May 22nd, 1984
"How do I look?"
Ren turned and watched her brother walk into the kitchen in jeans and a blue-and-green checked button-down shirt. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Mao in clothing that wasn't either formally Imperial or traditional. This was a level of casual that, even when he had the option of wearing a modern suit of Xingese cut, she would bet had never existed in his closet. "About three decades younger."
Mao grinned. "I'll take it. I haven't worn anything like this since we came to visit for your wedding."
"Then it's been way too long," Ren chuckled. She remembered her brother dressing as 'common' as he could in order to hang out with Will and the boys around town. He had ditched his guards to do it.
"So, what can I do to help?" Mao asked, looking hopeful.
Ren thought for a moment. Breakfast was almost completely prepared already. She smiled at her brother. "Would you like to do the dishes?"
Mao's face lit up. "Sure. I think I can still remember how to scrub a dish."
"Great, because the bacon pan could use it," Ren gestured to the sink. The breakfast table was already heaped with waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, and a bowl of fresh strawberries.
"Breakfast smells amazing," Mao said as he looked appreciatively at the table. "Do you always cook this much?"
"Only when there are a lot of people in the house," Ren replied. "Six of us will eat quite a bit. When it's just me, Will, and Kamika I don't have to make as much. When we all have work and school there will be days when your options are cold cereal and hot cereal."
"What kind of cereal?" Mao asked curiously.
"Well at the moment, we have Corn Crisps and oatmeal."
"Quite the variety."
"Welcome to the rest of the world."
"Oh I'm not complaining," Mao assured her. "Your guest room is very comfortable, and I'm not a picky eater, you know that."
"Well, I can't be sure you hadn't gotten spoiled with an entire professional kitchen at your constant disposal."
"Do I look like I abused my royal kitchen privileges?"
Ren looked at her brother –who was as lean as he ever had been- and chuckled. "Fair enough. Do you and Jiu know what you want to do today?" Ren had taken a few more days off –with Ethan's insistence- to help her brother and his wife adjust to living in Central.
"Other than help you with house chores?" Mao rolled up his sleeves and turned on the water in the sink. "Which we do want to help with, by the way; it's been a long time since we got to do things for ourselves."
"You're welcome to help with the chores until you're bored stiff," Ren assured him. "If you're feeling really ambitious, this afternoon you can remember how to scrub a toilet."
Mao laughed and started scrubbing the bacon pan. "Whatever you need, little sister. Anyway, as I was saying, Jiu and I would like to take some time today to walk around the main part of town, get a feel for where everything is and where we would go for everyday needs. Also where we might want to shop for clothes," he added with a knowing expression. They had brought very little on purpose, Ren knew.
"I know several stores Jiu will probably love," Ren promised as she finished with the last waffle and turned off the waffle iron. "And you," she added. "I promise not to show her anything you'd regret wearing."
"Thank you."
Feet thudded on the stairs, and a moment later Michio entered the room, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the table. "Oh my gosh, a real meal!"
"Don't tell me you didn't eat in college," Ren waved a batter spoon at her son as she dropped it and the empty bowl into the sink in front of her brother.
"As if dorm food could ever compare to my mother's amazing cuisine." Michio came over and kissed her cheek.
"So where's the professor?" Mao asked, referring to Will.
"The one on sabbatical?" Ren snickered. "We'll see him sometime around noon."
Kamika sailed into the kitchen right behind her brother. "This looks great, Mom, but I've got to go! Gloria's going to be over here in less than a minute and Uncle Cal is giving us a ride to school." She grabbed a napkin, used it to snatch up a waffle, and started to nibble it plain. "Have a great day, Mom. Uncle Mao," she dropped a kiss on her uncle's cheek, then turned to her brother. "Don't eat us out of house and home on your first day back." Then she was gone again. A moment later the door opened and shut.
"And that, is the teenage daughter whirlwind," Ren smiled. It was good to be home.
"I remember that stage," Mao grinned. "Meifen was much the same. Always on the run, and always just this side of late."
"Minxia was always on time," Ren sighed. "Not that I got to see her nearly as much at this age. She was always away at Chalas. It's a different experience, having a daughter home. It makes me wish Minxia and I had had more time together though."
"She's as much an independent spirit as you, my sister," Mao smiled kindly. "You were the one who ran off to Amestris for college and married an itinerant philosopher."
"Which has worked out very well," Ren pointed out.
"Did I say otherwise?" Mao rinsed the pan he was holding and set it on the drying rack before moving on to a bowl. "I am also very much looking forward to seeing the practice you and Ethan have set up; my sister the accomplished and internationally acclaimed physician."
"Oh I'll make sure you get to see the office," Ren promised. She was quite proud of what she and Ethan had built. "Just try to avoid being a patient while you're here." He was doing much better after weeks of rest, but she wanted to be sure that he was completely recovered. "No doing anything crazy."
