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

[youngestrose]

It's probably better if he keeps the yoga thing to himself for the time being. There are worse physical pursuits, of course, but yoga is in a gray area best not to explore.

"It's always the parents' fault," Mace mutters as he smears cream cheese on a toasted bagel. Jessica's head tilt implies that she agrees.

"Anyone famous?" Willas asks, genuinely curious. Generally only officers carried sabers, and the few that survived the war are highly sought after. He may not care much about ancestry, but when it comes to things of value he'll always perk up.

"You could claim the obsession is in your genes," Margaery quips. "You were predisposed to it by your ancestor."

[prodigalmess]

"He was a captain in the Union army, but I wouldn't call him famous," Malcolm replies.

"Miltons are always famous," Jessica chimes in.

"Miltons have had money for a long time and have been able to buy themselves military positions," Malcolm continues with a smile. "But all records show that William Milton really was a good captain and took his position seriously."

[youngestrose]

"At least yours was on the right side," Willas retorts, fully expecting the stinkeye that comes from Loras, which he completely ignores.

"Or fought at all," Margaery adds. She doesn't know their family tree as in-depth as Loras, but she does remember the more notable branches, even if the notoriety is less than admirable.

"Gran's great grandfather spent the majority of the war hiding in the woods. And though his wife claimed she didn't know where he was, she still managed to get pregnant while he was 'missing'."

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm nods. "Family can be disappointing sometimes." There's silence at the table after that, as Malcolm realizes what everyone is thinking. He turns his attention back to the eggs benedict.

"So," Jessica cuts in. "You two have been seeing so much of each other that I feel like we hardly get to see you anymore. And I must say that while I miss you, I'm very pleased."

[youngestrose]

He may assume that everyone is thinking about his father, but the reality is that everyone has been disappointed by someone in their family. Margaery thinks of her own father. Olenna thinks of her late husband. Willas thinks of himself, sadly.

"I'm happy to hear that," Margaery replies. Based on Malcolm's description of his mother, she'd worried that she might be seen as a rival for Malcolm's attention.

"I suppose by monopolizing his free time, I am keeping him out of trouble."

[prodigalmess]

Jessica likes having Malcolm's attention, but she would definitely rather see him with someone like Margaery. Her greatest goal for Malcolm is to get him settled down and married. Maybe then he'll stop being so hyperfocused on solving every murder that comes across his desk.

"You are indeed," Jessica tells Margaery, "and I thank you for that."

Malcolm rolls his eyes. "Don't think I'm quitting my job any time soon, Mother."

[youngestrose]

Uh oh. Margaery's accidentally stepped into what she'd forgotten was a long-standing argument. She's definitely going to need a refill on her mimosa. Where did that girl get off to?

"You know I would never ask you to do that, right?" she whispers to Malcolm. That would be like asking any other person to stop breathing. His job means everything to him. He'd made that clear on their very first date.

[prodigalmess]

"I know," he whispers back with a squeeze of her hand. His job is incredibly important to him. Malcolm feels called to do it in a way that his mother doesn't understand. Thankfully, Margaery does. As important as his job is, she's very important to him too.

"All I'm saying is that maybe you should consider something safer?" Jessica quips.

[youngestrose]

"When you have a true calling, is it possible to consider something else?" Margaery posits. She too feels it, the need to do something meaningful and help others.

"Yes, what Malcolm does can be dangerous, but that's why it's important. We can't keep going through life acknowledging that these jobs need done but then expecting someone else to do them." She feels passionate about this, and it's obvious in the way she talks. Garlan may be rolling his eyes.

"It's not fair, asking others to do what we're not willing to do ourselves. I'm sure if you had Malcolm's gifts you would use them to save lives too, wouldn't you?"

[prodigalmess]

Malcolm bites his lip and puts a gentle hand on Margaery's knee under the table. Jessica is giving Margaery a sharp look. Isn't this what she always anticipated happening though? She never should have expected that any girlfriend of Malcolm's would be on her side when it comes to his career.

