Who: Christie McCawley cmccawley & Alak Tarr alak What: After Christmas Dinner/A Christmas Miracle (Although it's actually a Christmas Wish) When: Christmas Day [Backdated] Where: The McCawley Residence Rating/Warnings: Low/None really Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
Family was important to Christie. Even if she and her father didn't see eye to eye, she still loved him and wanted to be able to enjoy the holiday with people she loved. She'd invited Alak over, however, for dinner after clearing it with her father. To say Christie was nervous about the whole thing would've been an understatement, but Rafe appeared to be cool, calm and collected about the whole thing throughout the day.
That was enough to confuse Christie, but she went about her business of cooking dinner for their family plus Alak while trying to push her uncertainty to the back of her mind.
The table was set, food laid out when Alak arrived, and to Christie's surprise, Rafe greeted him with a warm smile and a handshake.
Okay, this was bizarre.
Dinner went smoothly as well. There was a lot of talking, laughter, and by the end of it all Christie was convinced that it was a Christmas miracle. That was honestly the only way that she could explain it.
She asked Alak to help her clean up while her family went into the living room, and once they'd left, she gave a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess miracles do happen on Christmas." She laughed softly and began gathering up plates.
~*~
"I'd say," Alak agreed while collecting silverware, "Did you hear your dad compliment my suit? I was prepared to tell him it was the result of having to visit with my mother before coming over."
Russian dress was very different at the holidays compared to American stylings. They were expected to be prepared to celebrate as if they were attending a holy ceremony. Alak had worn the white suit because it made his mother happiest. She preferred clean, simple looks. His thoughts were filled up with her lately. Something was happening with Stahma which he couldn't explain away by saying she was from the Old Country.
It had crossed his mind he might want to go speak with some of her new associates in the States, but Alak didn't like to mix in with her business matters. His parents had wanted him to be involved in their dealings. He had fought bitterly to be free of that mantle of responsibility; Alak wasn't going to jump right back into the line of fire after he'd finally landed in a safe zone. There were other ways to check up on his mother than mingling with her professional life.
"I think he was serious, too. I actually think that's the first time he's ever been serious about any kind of compliment directed at me. He didn't even give me the evil eye when I held your hand. Think it was something he ate?"
Alak was only half joking. He knew Christie had fixed their meal. Poison or a little something extra in the fixings wasn't out of the question among his own family. Christie was sweet, kind, a good person, but even good people could walk down bad roads if they were pushed off the right path far enough.
~*~
Christie rolled her eyes, a smile pulling up the corners of her lips. "Mhm, I put nice serum right into the coffee I handed him this morning." She gave an earnest nod, although she couldn't keep her face serious for too long. Christie laughed, "Honestly? I have no idea what's gotten into him." The wish she'd made on a shooting star long forgotten.
Christie knew better than to make a wish here in the OC, but she couldn't help herself. It was something that she'd wanted, and really she hadn't believed anything would come of it.
Apparently the OC had different ideas.
She put the dishes she'd gathered up beside the sink, before making another trip to the dining room table to pick up a few more. "You do look very handsome today. I don't think I've told you that." She smiled softly over at him, and went back to the kitchen to place those beside the sink as well before she plugged it and began to run hot water.
"I'm taking what we can get with this." She glanced over at Alak, still smiling softly. She hoped that things would stay like this, but Christie wasn't holding her breath. "Maybe it's just the holiday that's making him act like this."
~*~
Christmas was a time to set aside differences. Alak had known he would have to bite his tongue more than once where Christie's family was concerned before he'd even arrived at the house. They didn't share the same ideals in life. Some of it was cultural while the rest was merely the result of his dating the daughter of the family from what he could tell. Alak never let it bother him overtly because, to him, Christie was worth the annoyance.
He could tolerate a bit of disdain or derision to be able to spend time with her.
Moving to help her with the dishes, Alak admitted, "I was prepared for much worse. If this is thanks to the Holiday Spirit? Remind me to set out an offering. I figured they'd have plenty to say about everything to do with us. Have you noticed they don't even seem to mind I'm helping you with the dishes?"
Men and women had distinct roles in life in both Russian culture and the McCawley household. Rafe had made his opinion clear on what he thought about men helping in the kitchen. It wasn't the standard they supported. Alak had never subscribed to the belief men couldn't do the dishes or women had to stay home with the children. Traditional gender roles were the result of Old Country thinking in his estimation---and he was not a man who wanted to live in the Old Country.
"I am glad things are working out well. I'm also glad you like the suit. I had to try my best for my mother. She's---different lately. I'm worried."
~*~
Chuckling, Christie glanced over at Alak. "I'll remind you, and I thought that they would as well." She actually hadn't slept that well the night before worrying over all of it, but now that everything was said and done, Christie felt a lot better about life in general. Today was a good day, and she was grateful. "I've noticed. Believe me, I feel like I've fallen into the Twilight Zone."
She was surprised that they hadn't asked Alak to go watch whatever it was they were watching on television with them and leaving her to clean up all the mess. Not that Christie would've complained, she'd done it many, many times over the years.
To her it showed an extension of her love for her father and brothers, although she had moved out on her own so she wouldn't feel like a damn maid all the time even if she would never admit to that outloud.