"Like water-balloon fights in the dark?"
"That might be one thing," Ren eyed her brother. That was what they had done at Will's bachelor party.
Mao looked hurt. "Then what kind of fun will Thrakos' bachelor party be?"
"Probably a lot of fun, presuming the 'old folk' don't attend." Ren certainly knew she wouldn't be at her daughter's pre-festivities get together. While she knew it wouldn't embarrass her daughter, she knew that it might make things awkward with some of the other younger woman who didn't want to say anything that might "scandalize" her.
Someday those girls will realize that it would be the other way around.
"Well, do you like it?"
Minxia looked at herself in the mirror and then stuck out her tongue just for effect. "Eww, no. Next one please." The dress she was wearing was all right, she supposed, if you were a poodle, or a cupcake. "Something less…floofy."
Angelique snickered and reached for the next dress- bypassing the next two suggestions from the sales girl who seemed to have a thing for big and poofy dresses.
Minxia took the dress and went to change. This was the fourth store –the forty-third dress- and she still hadn't found the right thing. Given she wasn't particularly picky generally, she had figured it would be easy to find something simple and elegant.
How wrong she had been! First, there were the dressmakers and sales girls, who all had their own opinions on what would most flatter Minxia's looks and would be perfect for her big day. Then, there was the fact that most of them knew who the groom was, and every attempt to try on something truly simple had been thwarted until she flat out insisted if she didn't get to try on simple and elegant dresses she would leave the store.
The next one was probably the best so far, which was a bit of a relief. At least this one wasn't covered in ruffles, bows, lace, or glitter. It was, however, completely skin-tight all the way down, with an A-line skirt that didn't sit quite right over her hips. "Nope," she called out of the dressing room. "We're done here."
Minxia thanked the sales girl, trying not to see the look of disappointment on her face at having not made the sale. Of course, whoever sold the dress for the Elric-Argyros wedding would probably be in for a little bit of five-minute fame themselves, particularly depending on if they worked for a designer directly.
"Where to now?" Minxia asked, feeling more than a little glum. "I don't suppose there's anything or anyplace that isn't going to try and make me look like a fashion model out of 'Tackiest Bride Monthly?'"
"Some of these dresses were lovely," Angelique pointed out. "They just weren't your style."
"Would you have worn them?" Minxia challenged.
"Well, probably not." Angelique shrugged. "Though there were a couple I might have considered, depending on what style of wedding I was having." She paused on the street corner, then turned left. "The last place is down here. They have good reviews, but they're very small. From what I understand the owner is the primary seamstress." She didn't sound too impressed. "But they're not one of the big-name fashion firms."
"I don't care," Minxia said, feeling almost relieved. "At least maybe I'll get to try on something that won't have Thrakos laughing at the altar."
Her spirits went up a little when they found the shop, which did have a very nice storefront, with several dresses in the window for bridesmaids as well as wedding gowns. To her relief, none of them were hideous, and none of them were terrifyingly fluffy.
The sign over the door read Kamille's.
"This is much better," Minxia voiced her thought quietly aloud as she and Angelique stepped inside.
A petite dark-haired woman in her forties, dressed in a nice dress-suit of soft green and wearing thin gold-rimmed spectacles smiled as she came out of the back room. Her hair was up in a simple twist out of the way. ::Good afternoon, ladies,:: she smiled. ::What occasion can I help you with today?::
::A wedding,:: Angelique spoke up first, and nudged Minxia forward. ::My friend is getting married in July, and we're trying to find the perfect dress.::
::Of course,:: the woman came forward, holding out her hand. ::I am Kamille Marchand. Welcome to my shop. Please, try on anything you like, and if you don't find the perfect dress, we will create it.::
Minxia knew that designers could make complete originals, but as much as she knew Thrakos' parents, and her own, were willing to spend, she just couldn't see spending the expense for an individual designer gown.
Her expression must have leaked her thoughts because Kamille gave her a knowing look. ::You will find my prices are most reasonable. But please, let us first find a dress that says you.:: She turned and went straight to her racks, eyeing them thoughtfully for several moments. Minxia and Angelique stood and let her work. There was already a completely different feel to this store than the others.
Finally, she began to pull dresses. She did not pull a huge pile, but she merely chose three.
None of them had bows, ruffles, or glitter. Interestingly enough, not all of them were white. In fact, one was a pale blue, the other a very pale sagey green.
::Traditional wedding colors are often preferable to modern fashion,:: Kamille explained as she hung the options up where they could be better seen. ::Both greens and blues are traditional colors of fortune and blessings on the couple here in Creta. Forgive me if I guess incorrectly, but from your accent you are Amestrian, and by your coloring and features, also partially Xingese.::
The woman was good. Minxia nodded.
