For prodigalmess - A Meal to Remember

[youngestrose]

 As they stood outside the door to her grandmother's penthouse apartment, Margaery checked Malcolm over one last time. He looked impeccable as always, in a dark blue suit and perfectly shined shoes. The color of the suit complemented his eyes well and she found him so attractive that she'd been tempted to make them fashionably late by pulling him into her apartment and having her way with him when he arrived to pick her up. Alas, that would have to wait until after he'd dazzled her family with his wit and charm.

She was dressed a bit more casually than him, since she wasn't trying to impress anyone that night - a jumpsuit and heels she'd chosen out of her recently remodeled closet. Her turn would come soon, when she'd meet his mother and sister.  She wiped a bit of lipstick from his cheek where she'd kissed him earlier and smiled.

"Are you ready?" 

Comments

looks good!

[prodigalmess]

Margaery can probably hear his heart beating. Malcolm is more than anxious to meet her family, especially because of the stories she has told him. He's promised himself that he isn't going to profile all of them, though sometimes he can't help himself. If they start in on Margaery for any reason, he's going to defend her. Politely, of course. Hopefully they won't make him have to be ugly.

"As ready as ever," he replies, taking a deep breath. He'd be glad to know she finds him witty and charming. Malcolm's not so sure about that.

Re: looks good!

[youngestrose]

She nods and rings the doorbell before taking his hand. "You're going to do great. And I'll be by your side the whole time, I promise."

The door opens and it's Loras on the other side, just like Margaery asked him to be. She's talked to him about Malcolm more than anyone else in the family - even her grandmother. He's also the friendliest and most approachable so she felt the perfect first step before meeting everyone else.

They step into the apartment and Margaery realizes she may be nearly as nervous as Malcolm. He does not know this, but he is the first man she has brought to meet her family in years.

She introduces the two of them and when Loras steps to the side to shake Malcolm's hand, she sees a figure she doesn't recognize standing by the bar, a woman who is talking to her grandmother, seated nearby.

"Who's that?" she asks Loras, nodding her head in the direction of the dark-haired stranger - who has now been joined by another woman, this one slightly shorter and with long, blonde hair. This is supposed to be family only.

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm's pleased to be introduced to Loras first. Margaery has talked a lot about him and they seem to have some things in common, like a love for swords. They'll have to chat later, when Malcolm isn't as worried that he's going to faint dead away to the floor.

As he's shaking the other man's hand, his attention is drawn by Margaery's question. His blood runs cold when he sees the two familiar women across the room.

"Mother? Ainsley?"

Oh God, it's an ambush.

[youngestrose]

Did he say 'mother'? Judging from the look in his eyes and the way he's squeezing her hand so hard she's losing feeling in her fingers, he is just as surprised by their presence as she is. She manages to keep her shock and horror inside, though, and plaster a look of pleasant surprise on her face and a smile on her lips as his mother and sister make their way over.

Jessica is exactly as Margaery had imagined - a little loud, slightly overly demonstrative, and very pretty. When Margaery is unable to extricate her hand from Malcolm's, she deftly greets her with a one-armed hug and kiss on the cheek. Ainsley seems content to stand by Jessica's side and forego a handshake.

"What a nice surprise! It's so nice to finally meet you both." Inside her head she's running through the list of things that she would have done differently if she'd known they would be there.

"Gran, did you have a hand in this?"

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm is much less able to hide his emotions in a situation like this. Jessica would probably be the first person to tell him to put on a fake smile and deal with it, but that's not usually when she is the thing he has to deal with.

He lets go of Margaery before greeting his mother and sister. His eyes meet Ainsley's and they share a 'wtf' moment.

"She did, partially," Jessica replies. "Olenna reached out to me when you two agreed to come for brunch and we both thought it would be a wonderful idea to make it a meeting for both sides of the family."

