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((backdated to christmas day))
Coming back to Philadelphia had seemed surreal even before he had climbed in the car and turned the key. It wasn't unusual for his mother to ask him, it was routine for her to do so, but it had been a long time since Tobias had even set foot back in the state, let alone his home town, as it were. More surprising than the fact that he had said yes to the offer was that Jo, his girl- wife, had agreed to come along with him and put up with his family for not just a few hours, but a matter of days. Tobias Kierney honestly couldn't remember the last time that had happened. And when he had really taken the time to think about it as the roads had stretched out ahead of them, radio playing something meaningless and easily ignored, he had realised during the journey that he was touched. It wasn't unlike Jo to give a damn about his family, about his roots and the life he had had before meeting her and going through the motions of any young mutant finding their footing, but he had been so nervous when it had come to asking her to go with him; she had made it so much easier for him without even knowing how hard it had been in the first place. It wasn't necessarily because anything had changed, because nothing had, really. They weren't wearing rings, she hadn't taken his name, and really, they hadn't even referred to one another as husband, wife, spouse, any of that. They were still Tobias and Jo, the same dysfunctional and yet shockingly successful couple who had gotten together as students and been off and on again and again over the years until one drunken night in Vegas had robbed them of their sense and inhibitions and they'd woken up just knowing that they were married. Still, it wasn't even that fact that had troubled him. He was thirty-one, getting married was a choice he could make for himself, intoxicated or otherwise, and his parents could hardly chastise him for it. Really, he was worried about them figuring it out before he could get the chance to tell them himself.
( Of course, finding the words to describe the situation, the state of affairs, was easier said than done. )
( NARRATIVE )
Coming back to Philadelphia had seemed surreal even before he had climbed in the car and turned the key. It wasn't unusual for his mother to ask him, it was routine for her to do so, but it had been a long time since Tobias had even set foot back in the state, let alone his home town, as it were. More surprising than the fact that he had said yes to the offer was that Jo, his girl- wife, had agreed to come along with him and put up with his family for not just a few hours, but a matter of days. Tobias Kierney honestly couldn't remember the last time that had happened. And when he had really taken the time to think about it as the roads had stretched out ahead of them, radio playing something meaningless and easily ignored, he had realised during the journey that he was touched. It wasn't unlike Jo to give a damn about his family, about his roots and the life he had had before meeting her and going through the motions of any young mutant finding their footing, but he had been so nervous when it had come to asking her to go with him; she had made it so much easier for him without even knowing how hard it had been in the first place. It wasn't necessarily because anything had changed, because nothing had, really. They weren't wearing rings, she hadn't taken his name, and really, they hadn't even referred to one another as husband, wife, spouse, any of that. They were still Tobias and Jo, the same dysfunctional and yet shockingly successful couple who had gotten together as students and been off and on again and again over the years until one drunken night in Vegas had robbed them of their sense and inhibitions and they'd woken up just knowing that they were married. Still, it wasn't even that fact that had troubled him. He was thirty-one, getting married was a choice he could make for himself, intoxicated or otherwise, and his parents could hardly chastise him for it. Really, he was worried about them figuring it out before he could get the chance to tell them himself.
( Of course, finding the words to describe the situation, the state of affairs, was easier said than done. )