Who: Desmond Parkin, Janine Miracle, Gwen Miracle, et al What: Des Parkin's birthday party When: 12 Nov 1999 Where: Wigtown, the Parkin-Miracle home Warnings: Mild terrorization of sons-in-law.
"Ah! My favourite child at last. Charlie beat you here," Desmond said with a grin as opened the door to his daughter. He crouched down and held out his hands to Anna and David. "And my little grandmonsters! Show me your claws and fangs, you wee beasties!"
"Trevor," he added with a nod in his son-in-law's direction. Perfectly civil. Not terrifying at all.
--
Anna was first to her granddad's arms, giving a paws-up rawr as instructed, though David toddled quickly behind his older sister. Janine resisted scooping up her grandson in favor of helping to usher in Gwen and Trevor- the latter of whom, per usual, looked somewhat ill at ease with Desmond.
"Make yourselves at home," Janine offered, though the words were perhaps a bit redundant- there were treats baking and a kettle of water for tea was always at the ready, which Gwen would have known.
--
Going anywhere with small children, even just to her parents', was tiring, and Gwen was already exhausted from this week. She'd meant to be recharged and refreshed at this point after the long-awaited honeymoon trip and, hopefully, the triumph of a Fall Classic victory. Instead she had a fallen captain, a PR debacle of a replacement, another sudden vacancy in the roster, a cancelled vacation, and the first loss of the season -- it would have been a comedy of errors if it had been at all funny.
"Hello, Mum," she greeted her mother with a kiss to the cheek as she pulled off her coat and scarf. "Hi, Dad, happy birthday. Children, boots off, coats off, hats off-- no, not on the floor, David, hang them up nicely, just like at home."
"Hullo, Janine," Trev added, choosing the safer in-law to greet first with his most charming smile as he collected the kids' cold-weather gear to hang up. "Thanks for having us -- smells great in here." He cast an uncertain look at Des, offering his hand. "And Desmond, er… many happy returns of the day, sir."
--
Large men who were afraid of him were among Desmond’s favourite things, and he took care to cultivate them properly. For a moment he regarded his son-in-law's hand with blank face and raised eyebrow as if this was some quaint local custom that he was unfamiliar with, then he took it, flashing a dragon's smile. "Very kind."
"Gwen, dear, you look done in," he said over the background shrieks of Anna and David meeting their uncle. "I hope you're getting all the support you need, given how the week's gone." And his eye wandered over to Trevor, as if to say she'd better be.
--
"Oh, Dad," said Gwen, who was wise to the joy her father got out of antagonizing her husband. She patted Trevor's shoulder reassuringly. "Give me some credit for choosing my husband well, hm? Trev's been taking care of the house, the kids, the holiday refunds, and keeping us all fed while I've been chasing Portree nonsense all over Britain. Thank you, darling." She covered a yawn with one hand. "Has it really only been a week--"
There was a familiar delighted shriek from the next room, followed by a thump and laughter from both her children, and Gwen snapped to attention and narrowed her eyes. "Charlie, you ape, if you're bouncing my son again…" She vanished to dress down her younger brother.
Left alone with his in-laws, Trevor smiled nervously. "Ach, weel," he said. "I reckon she'll perk up a bit now."
--
"Having someone to yell at does generally help," Desmond said, still eying Trev as if he'd like to give it a try himself. It was good to know that he was doing his part - and really, as it seemed, most of the heavy lifting around the home at the moment. Not that he'd really had much doubt of it, as Trevor was quite devoted to his daughter and to their family. He wouldn't torment him if he wasn't. He'd just deal with him, as he'd told Gwen herself when they got married.
It would probably never be necessary, but it didn't hurt to keep Trevor on edge anyway. Not so much that anyone else would think he'd do the lad harm, but just enough that Trev himself couldn't laugh off the possibility.
"A shame you had to cancel your holiday. Any plans to try again, or are we playing it safe and assuming the rest of the season will be just as action-packed?" Despite having the highest opinion of Gwen's abilities, the sudden upswing in team drama concerned him. Their Slytherin-Hufflepuff upbringing had made Charlie overwork himself on more than one occasion, and he didn't want Gwen to do the same.
--
With Gwen chasing off after the littles, Janine- after a moment of consideration- stayed nearer to Desmond and Trevor, figuring that the latter would need a buffer sooner or later.
Of course, just because she was there to act as a buffer didn't mean she was actually going to intervene in any way.
"I cannot imagine trying to plan much of anything during a quidditch season. We planned our children's birthdays around it." That was... mostly facetious.
--
Trev shoved his hands into his pockets. "Oh aye?" he said, missing the facetiousness entirely. In his defense, he was nervous. "Missed the mark by a wee bit with Gwen, I reckon. She's right when the matches start up again after the New Year. But, ah, you know that… you were there." He grinned uneasily, because now he'd just brought up his mother-in-law giving birth and that wasn't what he'd meant to do at all.
From the other room came the sound of Gwen scolding her brother roundly, and Daniela cheerfully ignoring them and giggling with all three kids. Trevor inched toward the sitting room door, and safety. "Reckon we'll try for a wee bit holiday in a month or so, the week before Christmas. Though it'll be more crowded then, and I reckon she's never really less busy, but we both were lookin' forward to this and -- any road, we said we'd give it another go."
--
"Very glad to hear it," Desmond said, enjoying both the sound of the children (and of Charlie's unrepentant retorts) and the sight of his son-in-law's discomfort. How much longer could Trevor last without fleeing to Gwen's side, he wondered. And would it be better to stand his ground so that Trev could safely run, or startle him by stalking toward and then past on the way to his grandchildren? Ah, the possibilities. It really was his birthday.
"As her father, I do so hate to see her unhappy or tired in any way," he added, drawing his eyebrows down fiercely for emphasis.
--
Trevor stopped in his tracks at that look on Des's face. He supposed one day he'd be used to his father-in-law's terrifying glares, like the rest of the family seemed to be, but seven years in they still made him quail. "Oh, er… yes sir," he answered, casting around for something to say that would get him off the hook of being entirely responsible for Gwen's stress levels. He didn't find it.
An awkward moment later, he cleared his throat and smiled at Janine. "Reckon I'd better say hi to Charlie and Dani," he told her, and made a dash for the sitting room to get out of Desmond's line of fire. Just in case.
--
He held the scowl until his victim had fled to the safety of his wife and children. Then, son-in-law safely out of sight and earshot, Desmond smiled at his wife, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Ahh. Gwen does bring me the best presents,” he said.
--
"Ah, yes, I suppose I was," Janine mused, though didn't add anything further. Desmond had Trevor's torture down to a science, and she really just wanted to observe, not partake.
So she stayed put, giving Trevor the occasional encouraging smile or nod- because, really, he was trying so hard- but, once Trevor had finally escaped the room, Janine had a difficult time keeping from proper girlish giggles.
Instead, she stepped up to Desmond with a hand on his chest, then leaned up for a brief kiss. "You are a miserable old bastard, and I love you for it."
--
The best save one, he amended to himself, kissing her back. "You love that I make you look nice." To be fair, he enjoyed that too. Letting his peers and minions think Janine was the sweet one then seeing their faces when she really got on a roll was great fun. She was comparatively sweet, but that was compared to him, so the comparison was essentially meaningless.
--
"Well, that may also be true," she hedged, not willing to admit it aloud- even if Desmond already knew it to be true.
Stepping to his side, Janine linked her arm with her husband's, and took a step toward the sitting room. "Come along now. There's more torture and cake to be had. We'll let everyone else think you like the latter most."