Note: Sorry if the French is wrong, I used google translate… and It was hard not to keep the angst out :P
_
This was it. Delphine stood anxiously beside her lover as they waited for the door to open, "Hello?" A feminine voice called, "Who is- Cosima!" The door opened with a flourish and Cosima was suddenly swept into a hug, "Oh and who is this?" The woman asks, releasing Cosima.
"This is Delphine, Delphine, this is my Mum," Cosima said with a giant grin.
"Bonjour Madame," Delphine said, extending her hand.
"French!" Cosima's mother exclaimed, clearly impressed and shaking hands with Delphine, "Delightful! You can call me Esmeralda," She said with friendly ease and then turned to her daughter, "It is about time that you let me meet one of your girlfriends, you two must be very serious for this to happen!" She said and stepped away from the door so the couple could enter.
Cosima just grinned but Delphine's jaw dropped and she would have just stood there gaping, if Cosima hadn't tugged on her hand and pulled her inside, reminding her of their entwined hands and piecing together for Delphine how her mother knew they were in a relationship when she knew for a fact that Cosima had not told her mother about her.
They entered into the house of Cosima's childhood and Delphine looked around quickly, trying to take everything in and memorise it as she was pulled down the main corridor and led to the lounge room.
"So, give me the details," Esmeralda said, addressing Cosima and Delphine, "how long have you two been together? Where'd you meet, who made the first move?" She asked with a friendly smile and Delphine felt herself relaxing with the easiness of the conversation and Ms. Niehaus's calm and friendly manner.
"Um, well, it's been about a year," Cosima answered, looking between Delphine and her mother.
"Oh, hang on sweetheart," Her mother interrupted before she could continue, "George! George come out and say hello Cosima's here!" She called and there was a muffled thump from somewhere in the house, "We'll just wait for your father," Esmeralda whispered and they waited in silence.
"Boo!" George snuck up behind the couch and grabbed Delphine's shoulders. Delphine jumped with a cry of surprise as did Cosima. Cosima's parents laughed and George patted Delphine's back as a sign that he was just messing with her, "Hello, I'm George," he said, extending his hand as he rounded the couch and stood in front of them.
"Delphine," She replied, shaking his hand.
"You've got a firm grip!" Cosima's father comments, "I like that about a person-"
"Dad," Cosima cuts in, requesting attention be placed back on her for she had heard her fathers speech about the way people shake hands too many times, "You gonna give her the whole father speech about hurting me next?" She asked sarcastically.
"Cosima!" He greets, "Do I need to? Come here and give your father a hug!"
Cosima rises with a smile that dismisses his question and hugs her father who then picks her up and spins her around, much to his wife's displeasure. Cosima made a half squeal giggle type noise and she clung to her father till he put her down, "It's nice to see you too Dad," Cosima says and then sits back down next to Delphine, taking her hand and holding it in hers.
"It's good to finally see you again," Cosima's mother says.
"Likewise," Cosima answers.
"Now that we're all here," George says, "Tell us all about yourself Delphine and how you met our daughter," He encouraged.
"We met at the university, I was doing some work for my thesis in the labs," Cosima started.
"I had left a grade paper in the lab and Cosima kindly found it and gave it back to me," Delphine added.
"She has killer grades," Cosima told her parents and the cute couple looked at each other with smiles as they both recalled that fate setting day in the university corridor.
"You looked at her grades?" Her mother chastised.
"I might have peeked! I was curious to know what kind of mind went with such gorgeous hair!" Everyone laughed with Cosima and Delphine self consciously pushed her hair behind her ear.
"So Delphine, is that a French accent I hear?" George asked.
"Oui!" Delphine answered, "Do you speak French?"
"No no," George laughed, "I'd probably end up butchering the language and bursting my wife's ear drums if I tried," He joked, "But Cosima did always have a thing for smart girls with accents."
Delphine looked at her lover who was a light pink colour, "It's true," she admitted with a permanent smile on her face.
Esmeralda spoke next, "Who made the first move?" She asked sounding more like a gossiping teenager then a mother but perhaps that was what made it so easy for Delphine to get along with Cosima's parents, their easy going almost teasing conversation and interaction.
"Cosima,"
"I did." They answered at the same time.
"What crazy things has my daughter gotten you into doing?" George asked.
"Nothing!" Cosima gasped defensively.
"Oh I would not call stealing wine nothing," Delphine teased.
"I knew it!" George said with a laugh and Esmeralda gasped, pretending to be shocked over her daughters behaviour.
"Did you get caught?" Her mother asked.
"Of course not!" Cosima said with mock indignation.
"Cosima was always a bit of a naughty child," Cosima's mother began with a fond smile, "breaking into things, stealing the chocolate-"
"Mum!"
"Oh yes, she is very cheeky," Delphine grinned, "But she's moved on from chocolate to eskimo pies."
"Ahh, I see," Esmeralda said, "So what brings you two over here so suddenly?" She asks, "You're not dying are you?" She jokes but then panics when she see's the couple falter and look at each other momentarily, "Are you?" She asks, worriedly.
"No Mum," Cosima's soft voice responds, "Actually, Delphine's parents are in town and we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to meet each other's parents. We're meeting them for lunch in town." Cosima explained.
"Oh! How wonderful!" Esmeralda says, "Why don't you invite them over here and we can all have lunch together?"
