Chapter 3: Meeting the Parents
Three weeks later…
Kate had asked Becky to come and take care of the apartment while they were gone. Becky was a high school graduate, new to living on Avenue Q. She was a singer and Broadway hopeful who currently worked at Barnes and Noble, of which Kate had helped refer her to. Becky was more than happy to help out.
"Alright, here's the deal," Kate explained, handing Becky a piece of paper. "I usually wash the bed sheets on weekends, but since we'll be gone and I won't exactly have time when I get back, I would appreciate you doing it. If you could please clean the dishes in the sink and vacuum the floor, that'd be helpful too. While you're at it, please double check everyday that there's nothing unusual or missing anywhere, like anything that may have been stolen or broken. You think you got it?"
Becky inspected the paper with the list and various notes on it. She scratched her head and looked up at the sky. She seemed confused for a minute, but she immediately smiled with reassurance.
"No problem, Kate," she exclaimed, "I promise everything will be spick and span when you get back!"
"Great," Kate said with wide eyes. "Now, today is Thursday, and we'll be back sometime on Sunday in the afternoon or the evening, so we'll be gone for three nights-"
"Three nights, got it! Don't worry, your place will look as though you never left!"
Becky was practically saluting, promising not to mess up. Kate nervously grinned, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. She would have asked Christmas Eve to help, but she and Brian were long gone now. Asking them to take care of their apartment would be asking too much.
Princeton was putting their luggage in the trunk of their awaiting taxi, when Gary came up and poked at his shoulder.
"Hey, kid, going away for the weekend?" he asked with a grin.
"You could say that," Princeton answered. "My sister's getting married."
"Married, huh? Who's the lucky lady? Or guy?"
"What?! Lucky lady? Are you suggesting that my sister is a lesbian?"
"Well, yeah, isn't she?"
"No! Why would you think that?!"
"Uh… I don't know. I guess I just assumed she was a lesbian."
"What, you think I'm gay?"
"No, listening to you night after night, I know you're not gay. I just thought she was-"
"Well, she's not. I don't know 'em… but I know it's a guy!"
"Right, I gotchya. Say, uh, Princeton," Gary said, leaning in closer, "I hear that you used your toothbrush on your nose once. What was up with that?"
Princeton blushed beat red in embarrassment.
"Yeah, well, I hear you use a sponge to wash your… hair!" Princeton exclaimed awkwardly.
"Great comeback Princeton," Gary said with a snicker as he walked away.
"Shut up Gary!"
"What are you going on about now?" Kate asked as she approached the taxi.
"You told Gary about my toothbrush problem?!" Princeton replied with annoyance.
"Yeah, so? It was funny."
"Kate you are so mean!"
"Hey Princeton!" someone shouted from above.
Both Kate and Princeton looked up to see Nicky sticking his hear out his widow.
"Did you pack and extra toothbrush for your nose?!" he shouted mockingly.
Princeton turned to Kate with his mouth gaping.
"You told Nicky, too?!" Princeton asked with a more annoyed tone as he heard Nicky laughing his ass off.
"Sorry, it just kinda… slipped," Kate said, giving the best excuse she could. She had a big grin that clearly showed she was way above victory in this fight.
"I can't believe you! I told you that was embarrassing and private!"
"Get in the taxi."
Princeton rolled his eyes in frustration. He followed her orders and playfully pouted at her on the way to the train station.
It was supposed to be an hour and a half train ride, but most likely there would be delays. There always were. Kate was hoping that that they might be able to talk a little more about Princeton's life before New York. About living in New Jersey, and maybe learning more about his family she never met. All she knew so far was that his mom was a lawyer and his dad was a child psychologist. That was it. She hadn't seen picture of them or anything. Her efforts were futile. Not long after the train started moving, Princeton fell asleep. Kate decided to let him be. He might feel more rested when they got there. It's a good thing he wasn't the snoring type. She never would have let him sleep in public if he was.
The whole train ride she didn't even realize that the time was passing by. She stared out the window most of the time, watching the trees, houses, and towns go by. Every second that went by meant home was getting farther and farther away. It almost felt like she was leaving her very own comfort zone.
