strangetrip | [GP] The De Rolo Wedding Reception

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[GP] The De Rolo Wedding Reception

The calendar of "Kahl-ee-Fornea" was very different to that of Tal'Dorei. But the spring dance had been a good reminder for the Exandrians (one of them, anyway) that the Renewal Festival would take place more or less this time of year, landing always on the thirteenth day of Dulahei. It seemed a fitting time to set the 'small family dinner' in celebration of the marriage of Vex and Percy.

...Yeah, but no. Because Vax'ildan didn't mind a bit of revenge for their having done the thing without so much as telling him for several weeks, and because his sister always deserved the best of everything anyway, the garden had a whopping lot more than that for the happy couple as they opened the doors onto what first looked like pitch blackness. Until the big, white-hot spotlight snapped abruptly on to glare down on top of the pair with blinding scrutiny.

A familiar voice sang out from beyond, his ever-charming booming and crooning amplified to fill the whole of the outdoors by something called a 'microphone,' Scanlan using all his singular panache to belt out a melodic tune:

"There she is, Mrs. De Rolo
There she is, your ideal
The dreams of a million boys and girls who want to find love in Emon City
For Vex may turn out to more than Baroness of the first house of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Hunt
There he is, Mr. De Rolo
There he is, your ideal
With so much brooding and tinkering he took the town by storm
With his all-Whitestone face and form
And there they are
Walking on air, he is
Fairest of the fair, she is
There they are - Mr. and Mrs. De Rolooooooooooo~"

A resounding wave of applause, murmuring, cheers, and laughter broke out all around the newlyweds - one such unbridled merry cackle absolutely coming from the bride's brother - and Scanlan's tone changed immediately to a much more vibrant, excited, sporting-event-enthusiasm style of announcement: "Ladies and Gentlemen - it's the DE ROLO FAMILY!"

The strands of bulb lighting popped into yellow-soft brightness all at once, revealing the guests gathered around dozens of tables artfully set with dinner places enough for everyone at the Inn. Each table included flowers, linens, and garlands all matched in smart Whitestone-Blue, darker Owlbear-Blue, black and white with touches of gold accents, all thanks to Caroline's management. The outdoor area so far as one could see had been dressed in one of Lillith's illusions to mimic a beautiful forest clearing at purple-dusk with fireflies dancing, the shapes of buildings and foothills in the distance distinctly cast to look like the city and castle of Whitestone. Ignis and Emma stood by putting a few final touches on what they'd all started calling 'fancy barbecue,' an enormous buffet of haute cuisine smoked and grilled meats with artful sides, a table beside them holding up the massive layer cake Pike had tirelessly fussed into perfection. So many others had come together to help or to wish the de Rolos well - but there would be plenty of time over the evening for them to be thanked and recognized with food, drink, song - there was even an area marked out as a dance floor.

A freshly bathed Trinket in his very own bowtie lumbered up to Vex'ahlia to rumble and lick her face as the pair finally had a moment to react to the spectacle. At ground-level, a small disc-like device with a large serving spoon taped to it had been labeled with marker as Ensign Stubby, rolling its way between tables and chairs while balancing a large, many-times-stabbed basket of flower petals (with a handful left nestled in its giant spoon) on top of its flat surface like a drunken flower girl to finally bump into Vex and Percy's shoes. ...And possibly the best thing about their stunning surprise? That Peter boy had got the whole thing on VHS.

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As the song came to an end, Mary felt a little disappointed they couldn't quite continue. "Plan on taking your leave now that you've shown enough participation?"

"Has it been enough?" Hard to tell if he's asking so he can escape or teasing. He offered his arm to her though and half smiled.

"I think the least you can do is to let me buy you a free drink."

It had been some time since a man offered her an arm to take. Mary took it happily, her smile widening and maybe, just made, she felt just the slightest little flutter in her chest. Perhaps because it was the first man in a while who seemed to see her for more than 'mom of two boys'.

"I'd love a free drink. That's very kind of you."

"It's literally the least I can do," at the bar he selected a glass to pour himself a beer and gave her a quizzical look that asked what she wanted.