[youngestrose]

Margaery looks at Loras with an expression similar to the one shared by Malcolm and Ainsley. Why hadn't he warned her? He'd better have a good excuse or he's going on her shit list for a very long time.

"Well, it's... a great idea, to go ahead and kill all the birds with one stone. I wish I'd thought of it myself." She clears her throat, finding it suddenly dry.

"I could use a drink." She can see a pitcher of mimosas from across the room that looks both refreshing and perfect for taking the edge off. Her previously steady hands are now shaking ever so slightly. She hopes it's not obvious as she touches Malcolm's elbow.

"Come with me?"

[prodigalmess]

"Excuse us," he says to the rest of he and Margaery's families. Malcolm is rarely at a loss for words, but he feels that way right now - and he can definitely use a drink.

Once he and Margaery are safely across the room and out of earshot, he puts his hands out as he assesses the situation.

"Okay," Malcolm tells her, trying to sound confident. "This is... we can do this. It's going to be okay."

[youngestrose]

She nods and pours them both a very full glass of mimosas, drains half of hers, then refills it.

"How did we not see this coming?" she asks as she hands him his glass. It's obvious from the way the liquid in the glass vibrates that her hands are shaking. It's a shock and she feels entirely unprepared and very much like she wants to run back downstairs and change but she can't do that. There's no running no matter how much they both want to.

After a couple of deep breaths she takes his free hand and holds it tightly. "We're still in this together, right? And no matter what happens that's not going to change."

[prodigalmess]

"We should have seen this coming," Malcolm agrees before similarly downing half of his mimosa as well. He notices her hand shaking and finds it odd that for once his isn't. Malcolm closes her hand over his.

"We are in this together," he tells her. "We can do this." Malcolm knows they're strong enough to handle this family gathering. It might suck and it might be uncomfortable, but they can survive it.

[youngestrose]

The touch of his hand is as comforting as his confirmation. They are a team here. She nods and takes a deep breath.

"Let's finish with the introductions, then." Seated around her grandmother are the rest of her family, and as she introduces each of them to Malcolm they stand up and shake his hand - even Willas, who takes a bit longer to get up because of his leg. She suddenly can't remember how much she told Malcolm about his injury, and hopes she at least warned him that he uses a crutch. Standing together her brothers can be imposing - all six feet tall or close - but her father is more diminutive and soft-spoken, particularly in a crowd. That may come as a surprise to Malcolm considering the way she's described him, but then again they all have public personas that are vastly different from their true selves. That's the hallmark of a socialite, isn't it?

She finds them seats on a long chaise and immediately Loras swoops in and starts up a conversation about knives or swords or some such thing, immediately redeeming himself in her eyes and perfectly occupying the short time until brunch is served.

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm greets all of them with a smile and a firm handshake. Even if he's panicking inside, he's not going to show it. He's also not intimidated by the fact that her brothers are all tall. Malcolm's on the short side for a man, but he tries not to let that bother him. Height doesn't necessarily imply strength anyway.

He's glad when Loras strikes up a conversation with him about blades. Seeing Margaery unoccupied, Jessica takes her opportunity.

"Margaery, I'm so glad that we finally get to meet you. I would say Malcolm has told me so much about you, but he tends to keep personal things very close to the vest."

[youngestrose]

Margaery exercises every self-control technique she has to not fidget or fix her hair as she turns to face Malcolm's mother. All she can do is pray that she looks good enough to meet Jessica's standards, and then hate that she's judged so much on her appearance.

"I'm sure Gran has more than made up for whatever Malcolm hasn't told you," she replies with a smile. "And I expect Ainsley has already done her homework as well, if her detective skills are anywhere close to what I've heard."

[prodigalmess]

For what it's worth, Jessica isn't here to go for blood. She knows that Malcolm likes Margaery, and so far she seems like a lovely young woman. That doesn't mean Jessica doesn't have standards, but Margaery has at least met two of them already: being rich and pretty.