Kate began to get a little nervous. She had nearly three weeks to think about how this was all going to turn out, and she was convinced that it couldn't possibly be as bad as Princeton said it would be. But now she couldn't help but think that everything could go totally wrong. Princeton had warned her about his mom being a little disapproving as well as controlling. The worst part, he said, is that probably she doesn't even realize that she can be so possessive.
Sure, everyone's racist, everyone disapproves of some things, I mean come on! Kate thought. Well, what if his mom is worse? Why would Princeton warn her about it if it didn't mean trouble? Kate suddenly began debating whether coming was a good idea.
The first time Princeton met her parents was on Thanksgiving the year before. While they were, of course, just sweet loving parents, they definitely didn't seem to make any effort to embarrass or pressure Kate. When she and Princeton decided to move in together, her parents were okay with him and they trusted that he was being a good boyfriend to her. She saw that he really admired that they trusted her in that way. At least Princeton finally told his parents that they were living together, so now they wouldn't have to go through that awkward conversation.
Before she even knew that hours had gone by, Kate heard the train's intercom announce that their stop was coming up shortly. As the train pulled into the station minutes later, Kate knew it was time to wake Princeton up.
"Princeton," Kate said softly, nudging his shoulder and waking him from his slumber. He stirred and opened his eyes, turning to her with sleepy eyes that asked her for more sleep. "We're here."
Princeton looked around at his surroundings and saw that she was right.
"Geez, Kate, I'm sorry," he said as the train came to a halt. "I didn't even know I had fallen asleep."
"It's okay," she whispered as she kissed him softly, "but we gotta go."
"Right…"
It was a ten-minute taxi drive to the house. Before long, they found themselves standing in front of a blue, two-story house with a white picket fence surrounding the front yard. At the front of the house there were five steps that led up to a porch, with the front door right behind it.
"My God, Princeton, why on Earth did you leave?" Kate exclaimed, half jokingly.
"I told you why," he said, knowing she was trying to be funny.
They walked through the gate and down the short path, up the steps until they were standing in front of the door. Kate tried to examine every little thing that belonged to this house, and wondered if she was at all worthy of any of it. The clean glass windows; the huge pots of flowers surrounding the frame of the door; the well-furnished, white porch they stood on. It was all just too… nice. Was she even allowed to stand in the presence of all this?
"Here we go, " Princeton said with a weak smile, just before he rang the doorbell.
"It'll be okay," Kate tried to comfort him, rubbing his shoulder.
"Oh shit, Kate," Princeton said as he turned to her, "if they ask, we're not living together."
"What? But, Princeton I thought you said-"
Before Kate could continue, the front door suddenly swung open with a woman who looked to be in her mid forties standing inside. She had very dark brown hair that flowed past her shoulders, and her skin was very tan, even darker than Princeton's. She wore a dark orange, sleeveless turtleneck top and a black skirt that went down to her knees. When she saw Princeton standing in front of her, her face lit up with a bright smile.
"Is that my baby boy?!" she asked in a high-pitched tone. Not even looking for an answer, she grabbed him in a tight hug, which Princeton hardly responded to.
"Hi, Mom," he replied, giving her a pat on the back until he finally embraced her in an awkward hug.
"Oh, Princeton," his mother said, separating herself from him. "It's been so long, I can't believe it's you."
The two were nearly the same height, so it wasn't hard to look straight at his face. Princeton was probably a little shorter than her.
"Princeton, you look pale," his mother replied. "What have you been eating?"
"Mom, stop it, I'm fine," Princeton reassured her. "I want you to meet my girlfriend, Kate Monster."
Kate felt herself get all tense when Princeton's mother turned to her for the first time. Her smile went down slightly as she quickly examined Kate up and down. Kate could already see that she probably wasn't what his mother was expecting.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Kate said, smiling as best she could. She extended her furry hand out to hopefully gesture a handshake.
"Oh," Princeton's mother said, smiling. She shook Kate's hand in return. "So you're the one he's told us all about."
"Really?" Kate asked, rather surprised.
"No, not really," Princeton's mother said, letting Kate's hand go. "He never calls us."
Kate frowned slightly at this comment.
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Princeton's mother said with a laugh. "He never calls, I never know what's going on. Anyway, I'm Janet. As you already know, I am Princeton's mother. Welcome to our home."
