Joel Kulseth (aviatorshades) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-04-18 11:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2020 [04] april, joel kulseth, mina kulseth, violet holladay |
Who: Joel Kulseth, Mina Kulseth, and Violet Holladay
Where: The Kulseth home
What: The family meets the new girlfriend
When: 4/7/20, evening
Joel was old hat at meeting Ahna’s new boyfriends, since she always seemed to swap one out for another every six months or so. He had the family dinner down to a routine. small talk and staying away from controversial conversation topics, and if he thought the boyfriend seemed like trouble he’d add an undertone of cop intimidation at the end of the night. It had worked successfully for him through the years. But Mina bringing someone home, that was new territory, for all of them, and he was a little ashamed to admit it, but he was a little anxious. Thankfully he was capable of keeping the anxiety out of his expression, so when Mina and Violet had shown up at the house the first round of introductions had gone as smoothly as they could have. Although, Joel had felt like there had been an undertone of nerves, at least Mariah had suggested they send Kaisha to a friends, to save everyone from the precocious questions she would have asked. “I hope you don’t mind, dinner’s not anything fancy,” Joel said, setting the last dish on the dining room table. He had opted for grilled chicken, with a few side dishes and a salad, at the suggestion of his wife. “I”m not much of a cook. This is about all I can manage successfully.” Mina chuckled softly though gave her father a fond look. It was true that Violet could outcook him anyday, but it was more the thought that counted in Mina’s book. “Everything looks great, dad.” “It looks wonderful, Mr. Kulseth,” Violet replied with a soft smile. Everything did look great, and even if it hadn't, Violet wouldn't have said anything differently. She wasn't rude, and also she wasn't about to say something stupid in front of Mina’s dad of all people. Even if she was nervous. “Things don't have to be fancy to be good. Besides, I rarely get out of cooking dinner, so this is a rare treat.” If nothing else, Violet had more manners than half of the boyfriends that Ahna had brought home, so already this dinner had gone better than most of those. “Are you at your restaurant most nights?” he asked, curious. It was always a fine line for him when it came to asking questions; without thinking he could make it sound like he was conducting an interrogation. “Most nights, yes,” Violet confirmed. “Ryan and I still run the place mostly by ourselves, especially the kitchen, so if it's open… most likely we’re there.” Joel nodded. “I can imagine owning your own business is a lot of work.” He was silent for a few beats while he dished himself some salad. “I bet you could teach Mina a few things, so on your days off…” he cut himself off, giving his daughter a subtle, apologetic look. He really was trying not to be that kind of parent. “I’m sure you have it figured out.” Violet’s eyebrow quirked up as he spoke, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth in response to the look he gave Mina. She had no qualms with showing Mina around the kitchen - that was kind of how they'd started, after all. But truth be told she'd rather cook than teach, if given the choice. “Well, I wouldn't say we have it all figured out, but we try. It was a leap of faith, coming to Austin, but it worked out well. At least I like to think so.” Mina’s cheeks flushed slightly at her dad’s dig at her cooking skills, but it wasn’t a secret that she wasn’t all that great at cooking. During college she’d had dining rooms on campus and a chef at the sorority house for dinner at least a few times a week. And then when she moved out on her own, ordering takeout or buying those frozen lasagnas always seemed more economical than trying to cook for herself. But these days, she was actually enjoying trying to cook. No doubt because of the beautiful woman teaching her how to do so… “Have you been to their restaurant dad? One time I went there and they had a cheeseburger with the cheese inside the meat. Isn’t that interesting? Apparently it’s popular in Minnesota,” Mina said as she scooped food onto her plate. Joel raised his eyebrows. Maybe it was a northerner thing. “We’ve been there a couple of times. Kaisha’s a big fan of the onion rings,” he replied. “Next time I’ll have to try that Minnesota cheese thing, though.” It might be a nice switch up from drinks at The Bar with Jane; he was sure his partner had probably been to the Burgatory before. “Seems like it’d be complicated to cook a burger like that, though, and keep the cheese from leaking out.” Talking about food seemed to be the safest course of conversation so far. “It takes a little more finesse than one without cheese inside, but it's not too bad,” Violet offered with a shrug, smiling softly. “We try to keep it interesting. Don't want people getting bored and not coming anymore.” “The onion rings are really good,” Mina agreed with a brief smile towards Violet, which Violet gratefully returned, before looking at her dad again and asking, “But speaking of, where is Kaisha? With a friend I’m assuming?” Not that she minded her younger sister being absent, but it made Mina realize that she wasn’t entirely sure if Kaisha knew about her preference for the fairer sex. Clearly her dad and stepmom didn’t have a problem with it, but some held the belief that it was an issue too complex to discuss with a child. And added to the fact that this was pretty much the first time that Mina had ever brought another woman home, it was definitely a new territory of parenting that they had to figure out. Joel nodded. “Mariah and I decided we’d save Violet from the interrogation that Kaisha would put her through until the second family dinner,” he told them. “She wasn’t that happy about being excluded, I’ll admit.” If the way she reacted was anything to go by, his youngest was going to be a handful in her teens. “I made sure she knew it was our choice, and not yours, though.” Mina was mostly successful at holding back her amused laugh. Kaisha was very spirited and the last thing she wanted to do was scare her new girlfriend away with nosy family members. “You’ll have to let us know when you think Kaisha will be well behaved enough for another family dinner,” Mina said, subtly reaching under the table to rest a hand on Violet’s forearm and give it a reassuring squeeze. She was still a little worried that this was all too much too fast, but if it was they would figure it out. Violet smiled softly at the squeeze, bringing her other hand over to rest on top of Mina’s and return it. “And I’m not scared by a little interrogation,” she added, a light teasing to her tone. “From sisters, anyway.” Joel laughed. “The worst you’ll get is the ten year old,” he assured her. “Maybe Mina’s older sister, too. Unless you’ve met her already.” Unless he felt like there was a reason, he planned to leave his cop tendencies at the office. “How about you look at your schedule, and see what works for the both of you,” he added, looking at Mina. “I know you’re busy, so we can try to make another dinner work on your availability.” “I left my planner at home,” Mina said, because of course she still had a physical book that she liked to write all her appointments and work obligations in, “But I’ll let you know once I’ve had a chance to look at the next few weeks.” After a moment, she added, “Perhaps we’ll be able to treat you to the home cooked meal. Violet has been teaching me a few things here and there so I’m not totally hopeless in the kitchen anymore.” “You’re getting good,” Violet assured her with a smile, giving Mina’s hand a gentle squeeze that she hoped was reassuring. “And I’m always glad to help. Being in the kitchen isn’t exactly a hardship for me.” Even if he had nothing to do with Mina’s current state of happiness, looking at his daughter with Violet made Joel think maybe he hadn’t done all that poorly as a parent in the grand scheme. He only ever wanted his girls to have everything they wanted. He thought that was what most parents wanted for their kids, at the end of the day. “There’s no rush, Min,” he told his daughter, smiling a little. “Whenever you get a chance to look at some dates is fine.” Tonight was going well, and as scared as she’d been to bring her new girlfriend here to meet her family, she felt a lot better now that she’d done it. No matter who she loved, it helped her know that her family would still love her no matter what, and that’s all that kids really wanted from their parents. Mina nodded and smiled at her dad, then pushed herself away from the table to stand. “Will do, dad. But for now, I think it’s time for dessert.” |