"I've learned a few things here and there," Jessica says conspiratorially. "You started a charity, didn't you?"

[youngestrose]

Margaery nods. This is something she is comfortable talking about, and will continue to until she's made to stop.

"It's still a work in progress, actually. The foundation's been set up and we're working on obtaining tax-exempt status. Once that's in place we can start fundraising, and then hopefully get to work actually making a difference. But you know how that whole process works, don't you? I understand you're in charge of your family's charitable foundation." Margaery looks over and sees Willas and Garlan shooting looks at each other between glances at Malcolm. She's going to have to keep an eye on that.

"You and Gran have that in common. I'm sure it's given you lots to talk about."

[prodigalmess]

"It's a lot more work than people realize," Jessica says. "Sometimes you put in all the work and then the money never comes in, and it's quite frustrating. But you're young. You probably have a ton more energy than I do."

Malcolm doesn't notice Margaery's other brothers looking at him, since he's thoroughly enjoying his conversation about 15th century English blades with Loras. He does pick up on something though, something that he's not quite sure about, but will bring up to Margaery later.

[youngestrose]

Margaery nods in agreement. "It can be, but luckily Gran has committed a good chunk of money from our family foundation to get things rolling." Before she can get into more detail it is announced that brunch is served, and a slow exodus from the living area into the dining room begins.

Margaery sees the opportunity to check in with Malcolm. Without everyone's eyes on them, she kisses him briefly on the cheek.

"How's it going?" she asks as they start to walk. Looking into the dining room, she sees Willas and Garlan competing for the empty chair next to Ainsley. She realizes that the whispering between them hadn't been about Malcolm - it was about his lovely sister. She's not sure how to feel about this development - a part of her welcomes the focus of attention being on something other than her and Malcolm, but she also knows her brothers and Ainsley does not deserve to be in the middle of a tug-of-war between them.

"Good gracious," she says loudly as they reach the table to hide the sound of her kicking Garlan in the back of the leg. "Is there a small army that failed to RSVP? There's enough here to feed all of us for a week." The food looks and smells wonderful, an impressive variety of breakfast and lunch options both sweet and savory. She's made sure that at least half of the spread is vegetarian as well.

Her father's seated at one end of the table and Gran at the other; otherwise it's a free for all, so she deftly nudges her brothers out of the way and claims the chair next to Ainsley, leaving the one on Margaery's other side available for Malcolm, and on Ainsley's other side for Jessica. The boys can all sit next to one another on the opposite side of the table - the three of them take up more room than 4 or 5 normal people anyway.

[prodigalmess]

"Not bad," Malcolm replies, taking her hand. "Loras knows almost as much about blades as I do." He follows Margaery's gaze and quickly ascertains the situation. "That's interesting," he says in a low voice, tone amused.

It's probably a good idea that Margaery breaks up that fight when they all sit down to brunch. Ainsley's looking pleased, as she definitely also figured out what was going on. Malcolm has ended up next to Olenna and he's not sure if that was strategic or not. He tries not to be nervous.

"It all looks great," he says. "Thank you again for having us."

[youngestrose]

Ainsley could definitely do worse than a Tyrell. The eldest boys look a lot alike, dark hair like their father, but are polar opposites in personality. Because of his handicap Willas is more slender than Garlan, who works out obsessively. Willas is quieter, calmer, more considerate. Thinks too little of himself - a lot like Malcolm, actually. Garlan, on the other hand, is loud and very confident - all brawn and just enough brains to make it through college. They both have good hearts, though.

"Yes, well, it was about time we met the reason we don't see Margaery on weekends any longer," replies Olenna, a thinly veiled complaint about Margaery's change of visitation habits directed more at her granddaughter than at Malcolm. Margaery's reply is a lift of her eyebrows and pursed lips before leaning in to whisper to Malcolm.