"Thank you," Kate said hesitantly.
"Is that my boy I hear out there?" a man's voice called from inside. A few seconds later, a Caucasian man, also in his mid forties, appeared in the doorway from inside. He had short brown hair with glasses resting on his face, along with a big grin from ear to ear. He was dressed in a normal suit and a red tie. He was also a little taller than Princeton, and considering how plain he looked, he didn't look too bad for a man of his age.
This must be Princeton's father Kate thought to herself.
"Son, I haven't seen you in months!" the man exclaimed as she slapped Princeton's shoulder. Princeton coughed a little from the impact.
"It's great to see you dad," Princeton said, trying to adjust.
"And who's this?" George asked with a smile when he saw Kate.
"I'm Kate Monster," Kate answered, also smiling. She was a little happy to be greeted more positively. "It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine."
"Well there's no use staying outside," Janet exclaimed awkwardly. "Come in! Come in!"
Janet moved everyone into the front hallway inside. Kate observed the place in aw. The walls were painted cream white, and there were a lot of family photos that hung on the wall of the staircase. In a lot of ways, it looked like a regular, stereotypical suburb house. But, it was obvious it belonged to members of a much higher class. Past the hall Kate saw a beautiful living room with the warm sunlight shining through the window. Kate couldn't help but wonder again why Princeton would want to leave any of this.
"Wow, Janet," Kate said. "I love what you've done with the place."
"Yes, I like it," Janet replied. "Well, make yourselves comfortable, if you can. I'm going to finish making dinner."
"Great," Princeton answered.
"Thanks," Kate said as gratefully as she could.
Janet proceeded to exit the room, and George followed behind her.
"Princeton, I thought you said that you had told your parents we were living together!" Kate whispered with frustration once the parents had left the hallway.
"Kate, I seriously tried to tell them," Princeton said, "it just…"
"It just what?!"
"It just…" Princeton smiled when he knew what he was going to say. "It just kind of slipped."
Kate's mouth gapped open at his response. He may not have been fair and lied, but maybe this was payback. Oh, he was good.
"Kate Monster?" Janet said as she walked back into the room.
"Yes?" Kate said, standing upright.
"I made up the bed in the study room for you. You can bring your stuff in there if you want."
It took Kate a few seconds to realize what she meant, but it clearly made sense. If Janet thought they weren't living together, why on Earth would they sleep in the same bed? Kate had no choice but to play along.
"Oh… right. Thank you," Kate said. Janet left the hallway with a nod. Kate turned to Princeton and frowned. "Great, now we don't even get to sleep in the same bed together! Way to go, Princeton!"
"I'm sorry…" Princeton tried to apologies.
Kate grabbed her bag and followed in the direction Janet went, not listening to him. Princeton sighed, knowing once again that it was so impossible to please everyone.
"Hey son," George said as he entered the room, carrying a football.
"Yeah, Dad," Princeton said.
"How's about you and me catch up with a few throws?"
George patted the ball in his hand, encouraging the game, and Princeton cringed slightly. He was never very good with football. He tried it out a few times in High School, but he definitely didn't find it as satisfying as reading or writing or dating… Princeton sighed and gave in. Maybe this could be the start of actually getting something right.
"Sure, why not?"
Princeton forgot how big the backyard was. The bright green, grassy ground stretched out for hundreds of square feet, and it finally ended at a little creek that separated their yard and the yard behind them. There was no fence blocking the view of the house on the other side of the small body of water, so you could easily see how big their yard was as well. There were also a couple of small trees at the creek's edge, which made the scenery very beautiful. Looking at the empty grassy yard, a lot of memories from Princeton's childhood from long ago were startling to come back to him.
"So Princeton," George began as he threw the ball to his son, "how do you like New York?"
"New York is, good," Princeton replied after he caught the ball. "I mean, it's crowded, but I like it."
They continued their passing game as the conversation went on.
"But, you're not living in the city, are you? I think your mother told me you were living in Queens. Or, was it Brooklyn?"
"Yeah… something like that. I mean, I couldn't afford to live in the village or anything. You guys didn't give me a lot…"
"I know, son." George sounded understanding when he said this. Then he smiled. "That Kate girl sure seems nice."
