Chapter 11: Meet the Parents
Delphine drops her Wii controller, frozen in fear, but Cosima laughs as she rises from the couch and turns around to face their intruder.
"Hey Dad! Welcome home!" Cosima says as she rushes to hug her father. She then turns to her mother, who is standing beside him. "Mom, why do you let him do that?"
"You think I could stop him?" Her mom answers, enveloping Cosima in a hug and kissing her forehead.
Delphine's expression changes to a smile as she watches from the couch, not wanting to interrupt the family reunion.
"How was the conference?"
"Boring, but informative. Um, Sweetheart," Cosima's dad says, glancing in Delphine's direction, "were you planning on introducing us to your guest?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry, my bad. Mom, Dad, this is Delphine. Delphine, this is my mom and dad, obvs."
Delphine gets up and walks over to them, hand extended. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Niehaus, Mr. Niehaus."
"You too, Delphine. And please, call me Nancy."
"And you can call me Don," Mr. Niehaus adds. "Do I detect a French accent there?"
"Oui, I'm from France."
"Yeah, Delphine is an exchange student, just started school with us Monday," Cosima interjects.
"Well that's lovely. And so nice that you and Cosima seem to have become fast friends, judging by all the laughter we heard when we walked in," Nancy says with a warm smile.
"Yes, Cosima is wonderful," Delphine smiles back.
"Um, we're actually more than friends," Cosima interrupts, causing her dad's brow to raise, at which Cosima realizes how that sounded and, before either parent further infers what she thinks they're inferring, she quickly blurts out, "She's staying with us, we're, uh, her host family."
"Oh are we? This is news to me," Nancy says.
"Yeah, sorry, kinda happened last minute. You see, she was supposed to stay with this girl Sherry's family, but they neglected to tell her they had cats and, well, Delphine is hella allergic to cats. So obviously she couldn't stay there, and, since she is in most of my classes, I was asked if it would be ok if she stayed with us, and, well, since we have the guest room, I figured it would be fine. I'm sorry, I know I should have asked you guys, but, like, she needed a place to stay asap and you were out of the country…"
"Cosima, stop, it's fine. Right Don?" Nancy interrupts, looking over at her husband.
"Yes, totally. I'm actually glad you had company while we were away. Since the house is still standing, and far cleaner than I've ever seen it, I assume Delphine has been a positive influence."
"Ha, ha, Dad, you are so funny. Oh, by the way, you know who also makes dumb dad jokes? This one," she says, pointing at Delphine, then adopts an old-timey tone. "I think you'll get along just swell."
Delphine laughs. "I've been driven around by your daughter all week, I don't think she's appreciated my reactions to the experience."
"Ah yes, we've all been fortunate enough to have to endure the wonder that is Cosima behind the wheel," Don says with a smile. "I guess we should be fortunate then that both the house and our houseguest are still in one piece."
"I've been counting my blessings every morning to still be breathing."
"See? What'd I tell you, she's a riot," Cosima says with a roll of her eyes. "So, what did you bring me back?"
"Bring you back? What are you 10? Are we still expected to bring you back something from our travels?" Don asks.
"Yes, you are," Cosima states matter of factly.
"Oh Don, just give it to herm" Nancy says with a playful shove.
"Fine, fine." Don pulls a small box out of his bag and hands it to Cosima.
"Ooh, what can it be?" Cosima wonders as she gives the box a shake. "It's not a book, definitely not a telescope, not a sweater, not a-"
"Cosima, will you please just open it!" Don shouts.
"Fine, fine." Cosima removes the lid and peeks inside. "Whoa, this is awesome." She pulls out a beautiful purple colored rock.
"It's iolite, we dug it up in a quarry on one of our excursions," Don explains.
"It's beautiful. Thanks!"
"I'm sorry we don't have anything for you, Delphine. But a certain someone didn't bother to tell us you were here," Don says, with a glare in Cosima's direction.
"Oh please, I wouldn't expect a gift, besides you allowing me to stay here is the real gift."
"And you should think of Delphine as your welcome home present," Cosima adds.
"How am I a present, Cosima?" Delphine wonders.
"Just wait til they taste your coffee, trust me, that's a gift that keeps on giving."
"Coffee sounds divine," Nancy enthuses. "But what we are now is hungry. Did you girls have dinner?"
"Not yet, we were gonna order-"
"Let me guess, pizza?" Nancy smirks. "I'm sure you've had plenty of pizza this week. We actually had the car stop on the way home so we could grab takeout from Kokkari. And with the way your father orders, we surely have plenty for the four of us. I hope you like Greek, Delphine."
"I haven't tried it, but I'm sure I'll love it. Please let me help you set the table."
Delphine and Nancy head into the kitchen.
"She seems sweet," Don remarks.
"Yeah, she is," Cosima nods.
"And pretty," he adds.
"Uh huh."
"Don't 'uh huh' me, Cosima. You seem really happy and I don't think it's just because we came home. Is there something going on between the two of you that you'd like to share with your dear old dad."
"No, Dad, come on, cut it out. It's not like that. It's just been nice having someone around to hang out with all week."
