Who: Teddy and Elizabeth Weyland (NPC) What: Talking to Ma on the phone Where: Teddy's apartment When: Sunday, January 29th (7pm)
Teddy wasn't entirely certain how long he'd been collapsed over the width of his bed, feet hanging off one side, head and arms dangling over the other. He'd managed to tug his pillow closer, but not quite under his head. He had shit to do, but every part of him wanted to procrastinate further, to tug the blankets over him and forget about everything, even dinner. Like that would last long. Work had been a pain in the ass, moreso than usual, but he always managed. He figured a lot of it had to do with knowing precisely what he had to do once he got home, and he was simultaneously regretting and fearing it even before it happened.
You promised her, he reminded himself, one hand arching behind him to pull his comm device from his pocket, sliding it out and looking at the blanket screen. He really should have called yesterday, he'd had the courage then, and the moral support while Natasha had still been there. Now all of that had zipped out of him. He felt deflated, petulant, like an eight year old again. Still, his finger swiped and the number rang, the comm device barely reaching his ear before the woman on the other end replied.
"Elizabeth Weyland. Can I help you?"
Almost despite himself, Teddy felt his gut relax, and a ghost of a tired grin cross his face. He grunted as he finally sat up to tug the pillow under his chin, flopping down comfortably. "You realize the phone has a caller ID, right?"
"Hey, sweetie." His mother sounded genuinely pleased, but his voice rang with a slight amount of uncertain concern. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't it be?"
"It's just...you normally don't call."
Neither do you, he quipped mentally, but said nothing. He wasn't going to turn this into an argument. Not that his mother would stand for that anyway. He opened his mouth to speak again. "Well, there's something-"
"Jace, can you move that off the stove, please? It's starting to smoke." Her voice was distant, obviously holding the phone away from her mouth. He knew well enough that her ear was likely still plastered to the speaker despite that. "No, no, I don't care what Lewis said."
Teddy cleared his throat, then sighed. "Mom-"
"Then he shouldn't have gone on break and left it there." Elizabeth continued on, and a second voice was heard in the background. Teddy couldn't quite figure out what the man was saying, but that didn't really matter. "He's not the one who has to pay for all of it."
"Mooooooother." Teddy sing-songed into the comm, staring ahead at nothing as he continued to listen in.
"If we don't have any orders for it then it shouldn't be there in the first place."
"Mom."
"Let it cool and put it back in the fridge. We'll deal with it later. I swear to god, all of you would run this place into the-"
"Maaaaa!" Teddy's near-whiny exclamation was paired with a laugh, wondering if the interruption would help spare the poor employee from getting a further earful.
"Sorry sorry sorry sorry!" Elizabeth returned, her voice clear as she straightened her own comm device back toward her mouth. "What is it they say about good help? Staple it where you need it so it doesn't go wandering off?"
"Mom, stop terrorizing the staff." Teddy's reply was pointed, playfully amused, and evidently said through a grin.
"Hey, when you start signing the checks you can tell me what to do, little man." It wasn't hard for Teddy to tell that his mother was smiling as well. It was as close to a normal conversation as any. A good start, if nothing else. "So, what's up? How's Alex?"
"Alex is good. Work's been keeping us busy."
"Here too, despite the current technical difficulties." Teddy could almost feel his mother's eyes judging the faceless worker, wherever he was.
"Good, good..." Teddy trailed off, taking a second before he cleared his throat. Time to rip off the band-aid. "So, I'm getting married."
"Wow," came the reply after a moment, and a few heartbeats passed before she spoke again, sounding more than a little surprised. "How did that happen?" On reflex Teddy winced, his gut tightening almost painfully. It was hardly surprising, really, and he knew she'd said it without thinking. Maybe that made it worse. He must have made a noise, or Elizabeth could translate the quiet that came after, replying a second later. "Honey, I didn't mean that like it sounded."
"I know." The humor that had been there only a moment before drained to a tired sigh. He couldn't really blame her, and he'd known this was likely how it was going to go. Part of him felt a little better that at least she knew now, no matter what happened next.
