WHO: Blue Sargent and Maura Sargent WHAT: Blue takes her mom out for a fancy birthday dinner and discuss getting back out there for dating WHEN: Monday, September 13, evening WARNINGS: None STATUS: Complete!
Taking her mom on a fancy birthday dinner was not how Blue expected to spend today. But Maura had been through enough in the last couple of months that Blue could swallow her dumb pride and spend a stupid amount of cash to get her mom a couple of plates that looked like they were child-size portions (very very small children) and a chocolate lava cake that was the size of her palm. At least they didn't charge her for putting a candle on it so her mom could blow it out.
But it was nice, and that was what Blue wanted for her mom. Something nice, something she wouldn't do for herself. She had learned the basics of frugality from Maura at an early age, and while Blue was confident things didn't need to be expensive for them to be good, she understood that merely the optics of the price tag made things better.
Plus, it wasn't like some swoony silver fox was coming to treat her mom to a dinner that was the amount of her paycheck.
She also wasn't going to mention missing having Mr. Gray around, for multiple reasons—one of them being the fact that she didn't want to make her mom sad, or make Ronan pissed. So she shoved a bit more of the oozy and warm chocolate ganache into her mouth, staring at her mom across the table.
"Alright, so," Blue started, yanking the fork from her mouth in a very plebeian way; she was determined to scandalize one patron or wait staff this evening. "How does it feel to be officially a year older? Is this the part where I say you don't look a day over thirty?"
Being taken out for a fancy birthday dinner hadn't necessarily been how Maura had expected to spend her day either, but she most certainly wasn't going to complain. She had donned one of her nicer ensembles that was full of flowing fabrics and pieces matched together from various Vallo thrift stores -- and which inevitably would still inspire a few side eyes from the far more shiny individuals that surrounded them, something that she was sure she'd have cared about many handful of birthdays ago but didn't have the time to notice now -- and had enjoyed the tiny portions while making conversation with her daughter. Fancy hadn't been a requirement for a good birthday, of course; all Maura really wanted was to get to spend time with Blue.
Which, of course, was a highly sentimental thought. But what was the point of growing another year older if one wasn't able to indulge in cake and feeling generally sappy about one's loved ones?
"Oh, I know I don't look a day over thirty." It was a lie and she clearly knew it, mouth quirking into a teasing smile. Not that she thought she looked 42 either, but, well. Maura Sargent was nothing if not realistic. "Check in with me next year, though. We'll reevaluate how my vanity is sitting then."
She took a sip of her wine, which was light and sweet and tasted not that far off from the box of wine that was sitting in her fridge, but what did an expert in mixed drinks really know about wine, really? "For now, though, I'm feeling good. I was never all that great at being young anyway. I'm ready to embrace old age."
"Ugh, now I know you're my mom, saying old age. You can use that term when you're sixty, minimum, " Blue said, with a grin. She liked that her mom was still youthful in many ways. Whether it was because of simply good genes or the fact that being a psychic alleviated some of the stress of not knowing the future was up for debate. Blue was hoping for the former, though she assumed her short stature would still get her mistaken as a child for at least another ten years.
"Besides, you can't embrace anything yet, you still have to do that thing moms do, you know, dating guys who their daughters have to disapprove of. I haven't been able to give a properly good side-eye in a while." Blue remembered sizing up Mr. Gray, thinking that he wasn't good enough for Maura. The hired hitman part was also a good reason to be suspicious, but that was a whole other thing.
She watched her mom take a sip of wine, as she shoved another bite of the decadent cake into her mouth. "I mean if you want to. You know you don't have to. I'd be a hypocrite, considering you gave me a very similar talk not that long ago," Blue said, between a mouthful, with a shrug. "But I could help you, set you up on that new fangled dating site, interview all your prospects, threaten to cut off their dicks—"
A woman at the table beside them cleared her throat, sounding a bit scandalized. Blue then clarified, "Only if they are dicks though."
Maura's gaze left Blue's just long enough to meet the eye of the throat clearing woman, lifting an eyebrow. For the shortest of moments, she was certain that the woman thought she'd likewise disapprove of Blue's behavior. And then, of course, Maura dashed that hope aside with, "She's very good at sussing out who is and isn't a dick. Like mother, like daughter."