"The eggs benedict are made with portobello mushrooms instead of ham." Everything else is obviously either vegetarian or not. She decides to splurge and selects a Belgian waffle, then tops it with strawberries and whipped cream. As everyone fills their plates and begins eating, the sound of silver clinking on china takes over for conversation. A duo of young women stand near the door to the kitchen, waiting to refill a glass or clean away a finished plate, and Margaery gets one of them to top off her mimosa. She's quickly losing track of how many she's had, but considering her hands have stopped shaking and she's still cognizant of what's around her, she decides it's not too much.

Loras is the first one to break the silence, complimenting Ainsley on her performance on the prior day's morning news. Well played, Margaery thought, appearing to throw his hat in the ring for her attention, as it were.

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm smiles politely at Olenna. "I apologize for stealing her away so much, though I do very much enjoy spending time with her." He nods his thanks to Margaery about the food, then helps himself. He's not strictly a vegetarian, but since meat other than chicken is generally what he avoids, he appreciates her efforts.

He glances up when Loras speaks to Ainsley. "Oh, thanks," she replies. "Are you a frequent viewer?"

That's interesting, Malcolm thinks to himself.

[youngestrose]

"We all are," Garland chimes in. Olenna, clearly seeing the train wreck that coming, steers the conversation in a different direction by replying to Malcolm.

"I can't complain about seeing her so happy. Of course, Jessica and I are still waiting for our thank you cards to arrive." She doesn't mention that this is the first man she has brought to meet him in years. In fact, at nearly three months, this is Margaery's longest relationship since her early 20s, a fact that she has not shared with Malcolm just yet.

Margaery looks at Malcolm with a smirk. "We thought that our happiness would be all the reward that you two would need," she tosses back, turning to look at Jessica. "But we are grateful." She turns back to her grandmother. "That the long string of blind dates is finally at an end."

[prodigalmess]

"See?" Jessica says. "I do have good taste and your best interests at heart."

Malcolm smiles politely at that. He kind of thinks this was all a lucky coincidence that he and Margaery like each other so much, not based on any kind of matchmaking skill on his mother's part. He reaches over and rests his hand on top of Margaery's.

"I am at least glad that I agreed to go on the date," he says.

[youngestrose]

"Oh, you had a choice?" she quips, winking at him as she squeezes his hand. It feels strange, to be affection with him in front of her family. Strange because she's not used to it, not because she doesn't want to or that there's anything wrong with it.

"So Gran, who moves to the top of the set-up list now? Willas?" He grimaces, making Margaery laugh. Finally, the boys will get to know the misery that has been her life of blind set-ups.

"Or is it father?" This is the biggest joke of all, and Margaery's attempt to get Mace to actually say something instead of focusing on his food. He tends to be quieter in crowds, particularly when there are new faces in that crowd.

"I believe Jessica is available." And sitting right next to him, how's that for a coincidence.

[prodigalmess]

Jessica fortunately (or unfortunately) has a mimosa up to her lips when Margaery says that, so she's able to hide her response with just a raise of her eyebrows and not the full grimace that she's giving inside her mind.

"We wouldn't dream of infringing on your relationship like that," she tells Margaery. Malcolm knows it's because she's got zero interest in Mace and is probably far too stubborn for a man like him.

[youngestrose]

"Of course not," Mace agrees. "Don't be ridiculous."

Most would assume it was ridiculous because no woman would be interested in dating him, particularly one as beautiful and sophisticated as Jessica. Margaery is one of the few who knows that he's never even considered dating again since her mother died. In nearly thirty years, he's never once mentioned wanting to find a new companion. He hides it well, but beneath his brusque nature and steely exterior hides a broken heart that has never healed.

"In that case," Margaery replies, "Gran, maybe we should be looking for someone for you."

[prodigalmess]

That seems even more unlikely, though Malcolm keeps that thought to himself.

"Maybe you should try with one of your brothers," Malcolm suggests. "Or Ainsley."

Ainsley gives him a death glare and Malcolm smiles back.