"Do you need anything else or is that all?" Marly asked the young inkling she knew as Chris.
"no? I think you already made a pretty large list. You for sure have everything we still need on there, right?"
"I know I have written down what I need." The octoling replied. "But I ask from you to name anything you would need me to get from the grocery store."
"eh… nothing that I can think of. If something pops up I'll text you, okay?"
"And if I do not read it and it is urgent?"
"Then I'll call…" Chris sighed, still not liking how she would sometimes sound just like her mother would.
"Good." She leaned in, and before he realized, had given him a kiss on his cheek. "I shall return right after I acquired everything we need for dinner tonight." She then walked to the door as he stood there with a clearly visible blush. "And again, thank you for wanting to help with the preparations."
"yeah… no problem…" He said with an inaudible voice, putting his hand on his cheek. He still had to get used to her being as close as they had by now gotten. It had already been well over a year now, but last Squidmas still felt like yesterday, and this time he hoped to make up for that.
Last year he almost hadn't even showed up, all because his mother had been there. That's why this year he himself had suggested to invite his parents after Marly had suggested they'd have dinner with just them and a few friends. He'd even gone as far as to ask if his grandparents could come, which she had agreed upon. If that was because his father's parents usually had dinner with him during this time or if she'd actually had found it a good idea he didn't know. He didn't even know if he was happy that she'd said yes, but there was no going back now, or at least that is what he told himself.
He went to sit down at the couch and admire his handywork. The living room wasn't the most impressive sight. However, he had worked all day on it. Not that it needed cleaning, but any help from Marly usually meant he had to undo whatever she had done. Thinking back to how her apartment had looked last year, it was clear that she didn't have all that much, if any, experience with decorating for these festivities. That is also why he had suggested he would do the decorating of the apartment this year.
As he started getting lost in memories of last year, the ringing of the doorbell snapped him out of it. He got up, stretched his back, and went to open the door. He hadn't expected Marly back so soon. Perhaps she had forgotten something, or did he doze off without knowing it? Whatever the case, he wasn't going to let her wait outside.
Putting his hand on the doorhandle, he thought about how it was actually strange she used the doorbell at all, seeing as she had her own key, and only used the bell if she needed his help hauling something. It didn't matter much though, as by the time his train of thought had reached this station, he was already pulling the door open, revealing an octoling that, while looking near identical to his girlfriend, was clearly a good few years older, the dark fuchsia color of her tentacles looking washed out, but her posture somehow still as straight as a ruler, despite the rest of her appearance without a doubt indicating she was at least as old as Chris' oldest grandparent if he had to take a guess.
She looked down at him for a couple seconds before lifting her nose and turning away. "Wrong address…" she muttered before walking off down the hall of the apartment complex, not even making an attempt to give him some sort of goodbye.
Chris was left by the still open front door, blinking a few times as he watched the woman enter the door to the stairwell. The door, having two sets of hinges, swung back and forth a couple times, although it didn't come to a rest like it should, as someone pushed it back open, that someone being someone he knew much better than the stranger that had just rang the doorbell.
"Hey Vall!" he called out, happy to no longer have to think about what had just happened. "Good to see you're finally here. I thought you said you'd be here by three?"
"I know, I know." He sighed, holding open the door still, waiting and looking back at the stairwell for a moment before continuing to speak. "We had some trouble finding the full set."
"Sure…"
"Have you seen my mom's attic? You literally have to swim through all kinds of gizmo's before you reach what you want, let alone having to find that one thing first." He said with a clear lack of joy in his voice. "Anyways…" he looked back down the stairwell. "Hey Tina, what's taking so long?"
"What about: 'thanks for HELPING me' means that I have to do it for you?!" Even Chris could hear booming from beyond the door.
"I'm holding the doors open for you, now don't I?" Val sneered back, then looking over at Chris. "You know, woman amIright?" He let out a chuckle, only to have his head snap back to the stairwell as a loud. "I heard that!" erupted from a floor or two down.
"How about I hold that door for you and you help before she helps you onto a chair?" Chris asked, already on his way to the door Vall was holding.
"…fine…" he sighed before letting go and heading back down the stairs.
After some painstaking dragging of a couple bags, each filled to the brim with either cutlery, porcelain plates, or fancy drinking glasses, was dragged into the apartment, and Tina went to set the table while Val headed to the kitchen to help with preparing the meat that had already been left to simmer since that morning. Chris was happy to have this octoling and inkling take these chores off his to do list, leaving him nothing but to wait.
While checking his phone he saw Marly indeed had sent him a message a little while ago, which said she was already on her way back. Knowing she always needed about a quarter to twenty minutes to get back home after she would send a message like that, he got up again, somewhat annoyed he had only just sat down this time.
Opening the door, he was this time indeed greeted by Marly, but she and her bag of groceries weren't alone, for behind her stood the woman he had seen before, looking displeased at first, but once she lay her eyes upon him, her face seemed to express some kind of disdain.
"Hey." Marly said, clearly nervous, although seemingly unaware of the gazes the woman behind her and the inkling before him were exchanging. "So, mom, Chris. Chris, my mother."
"…hi?" He awkwardly raised his hand a little, as if to wave at her, but the look he got from her, one suggesting she'd rather not have ever looked at him, made him lower it pretty much as soon as he had even started to lift it up.
"How about we go inside?" Marly broke the silence, walking past him, her mother following, bumping against Chris' shoulder as she passed by, leaving him by the door, once again perplexed by her demeanor.
Marly headed to the kitchen to put the groceries in their place. Meanwhile her mother took a seat on the couch, sitting straight, her eyes looking around as she took in the festively decorated living room, a mix of emotions going through her by the looks of it.
Chris meanwhile was happy to have his phone take his mind of off things again as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Taking a quick look he saw a message from his grandmother, letting him know she and his grandfather would be late due to having missed their train.