Her attention returned to Blue before Maura had a chance to appreciate the facial expression of the other woman that went with the sputtering, which somehow made it all the better. She had more important things to focus on, like Blue's worry about her love life. Not that she actually had one in Vallo. Even back home, love life seemed a poor descriptor. Prior to Mr. Gray's entrance into their world, Artemus had been the only one to make a true splash. She'd had more important things to worry about; raising Blue, balancing checkbooks, scheduling maintenance for the car, finding new ways to get Orla's fingernail polish stains out of various surfaces, telling the future -- all entirely normal things.
And then there was Mr. Gray. And then there was Vallo, where he decidedly was not. Maura had been where he was not for over a year and she wasn't the yearning, waiting at the window with a wistful gaze type of woman. She also wasn't the dating app type, nor the speed dating or bar hopping or wherever else people met people type.
"Well," Maura said after a beat or two of probably too much silence, especially when that silence was between herself and Blue. "It would be fun to see these interviews and threats play out." Catching herself, she lifted an eyebrow and added, "That wasn't a yes." Another beat. "Yet."
Blue noticed the silence. Her mother, a wealth of information and knowledge, and the type she often sought out—those Sargent women needed to stick together!—was never silent. Not for long anyway. She put her fork down, but in a noticeably overly dramatic way, like she was being graded. Like manners were something she considered regularly to impress her potential suitors and there was something like a dowry involved.
And then she stared her mother down like she could read minds. Maybe, if she tried hard enough. Maybe, if she asked Thurvishar for some more pointers outside of her amplification. But right now? Not in the slightest.
"Okay but that was kind of a yes. That was a 'I will consider it because it will at least be a little fun to see my amazing daughter drive fear into the hearts of middle-aged men'. And to be honest, it will be entertaining to me too, so win-win," Blue said. She then held up her hands in protest before her mother could say her name in That Voice. "I get it, you don't have to say yes right now, but I like knowing you're happy. And you can be happy alone too, but ughhhhh."
That was loud, but she didn't care. "I just think you could be more open. You've been with like two dudes. One was a tree and one was, actually, still is a hitman. You can diversify your portfolio." Blue was positive that was not what Adam or Gansey meant when they talked about stocks and retirement plans.
Maura snorted, because how could she not snort at the suggestion of diversifying her portfolio, as sound a suggestion though it might be -- and it really did have to say something about her that she didn't even notice the aghast look the already scandalized woman sitting next to them was giving her. (Vallo had magic and minotaurs selling bagels and weird happenings every other week, but a woman couldn't date a tree or hitman without getting second glances, apparently.)
Instead, she released a sigh and leaned back in her chair. It wasn't long-suffering or irritated, but rather just an expulsion of air to act as a means to buy herself time to come up with an insightful response. Blue was right in that she didn't need a someone to be happy, but there was no denying that she had a lot of extra time on her hands without a full Fox Way to juggle and a daughter that had flown and left the nest empty. The thought of going on dates didn't make her break out in immediate hives, which seemed a good first step.
And, if said dates went awry, well. Maura had always loved a good story.
"I don't know the first thing about dating apps," Maura said, an incredibly unnecessary admission from someone who barely knew how to use a smart phone. "So you're going to have to answer a lot of technology questions, like the youth you are."
Blue wasn't bouncing, per se, but she could feel that energy building while she watched her mom go through the motions of thinking over her proposal. Or proposition. Gentle daughterly suggestion. Blue had meant it—her mom didn't need someone to make her happy but she definitely deserved someone to have fun with, outside of Persephone (who Blue was thinking she would have a similar conversation with, but one at a time. Mom first.)
So when Maura gave in, Blue squealed, briefly, her fists shaking in excitement. "I can do that, I will answer all your questions. I'll even make your profile on the app, but you can approve it. Except if there is something you're into just don't tell me, save it for when a silver fox slides into your DMs. There's only so much I need to know about your love life." Although, Blue was fairly certain that if she was actually curious, Maura would have no qualms in telling her the details. They were a house of education and not about sugarcoating with the 'storks bring babies to your doorstep' business.
With her mom in, Blue brought her hands together in front of her mouth, looking too serious for what the situation called. "We have to lay some ground rules though. You can't be cougaring with anyone that could be my sibling. You could get it, but it would be too weird. Also no one who won't tell you what they do. I will not shame anyone, especially if they are an accountant or an accountant, but if they sound shady I get to veto. And—"
She leveled a Sargent-lady look at Maura. "I'm not calling anyone dad, I'm too old and I don't care how long you end up dating someone."