"Hey, can you blame me for hoping my daughter had found the girl that makes her happy?"
"I appreciate the sentiment, Pops, but Delphine and I are just friends."
Meanwhile, Nancy and Delphine start pulling out plates and silverware and setting the table.
"So, Delphine, tell me, has Cosima been a good host, made sure you're properly fed and on-time to school?"
"Yes, she's been great. We've had 3 square meals a day and have been on-time to school."
"Delphine, you don't need to cover for Cosima, I know she's never on-time for anything, let alone school."
Delphine laughs. "Ok, but we were actually early one day and barely late the others. She's been improving."
"What about food? Was it all fast food?" Nancy asks as she takes dinner out of the bag.
"Not all," Delphine stresses. "Truly, Cosima has been an amazing host."
"I'm very glad she had you to keep her company while we were gone. Usually we ask someone to stay with her, but she insisted she's old enough to be on her own. I was definitely worried this whole week, so your presence was a godsend. And I can tell Cosima really likes you. She has trouble sometimes, opening up, making new friends. I mean, she's got her group and they're all lovely kids, but she's known them all since she was a little girl. I haven't seen her really befriend anyone new in a long time, so you must be really special."
Delphine smiles, touched by Nancy's words. "I don't know, I think Cosima is the special one."
Cosima and Don join them in the kitchen.
"Mmm, smells great," Cosima remarks. "Hey, what are you two grinning about?"
"Oh nothing, just having a nice talk, getting to know Delphine," Nancy replies. "I can't wait to show her your baby pictures."
"Mom, no!" Cosima loudly protests. "Seriously. She doesn't want to see those."
"Non, I think I would very much like to see them," Delphine says, earning an icy glare from Cosima. "I bet you were adorable."
"Yes, she was," Don says.
"Hey, what you mean 'was'? I still am adorable!" Cosima exclaims, mock insulted.
"Well then I can't wait to see how adorable baby Cosima turned into adorable teenaged Cosima," Delphine says, casting a smile in Cosima's direction, causing a blush to form on those adorable cheeks.
"And I can't believe our little baby will be 18 next week," Nancy says wistfully.
"Your birthday is next week?" Delphine gasps, surprised Cosima hadn't mentioned it.
"Oh, yeah, Saturday," Cosima responds.
"We always have a dinner here at the house with her friends, which now includes you, Delphine," Nancy smiles.
Delphine looks at Cosima, silently asking for confirmation she's welcome at this party.
"Yeah, totes. I'm sorry, I guess I should have mentioned it sooner, we just had so much other stuff going on, I guess it kinda slipped my mind."
"Your 18th birthday slipped your mind, kiddo?" Don asks. "You must have been really distracted." He ends his statement with a wink, earning an eye roll from Cosima.
"I definitely want you there, Delphine, and I'm not just saying that cause you live here now and it would be rude to make you stay up in your room while we celebrate without ya," Cosima jokes, easing the tension she's sensing from the other girl at her stupid omission.
Delphine chuckles. "Thank you, I'm looking forward to it."
Dinner continues, with Don and Nancy asking Delphine questions about her life, her interests and her plans after high school.
Cosima, sensing Delphine's hesitation, jumps in and mentions Delphine is into science, which peaks Don's interest, and the discussion immediately shifts to science talk, sparing Delphine from having to make up lies about herself.
After dinner, the girls go upstairs to check Cosima's email and find that Alison has sent over the script of the musical for Delphine. Cosima starts printing it out.
"Hey, Del, I'm sorry, truly, for not mentioning my birthday, it wasn't on purpose, I swear. You gotta admit, we had a lot going on this week."
"That's ok, I'm just glad I know now. I would have felt foolish had it been your birthday and I was unaware." Delphine pauses in thought. "Wait, did you just call me Del?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess I did, sorry."
"No, don't apologize, it's kinda cute, actually. I like having a nickname. Especially one you gave me," Delphine smiles.
"So, what do you think of the 'rents? They're not asking you too many annoying questions, I hope."
"No, they are really lovely. I see a lot of them in you. You have your dad's cheekiness and brilliant science mind and your mom's caring heart." Cosima smiles shyly at the kind words. "I feel really welcome here, it feels like home."
"That great, and, like, yeah, I want you to feel like this is your home, because it is."
"What do mean?"
"Um, I mean, while you're here, you should definitely think of this as your house. Mi casa es tu casa."
"Cosima, can I admit something?"
"Um, yeah, of course," Cosima gulps, not sure what is coming next.
"I may not know very much about who I was before I got here, or anything about my life or the people in it, but there's one thing I am certain of."
"What's that?"
"You're the best friend I've ever had."
Best friend. Cosima repeats in her head. She is incredibly flattered and heart-warmed by the sentiment, but, despite what she told her dad, she's also a little, okay, maybe very, disappointed to be friend-zoned.
"I feel the same way, buddy," Cosima replies and is immediately enveloped in a warm embrace.
And so much more. Cosima thinks as she sinks into the hug. So. Much. More.