He put the device away again and looked over at the woman. It was strange to think that Marly's mother was the age of his grandparents, although he had to admit they had his father pretty early on in their life, so it wasn't that weird.
While he knew it was rude to let her just sit there, he didn't feel much for having to sit next to someone who was closer to throwing him out the window than giving him a handshake. To his relief Tina went to sit next to her before he had to make a choice, leaving him the option to go help in the kitchen and tell about his grandma's message.
During the entire appetizer there was a nearly complete silence. Only Val tried to make the occasional joke as some kind of ice breaker, but those ships didn't seem up to the task when it came to ice this thick.
As Marly, with the help of Chris and Tina, was putting the empty soup bowls away, the doorbell rang.
"I'll take that." Val got up, taking some of his usual energetic steps, practically running to the door, and pulling it open moments later.
"…but no, Margret here insistent we called a cab. Woman, you know?"
"eyyy." Val walked back to the table, smiling. "Chris, I like this grandpa of yours."
The grandpa in question rounded the corner not too long after, looking over the table, and freezing once he saw Marly's mother sitting there, in turn staring back at him.
"John." She said with a stern voice.
"Mariella." He responded with an equally grim voice, only breaking eye contact when his wife bumped into him, not having expected him to stop there.
Everyone went to take their seat at the table while Marly put the pot containing the main part of the main course, opening the lid and walking back to go get the bowl of salad that would accompany the meat that lay there, the steam coming off of it still as Chris started to cut it up and hand out the pieces.
When everyone was seated again and had their plate filled, they began to eat in silence again. Occasionally John opened his mouth, but one look form Chris' grandmother was enough to make him shut it again after stuffing it with some of the meat, which helped take his mind off of the woman he had been forced to sit next to. Val meanwhile didn't make any more attempts at jokes, having learned his lesson by now.
The atmosphere seemed to only get worse during dessert, ice cream with an assortment of fruit. At least Chris was happy to see how most were enjoying their food, including his grandfather, who as always had to be reminded to do this thing Margret would refer to as chewing.
Once everyone was finished and Marly started collecting the empty bowls, her mother got up as well, stopping her as she walked past by putting a hand on her shoulder. She then leaned in and whispered something into her daughter's ear. At first she smiled, gaining a slight blush, only for it to disappear even faster than it had come, leaving her to stare in shock. And of anything or anyone to stare at, she was looking at Chris specifically, which didn't help him in the slightest.
Whatever she had just said, it wasn't anything good, and honestly it was probably worse than anything he could think of. It all made his stomach turn. He got up, and without a word left to the bathroom, only taking a breath again once he had his hands resting on the sink. This whole meal he had felt off. Probably the nerves, or so he tried to make himself believe, but now, now he felt awful. He had already guessed that Marly's mother didn't seem to like him, but that reaction from Marly after hearing whatever she had set did it for him.
There were a few pairs of footsteps in the small corridor leading to the front door, and looking up in the mirror, he saw Vall just close the door behind him as he entered the bathroom.
"Hey… not really the best meal, was it?" he began, letting out an awkward chuckle. "I mean, the food was good, but… yeah…"
"She hates me." Was all he could get out.
"Don't say that. Maybe she… eh… just has to open up to you?"
"You saw how Marly looked white as a sheet after hearing what she told her."
"so? Maybe she just reminded her of an embarrassing childhood memory or something? You know, ones that parents always say is 'adorable'."
"You're making that up, and you know it." Chris finally turned around, getting rather annoyed with his friend trying to even suggest it wasn't like he was by now certain it was.
"… fine. But hey, at least I got to meet your grandpa. That man is the bomb, let me tell ya."
"really?"
"What? Want me to keep talking about the person that you think hates your guts?"
"I guess you are right…" he sighed, finally resting his hands after realizing he had been clenching his fists.
"And she just left already anyway, so you're in the clear to come back out."
"and let me guess, you want to play squible already?" he tried to move past his thoughts, hoping he could just forget them, even know he knew he wouldn't.
"reading me like a darned book. That's more like the Chris I know." Val smiled.
"Sure." He smiled back. "As long as you don't go trying to spell the names of 'certain' body parts again."
"okay, dial it down on the 'reading me like a book' part." He took a step towards Chris and, putting an arm around him, started leading him back out of the bathroom.
Coming back, he saw that not just Mariella, but also John had disappeared. The second person being gone was odd, seeing as his grandma was still there.
"He left right after her." Tina explained as she saw his weirded out look. "something about 'common decency'. At least that is what I heard him say."
The heavy feeling in his gut returned, worse than before even, and he was happy he had his friend to lean on, literally.
"How about a little game?" Val interrupted them, already dragging Chris to the kitchen table. "Anyone got some pens and paper?"
Even though he didn't join in on the game, just watching it helped Chris take his mind of earlier tonight. It had only been half an hour ago, but the heated match between Vall and Margret made it easy to forget that.
At least, it did until the doorbell rang. Looking over at the couch, where Marly and Tina were happily chatting, he realized it was up to him to go open the door, and as such he got up and headed to it to do just that.
He opened the door, only to find Mariella looking down on him, flanked by his grandfather, who was watching her with crossed arms.
She spoke, her voice calm and calculated, much like how Marly often sounded like. "Thank you for the meal. I found it passable, and I would not mind if I were to be invited to this festivity next year."
"…eh… thanks? and… sure?" he blinked a couple times, not sure what was going on.
"Then this is settled." She turned around and started to walk away. Whispering: "see?" to the old man before heading for the stairs.
"okay… what was that about?"
"Let's just say that a certain someone had to be reminded what this holiday is about." He looked over his grandson's shoulder at the living room and the connected kitchen. "family."