(log) It's Thanksgiving Time!

[forethinking]

Who: Ren and You
When: Thanksgiving Day
Where: ADI's cafeteria
Summary: A little thanksgiving party for everyone.
Warnings: Alcohol, but other than that, none!



(It's finally the day! Ren's spent the day in the canteen, from the early hours of the morning with the help of Kate, until just close enough to the arranged time.

Several tables in the cafeteria are taken by the food, but there's still plenty of room to sit and spend time with your fellow ADI employees. After the previous month everyone has had, it feels much needed. Available is the following menu:

Deep-fried Turkey + Stuffing;
Ranch-Seasoned Roast Turkey + Stuffing;
Mashed Potatoes + Gravy;
Green Bean Casserole;
Cranberry Sauce;
Pasta alla Norma;
Sicilian Rice Balls;
S'mores Cupcakes
Pumpkin Pie;
Apple Pie;
Sweet Baked Potato;
Pecan Pie;
Roasted Vegetables;
Stuffed Mushrooms;
Squash Soup;
Garlicky Green Beans with Crispy Onions;
A selection of alcohol;

Ren's tried his best to recreate what the Internet and other folks have told him, and without him tasting the original flavors, some of the dishes might have an unexpected twist of spice. Kate has also helped with putting things together, and at the previously arranged time, Ren opens the doors with a smile from ear-to-ear.

Once everyone's settled, he'll ask for a moment to, gasp, speak:)

I'd like to thank everyone for coming today. I know it's been tough, but I'm still thankful we can spend good moments like these together. I hope you enjoy the food.

(And just like so, he'll bow, and hand plates to those ready to eat. Time to dig in!)

Comments

A feast.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm slides into a seat next to Jeff. All he has is a bowl of soup, about half full, but he does take a bite of it once he's seated and nods at Jeff's observation.

"He sure went all out. It takes quite a bit to put more food on the table for special occasions than my mother's staff."

[cacophonish]

Jeff grins at Malcolm, seeming a lot more at ease than the last time they hung out. Things have been... not great since then, what with Jeff questioning his own memories and reality, but whatever, that's like. Par for the course for him. Besides, today, at least, he's in a pretty good mood. Whatever his issues, he's at least got purpose and direction and big plans later, and that'll at least carry him through this one day.

"Yeah? She always make a big deal about the holidays?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm huffs a laugh. "Well, yes. If word gets out among Society that your holidays haven't been lavish they're going to think you've become a Bohemian. Or a bad investor."

Another little bite of soup.

"How's the food compare to what you're used to?"

[cacophonish]

Jeff laughs. God, high society must be like living on a different planet. Not that he grew up poor or anything-- his family's been pretty squarely middle class for as long as he can remember-- but he can't imagine growing up as, like, a socialite.

"Boheeeemian," he drawls out, stabbing a bit of stuffing on his fork. "My family would've taken that as a compliment."

He shrugs a shoulder, regarding his plate for a moment, a little bit of melancholy flitting through his expression.

"Um. It's good, it all tastes good. We never did big spreads like this, or... Or turkeys or anything." Honestly, the big roasted bird carcasses kind of freak him out and make him a little sad. Geez, he's not even a vegetarian or anything, but he can't look at them and not see an animal.

Hence: a plate full of side dishes.

"We always did veggie lasagna and, like, raw pie for Thanksgiving. It's stupid, 'cause no one in my family's even vegetarian," he adds, though there's clear fondness and nostalgia in his voice.

[abrightboy]

"Bohemian is a compliment," Malcolm assures him. Just. Not to Malcolm's mother or her ilk.

He sees the fleeting expression cross Jeff's features.

"Is your family close?"

[cacophonish]

There's a warm smile on his face as he thinks about it, then says, "Yeah." Sort of. It's complicated. "I've always been really close with my mom. My dad's more about my brothers. I mean, we get along, it's just--" He shrugs. "He's always busy, so Mike-- my older brother? Mike acts like he's my dad half the time. So fucking annoying."

It was annoying, at the time. Now he misses it.

Jeff goes for some casserole, moving it around with his fork for a moment. "What about your..." He doesn't want to say 'family', given, you know. Dr. Whitly. But... "Your mom, or-- do you have any brothers or sisters or anything?"

[abrightboy]

"I have a younger sister. She's a reporter. We've always been close... since my father's arrest. Sort of looked after each other, I guess. My mother hasn't coped well. We weren't close for a long time. But in the last year or so... we've gotten close for the first time in my life. Before the night I turned him in, I was always closer to my dad. And after that night... I had a hard time knowing who to trust. Gil was the only person I was really able to trust for a long time." He shrugs a shoulder. "I moved away for ten years after I finished school, but I still went home for the big holidays if I wasn't on an urgent case."

[cacophonish]

It's weird, thinking about a massive mindfuck like that. Monstrous, but... mundane. No magic involved. No demons or entities. Just an evil fucking man called dad.

"Gil's a good guy." He offers a wry smile. "I like him a lot more than your dad."

Okay, no, it's too soon to make any jokes where Martin Whitly's concerned. Jeff grimaces for a moment and just shoves a forkful of food in his mouth to shut himself up before he says anything dumb.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm smiles down at the pavement.

“Me too,” he admits easily. “He’s done a lot for me. He saved me.”