Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson.
Author's Note: Well, 96 hits, close enough. This one is a little odd because the song is a combination of spoken and sung words, but I thought it would be fun to have a supposed conversation between Suki and her mother on the subject of Sokka. This discussion takes place right after Suki has first met him, during Warriors of Kyoshi.
If You Don't Mind My Saying So
"Is it true what I heard?" Suki's mother asked eagerly when she came home that evening. "The Avatar has come to Kyoshi?"
"Yeah, it's true," Suki answered simply. She just wanted to sit down and get a good meal. It had been a rather trying day.
"So?" her mother pressed. "What's he like?"
"He's all right, I guess. He came here to ride the elephant-koi. Can you believe that?"
"That seems awfully…energetic for a man of his age."
"Actually, it seems he was preserved in ice for a hundred years. He's really pretty young."
"Oh?" her mom was perking up with interest now. "Well, maybe all your waiting around will pay off." Suki was all of seventeen, and she couldn't help but sigh and roll her eyes at her mother trying to match her up with the Avatar.
"The little girls seem to like him," Suki acknowledged with a smile.
"Little girls?"
"Mom, he's twelve."
"Oh," her mother's face fell. "Well, that is a pity. Still, he won't be twelve forever." Suki ignored this and began pulling off her outer warrior gear.
"The waterbender he travels with seems nice enough," she filled her mother in on some additional details. "Her brother is a piece of work, though."
Mother:
If you don't mind my saying so, it wouldn't have hurt you to
have found out what the gentleman wanted.
Daughter: I know what
the gentleman wanted, Mama.
Mother: Really? What,
dear?,
Daughter: You find it in Balzac
Mother: Excuse
me for livin', but I never read it.
Daughter: Neither has
anyone else in this town.
"Brother?" her mom brightened again. "How old is he?"
"I don't know. Sixteen, maybe?" the warrior replied carefully.
"Oh, how delightful! You must invite him over for tea."
"Mother, would you please stop with the matchmaking already? I just met the guy!"
"I'm just saying it wouldn't hurt you to get to know him a little, that's all."
"I already know everything I need to. He's arrogant, chauvinistic, and insufferable."
"So he made an impression on you, then?"
Suki gaped at her mother in disbelief before letting out a wordless sound of frustration.
Mother: There
you go again, with the same old comment
about the low mentality
of River City people,
and taking it all too much to
heart.
Daughter: Now, Mama, as long the Madison Public Library
was entrusted to me,
for the purpose of improving River City's
cultural level,
I can't help my concern that the ladies of
River City
keep ignoring all my counsel and advice.
Suki managed to get her mom to leave her alone until after dinner, when the subject was broached again.
"Is it so wrong for a mother to want her daughter to act like other girls?" her mom asked pointedly. "You spend all your time training with those warriors. When do you ever have fun?"
"I enjoy it, Mom," Suki answered with measured patience. "It is fun for me. And I'm really good at it. Is it wrong for me to want to you to be happy for me?"
"I see two can play at the guilt game."
"I learned from the best," Suki shot back. "I spend my days doing what I want to do, I have good friends, I'm respected in the village – what am I missing?"
"If you have to ask, dear, believe me, you're missing it," her mother replied archly. Suki stared at her a moment before deciding to ignore her mother's suggestive tone.
"I only wish more women would take advantage of the training we offer instead of just a handful of the single girls," Suki redirected the subject. "Married women could benefit, too."
"Why would married women want to learn fighting?"
"We have to be realistic! Kyoshi can't hope to stay neutral forever. If we get attacked, we'll need everyone we can get."
Mother: But,
darling, when a woman has a husband, and you've got none,
why
should she take advice from you?
Even if you can quote Balzac
and Shakespeare,
and all them other high-falutin'
Greeks?
Daughter: Mama! If you don't mind my saying so,
you have a bad habit of changing every subject--
"You have to be realistic, too!" her mom retorted. "Why would a married woman take advice from an unmarried one?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Everything! If a woman has something you don't, why would she listen to you? Women expect their husbands to protect them; they don't see the need to defend themselves."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Suki shouted. "I don't think Avatar Kyoshi would be saying things like that!"
"Probably not, but she's not here, and I am."
"So, what? I'm supposed to get married just so I can get people to listen to reason?"
"There are other benefits, you know."
"It's psychotic the way you keep bringing the conversation around to what you wanted it to be in the first place!" Suki was aware that she was making less sense as the argument went on, and she silently cursed herself for that. Her mother always seemed to have this effect on her. Maybe it was time she thought about moving out.
Mother: No, I
haven't changed the subject.,
I was talking about that
stranger.
Daughter: What stranger?
Mother: With the suitcase.
Who may be your very last chance.
"I'm just talking about that stranger with the Avatar," Suki's mom insisted. "You've scared away all the men of this village, and we don't get visitors very often. He might be your last chance!"
"I wish you would stop talking about me as though I were an old maid!" Suki objected. "I'm barely old enough to marry."
"Old enough is old enough. I'd like to see some grandchildren before I die."
"You're 35. I doubt there's much danger of your dying anytime soon."
"Fine. Don't listen to me."
"Do you intend to just throw me at every stray man who comes along?"
"This isn't just any stray man. If he's a companion of the Avatar, there must be more to him than meets the eye. Maybe you shouldn't judge too quickly. What would Avatar Kyoshi say about that?"
Suki grimaced. Apparently, two could play at the Kyoshi game, too.
"Okay," she gave in a little. "If he comes to me, I'll give him another chance, but I'm not going out of my way."
"I'll accept that," said her mother. She came over and put her hands on Suki's shoulders. "Listen to me, Suki. This might be the most important thing I will ever tell you. No man is perfect. If you're looking for that, you'll always be disappointed. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Mom." Maybe she had a point. Maybe Suki's standards were a little high. This new guy was marginally cute, and a part of her wondered what he'd look like without so many layers on. If he'd only keep his mouth shut for a few minutes, he might have some possibilities. She resolved to keep an open mind.
Daughter: Do you
think that I'd allow a common masher--?
Now, really, Mama, I
have my standards where men are concerned,
and I have no
intention--
Mother: I know all about your standards,
and if
you don't mind my saying so,
there's not a man alive who
could hope to measure up
to that blend of Paul Bunyan, St. Pat,
and Noah Webster you've concocted for yourself
out of your
Irish imagination, your Iowa stubbornness, and your library full of
books.
A few days later, as Suki watched the large bison fly out of sight, trailing the Fire Navy ship, she was glad she'd given Sokka another chance. There was more to him than had first appeared, and Suki wondered if she would ever see him again and be able to explore that further.
Not that she was going to admit any of this to her mother, of course.
--
Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Avatarwolf, Strix Moonwing, MormonMaiden, and honorary member SnakeEyes16.
Author's Note: The "what am I missing" exchange was taken from the movie Pillow Talk starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson. This ended up sounding very similar to conversations I've had with my mother, but it was unintentional.
Review responses:
Thank you to frozenheat, Aangs fangirl1214, Snows Of Yester-Year (great name), and libowiekitty for reviewing Chapter 1.
MormonMaiden: I figured I dealt a little with how Sokka must have felt as the only man in the village, so now I'd look at Katara's view with her brother as the only man in the village. I had thought "Sadder but Wiser" might apply to Iroh, so that's the direction I'm leaning right now.
SnakeEyes16: I do hope you continue to enjoy this set and that school doesn't bog you down too much.
Kumori Doragon: Yeah, I do find it a little scary that I could probably even make a Zutara likeable. Fortunately, I just don't see it happening. I think I'd have to take myself out to the woodshed if I ever wrote a serious Zutara.
