WHO: Eve Ritter WHEN: Evening of July 9 WHERE: Eve's apartment, specifically in her office SUMMARY: Eve's evening of gaming is interrupted by a phone call from her mother, who is in a matchmaking mood. The conversation does not go well. WARNINGS: Parent being #theworst
Just as Eve's match came to an end, her phone began to vibrate next to her keyboard. The screen went through the stats and the play of the game, but her attention was far from Overwatch or the fact that she had earned that title thanks to some fancy moves she had made with Sombra. Instead, she was scooping up her phone and immediately crossing the small space that was her office. She sat herself on the ground in front of her sofa, knowing that it was one of the few spaces in her apartment that wouldn't have a background view of a shelf of video games, some sort of fandom based travel poster on the wall, or a stack of Pokemon plushies leftover from her Christmas tree. Once comfortable, she twisted her hair back; had she enough time, she would have pulled it into a braid of some sort, but tucking her red strands behind her ears would have to do. Yui was fast asleep on her bed in the corner, oblivious to what her owner was doing.
Content, Eve plastered a smile on her face and answered, holding the phone out to capture her image as Facetime connected. "Hey, Mom."
Leah Kramer-Bryant might have had blue eyes that she had given to her son rather than her daughter and she might have had dark brown hair that she had given to neither of them, but there was no denying their relation. Eve had inherited her mother's features, looking very much like a younger, red haired version of her. Their looks were where the similarities stopped.
"You went outside without sunscreen, then?" Eve felt her shoulders tense as she watched her mother scrutinize her through her phone. "You know how easy you freckle, Eve. I don't know how you can go outside without a hat on during the summer."
Eve hesitated, swallowing hard. "I guess I just… don't mind them."
"Of course you don't." Her mother shook her head once, then seemed to remember that she didn't call her daughter to talk about freckles. Her mother also didn't seem to call to engage in small talk, but that was something she had long since gotten used to. Sometimes it felt like it was better that way; it gave Eve less opportunity to say something wrong. "I need you to come up to New York soon. This weekend would be ideal."
Without her permission, Eve's eyebrows darted up her forehead. Though she did return to the city she grew up in now and again, it was usually with Noah and it was normally because it was one of her half-brothers' birthdays, a holiday, or to continue their longstanding Comic-Con tradition. She could count the number of times she had been asked to make the trip north by her mother on one hand -- and that was because it took no fingers at all to do so. "This weekend? I might be able to do that. I'm sure Stella wouldn't -- "
"I'm sure Stella can manage just fine without you for two days." The tone that her mother took was enough to bring that tension right back to Eve's shoulders. Despite that her mother had been the one to end her marriage to Eve's father and that she'd remarried long before he had even met his new wife, any mention of the family he'd built brought out the worst in her. Of course, Eve knew it was twofold; her mother looked at her career as more of an unfortunate hobby than something she might actually be able to be successful at.
Biting her tongue despite desperately wanting to come to the defense of her step-sister, she focused elsewhere. "Why do you want me to come up there? Did you call Noah, too?" If she had tried, Eve doubted her brother had even answered.
"No, this is a trip for you. Do you remember my friend Caroline? I went to Columbia with her." When Eve nodded, her mother took that as an indication to continue. "Her son, Julian, moved back to New York. He had gone off to California and his business took off beautifully and they've opened a division here that he's heading up. I want you to meet him."
A whole mixture of emotions rose through Eve, chief among them being disappointment. This wasn't a conversation that she was unused to. Though her mother had never actually insisted that she go to New York to meet some man she decided to try to set her up with, most of their conversations on the phone or when she was visiting were dotted with vague descriptions of men that she knew in one way or another. They were doctors, lawyers, business owners, or of some other profession that her mother deemed as successful and worth her time. She might have thought Eve's career was a waste of time, but she seemed to think she could fix that if she were to get involved with someone more lucrative. But for as used to this conversation as she was, a part of her had been actually hoping that her mother simply wanted her to come to New York to spend time with her.
