Okay I need to make this 100% clear. All dialogue once Catrine gets to her house is French, but she writes it as English due to be not wanting it to be a huge mass of text in French. Anyway we're going to meet more of Catrine's family and see how they act around each other and whatnot. I hope you enjoy as this was REALLY fun to write!
Chapter 13: Saturday Lunch
"You do speak some French, corriger?" I asked my love, Chariclo, as we left the museum on our way to my house for lunch and to meet my family. I was actually more than petrified over the idea, but something, possibly my ghoul's encouragement that radiated from her, kept me moving.
"Well as much as my high school classes have taught me," she answered with an iffy tone "J'espère que je ne sonne pas comme un idiot…" she then sighed in French.
"Well if you sound like that you should be fine," I responded with a fake giggle and an inner tremble of fear. Not only is it a fille, it's a tourist I'm bringing home. I cannot see this resonating well with any except for Katchay for her naturally sweet demeanor and possibly Catlogero due to his open-mindedness.
. . .
When we eventually made it to my home Chariclo was just taken by the area just as she had been with the rest of the city. However, instead of being taken away by my own home I was shocked to see the car of someone I knew well would only come home on Sundays. That was my sister, Purrlcherie. She's come a bit before the Sunday lunch time each week, but the day was Saturday. Something in my gut told me her being here had to have been of Hissrini's doings.
"Purrlcherie… Chariclo, you're going to meet all of my family in just a few moments it's best you…" I started to say until I saw the door open and suddenly feel myself being wrapped by Katchay. She always had a thing for hugging me.
"Sister! Papa's ordered for Purrcherie to have lunch with us today, is that exciting?" I exclaimed to me in her cute little and underdeveloped voice. I was still enjoying the fact that she was still mostly prepubescent with the exception of hardly noticeable breasts. She still had a form of childhood innocence I love. Katchay had my same hair when it came to color, but it much curlier unlike mine. She wore a cute little fuchsia dress that I think once belonged to Purrlcherie, with a noir beret, and noir flats with roses at the tip that I think also were either Purrlcherie's or mine at one point.
"Who's that hugging you, Catrine?" Chariclo asked with a giggle.
"My name's Katchay DeMew," she let go with me and answered her stranger's question.
"I'm Chariclo Cupid, a pleasure to meet you it is," she put out her arm with the scarring out for a handshake.
"Catrine, did you do that to her or does she live a dangerous life?" Katchay looked up at me and questioned about the rouge lines on Chariclo's normally blanc and noir arm.
"Both," Chariclo snickered as I heard the footsteps of someone else, in heels, come out of the house. It was Purrlcherie. Like me her hair was similarly colored, but unlike Katchay, hers was only slightly wavy. She wore a noir blazer, a gris cendré top with flower lace, marine foncé skinny jeans, and a noir pair of heels.
"Katchay, you left the door open… Oh hello Catrine and friend covered in hearts," the twenty-five-year-old to-be doctor groaned "You three get in here. Mother and Catlogero are almost done cooking."
"Purrlcherie, her name is Chariclo, not 'friend covered in hearts'…" I sighed as the three of us walked into my warm house filled with wonderful aromas. I specifically could smell lobster throughout the house giving a clear indication of the soup being bisque. Personally it was surprised as that was normally something seen from a Sunday lunch and not a Saturday one in my home, but I guessed Hissrini knew he needed a way to lure me in. He got me to be honest, I love lobster bisque.
"Well then Chariclo, something tells me I've been told to come here because of you so personally, I want to know more about you," Purrlcherie purred as she lead us through the house and into the sitting room where Hissrini was sitting with one leg on the other's knee, reading a book. Hissrini surely had muscular strength leftover from whatever he's done in the past and still showed it with his muscular arms showing from his rolled up sleeves. His hair quite short and obviously didn't get anything more than a comb each day which was all it really needed. He also wore a pair of thin, wire framed glasses in order to read with his aging eyes.
"Papa, she's here!" Katchay beamed at him with a huge grin. He just sat there void to everything around him except for that book for about a minute or so though. We all just stood in front of him with a feeling of boredom but we didn't dare to interrupt him further.
