"Nana, I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. I know —" she paused again, thinking of Tate's words in her bed. "I know you're just trying to do what you think is best for me. Mommy and I didn't have a fight, not really. But — but I've met someone. I've met someone and I love him, Nana. And she doesn’t approve. I love you too, both of you,somuch, but I'm not willing to give him up. I know if you met him, you would all change your mind . . ."
Her grandmother looked shocked at the revelation, and Silva wanted to scream. She didn't know if this was better or worse, breaking the news to her from scratch.Better, maybe. You get to control how she hears it. Another deep breath. "His fatherwas Orcish. But his mother was Silmë and he was raised in an enclave with his mother and his grandparents. He owns a business and he’s so good to me . . . I know you would love him if you gave him a chance."
Her grandmother was opening and closing her mouth like she was gulping water, with no sound coming out.You're probably going to give her apoplexy, are you happy?Silva didn't need to wonder to know exactly what was running through her grandmother's head.What will the ladies group say? What will the dowagers say? What will they say about our family?
"I-I knew you had gone out a few times with a man you were working for, but . . . but I didn't think . . ."
“I know. And I’m sorry that we’ve not talked. I hate that. But . . . I just want you to be happy thatI’mhappy."
A waistcoated server glided by, taking away their plates. She could tell her grandmother was at a loss on how to proceed.
“Will you meet me for lunch on Saturday, Nana? We can go to that little café in town across from the bookshop that we've always liked. It’s been so long since we just had a nice day together."
Away from the club.She wasn't going to tell her grandmother that she would be bringing Tate. She knew her family well. They were too well bred, too concerned with appearances, and they would never make a scene. Especially out and about in the wider world beyond the enclave's gate, in front of the rest of Cambric Creek. "We can talk more about it then, I promise. I know you have liltenu this afternoon."
Her grandmother nodded, eyes wide, gripping Silva tightly by the hand once more. "Of course, darling. That's all I want. For us to go back to where we were."
They hugged tightly outside the room, and Silva felt like a little girl once more, begging her grandmother for a dab of perfumebehind her ears. "I love you so much, Nana. I'll see you on Saturday."
Once her grandmother turned out the doors, heading back to the main clubhouse, Silva crossed the long hallway past the banquet hall once more. She kept her head held high, walking as serenely as she could, telegraphing to anyone who looked her way that she had not a care in the world, turning into the ladies' room as if it were a last-minute thought. The second she was ensconced in the sweet-smelling bathroom, Silva careened into one of the stalls, barely getting the door closed behind her before she heaved into the toilet, expelling the meager contents of their tea.
You do not wear anxiety well,she told herself as she splashed her face with cool water, rinsing out her mouth and spitting into the sink.But at least it's over. This, she told herself as she turned out the door,was the hard part.Once Tate and her grandmother were sitting together, sharing a pot of tea, she would see that he was as well mannered and refined as any elf from the club. As handsome as any man they could have handpicked for her from a catalog. Twice as clever and entrepreneurial as any of the men her own age, living off their trust funds.
They would have fun the following evening at the wedding, and then Saturday her whole world would change.
Ris
"Shu'la, you would not believethat the month I have had."
Ris was laughing as she followed him through the door, unsurprised he was already off and running before he’d even stepped over the threshold.
On the other side of the kitchen, his mother was shaking her head with a grin. "Something tells me I'm about to hear every last detail about it, including the ones you should probably keep to yourself."
Ainsley dropped the shopping bags he carried on the counter with a thunk before turning. "Oh, you'd better believe it. Don't worry, I brought a notebook so that I don't forget anything. You'll be relieved to know I've recorded both my bowel movements and how many hours of sleep I'm getting for you."
She didn't know a single male elf who had the type of relationship with their mother that Ainsley had with his. She didn't know if their closeness was common in Orcish families either, for that matter.Just an incorrigible mama's boy.
"And by the way, I'm fucking starving." Reaching his mother at last, he wrapped her in a hug from behind, kissing her on the cheek. "Whatever that is, it smells amazing."
"You really can't take him anywhere, can you?" The question was directed at her, and Ris beamed, crossing the kitchen in a few strides.
"He's a menace, no matter where we go," she agreed, laughing. "It's nice to see you again, Shu’la." His mother enfolded her in a hug, one that became an even tighter squeeze when Ainsley wrapped his arms around the two of them.
"Yay, family fun times. Really though, I'm starving. I hope we're eating soon."
Ris grinned as his mother completely ignored him. "What can I help you do?"
"Nothing at all! Have a seat and tell me what you've been up to.Youare a guest. Ainsley, get her something to drink."
On the other side of the kitchen, he already had three glasses lined up on the counter and was filling them with ice. "Oh yeah, yuck it up, you two. You're a day late and a dollar short, lady. Now come sit down and visit with us. I'll put the bread in."
The first time she'd gone with him to visit his mother, Ris had been a nervous wreck. She didn't know anything about Orcish culture or Orcish cuisine and had worried over saying something offensive, but her fears had gone unfounded.
The Orcish woman who had opened the door for them that first Sunday afternoon had been exactly what sheshouldhave been expecting for his mother, considering everything she knew about him at that point. Short hair, buzzed close to her scalp at the back and sides, what Ris assumed was likely salt and pepper in color, but dyed bright purple, blunt, loud and unapologetic. She had the typical heavy Orcish piercings in her ear’s lobes and curving up their long, tapered lengths, but so too did she havethree rings in her brow, one in her nose, and one at the corner of her lip.
Yup. This is absolutely his mom, and she’s perfect. Ris had smiled hugely upon that first introduction, thinking back to the etiquette instructor she'd had in secondary school, who had told the group of impressionable Elvish girls if they did not follow a strict skin and hair care regimen and strive to ensure a pleasing, delicate appearance, someday their future mothers-in-law would turn them out the door.Not that you want to get married. Or even have a serious relationship. But still. The point still stands.
"They have had me going back and forth, back and forth again, just like last time. Does anyone listen to me? No, of course not. We'll just rely on you to clean up the mess thanks, Ains. If I didn't have a beautiful bunkmate for a week long sleepover party? I would have already started a brawl in the cafeteria."
