

"Oh, just a bar on Low Street." I reply, hoping Minnie doesn't connect it to Anya. She probably doesn't care, but I just don't want to hear the story all over again, it was awkward the first time.

"Perfect! We'll give you a lift, we have to go through town to get home anyway, save you the taxi fare." Minnie offers, it's kind of her, but I know Jasper's probably not got good memories of it. Still, can't hurt to ask, can it?