::I thought so. Well, I do know that red is a traditional color in Xing, and would also not be out of place here, though more as an accent color.::
::Not red,:: Minxia said with a subtle shake of her head. ::I mean, it's lovely, but I'd prefer something more understated.::
::You could stand at the altar in a burlap sack and every eye would still be on you,:: Kamille pointed out, though her smile was gentle. ::Try these on. They will give me an idea of what will match you best.::
She didn't say Minxia had to like them or that one of them would be perfect. With a nod, she took the dresses into the small dressing room in the back.
The white one was actually the fanciest of the lot, having a full skirt, but a fitted bodice with long sleeves trimmed with a delicate, though understated, lace pattern that covered the sleeves and bodice, then cut away in interesting designs asymmetrically down the skirt, leaving most of the skirt exposed plain white silk.
The blue, she felt, was not her color, but Minxia couldn't say she disliked the cut. There was a hint of Xing about it, in the higher neck and lack of sleeves, coupled with a fuller skirt instead of the straighter Xing style.
Her favorite, to this point, was the light green, which had a softer silky look instead of being extremely shiny. The skirt was full enough to fall loosely over the hips and down, but did not bell out hugely, and the bodice had a simple yet sculpted neckline and short sleeves. She wasn't thrilled with these sleeves either, but they at least didn't have weird little poofs on them.
Each time Kamille looked at her, made some comments about where things fit, or what looked off –all of which Minxia agreed with- and then had her move on. When they were finished, the designer had a page of very neatly written, tiny-lettered notes and, to Minxia's surprise, a sketch!
::What do you think of this?:: Kamille asked, holding out the page.
Minxia took it, and her jaw almost dropped through the floor. Thankfully she managed to keep enough composure that she simply stared for a moment, before nodding.
::Yes. That would be absolutely perfect!:: But how much would the woman want for it?
::This, in that fabric,:: she gestured to the soft green, ::I estimate will cost four hundred Cretan lira.::
She managed not to stare, if barely. Custom designs in the other stores had been twice that much.
Again, her face had apparently failed her, or Kamille was used to this. ::I do not believe in price-gouging my customers over the name on their clothes,:: she said with a note of pride. ::I prefer to let my work speak for itself. It has served me well, and what matters is that you are happy with what you get, Miss Elric.::
Minxia blinked. ::How did you know?::
Kamille smiled. ::In my business, how could I not?::
May 23rd, 1984
Relax. Breathe. Tune everything out. Clear the mind. Let stress go.
Once again, Cal sat on his bedroom floor with the door closed trying valiantly to succeed in the same basic meditation exercises he had been working for days. He had still not managed to find what he would call a semblance of true calm and focus… just boredom and frustration.
Bacon Cheeseburger… with fries.
Where had that come from? Cal sighed, opened his eyes, and realized that he was smelling something through the door. He heard Charlie in his room, music blaring, and guessed that his son had brought home a snack. Cal's stomach growled. "Damn it," he grumbled, smacking the ground with one hand before he stood up.
"Still having trouble?" Alyse asked from the bed, where she was reading a book.
Cal sat down next to her. "I just don't get it. No matter how many times it's explained, no matter how hard I try, or how easy I try, whatever you want to call it, I just can't do it."
Alyse sat up, resting a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "So maybe you need to find a way to meditate that doesn't require you to hold perfectly still in complete silence."
"But Ethan said—"
"I am well aware what he said," Alyse shook her head. "But that doesn't mean that's the only way to get 'Zen,' as it were. What you need to do is find a state in which you are the most relaxed and at ease mentally. You're terrible at sitting still."
"Fair enough," Cal shrugged. "What would you suggest, oh great and brilliant expert on staying calm?"
"Sarcasm will get you nowhere," Alyse replied. "Just think about when you're the most at peace."
"After sex," he replied without having to think.
"Second-most relaxed."
Cal offered her an 'if you insist' smile, and decided not to say 'after lunch.' "When I'm working out," he said, realizing in that moment that the words were true.
"Are you able to clear your mind when you do?"
"If I'm pushing hard enough." Cal could usually forget about his problems when he was focused on pushing himself. He wanted to make sure he did exercises right, to keep from hurting himself, but also because he liked to push himself to his fullest extent. "Not every exercise, but some."
"Then there's your answer." Alyse kissed his cheek. "Find what allows you the clearest focus and least crowded mind, and try this then."
Cal kissed her back. "I knew I married a genius."
Franz did not tell his children -or anyone else he knew- that he was having coffee with Wendy Gartner. Despite his insecurities and the thoughts that had crept into his head since, he hadn't been willing to cancel after having promised to show up. Besides, he kept telling himself, it was most likely she really was just lonely and glad her neighbor was back and wanted to spend an afternoon talking.