The next emotion she felt was irritation, though Eve thought that it might not have been fair of her. Her mother didn't know that she was in a relationship, so her bringing up a guy while she was in one wasn't necessarily her fault. She wasn't so sure that it would have mattered, though.
"Mom, I'm not going to come up there just to meet some guy. That's ridiculous."
"And why is it ridiculous?" Her mother's tone immediately got defensive and Eve knew she had said the wrong thing. "What do you have going on in your life that can't be put on hold for a few days to meet someone that I think you would be well suited for?"
Rather than pointing out that her mother didn't know the first thing about just what did and didn't suit Eve, she let out a breath, catching herself just before it turned into a truly exasperated sigh that would only rub her mother the wrong way. "I have a boyfriend, Mom."
That did seem to surprise her mother, which Eve found herself taking more satisfaction in than she should have. It had been a long time since she'd found herself in a relationship. In the years she'd been in Dunhaven, she hadn't dated a single person, something that the more vocal and nosy regulars of the food truck had taken notice of. It was easier to forgive them for trying to set her up with sons and grandsons, though, than it was her mother trying to set her up with any eligible bachelor with a bank account large enough for her liking. Still, her satisfaction was short-lived as she watched her mother's expression go from shock to incredulous. "Please don't tell me you found some small town nobody."
"They're not nobodies, Mom." Eve knew that wasn't the right thing to say either and was just inviting an argument that would lead to her mother complaining about everything from Grandma's to the lack of a proper taxi service in Dunhaven. Instead, she just barrelled forward. "But he's not -- I mean, he lives here now, but he's not from here. It's Niall." She paused for just a second, unsure if her mother would even really know who that was, despite just how wrapped up he was in her son's life and business. "Niall Malone."
To her credit, Eve could see the recognition light up her mother's features almost immediately. "You're dating Noah's business partner?"
Though the sharpness to her mother's words weren't missed by Eve, she tried her hardest not to focus on it. Instead, she simply nodded. "For a few months now."
"Eve, if you do something to jeopardize Noah's business..." Her mother shook her head, disbelief etched into her features. "I don't understand how you could be so selfish. Do you know what this could mean for your brother? They are only just starting out and this is a delicate time. When you break up -- "
"When we break up?" Eve interrupted, unable to stop herself. She knew that the proper way to deal with her mother when she started in on a rant that she always seemed to think was more a parental lecture was to just let her go until she ran out of steam. It usually meant having to withstand several digs to her character, but it was better than giving her more to work with by trying to argue with her. At that moment, though, she didn't care. She could handle her mother looking down on her for being a cook or for her hobbies or for any slew of slights she might be able to come up with regarding her physical appearance, but she couldn't handle that. Not at that moment. Not with Niall.
"Be reasonable," her mother said with a wave of her hand. "These sorts of flings have an expiration date. When yours comes, it shouldn't be taken out on your brother."
Hundreds of responses formed in Eve's mind. She could remind her mother that she knew exactly nothing about who she was as a person, because she hadn't been interested in knowing since she was a teenager. She could tell her just how much she loved Niall and just how much he loved her, attempting to appeal to the heart that she knew had to have been hiding somewhere within her. She could tell her that Noah was supportive of the relationship, just wanting to see his little sister and best friend happy. She could tell her that when she told her father about the relationship weeks ago, he had been excited for her. She could tell her to fuck off and never call her again. All of them were viable options, but as she felt an itch rise in her eyes and her stomach flip, she knew she wouldn't be able to say any of them.
"I can't talk about this with you." Eve's words came out slowly, measured as she desperately tried not to cry. "I'm not coming up there this weekend. Have a good night, Mom."
Her mother's arguments were cut off as Eve ended the call, tossing her phone immediately to the carpeted ground. When it started to vibrate again almost immediately, she ignored it, just as she tried her best to ignore the tears as she hugged her legs to her chest and pressed her face to her knees. The conversation wouldn't be over in her mother's mind, but Eve was done.