Princeton gulped. He knew this was going to come up. "Yeah, she's great."
"So tell me. Have you two gotten the chance to… you know." George had a big grin on his face. He didn't need to say anymore than that to suddenly make Princeton miss a catch.
"Dad! Please don't go there-"
"Son, look, I'm not stupid, alright? I know it's the twenty first century, and things aren't what they were thirty years ago."
The last two sentences puzzled Princeton, wondering if either was really true. "Well…" George continued, "Maybe things aren't that different." Okay, he was able to correct one of them. Princeton pretended to agree with him. "Look, you remember when we had that little talk, and I said we'd have it again on day?"
Princeton's heart skipped. "Yeah?"
"Well, that talk will come up again very soon."
Princeton sighed with relief.
"I promise I won't say anything to your mother," George continued, "you know how she is. I've been in psychology for over 20 years now, and from what I can see, it looks like you've got some tension going on between you two."
"Ok…" Princeton knew he probably couldn't hide it, even though they had hardly shown it since they got there less than ten minutes ago. Still he tried to keep it cool. "So, what's your point?"
"My point is… I think you need to work out whatever you may be holding back between each other. That's only going to lead to something worse. If something bad happened, it may be best to just blame yourself on it. That way she'll forgive you faster."
"Alright, I'll take that into consideration." Princeton acted as though nothing was wrong. He really didn't want to come home and suddenly make it look like he had a disaster relationship.
"Good!" George exclaimed with a smile. He then softly shoved the football, previously on the ground, to Princeton until he took it into his hands. "Take it easy son!"
George patted Princeton's shoulder before making his way back to the house. Princeton thought about what his father just said. Surprisingly, the advice he just gave may actually make some sense.
Princeton turned back to the house, and suddenly stood still when he saw Kate standing by the back doorway. Her face was blankly expressionless. He had no idea whether she was still pissed at him or not. She walked over to him silently and didn't say a word. Princeton didn't even say anything until she finally approached him, and all he could say was, "Hey…"
Kate smiled slightly and then brushed some of his hair out of his face.
"Aw, did Princeton get some fatherly advice from his daddy?" Kate asked in a baby voice.
Princeton smiled, knowing she was more okay than before.
"Be quiet," Princeton said.
"Since when did you play football?" Kate asked.
"I did for a short while in high school. Not anymore." Princeton said as he threw the ball in the other direction and watched as it bounced off the ground. He turned back to Kate. "Kate, I'm sorry about not telling my parents we're living together. I'm just… trying to protect you."
"I know," Kate said. "But you know, I don't think I mind. Your mom told me the office room is bigger than any of the bedrooms."
"No it's not," Princeton said as he rolled his eyes, knowing that she was joking. Princeton hugged Kate and she happily hugged him back.
"Hey kids, dinner's ready!" Janet yelled from the back door.
Princeton and Kate broke the hug and looked back to the house. They awkwardly didn't know how to react now that Janet called them both kids.
"So mom, what's for dinner?" Princeton asked as they sat at the dinning room table.
"It's your favorite," Janet said happily. "My specialty steak!"
"Yay!" Princeton said with a smile.
"Now tell me, Princeton, what exactly are you doing these days?" Janet continued as she passed the food around.
"Well, I'm kind of in between places right now. I mean, I'm not really doing anything at the moment… but I'm looking for somewhere to else work."
"Huh, so then what are you doing with your time?"
"Um… well, I'm-"
"Kate," George suddenly chimed in, "what do you do?"
"Oh, well," Kate replied, "right now, I'm in the middle of founding a school."
"Tell me Kate Monster, is it a private school?" Janet asked, as if she were expecting this.
"Yes, it's a school for just for Monsters."
Janet frowned at this. "Well, being a private school, it sounds like you're off to a good start," she replied. "But, a school just for Monsters? Are you sure that's a smart idea? How popular do you suppose that will be?"
Kate didn't answer. She knew this was coming. Princeton warned her about all of it, but she couldn't help but feel tenser out of frustration from Janet's rude and snooty comments. Kate needed to do something to take the edge off.
Kate attempted to graze her foot over Princeton's, trying to ensue a game of footsie. Princeton was a little startled by this action and spit some of his food out without warning. He coughed up a few pieces of steak as well, much to the disgust of everyone sitting at the table.
