Reno's parents were so busy staring at Tifa that they didn't notice him looking rather sick. He searched his recollection of their night together…he used a condom, didn't he? And wouldn't she have been on the pill or something? He groaned and sunk his head into his hands…the nice outfit he wore to her place was one he had just bought, and he never thought they'd have sex so didn't bother stashing some protection in it. And he was pretty sure as he could be that she hadn't been with anyone else for a looooong time. Grabbing his own cell phone out of his jeans pocket, he sent a message to Rude: GET ME OUT OF HERE!, knowing it would go through. The Turks had their own customized phones and a provider that always guaranteed them a signal.
"I…um…" Tifa couldn't think of a proper excuse fast enough.
"Oh, I'm sorry honey, that was rude of me, it's really none of my business." Jillian apologized to Tifa, then glanced over at her distraught son. "I hope."
"Mother, we need to set another place for…oh we never even got your name yet, Miss…" Patrick realized their goof with an apologetic smile.
"It's Tifa." she replied.
"You're right, we do need to set another place. Tifa, would you mind helping me in the kitchen while the men take care of that?" Jillian leaned over to whisper in her ear as she returned the pregnancy test. "I think the men want to talk in private." she explained, though she wanted to talk to the young woman in private too.
"I'd like that." Tifa agreed when she saw Reno trying to gesture her to refuse.
"Thank you, dear." Jillian said when they reached the kitchen. "I really did need help, I love my husband and son dearly, but they're useless in the kitchen. Let's start with checking the mashed potatoes and getting the pies in the oven. Do you know Richard well?"
"Not really." Tifa replied as she took care of the pies, not realizing she was being expertly questioned by a curious and concerned mother. "I've only met him a few times." Realizing this was a perfect opportunity to satisfy her own curiosity, she went into interrogator mode herself. "Does he live here with you?"
"Oh no, he likes to think he's such a big boy with his own fancy-schmancy apartment he won't let us visit." Jillian smiled tolerantly as she checked to see if the potatoes were soft enough yet. "But if I want him home, I just have to call and tell him I'm baking pies, or even worse, my special triple fudge cake. He'll be here before I can even hang up the phone…that boy has the appetite of a behemoth. So do you deliver packages for a living?"
"Oh no, I was doing that as a special favor to an old friend." Tifa admitted. "I own my own bar."
"How nice." Jillian said noncommittally. She didn't approve of drinking, but to go out on Christmas day when it's storming so bad just to help out an old friend, that was admirable.
"What does he do for a living?" Tifa asked casually as if she was just making small talk.
"Oh, some corporate job. He likes to be all mysterious about it and only refers to himself as a company man." Jillian answered with a smile. "I'm surprised he just doesn't tell us something silly like he's a secret agent."
"Son, did you get this Tifa girl in trouble?" Patrick asked, going for the blunt approach.
"How should I know? I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving." he confessed rather testily.
"If she is, what are you going to do about it?" Patrick wanted to know. "You know how important it is to honor your obligations."
Reno felt incredibly sulky and pouty as his father launched into another one of his lectures, relieved to hear his mother's voice calling out to them. "Dinner's ready!" she announced.