"You're not weak."

--

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Dinner

"What happened?"

Galinda frowned and looked up from her plate. The restaurant her parents had taken her to dinner was too stuffy, too high-end for her taste and she felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Galinda asked in response to her mother's question.

"What happened to cause that man to disown his own daughter like that?" she asked simply, taking a sip of her wine.

"It's very personal. I don't think Elphaba would want me to say."

Galinda's mother chuckled slight. "Dear, we 'paid' for her tuition I think we deserve to know."

"Mother, that wasn't your money so you can't guilt me with it."

"I still don't see why you can't just tell her that you and Fiyero paid for her," Galinda's father spoke up. "What's the issue with that?"

Galinda sighed. "She would've never taken the money from us. We're her peers. She'd feel like she was cheating us of our future or something like that. She's much too stubborn and much too concerned about everyone else to ever take mine, or Fiyero's, money."

"She's also not an idiot," Galinda's mother pointed out. "She'll probably find out the truth eventually."

"I wouldn't count on that," the father said. "She's book smart, or so Galinda has said, and she's very strong of character to have lived with that father of hers but I don't think she's that entirely smart when it comes to people and relationships."

"Of course she isn't," the mother replied. "From what I've seen, and what Galinda has said, she was treated more as a servant – a caretaker to that pretty little sister of hers. She probably never had much experience with anyone besides her family until she came here."

"Well, that and she is green too," the father said before focusing his attention on his daughter again. "You never mentioned that little fact there dear."

"It's not important," Galinda muttered, playing with the food on her plate.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," the mother said, taking another sip of her wine. "The world is superficial out there."

"I think she's going to be a big part of some sort of change in this world," Galinda said. "She has that will, that strength. People will know her name. Everyone will."

"That's a good point there dear," the father said as he pointed his fork at his daughter. "She does have some character in her. That's what you need to get."

"Don't be saying that," the mother spoke up. "Our daughter is going to grow up to be a proper young lady… not some gallivanting green girl off to change to world for the better or some crap like that."

"Mother! That's not a very nice thing to say."

"Oh, you know how much I was against this whole school thing. A young woman doesn't need an education." It was now Galinda's mother's turn to point her fork at her daughter. "A young woman should be out trying to find a man of proper status to take care of her. A young woman should be preparing herself for marriage and motherhood. Not out learning in a school about frivolous things that she will never think of again."

"Mother, please… not here." Galinda frowned. "Not in public like this."

"I was afraid of this you know," the mother said to Galinda's father. "Afraid of our daughter getting caught-up in some silly idea of revolution! Or some vision of grandeur! I don't like that Elphaba character she's hanging about with. She's going to lead our daughter down some silly path not becoming of a young lady!"

"That Elphaba girl will teach our daughter some character," the father calmly replied. "I think she's good for Galinda."

"Well I disagree." The mother took yet another sip of her wine and then turned her attention back to her daughter. "I forbid you to associate with that green girl! She's going to corrupt you!"

"Mother!" Galinda's voice revealed her anger. "You cannot control who is and who is not my friend anymore!"

"She's right," the father said. "You can't control her anymore. She's no longer under your care constantly."

"Well, then maybe we should be taking her out of the school!" the mother screeched, her voice loud due to the large amount of alcohol she had consumed. "I'm not going to allow my daughter to be corrupted by some head-strong green girl!"

"Well, mother." Galinda stood up from the table in anger. "It's not very becoming for a young lady such as yourself to drink as much as you do on such a regular basis. At least I will do something more with my life then just be an alcoholic home-keeper!"

"Galinda!" the father stood up and lightly grabbed a hold of his daughter's wrist. "Now both of you, calm down. We don't need any heated arguments after today. Miss Elphaba's father did enough yelling for all of us so let's just calm down and have a nice, family dinner together."

Galinda shook her head. "I'm sorry father but I really should get going. I need to make sure Elphaba's doing okay."

"I understand," the father said, a small smile gracing his face. "It was nice to see you again."

"The same for me. And thank you for coming with the money, even though it wasn't yours. I know it was a long trip to help someone you don't even know but you don't know how much Elphaba appreciates it. She would've liked to meet you but, well, it just hasn't been going well for her lately."

"Don't worry about it, you go see your friend. I'll take care of mother."

Galinda smiled and threw her arms around her father's neck in a tight embrace. "After… after seeing the way Miss Elphaba's father was…" the young blonde whispered into her father's ear. "I just… well… thank you. Thank you for… for everything."

"Don't dear… don't go getting into one of your little phases. Go be with your friend, she needs you right now."

Galinda pulled away from her father and nodded, wiping away the few tears that had managed to sneak from her eyes. "I'll do you proud dad. Elphie will make sure of that."

Her father nodded and just smiled. "Go be with your friend. Go hug someone who really needs it."