When the sink filled, Christie added some dish soap to the hot water and swished it around with her hand. A line of worry appeared between her brows, "Different? How?" She asked, as she put some cups into the water and began to wash them, only to hand them off to Alak to dry after she'd rinsed the soap off.
~*~
"It's hard to explain."
Alak dried the cups and placed them upside down into their appointed cabinet in neat rows while he considered Stahma. His mother was the type to be reserved always. The Old Country was embedded down into the very marrow of her bones; no amount of time in the New World would make her a woman people considered to be 'open' or 'approachable' even. She had exceeded her usual level of reserve of late.
How to say that without sounding paranoid?
Drying a cup carefully, he said, "She is more reserved. For my mother? That says much. I don't like the way she makes herself up either. She doesn't look like my mother. I don't know why she's changed, but she's definitely changed. It makes me nervous. My mother is like the North Star: constant, unwavering, a guide."
He shrugged helplessly as he placed the dried cup beside its lookalikes in the cabinet. Alak reached for another as Christie handed it to him. They worked well together, he thought idly, not surprised so much as reflecting what he already knew about their relationship: they were a good fit.
~*~
Christie's brows furrowed, lips pursing slightly as she thought. That was really odd. Stahma was steady, and she could understand Alak's apprehension if he thought she was changing. "Hm, maybe she's just trying a new look or something?" It was possible, although with the way the OC worked things weren't ever that simple.
"I don't know. It's just one suggestion, but I'm sure that when she's ready to talk about whatever it is? She'll tell you." It was the best that Christie could offer him right now. She wasn't close with his mother, so she didn't know what could be going on. "Or you could just ask her outright if you haven't already."
With the cups finished, Christie started on the utensils, and then the plates. The pots and pans had already been washed since she cleaned up as she cooked because she didn't want to be stuck doing dishes all night long. "So," she began, "what do you want to do after this?" She changed the subject not because she didn't care, but because she didn't want Alak to worry so much over it since there was nothing that could be done right now.
Christie was game for pretty much anything at this point. They could join the family to watch Christmas movies, go out to see a movie by themselves, or head over to Alak's place. Whatever, it didn't matter to her, she only wanted more time with him.
~*~
Answers were never simple where Stahma was concerned. One could ask the most basic question possible only to receive a riddle rather than a response in return. She was her own person in the sense she chose how she responded in all things always. Alak had seen her yield to his father then turn around to defy him in the same breath. It was pointless to try to ask her a question unless he wanted to drive himself mad.
Christie was used to an American family dynamic. She had the benefit of being a part of a family who were respectful of one another while showing their affection at the same time. Her father was a gruff man, but no one could honestly say they doubted Rafe McCawley loved his daughter. Stahma and Datak Tarr were not nearly so easy to decipher; Alak wasn't certain his parents loved him as much as they held feelings of proprietariness as the result of their biological connection.
Theirs was a colder, more formal world.
"I think we should try our luck here a little longer. How often is your dad going to be nice to me if the first time it happens I steal you away as soon as I can?"
Alak knew that was one of the biggest fears the McCawley family had: he was going to steal Christie from them.
"We can see if the good mood lasts through a movie. I know you love holiday films."
~*~
She knew that Alak was worried, not only by his words but by the way that he looked even while drying the dishes. Christie wished that she could make it better, that she had more answers for him. Right now, however, she didn't. Maybe soon enough Stahma would tell him what was going on.
Christie kept washing dishes, a light smile pulling up the corners of her lips. "That's true." She turned to look over at Alak, flashing him a bright smile. "I do love Christmas movies." Christmas was a magical time and add in the fact that it was snowing? That made it all the more magical in Christie's opinion.
"I like the sound of that though. I'll make some hot chocolate for everyone, maybe popcorn." She thought for a handful of moments as she finished washing up the last of the plates and placed them into the other side of the sink. "Yeah, I think popcorn is a must." None of that would take her very long to do either of those things.
While she waited on Alak to finish up drying the dishes, she turned the Keurig on. With that heating, Christie grabbed a couple bags of popcorn from one of the cabinets and threw one into the microwave. It wasn't long before everything was set up onto a tray, and she turned to look back at Alak. "Thank you for helping me." She walked over to Alak, smiling up at him. "I love you." She raised herself up on the balls of her feet, and kissed him.
~*~
No one had come into the kitchen to check on them the whole time it'd taken to clean up dinner. Alak wasn't sure if it was a sign the McCawleys were learning to accept his relationship with Christie or a sign they thought he was too cowardly to try anything in their home. There was little likelihood it was a bad sign either way. Alak wasn't his father or his mother. He wasn't trying to seek power for himself or to get others to 'respect' him through violence.
He kissed his girlfriend and gave thanks to whoever was listening he had the right to do it, to celebrate the holiday with her in peace.
"I love you, too, and always. I will always help you. We're partners. Equals. That's something my parents never had and won't ever get. We're luckier than them and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep that luck on our side."
Alak hugged Christie tightly before letting her go. She took up the tray while he opened the kitchen door for her. The thing wasn't heavy or he'd have offered to carry it instead regardless of whether or not Rafe thought of him as a woman for doing 'woman's work.' Christie was the best part of the season for Alak; he wanted to see the bright smile on her face last as long as possible which meant holiday movies with hot chocolate and popcorn and her family.