"My son is indeed very gifted," Jessica agrees, "though my concern is that he often finds himself in dangerous situations. Surely that gives you concern as well?"

This probably isn't something they should be talking about at breakfast in front of all of their family members, but here they are.

[youngestrose]

Margaery takes the touch on her knee as a warning to tread lightly. She does tend to get carried away when it comes to topics she is passionate about, and this happens to be one of them. She takes a breath before answering Jessica.

"Of course it does. But I wouldn't ask Malcolm to change who he is in order to make me feel comfortable." For Margaery, the danger still feels theoretical. That will change, of course; it is inevitable so long as Malcolm continues at his job.

She used to worry a lot, about everything. A very skilled therapist had asked her a simple question that had set her free from that constant anxiety - 'Is worrying about it going to change what happens?' Worrying about him every time he steps out his door would only be a waste of her time and energy that could be better spent actually accomplishing something. So she thinks about it, and prays for him, but doesn't let it eat her up inside.

"I know that the concern I feel is nothing compared to that of a mother for her child. It's never been my job to protect him or keep him safe, so I can't possibly know what it's like for you."

[prodigalmess]

"Perhaps this is a topic we can revisit later," Malcolm cuts in. Aka not when they're trying to have a 'meet the parents' breakfast. He shoots a look at his mother, one that contains both a plea and a warning.

Of course, this means he needs to come up with another topic of conversation, which he sucks at. Fortunately, Ainsley jumps in. "Where did you go to college, Margaery?" she asks.

[youngestrose]

Margaery can't believe that it's not possible for them to have a healthy debate, but between the hand on her knee and the look he's giving his mother, she gets that regardless of whether she and Jessica can handle it, he clearly can't. She puts her hand over his to reassure him that she'll let it go.

"Columbia," is the quick and simple reply. "You?" Very nicely done. Obviously Ainsley is well-practiced in heading off arguments before they get ugly.

[prodigalmess]

It's certainly possible for them to have a healthy debate, but Malcolm doesn't really want to have it right now. They're trying to have a pleasant breakfast, and things can get ugly when he and his mother have this talk. Malcolm would rather have it without the rest of her family present.

"Me too," Ainsley replies with a smile. "What did you study?"

[youngestrose]

"Business Management, as an undergrad, with almost a minor in psychology. Then I got my MBA." She'd heavily concentrated her studies in social sciences as well. She'd known from the beginning how she wanted to use her education.

"Is it safe to assume yours was journalism?"

[prodigalmess]

"Yeah," Ainsley replies. "I discovered that I liked presenting the news more than writing it though." She's done her share of research for pieces and in depth interviews though.

"Malcolm obviously majored in psychology, so you two have that in common," Jessica says. "Does your business degree help with the charity work that you do?"

[youngestrose]

Margaery nods at her statement of the obvious - she does have that in common with Malcolm. And her knowledge of at least basic psychology is, she suspects, why she has stayed with him where other women have not. With understanding comes compassion and patience, and less judgement. Most women wouldn't even try to understand why he has such high anxiety and night terrors. She never imagined that her higher education would give her relationship skills.

"It does help, particularly because I focused on non-profits and foundations. I wasn't sure if I would end up working for the family, but I knew I wanted to start my own foundation even then. Surprisingly, though, I used what I learned in psychology much more often."

[prodigalmess]

He appreciates her for that. Malcolm never really expected to find someone who understands him. While she can never know exactly what it's like to be him, Margaery does at least get why he is the way he is. That's more than he'd hoped for in a relationship.

"See?" Malcolm says. "Psychology is a valid degree. You were so worried that I'd never use mine."

[youngestrose]

"To be fair, there's little you can do with just an undergraduate degree. To work in the field you have to have a Ph.D." Jessica isn't wrong about that, and Margaery nods in agreement.