There was another few seconds of quiet, and Teddy could hear the sounds of food cooking in the background fade and vanish. A second later the sound of a closing door told him she'd moved into the manager's office of the restaurant. "So, who is she?" She was at least trying to sound optimistic, he gave her credit for that.
"Her name is Natasha." Teddy wasn't sure what it was, but saying the name brought back a little bit of his confidence. Even if she wasn't there, it helped. "She works for Helena Vandermeer."
"Ooo, a Nataaashaaa." His mother's voice teased, the traces of hesitance vanishing slightly before it shifted to curiosity. "Wait, the councilwoman?"
Teddy grinned again and chuckled. "No, Ma. The ventriloquist."
"Ha ha." The reply was dry, but not unaffectionate. At least now she seemed genuinely interested. "Well, that sounds fancy. Is she nice?"
Again, switching to the subject of Natasha herself, and not the actual marriage, just seemed easier. He was happy to go with it, nodding even though no one was there to witness it. "Yes, she is."
A pause, a breath. "Aaaaaand?"
"Aaaaand?" Teddy mimicked perfectly.
"Give me details, boy." The woman laughed on the other end. She's trying, he told himself. "Is she pretty?"
"Very pretty." Teddy replied with full confidence. "Very smart. Very funny."
"How's her rack?" The reply came almost too quickly, and Teddy fumbled for a second with his words before he simply erupted into laughter. "Well?"
"A-plus." He managed. "Also, why would you ask that?"
"Just trying to picture her!" Elizabeth assured him, her laughter melodic on the other end. "Blonde? Redhead?"
"Brunette."
"Oooo! A dark, sultry, full-boobed Natasha." More laughter, and Teddy couldn't help but follow suit. "Are you Boris, then?"
"God." Almost instantly Teddy grunted, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "We're really, really related."
"So, when's the wedding?" Elizabeth continued on. "Courthouse, I'm guessing?"
"No no, we're....actually doing the full shebang in a few weeks." Teddy tucked his free arm under the pillow, resting his chin on top. "We're looking into a few spaces at some of the art galleries downtown."
"Well, I'd say that was pretty soon, but you're not getting any younger, hm?" Elizabeth sounded almost wistful, and Teddy could hear the sound of her rustling through paper. A calendar maybe. "God, you make me feel old, honey."
"Yeah yeah," Teddy replied, thoughtfully. "Anyway, I'll let you know the date and time and all that as soon we hash out all the details." There was a pause before he added. "Actually....we were wondering if you and dad might want to do dinner at some point this week."
"I-" Elizabeth started, stopped, and sighed. "I don't know, honey. With the restaurant, your dad-"
It was an excuse. Again, not surprised. Still, Teddy could feel his heart sink a bit, and he closed his eyes. "No no, I get it."
"I'll ask him and see if we can free up some time, okay?" Elizabeth offered. To Teddy, that meant no. Surprisingly, his mother continued on. "But, even if your dad can't make it, I'd love to meet her. Think it'd be okay even if it's not both of us?"
"Yeah." Teddy sounded a little more hopeful than he'd intended, but he didn't make much attempt to hide it. "Tomorrow and Tuesday I've got late classes, but I'm up for any night this week other than that."
"Let's see....." Elizabeth sighed, making what Teddy could only translate as 'choo-choo' noises as she flipped through her calendar. "Why don't we say Thursday, tentatively. I'll talk to dad tonight and see if he can make it, but we'll shoot for that, okay?"
"Excellent!" Teddy nodded, though once again he was more than aware that no one could see him. "If dad's got a preference for places to go, it's on me. I mean, if he wants to come. If not, we'll go wherever you want." He knew his mother would realize that he wasn't valuing his father's opinion over hers, just that the Weyland patriarch might need more buttering up to attend.
"I'll let him know," his mother once again tried to sound optimistic, but a second later she was interrupted by what sounded like a knock on the office door. There were voices, and Teddy knew what was coming before the woman even spoke again. "Sorry, honey. They're trying to blow up the kitchen."