Re: Gabriel / Zania
Zania wasn’t sure if Gabriel would like them, but it did calm her a little to think he might. The hardest part of this entire situation was that she couldn’t control any of it, except to give Gabriel a fair warning that her mother might be difficult. As different as they were, their temperaments were something that Zania and her mother had in common. “No, mom’s got it too. Fiery, like me. She’s just not from around here. They met in college and he dragged her back here. I’m pretty sure she’d prefer to be in a big city, but this place has a pull, you know? The locals almost never leave.” And her own family had deep roots in Point Pleasant. Her mother hadn’t had a fighting chance. “He’s the stronger one. But don’t tell her I said that,” she said with a little twist of her lips.
Gabriel chuckled deeply and made a little lip-zipping gesture with his fingers. His family had been the opposite, really -- the women ruled it, more or less. He’d never had a personal issue with it, he’d just learned from those queens as much as he could, but he’d seen some cousins balk under the matriarchy. It was always a shame. Of course he had the privilege of being the most magically-talented male in the family, so maybe his perspective was a bit skewed. Gabriel sent another casual glance toward Zania’s mother as he sipped his drink. “You ever dated a black man before?” he asked her, lifting one eyebrow. “No judgement. Just so I know what I’m walkin’ into.”
"No," Zania said with a nervous little smile. "I don't think that should be an issue, but... I really hope that's not an issue." She hadn't wanted to even consider it, but she knew he was probably right. He deserved to know what he was walking into. Her parents had never seemed to have an issue with race, but they'd never had their daughter dating a black man, so... She would be so pissed if they made a big deal out of it. So fucking pissed. And embarrassed. "I will absolutely die if they make that an issue," she sighed. "I feel like we should be beyond that, but it's been a while since I introduced them to anyone."