*****Author's notes*****
This one-shot story was originally published in 2013 before The Mentalist show ended. Meant at that time as a sequel of sorts to "Director's Cho's Retirement Dinner," I have now revised the story slightly so that it takes place in the future after the "White Orchids" episode that concluded the TV show.
Thank you to the great writer Sue Shay for her beta-reading, insight, and encouragement on this story and other projects. I strongly recommend all of Sue's stories and have favorited them on my profile page.
I do not own the TV show The Mentalist. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only. I get no compensation from it.
*****"Welcome To The Family"*****
"Does my hair look OK, Charlie?"
"Yes, it does."
"What about my make-up?"
"Alice, I told you that you look beautiful with or without make-up. You always take my breath away."
"I want to check one more time."
I opened my purse to take out my mirror, but Charlie leaned over to kiss me. While I was distracted, he clicked the purse shut again.
"Relax. Please, Alice?"
Charlie and I were sitting at a table at Marcel's Grille, sipping ice tea like we had done so many times before. Today was different though - Charlie's parents would join us any minute. I was more nervous than at any time in my whole life. As I fidgeted in my chair, Charlie reached over and stroked my hand.
"It's okay, Alice. Everything will go well. It's my parents after all. You know them. They'll be happy for us."
"But we've never talked about something like this with them before," I said as I glanced down at our hands.
"Don't worry. It's not like they haven't suspected."
"And that's supposed to make me less nervous, Charlie?"
He laughed.
"They already love you, you know that."
I looked at Charlie Jane, the love of my life. He was an all-together flawless combination of his parents. From his mother, he had gotten his piercing green eyes and decisiveness. From his father, he had gotten his blond wavy hair and charm. From them both he had gotten his confidence and keen intellect. Sitting there looking at him I didn't think a more perfect human being had ever been created.
"Still, I don't want to disappoint them," I said.
"How could you ever do that? And besides, nothing could be harder than when I went to see your family."
"How can you say that? My parents welcomed you with open arms."
"You don't remember how scared I was asking your father if I could marry you?"
"Oh, Charlie. When you asked him he said 'Good'."
"Yeah, but that's all he said."
"Did anything more need saying? You know he's happy," I said as I took both of Charlie's hands in mine.
"Well, are we interrupting something?"
The timing of our hand-holding couldn't have made me feel any more awkward. The voice of Charlie's father caught me off-guard so much that I jumped in my chair, but then I felt a hand pat my shoulder. Looking up I saw the wonderful smile of his mother just as she began to speak to her husband.
"Patrick, look what you've done. You've startled Alice and we've just arrived. Shame on you!"
"But Teresa, it's not like she hasn't seen the way I behave before. By now she's used to it," Patrick Jane replied while he winked at me.
"Ugh! You know I've tried to keep a handle on Patrick all these years, but sometimes it's just so hard to keep him in line," said Teresa Lisbon Jane as she rolled her eyes.
The elder Janes took a moment to hug us both then moved to the other side of the table from us. Something that I adored about the Janes was how the two of them carried on like that yet anyone could see the deep love they shared for each other. If Charlie and I had a married life like that, I would count myself the luckiest woman in the world.
It was just then that I saw it, almost a pot-calling-the-kettle-black moment. Patrick had just held out the chair for Teresa to sit down, and he in turn took a seat. As soon as the two of them got comfortable, Patrick's right hand slipped over to Teresa's left and they laced their fingers together. Feeling emboldened, I re-grasped Charlie's hand. Both parents noticed that, and then they nodded to each other in silence.
Soon enough we all put in our lunch orders from the menu. Patrick made a show of picking up the tab until Teresa, swatting his elbow, told him to do it in a more discreet manner. He made a wave of surrender that prompted Charlie and me to both laugh.
The conversation during lunch ranged from their life back home to Charlie and mine's current classes in college. While the subjects we discussed were no different from any of our other get-togethers in the past, the air at least for me was more tense. As the minutes passed I kept looking for the right moment to bring up the big topic but every time I was about to speak some new story about their latest trip or Charlie's boyhood tricycle or the ever-changing weather came up. My heart rate kept increasing until I thought it would burst. As it turned out, just when Patrick was finishing explaining a card trick, it was my mouth that burst open with a rapid-fire stream of words.
"…so while everyone is looking at the right pocket of my suit jacket, the seven of clubs is just out of view under my left sleeve waiting for me to transfer it to…"
"Mr.-and-Mrs.-Jane-I've-known-you-a-long-time," I said as I drew in a breath. "Charlie-and-I-have-known-each-other-a-long-time-too." I sucked in another breath. "We-love-each-other-very-much-and-want-to-get-married." As I gulped in my last breath to finish I felt tears coming to my eyes. "I'll-take-good-care-of-Charlie-just-like-you-took-care-of-him. I-love-him-so-much-and-I-love-you-too-Mr.-and-Mrs.-Jane. Please-say-you-give-us-your-blessing!"
I felt exhausted and sagged down in my chair. Charlie leaned over and kissed me - kissed me! - in front of his parents.
Speaking of his parents, I summoned up enough courage to look across the table at them. Still holding hands, the pair sat silent for a moment. Then in unison, almost as if they had planned it, their faces exploded into broad grins.
"It's about time! Charlie, you're a lucky man," Patrick said.
Teresa went even further than her husband. She jumped out of her chair and rounded the table. When she got to our side she grabbed both her son and me into a hug that squeezed the air from my lungs. For a small woman, her strength had always impressed me.
"Patrick, aren't you glad now that I told you to pack the camera? Get it out," Teresa ordered.
At once Patrick complied with his wife's wishes (I hoped Charlie was taking notes!), and a whole round of picture-taking commenced. We made pictures of all sorts of combinations of us, getting our waiter to hold the camera at one point to make group shots of all four of us. Before Patrick put away the camera, Teresa motioned for him to keep it out for one more photo.
"Patrick, make a picture of Alice and me, just the two of us."
As soon as Patrick made the shot of us standing arm-in-arm, Teresa took the camera and began fiddling with it. I started to get the impression that Charlie and mine's plans hadn't been that much of a surprise to the elder Janes.
"What are you doing, Teresa?" asked Patrick.
"I'm sending this picture to my brothers. The text of the message is, 'Look! After all these years of living around boys, finally there's another girl in my family!'"
Once we all sat back down and ordered dessert, the conversation turned to plans for the wedding. Charlie and I told them about our ideas and also that my parents wanted to meet with them to make plans as well. The Janes readily agreed with what we described, and they also said they were looking forward to planning with my parents.
Our time together with Charlie's parents had stretched into hours, and eventually we all seemed talked-out. Glancing at his watch, Patrick patted his wife on the wrist.
"Teresa, my dear, we probably need to catch a cab to the airport or we'll miss our flight."
With smiles on their faces, they stood to take their leave. When the four of us moved away from the table, Teresa and Patrick embraced me, one on each side.
"We love you so much, we were hoping you and Charlie would do this," said Teresa as she dabbed a tissue around her eyes.
Patrick smiled and spoke too.
"Welcome to the family, Alice Cho."
*****Author's notes*****
Thank you for reading the story, and I would love to hear from you.