"Oh, uh…" Cosima looks over at Delphine.
"Are you so sure that's a good idea?" Delphine whispers to Cosima and she shrugs, "Thank you Esmeralda, that would be… good, that would be good." Delphine says, pulling out her phone to text her parents.
"Oh lovely!" Esmeralda exclaims, clearly excited about having house guests, "I'll start lunch, any allergies? Vegetarian? Vegan? Anything like that?"
Delphine shakes her head and then Esmeralda disappears into the kitchen.
"So Delphine, tell me a bit about yourself," George says.
"I was born in France and grew up there, I'm an immunologist and was just visiting UofM when I met Cosima," Delphine said and then the phone in her hand rang, "Oh, excusez-moi, this is my parents," She said with a slight frown.
"Go ahead," George said with a sincere smile and when Delphine got up and went into the corridor he leaned forward to talk more privately with his daughter, "She's a beautiful one aint she?" He commented and Cosima just grinned.
"Amazing totes doesn't even begin to describe her Dad!"
"And she makes you happy?"
"Ugh, Dad, she is my saviour," Cosima said and she was hardly exaggerating.
"I think she's a keeper then," George winked at Cosima and sat back as Delphine approached.
"Definitely," Cosima whispered back before Delphine sat down.
"Is everything alright?" George asked.
"Oui, they are not far from here," Delphine said with a smile but Cosima could see that she was nervous.
"Alright, I'll just be in the kitchen then," George said and left the couple to talk.
"Your parents are so…. Relaxed?" Delphine said.
"Yeah my parents have known I'm bi since I was about 13, they're chill with it. What about your parents?" Cosima asked.
"Oh, uhm…"
Cosima's eyes became the size of saucers, "You haven't told them have you?" Delphine shook her head, "How do you think they will react?"
"I think they will-" A knock on the door interrupted her, "merde…" Delphine whispered, "They're here," Delphine said sounding almost frightened.
"I'm sure it will be fine," Cosima said, taking Delphine's hand, "I'll get it!" Cosima called out to her parents as she pulled Delphine to the door with her, "Hi!" She said chirpily as she opened the door.
"Bonjour, I am Jeanne Cormier and this is my husband Alexander Cormier," Jeanne said, extending her hand and Cosima shook it.
"Cosima Niehaus, this is my parents house," She introduced herself, shaking both their hands.
"Bonjour mère et père,"Delphine said, stepping past Cosima to hug each of her parents as they kissed each others cheeks and exchanged some French words and presumably greetings, Cosima couldn't really tell, "Mother, Father, Cosima is my girlfriend," Delphine said.
"Oh, it's nice to see your making friends," Delphine's father said.
"No Dear, she means they're in a relationship, look at the way they are holding hands," Jeanne told her husband with an attempted suppressed scowl. Cosima held on possessively to Delphines hand, "Delphine, I would like to speak to you alone," Jeanne spoke with authority.
Delphine felt Cosima tug on her hand and she turned to look to find her looking at her questioningly, "It is alright chérie," She said, letting go of Cosima's hand and stepping outside, half closing the door behind her, Cosima went to the kitchen to tell her parents what was happening and to keep them from interrupting Delphine and her parents. She knew that they needed to talk alone but she kept a close ear on the conversation, not that she understood any of the French, but she would be right by Delphine's side if shite turned sideways.
But no voices were raised, they remained level and Delphine sounded calm...ish and a few minutes later Delphine led her parents inside with a smile on her face and she returned to Cosima's side, rubbing her neck as she so often did and Cosima smiled up at her, "Everything okay?" She asked, leaning against the kitchen bench.
Delphine nodded and kissed Cosima's cheek, both watching as their parents interacted.
George and Esmeralda stood side by side in front of Delphine's parents, "Hello, I'm Esmeralda Niehaus," She extended her hand to Jeanne.
"Bonjour, Jeanne Cormier," They shook hands.
"How do you do, George Niehaus," He also extended his hand.
"Fine thank you, Alexander Cormier," The men shook hands.
Once everyone had shaken hands the Niehaus family set the table together and dished up for everyone. The Cormier parents sat on one side of the square table, the Niehaus parents sat opposite while Delphine and Cosima sat on a bridging side, linking the two families together.
"So how did your daughter come out to you?" George asked and Esmeralda elbowed her husband, Cosima just looked down and grinned and Delphine's eyes went wide as she bit her lip.
"She brought us here and told us on your doorstep," Alexander said with a laugh at Esmeralda and George's surprised faces.
"I had suspected a few times when she was littler when she got obsessed over fictional female characters but Delphine didn't seem to acknowledge it," Jeanne added, which for Cosima reaffirmed Delphine's little speech about not having ever thought of herself as being bisexual before having met her.
"C'est embarrassant," Delphine mumbled but she might as well have said it in English because it was easy enough to understand.
Everyone at the table laughed much to Delphine's dismay but Cosima rubbed her hand along her thigh, "I think it's only going to get a lot worse from here on for the both of us," she said with a smile, far too interested in hearing what stories would be told about a little and young Delphine.
The women's mothers just looked at each other with a look that said that they had plenty of embarrassing stories to tell. But as much as that meant embarrassment for their daughters, it appeared as though their families would get along and that was all that mattered.