"Beer too, please." Mary was much more a beer woman than a wine woman. "How's the selection here compared to home? I knew a man once from Ireland. He complained a lot about American beer."

"There are a couple decent choices. A very good stout," He slid his over to her and poured another, "Which we are drinking. And a couple bitters worth a second sip."

Not that American referred to it as bitter, they said IPA.

"That's good. The worst I've ever had was some guy's homebrew beer.... which I'm not really sure should have been considered beer at all, but I was sixteen at the time and didn't know any better." She smiled, then lifted her glass up in a small 'cheers' and took a sip.

"The worst I've had is something called Budweiser." Possibly it sounds belittling but it's a joke.

Sort of. Why would anyone drink an American pilsner when there was literally any other choice?

Mary laughed. "You might offend a few people where with that statement." Not that Mary seemed particularly annoyed herself. "I know a few people back home they basically live on the stuff." Hunters were not known for their good relationship with alcohol most of the time.

"I would sooner die. Or possibly drink communion wine." Which was not known for being particularly palatable. In fact the first time he'd been drunk had been on communion wine, like all good altar boys.

"I think they make it terrible to keep people from enjoying it too much, though that didn't stop me and my friends when we were thirteen."

"I'm getting the sense you're not entirely the prim and proper man I was led to believe." She feigned indignation for a moment. Her eyes held a playfulness they perhaps hadn't had in a long time. "I wish I had a story about getting drunk on communion wine -" Her parents sort of avoided the church at all cost " - but I bet that was something to see. Did your parents discover your transgression?"

"Worse," and the matching twinkle in his eyes lent truth to her assessment that he wasn't quite as proper as he seemed.

Though he was still completely proper.

"Father Michael. Well known for assigning acts of contrition for the slightest infraction."

"Sounds like a rough life." She was mostly joking, though she was aware of some religious men being rather straight laced and dire. "I was never big on Church. Probably a good thing. I'd always be in trouble." She grinned.

Straightlaced he was, mostly. Dire - more like dour. Or that was what Lewis would have called him.

"You?" He teased back, a little surprised at how easily the jibe came. "Far too angelic a countenance to be a hell raiser."

Mary laughed suddenly, the sort of laugh that lit up her face - a rare one on a Winchester or a Campbell, that was for sure. "Oh, trust me. I had a lot of 'I don't want to be my parents when I grow up' moments where I openingly defied them. I definitely gave my parents a run for their money."

"While I was a bloody saint." Not that he'd wanted to be like his father, but he had wanted to be a priest.

"When I was in school they had a nickname for me, Wolfgang Christ." He pulled a face which spoke volumes about how he felt about that. "Apparently my peers thought I was trying to decide between being Mozart or Jesus."

A pause and a lopsided smile.

"Without the crucifixion, one hopes."

"That nickname's a mouthful." She didn't think any of the people she went to high school with - in the various high schools she'd been in - were clever enough to come up with that sort of gem. "And yet you became a cop." She smiled.

"WC." He said with a wry smile. "And I wanted to help people, so when I got booted from the seminary my options where I would get to do that were limited. Police work seemed like my best bet."

He hadn't figured out what he was going to do here.

"The seminary?" She didn't ask why he got booted, but she was sure there was a story there. Maybe sometime later after some drinks. "You know, Hathaway, you're far more interesting than I think you like to let on."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Seminary he means, and there is a story but it may take more than a few drinks for him to tell all of it. He hadn't even told it all to Lewis when they'd been investigating murders linked to his past.

"And I think there are some who would dispute you on my being interesting."

"I've been told I swing a good right hook, so I'll gladly dispute anyone." She winked, then laughed softly. "And I'm really glad someone 'convinced' you to come to the party. It was definitely way less interesting." Mary had no idea that in about twenty minutes it would get a lot more interesting with her son and one of his girlfriends.

"I'm glad too," he agreed, and blast he was going to have to tell Kitty thank you.

[ooc: Fade?]

(ooc: Sounds good to me ^__^)

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[GP] The De Rolo Wedding Reception

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