Family is family Who: Aurora and her parents What: Narrative. Call home to the folks Where: Aurora's apartment When: April 15th
"It is nice Aurora, but must you be so ostentatious all the time?" Her mother's face made a too familiar expression over the Skype screen of fond disapproval.
Her father settled back down beside her mother and handed her a bottle of seltzer water while he sipped at a ying-ling, "I like it! It's very lush and regal, especially that coffee table, where did you find it little bird?"
Aurora could count on her father always to indulge in the same sort of things she loved but her mother disapproved of on principle, at least usually, "From a woman in Northern California who took over the family business from her grandfather, I'll send you the site, and it's not ostentatious mother," She's pretty sure her mother was muttering like a peacock, but it was hard to say, "It's expressive! My office is much more low key I assure you."
Angela looked pleased with this, as Aurora knew she would, "Catch us up on your social life, it's like listening to my Abuela's telenovellas."
Aurora recognized the grin there that she had inherited, full of the same mischievousness her husband and daughter had, if a little more subdued, "I'm going to have some dignity and ignore that jab thank you, but I convinced Willow and Gabe to move into my building with relative grace and ease," Her father's eyes crinkled with amusement at that and barely refrained from sharing his opinions with the class, just like her own did when she laughed.
Angela seemed to notice that, and smacked her husband in the arm before looking back at the laptop, "Continue dear."
"It'll make up for the fact that I am still displeased with Daniel, oh and I'm still not sure about Percy, I told you about him right?" Her mother nodded as she sipped at her drink, "It's so strange, I would swear I knew him, and not just met in passing at a party sort of knew him, but knew him intimately. There was an almost instant connection, but he's holding back."
It was an unusual thing for a Nasseri to not be able to find their words, especially Aurora, who could maintain a conversation with anyone on very nearly anything for hours if called upon to do so. But there were so many just slightly odd things around these days that it left her feeling a little like Dorothy trying to explain what happened in Oz to the people back in Kansas, "I met him in a cafe, downtown a bit of a ways from the building, but we happened to live in the same place, isn't that strange? And Daniel happened to move here as well, and Gabe's ex boyfriend too. How many coincidences until--" She stopped suddenly.
"--A conspiracy?" Hamid leaned forward in his chair, beer bottle rolling between his hands. When Aurora or Angela were thinking or nervous they tended to become more still (or touchy, in Aurora's case), while Hamid was a fidgeter, "What do you think it could be?"
Bless him, he was genuine, always more prone to go off on the same flights of fancy as his daughter while his wife sighed and rolled her eyes, roots planted deeply into the ground, "Who would profit from such a thing? Be realistic Aurora, focus."
Aurora scowled in a way she knew was ugly but also knew it wouldn't phase her mother, "Now, your thing with this wishy washy boy aside--which all I have to say with that is the Lord works in mysterious ways, and you are a stubborn thing--"
What? How was that even relevant?
"Do you think Daniel not confiding in you upsets you because you still have feelings for him?" Her parents had liked Daniel, thought their daughter had finally found someone she couldn't boss around or take advantage of. It didn't hurt that he was respectful while still being opinionated, something that endeared him to both her parents.
"Mother--"
"Now we know that ship has sailed, although you are both more mature now so you never know, and that boy will always be family,"
"I know mother"
Aurora was fifteen again, listening to her mother ask her why she was always insistent on making things difficult for herself, that when she was an adult she would find men were just easier, that love was a fine thing but family and eating was more important.
Hamid tried to intervene, seeing an old feud start to rise up between the women of his house even across several hundred miles, "What your mother means to say is," Probably different than whatever he was about to say, "You're going to need to stop flitting from tree to tree and build a nest one day, we worry about you Aurora."
He seemed to pleased with his statement, but his wife was glaring at him in a way that was going to be hard to ignore much longer, "Excuse you, she needs to stop romanticizing love," could you romanticize love? Wasn't that part of the definition, "Stop running herself ragged and settle down with someone more calm and straightforward than herself, also eat more, you're all skin and bones, that didn't work for you before why would it work--"
Ah. Her father tensed at the tactless reminder of his daughter's time with eating disorder as a response to things being out of her control. Criticize Aurora and Hamid for being sly and underhanded all day sure, but at least they were tactful.
In her apartment Aurora laid back on the couch with a sigh and reached for the wine she had planned on saving for after this call.