Re: Gabriel / Zania
Gabriel smiled and nodded, then turned to lead Zania toward the bar. He made an effort to walk casually, like he belonged right where he was. He thought he could already feel a few pairs of eyes on him, but that might have just been nerves. Not to mention, Gabriel always felt a little more edgy and blind without a pair of animal eyes in the room. He slipped into an empty spot around the bar and waited for the bartender’s attention, then ordered a Jack and Coke for himself. As he made room for Zania to tell the guy what she wanted too, letting his eyes roam around the big ballroom again. “So are your parents here yet?” he asked, his gaze coming back to his lovely date.
While hard liquor was what she wanted, Zania knew she needed to pace herself, so she ordered a glass of red wine then turned to look out into the crowd. Her parents were easy to find, especially her mother with her strawberry blond hair. Zania’s would have been a similar shade if she left it alone, but she enjoyed the bright colors. “Yeah,” she sighed, nodding in their direction. “The redhead in the red dress, except that’s not helpful when we’re all wearing red.” She thought he could probably figure it out from that though. There were only so many redheaded women on her parent’s age and Brianna McCarthy wasn’t nearby at the time. “We should go say hello. I’d like you to meet them. I just need at least one more drink before dealing with my mother.”
Mrs. Castell was indeed easy enough to spot. There weren’t a ton of redheads running around, and even from a distance Gabriel could see the resemblance to her daughter. He had a flutter of nerves in his stomach -- it wasn’t every day you met a possible girlfriend’s rich-ass parents at a rich-ass country club at a charity gala. At least he was dressed for it. They were probably used to Zania dating guys who didn’t look like them, Gabriel reminded himself. And at least he looked of-age, which was more than he could say about Nic’s date. “Take your time, babe,” he said, turning back to Zania. Gabriel smiled and put a hand on her waist. “I could probably use a drink before I meet her too. Speakin’ of ...” The bartender set their drinks down and Gabriel picked up both, handing Zania’s wine off to her.
"Thanks," Zania said, accepting the wine with a smile and taking a sip. She would not chug her wine. "She's just... my mom, you know? I feel like I'm always torn between wanting her to accept me and telling her to go to hell. My dad kind of tones her down a little, but... maybe she'll focus on Nic and Lem." While she wouldn't wish it on her brother, it would have been a nice change of pace. There was also this weird hope that Gabriel would like her parents, weird because even she didn't like them sometimes, but they were still family. "You might like my dad. It's his mom that owned the shop before me. Gran was earthy, had a real green thumb, you know? Kind of like this girl I just hired to help out in the greenhouse."
Gabriel couldn’t personally relate, since he had an excellent relationship with his mother, but he knew plenty of people who didn’t. Most of them were women, which he’d always thought was kind of a shame. “I’m sure I’ll like ‘em both,” he assured Zania, because she seemed to need to hear that. Gabriel gave her a warm smile. He wasn’t entirely sure of that, if he was being honest, but he could at least sound like he was to calm her nerves a bit. In any case, he didn’t think her parents would be outright rude to him, not in public and all. He nodded a bit to the rest of what she said. “Is that the only side your magic comes from, then? Your dad?”