A good chunk of any uncertainty that Maura might have felt over this dissipated quickly when she saw Blue's obvious excitement. Maybe she would have let herself dip a proverbial toe into the dating pool of Vallo sooner, had she known this might be the reaction. There was a nagging feeling itching in the back of her head, something relating to morals and feelings and a Gray Man back in Henrietta, however. She tried to push it away, just for a moment.
At Blue's final ground rule, though, Maura simply met her daughter's Sargent-lady look with one of her own -- something she had long since perfected, of course, having directed it towards plenty of people, Blue included, in her now 42 years. "If anyone I date tries to make you call them dad, I give you blanket permission to do with them what you will."
She considered the other rules, as they were called, not finding anything to argue with but so much. She was far too old for 20-somethings, for one, and as exciting as an accountant might sound on paper, past history made it clear it was a recipe for trouble. Maura wasn't against trouble, of course, and would be a hypocrite and a half if she claimed otherwise, but she could concede. An accountant, no emphasis, could also be easily avoided.
"I think that's all agreeable, though," Maura replied, sitting back and folding her hands on the table as though they were conducting some sort of business contract. That feeling hadn't been successfully pushed, still lingering in her mind. Maybe this wasn't something one was supposed to typically talk about with their kid, but when had the Sargents ever been typical? Abandoning the business facade, she asked, "Just tell me that over a year in different worlds is enough time."
What a weird experience to have the tables turned on her. Blue regarded Maura carefully. For all their chatting about dating and apps and profiles and finding prospects who weren't dicks, there was still a sort of disconnect between the reality of it. She was supposed to go to her mom with relationship advice, not the other way around. Did her mom actually miss Mr. Gray? It's not like she understood the ins and outs of their relationship, but then again, she would have claimed that Maura didn't understand the one between her, Gansey, and Henry.
Was one year in a different world enough time?
It had almost been as long since Henry left, and Blue missed him every day. If someone suggested she move on, that she and Gansey find someone to replace him, it would have been a great offense. Besides, it wasn't the fact that they went purposely looking for another person, Henry had just fit. Blue didn't want someone else, she wanted Henry and Gansey, period.
Blue lost her businesslike expression too, and nudged the plate over to her mom. Maura needed this cake way more than Blue did, birthdays aside. "I don't know? I don't really think there is a right answer. He could show up tomorrow or he could show up never or for a day and be gone. There's no rhyme or reason to it," Blue said with a shrug, all non-committal.
"But, at the same time, I think all the people at home would understand. You're allowed to do things for yourself in the present because the future isn't promised, blah blah blah, you know. And if you are ready to do something then you should. If you're not, don't just say yes because I'm badgering you. I learned that from you, but I also know to shut it off if you need more time."
Maura leaned forward, fork in hand to dig into the comfort food that was being offered to her. It was her birthday; she could overindulge in cake to assuage her feelings if she wanted to.
But even as she took a bite, appreciating the sweetness, she let herself consider Blue's words. They rang true, because of course they did; it was the exact same bit of advice and wisdom that she would have given herself. Maura was sensible, just as her daughter was, and so it came as no surprise that the words resonated within her. Despite the future being her trade, she knew as well as anyone else that Blue was right: the future wasn't promised and Vallo was an added complication that made it even more fickle. She had been spending the last year with one foot back in Henrietta.
And besides, it wasn't as though making a dating app made her beholden to an immediate happily ever after forever and ever with the first profile she matched with. Maura didn't even know if that was in the stars for herself back home. It felt like a step she needed to make, though.
"All right," she said, tone decided as she stabbed her fork into another bite of cake. "Let's do it. I'm in."
Blue knew it wasn't going to be easy. Letting go of all the preconceived notions about staying monogamous to someone who wasn't here was an uphill climb. But she also assumed that Mr. Gray had the same sort of ethics about being shoved into strange circumstances. Plus, she was relatively sure if he did have a problem with her mom moving on, Blue could take him. Maybe. Hitman skills aside, she was small and spry and no one could come between a daughter and her mother.
Reaching for her purse—a crocheted monstrosity that screamed homemade and we definitely don't mingle with high society, so suck it!—Blue dug out her phone and held it up. Maura looked both stunning and appropriately dimly lit. Her mom was such a catch, this whole app thing was gonna be easy.
"Smile, mom. I want to make sure that whoever is going to date you knows you look great eating the finer things. This is the first picture that is going on your profile."