Chapter 15: 15- Meeting The Family
"We're almost there, Honey Bun. You nervous?" Scott asked, turning down the car radio. Ever since Ryan used the pet name Tuesday, Scott's been trying a few out on his own, hoping one would stick.
"Who, me? Nervous? Why would I be nervous?"
"I just noticed you tend to fidget with your collar whenever you're uneasy."
Truthfully, that was exactly what Ryan was doing, running his fingers over a slightly uneven spot in the hem.
"Do you think they'll like me? What if I don't make a good enough impression?"
"Would you believe me if I told you they forbid me from speaking your name again until they got to meet you in person?" Scott smiled. His family had been hounding him to take his boyfriend home since day one. "You look nice today, by the way "
Ryan was wearing a grey button-up and black pants. He'd made it a point to go to the thrift stores in the nicer part of the city to find a new outfit for today, even with so little advanced warning. The shirt was missing its topmost button, but it was the nicest thing he could find in his size. He hoped no one would notice. Far sooner than he was ready for, they pulled into Scott's parent's driveway.
"You ready, my Hot Cinnamon Sunset?" Scott asked, wiggling his eyebrows comically.
That startled a laugh out of Ryan, the kind where you try not to laugh but you simply can't help it since what you heard was so ridiculous.
"Please don't call me that in front of your parents!" Ryan begged. His cheeks were flushed, but he had a hard time hiding the grin on his face.
Scott leaned over to plant a kiss on Ryan's forehead. That was another thing he wanted to get to stick, little "just because" kisses.
They got out of the car and walked up to the front door. It was closed. Ryan considered knocking politely, but Scott simply threw the door open wide and ushered Ryan inside, calling out, "I brought a present!"
"Welcome! Welcome!" A male voice called out from somewhere in the house, "I'm in the kitchen, your mother's out back finishing up with the grill!"
"Grill?" Ryan asked Scott quietly.
"Barbeque pork chops," Scott answered. "My mom's a master at grilling."
Scott brought Ryan further into the house. The first thing to hit him was the smell. Whatever was going with the pork chops, it smelled delicious. The second thing he noticed was how huge the living room was. The ceiling was vaulted and there were two ultra-plush leather couches, one of which had an occupant, busily typing away on a laptop.
The brown-haired girl on the couch turned towards them when they walked in, giving Ryan a once-over.
"So, you're the one Scotty won't shut up about?" She asked.
"Ah... Um..." Ryan stammered, taken aback.
"Beth, be nice." Scott chided. "Or else we won't play games with you later."
"I was just expecting someone closer to a Greek god, considering how you talked him up." She closed her laptop and walked over to them, offering Ryan her hand. "You're a decent enough looker though. Nice to meet you, my name's Elizabeth."
"Ah, yes?" Ryan shook her hand. "Ryan. Ryan Neel."
The dining area was just off the living room. The table was already set and some of the food was already out. Ryan decided skipping breakfast was a good idea after all, as his stomach made its own commentary, eliciting a giggle from his newfound acquaintance.
"Don't worry," Elizabeth assured, "you're gonna love our parent's cooking!"
"I certainly hope so!" A man boomed as he came out of the kitchen, holding a casserole of what looked like homemade mac'n'cheese. He looked very much like Elizabeth. "You must be the 'Ryan' we've all heard so much about! Welcome to the Kranston home!"
The man set the food on the table and strode over to give Ryan a quick hug. Well, now he knew where Scott got that particular habit from.
"No need to feel shy." the man continued, "The name's Howard. My wife Gail will be in in a minute. Make yourself comfortable. Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."
"Thanks, I mean, um, thank you, sir."
Scott took Ryan's hand and gave it a quick reassuring squeeze. "I'll get drinks in order!" He announced. "What do you want to drink, Babe?"
"Oh, uh, waters fine," Ryan replied, thankful that Scott had chosen more of a tame nickname. On the ride over, he'd tried out some fairly ridiculous ones.
Scott went off to busy himself with preparing the glasses, leaving Ryan awkwardly alone with his family. There was a clattering somewhere further in the house followed by the squeaking and slamming of what sounded like a screen door.
"Meat's done!" A female voice called.
"Alright!" Howard said, "Gail, sweetheart, our visitor's here too!"
"Oh?" Gail called back. She peeked around the corner. Ryan could only describe her as on older female version of Scott. The resemblance was uncanny.
"You must be Ryan!" Gail continued, "Oh, we've been waiting so long to meet you!" She followed up with a hug much like her husband did. So okay, maybe Scott gets that from both sides, he thought. She didn't wear a protective collar, but had a bite mark prominently displayed on the back of her neck, a very obvious sign that Scott's parents were a mated alpha and omega pair.
In short order they were all seated at the dining room table. It was a huge thing, big enough to seat six comfortably. Ryan had Scott on one side, and and Scott's mom, Gail on the other. The food in front of him looked amazing. Was this what Scott's family ate every Sunday? There was no way all this food was only for five people! There was enough here to keep him fed for weeks!
"Don't be shy, dig in!" Scott's voice broke Ryan's slightly gape–mouthed revelry. "Let me know what you want, I'll get it for you."
With some fairly shy directing Ryan now had his own plate of food. He made it a point to try a little bit of everything, tasting everything in turn. All the food was amazing! He was being very cautious of his table manners, the last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself. He'd never eaten a meal with this many people before. It was almost overwhelming, but for now, everyone seemed focused on the food in front of them, so Ryan took some comfort in that and did the same.
Once the edge was off everyone's hunger, the dreaded small talk began.
"So Ryan," Scott's father began, "my son tells me you've got a job? What do you do for a living?"
"Well, I'm working three jobs right now." Ryan wasn't sure how they were going to take that. It was already unusual for an omega to have a job in the first place.
"Oh dear, why do you work so much?" Gail asked. "Don't your parents help support you?"
"Ah, no, it's ah, it's… just me." Ryan wanted out of this topic ASAP. He wasn't looking to turn this meet–n–greet into a pity party. He countered with, "Scott told me you guys run a bakery?"
That did the trick. The rest of the dinner Howard waxed eloquently on the ins and outs of the bakery business, prompted by Ryan's questions. To be fair, Ryan really did find it very interesting, and he got a few of Scott's early childhood stories out of it too, complete with plenty of interjections from Scott as he tried to defend himself.
Dessert came from their bakery, as it turns out. Scott informed him that dessert always came from his parent's bakery. Today, it was chocolate turtle cheesecake, divvied out with mugs of hot coffee. Ryan offered to help, but was politely declined. Scott told him his favorite was their custard cake, but this was a close second. In Ryan's opinion, this was hands–down one of the best sweets he'd ever had! It was so pretty! He was thankful that he'd insisted on a small piece. It was so rich, and by the time he finished it off he was absolutely stuffed.
They sat mulling over their coffees as they digested. Elizabeth volunteered to clear the table. Ryan offered to help again, but was declined. They got on the topic of recent happenings in life, Elizabeth talking about how her school projects were coming along, Scott's parents about a wedding cake project they had coming up, and Ryan even told some of his bazaar customer stories. When Scott was questioned on how work was going, he simply replied that things were a little stressful, but that it wasn't appropriate for the dinner table. Ryan made a note to ask him about it later.
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