"That's one of the reasons I decided not to pursue it. That, and I realized that while trying to understand the human mind is noble, it's also an imperfect science. At the end of the day, people are weird. I'm not always going to understand why they do the things they do. But that doesn't mean I can't treat them with compassion anyway." While she finds the subject fascinating, she couldn't devote her life to the pursuit of something that doesn't exist - a perfect understanding of people and their motivations.

"Though Malcolm has come as close to that understanding as I've seen," she says as she sets down her knife and fork, suitably full, before grinning at him once more. She does love complimenting him.

[prodigalmess]

"Or just join the FBI," he chimes in. That had always been his plan. Jessica kept thinking he would change it.

Malcolm smiles at Margaery when she compliments him. "It's not an exact science, no. It will never be, because humans aren't automatons. Even though I can predict a lot of behaviors, it's not perfect. Honestly though, it's part of what I enjoy about my job."

He glances at her again, then inclines his head towards his plate, as if to ask if she's satisfied with how much of his breakfast he ate. Malcolm thinks he did pretty good.

[youngestrose]

She doesn't like the feeling that she's policing his eating, and in any other situation she'd reassure him that he can eat as little or as much as he wants and it won't matter. But here, she could just imagine one of her brothers mocking him for eating a less-than-manly amount of food. So she nods back to him and squeezes his knee under the table, and tells herself that she'll never do that again.

"But you don't work for the FBI," Garlan points out. Margaery hasn't told them Malcolm's entire employment history, but they know what he does now. "I can't believe the police are paying you to make educated guesses. And you like that you're probably wrong?"

[prodigalmess]

He doesn't see it as policing, though maybe it's a bit over the top to seek his girlfriend's approval on how much food he ate. That's kind of like a toddler looking to his mother and he'd rather not dive into Freudian implications there. It's something they can discuss later.

"I used to work for them. They trained me," Malcolm replies. "And my educated guesses are usually correct, otherwise the NYPD wouldn't keep me around."

[youngestrose]

"Used to?" It's the first time her father has expressed genuine interest in the conversation all afternoon. He's even put down his silverware, apparently also done with his meal.

"The FBI isn't in the business of training agents and then letting them leave." The insinuation is obvious and Margaery is staring daggers at her father. Inside her head she's begging him not to be rude, not to ask him what he did to get fired. Even she hasn't asked Malcolm that, because it's in the past and he's happy where he is now.

"Was your guessing not up to FBI standards?" Again, the emphasis on the uncertain nature of being a profiler. It seems her father and brothers have decided that Malcolm's job isn't a 'real' job. It's time to start looking for a window to make a hasty exit, because she going to need something a lot stronger than a mimosa if this continues.

[prodigalmess]

It's more than a little annoying that Margaery's father only pipes up to insult him. Maybe Malcolm shouldn't be surprised. Margaery is the only girl and so of course he's going to be hyper critical of any partner that she chooses. Of course, he also thinks it's ridiculously sexist.

Jessica opens her mouth to defend her son, then catches Malcolm's eye and decides to leave it to him.

"Clearly that wasn't the case, since they trained me to do their 'guessing'." Finger quotes and all. "Which is not at all what I do. A lot of data goes into my profiles, which are more often than not correct."

He's going to keep this polite, if he can help it, for Margaery's sake.

[youngestrose]

"Father, please." She knows that Malcolm can handle himself, and he's doing a fine job of not losing his temper. But Margaery knows that if this line of inquiry continues, it can only lead to unpleasantness.

"I'm sure you'll have many other opportunities to thoroughly grill Malcolm." She takes her napkin from her lap and sets it on her plate.

"I don't know about everyone else, but these chairs are starting to get a little uncomfortable. Let's go back to the living room."

Olenna follows suit. "Yes, I think that's a fine idea." She pats Malcolm's hand as she rises from her chair. "You come sit by me so we can have a little chat."