"Princeton? What's wrong with you?" Janet asked when she saw this.
"What? Oh, nothing! I, uh, just remembered that I'm allergic to steak," Princeton lied, trying to defend himself. He then suddenly realized that this was a ridiculous excuse, coming from him.
"What are you talking about?" George asked. "You always loved your mother's steak when you were here."
"Well, yeah, but… I became a vegetarian," Princeton replied awkwardly.
"A vegetarian?" Janet asked with a suspicious tone. "Since when?"
"Since… yesterday."
"Since he moved to New York," Kate quickly chimed in, trying to defend him just as he said this. Both then suddenly realized they said two different things.
"Since I moved to New York," Princeton said.
"Since yesterday," Kate said at the same time.
They realized they just made the same mistake again. Both looked down with nervous fright. They had only been in the house for an hour and already they were making themselves look suspicious.
"Since yesterday…" Princeton finally concluded.
"Awkward," George sang before taking a bite of his food.
"George!" Janet scolded.
Kate really couldn't believe she was watching this kind of behavior coming from Princeton's mother. If this was how Janet behaved with her family, Kate felt incredibly uncomfortable already.
Before the conversation could go anywhere else, a loud slamming noise came from the other room. It didn't take long for everyone to realize it was the front door when a young woman in her twenties walked into the dining room.
"Hello family!" she called as she stood in the entryway of the dining room.
The young girl had tan skin like Princeton's. Her hair was very straight and cut passed her shoulders, with a very bright, golden color. It was obviously dyed or bleached. She also had bright blue eyes that completely brightened her face just like her big smile. She was incredibly slim and wore a bright blue shirt and a short white skirt.
"Oh Christ," Princeton said out loud with fear when she saw her.
The girl turned to Princeton when she heard him, and then let out a huge shriek of excitement.
"Oh-my-God… LITTLE BROTHER!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, which hurt everyone's ears. She immediately scurried over to him and grabbed his neck in a tight hug, almost choking him.
"Adel, let me go!" Princeton said, struggling from her tight embrace.
Oh my God, this is his sister? Kate questioned to herself, surprised by her appearance. Kate nearly blushed because she could not believe how beautiful Adel looked. Not that she had any attraction to her, but being in the presence of someone like Adel always reminded Kate how she was never as flashy or bright or pretty as she was, and probably never would be.
"I can't believe it's you!" Adel said as she shook Princeton's head back and forth until she finally let go. "I can't believe we're all here! It's like we're all one big happy family again!"
Kate nodded slightly as if she were apart this family she was talking about. Adel noticed her right away.
"And who's the furry little tootsie?" Adel asked with a smile.
Princeton put his head down in his hands in annoyance and embarrassment. Kate's eyes widened. Both were thinking the same thing, about her odd choice of words for the one person at the table who never actually lived in this house.
"Oh, are you Kate? You must be Kate, right?!" Adel said. "Wow, when Princeton answered the phone from your-"
"Shut it!" Princeton yelled suddenly. She almost blew their cover.
All the same, Adel just shrugged it off, and quickly walked over to Kate.
"It's nice to meet you Kate Monster," she said with a great big smile as she shook Kate's hand. Kate couldn't help but notice Adel was a lot more enlightened by Kate's appearance than Janet was.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you too, Adel," Kate replied, surprised at all the energy Adel was releasing.
"Oh, please," Adel said modestly. "If you want, you can call me Adel Fee. That's my first and middle name together. Everyone calls me that."
Kate stopped shaking her hand when she heard this. She gave Adel Fee a weird look.
"Adel Fee? Like the college? The Adelphi University?" Kate asked.
"Um, I guess so. Wow, I never actually thought of it in that way!"
Kate turned to Princeton and gave him a very strange look. Suddenly she was getting a strange connection. Princeton and Adel Fee… two siblings, with college names. A daughter and a son of a very uptight family.
A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems quickly passed, but I was really desperate to get it done since I realized it has been two months since I posted my last chapter. I was working full time for the last two months over winter break. But now I'm back at school and I'm going to write more fanfiction! I promise the next one will be much more entertaining and with more depth. Still, please try to enjoy this one. Chapter 4 is on its way!