"Excuse me, I was just finishing the chapter of that book," he said with his eyes closed as he shut the book then opened then to turn away and set the book aside. "Now Catrine, I've been hearing these accusations about you going out and about with some mysterious date. Have you bought him here like I asked you to?" he asked coldly as he opened his eyes to see four fillies standing in front of him and not three with one garcon. He was more than certainly shocked by it. "Catrine, where is he?" he shouted at me.
"He won't be here," I spoke back at him slowly with a certain boom and firmness that even surprised me slightly.
"What do you mean? He doesn't want to be with you? Was this man just a one night stand then?" he hissed at me.
"He won't be here, Catrine is correct. However, I will be because he is actually a she," Chariclo bravely explained to Hissrini causing me to tremble a bit. She had just released me from my own closest to my "prefect sister", my darling little sister, and my fearful father.
"Are you trying to tell me my daughter is…? Is…" Hissrini stammered as he tried to get himself to admit what had just been told to him; that is until Catlogero showed up.
"Hey everyone, we're ready to serve now let's go eat!" Catlogero chuckled as he could tell that Hissrini and I had just been heated up and tried to calm down the atmosphere "We'll be starting off with lobster bisque, followed by the heated up remains of last night's ham, followed by some cheese and some fruit. Please come follow me," he led us into the dining room with seven chairs.
"So my daughter is a lesbian then…" he hissed into my ear before we all sat in our seats with the exception of Catlogero and my mother who both came out with the bowls of soup and placed them by each of the seating places. I sat by the edge of the table, with Hissrini at the end and Chariclo by my side. She sat next to Katchay who had my mother by her end and Catlogero and Purrlcherie sat across from us.
"So Catrine, who's your guest?" my mother asked positively as she took her seat.
"I'm Chariclo Cupid; may I ask the names of your son Mrs. DeMew? He's the only one I haven't met," she answered for me in a dignified tone and decent sounding French, thank Goth.
"Catlogero, sorry for not introducing myself earlier… I hope you like you're bisque, I'm an aspiring chef," he grinned over at her and then went to pick up his spoon to finally start eating as I had.
"So now you're thinking about cooking? When will you ever just decide on one thing?" Hissrini interjected after taking a spoonful.
"It's something I actually think I could pull off. It's not like I'm lawyer material or anything like you keep wanting me to be," Catlogero replied with a new form of serious passion I never had seen in him before "Plus I can cook. You're eating my food right now!"
"I wanted you to be a lawyer because it pays bills. Getting a job in cooking is more risky and much harder to do in Scaris with all the best restaurants in the world. Speaking of those your food is good, but not nearly as gourmet," Hissrini retorted to him.
"I actually find this bisque to be quite… delicious," Chariclo smiled at him to attempt to make him feel better after being technically insulted by his own father.
"I'm sorry you've been brought into one of their many arguments…" Katchay whispered up at Chariclo.
"So this happens often?" she asked with a disappointed face.
"Quite," I nodded with Katchay.
"What would she know though? We don't know if she's eaten at any of Scarisian restaurants," Hissrini argued back to Catlogero.
"I've never eaten at a Scarisian restaurant, but I've eaten various foods prepared for a god so I've tasted some of the best there possibly can be," Chariclo interrupted before going to take another spoonful of the deliciousness which was almost gone from my bowl.
"See, she's knows exactly what she's talking about!" Catlogero exclaimed with a sense of pride for winning the debate of the hour causing Purrcherie to roll her eyes.
"How have you even gotten said food?" Hissrini threw in, not yet ready to give up on his side of the fight.
"My dad's Eros, actually I'm on my way to see him. I'm just here for a week," Chariclo countered before finishing the last of her bisque.
"So you're tourist here in Scaris?" my mother decided to butt in to possibly cause the quarrel between Catlogero and Hissrini to subside. Then again, she could have just started yet another dispute and we hadn't even hit our main course.
What have you done Catoline? These boys argue enough as it is, now you bring up a new topic just prone to bring more. Anyway doesn't Catrine's father seem like a great person? If you're thinking what I think you are I have done my job.
corriger = correct
J'espère que je ne sonne pas comme un idiot = I hope I do not sound like an idiot
gris cendré = ash gray
marine foncé = dark navy
garcon = boy