The fact that she was his age, attractive, and available, had nothing to do with his decision.
For that reason, Franz decidedly dressed casual, going for khakis and a dark green polo shirt.
When she met him at the door, Wendy was dressed similarly casual, in heather-gray pants and soft, short-sleeved lavender knit top. "Good afternoon," she smiled as she let him inside.
"Good afternoon," he replied politely. "I hope I'm not late."
"Since my clock is still striking four, I'd say you're on time," Wendy assured him. "I suppose I should have expected military precision."
"Does that mean you're not ready for me?" Franz asked, teasing ever so slightly.
"Oh I didn't say that," Wendy chuckled. "Coffee's just finished percolating and I just got off the phone with my grandkids."
Ah, a safe topic of conversation. Franz smiled. "And how are they doing?"
"Lively and well," Wendy replied as she led him into the kitchen where two coffee cups were already waiting with cream and sugar on the counter. "Not that Emma tells me much over the phone that anyone but her mother understands," she said, smiling. Franz understood that. He was familiar with toddler babble. "But Harold and Kevin like to talk."
"What do they like to talk about?"
"Harold mostly likes to tell me about their dog and the adventures he makes up in the back yard," Wendy said as she poured coffee. "Kevin plays baseball this time of year, so he loves to tell me about his games… every single inning."
"At least you know you're getting an enthusiastic narration," Franz chuckled.
"What do your grandchildren talk about?" Wendy asked as she handed up a cup of coffee and gestured at the cream and sugar. "Help yourself."
"Thanks." Franz added cream but no sugar. He had never been one for heavily doctored coffee –unless it was occasionally spiked. Sara had always been the one who liked a little coffee in her cream and sugar given the opportunity. Not that office-sludge often did. "Well Gabriel's at that age where boys are into anything that has wheels or makes loud noises, and he loves wild animals, so lately it's been all about cars, trains, and anything he saw on his last zoo trip with really big teeth." He watched Wendy mix her coffee, noting that she also liked it with cream, but just a little bit of sugar. "Rosa is our ball-player, though this is her first year." His granddaughter had decided to try baseball this year. The school sponsored a summer co-ed team. "They have a game this weekend, so since I got back too late for the first one, I figure I'll go cheer them on."
"Oh you'll enjoy it," Wendy assured him. "Did you ever play sports?"
"Only for fun," Franz replied, following her into the living room, where they took opposing seats, him on the couch and her in an armchair. "My friends and I goofed off and played all sorts of things in the summer and after school, but I was never good enough for any of the school teams that required try-outs."
"They were that difficult?"
"I wasn't that interested." Franz shrugged. "I was more the studious type, honestly."
"And yet you went into the military." She blew on her coffee and sipped.
"My father's influence, and inspiration," Franz explained, enjoying the aroma for a few seconds before he sipped the coffee. It was excellent: clearly an Aerugean import. "He was military during the first altercations with Drachma, decades ago. I was a little boy at the time, and I wanted to be like him in any way I could, even though I knew he had demons I couldn't fix after his experiences. I wanted to make him proud, and to understand him." I told Sara once it was her Dad that my Dad called the inspiration for moving on… that I was starting to understand my father's survival pain. I had no idea then what it really felt like to have survivor's guilt. Not until I lost you, Belle. "So I joined up in time to fight against Xing as a private: spent some time in East City. Eventually got convinced I should go officer corps instead and ended up in Central for training."
"And you've been here ever since."
"I made the mistake of getting myself assigned to President Mustang's office." Franz smiled wryly. "They've never let me leave."
"You must be good at your job."
"It also kept Sara and I out of the same immediate line of command." It came out before Franz could think about it. He hadn't meant to bring her up.
Wendy either didn't care, or was a great actress. She nodded. "That would make sense, with the rules on fraternization. Still, I don't think you'd have been in the same office this long if they didn't find your work valuable. Most of the soldiers I have known, even officers, have moved several times."
"We were both fortunate enough to get long-term postings," Franz nodded. "It made having a family much less complicated."
"Have your children had the same fortune?" Wendy asked. "They're both at Headquarters as well aren't they?"
He had to remember that she had been their neighbor for years. It was possible that she and Sara had talked more than Franz remembered. "They are. Trisha and Roy are both assigned to Central in general, but their superiors try not to send them out of town too often, and not at the same time. James has a girlfriend, but she's studying at the University." Franz had not been surprised when he found out James and Krista were going out. In fact, he would have been pleased that it cleared the air and ended any last vestiges of rivalry between him and Ted if it hadn't been for Ted's reactions to that compounded with what happened to his team in Xing. That had nearly been a disaster.
That it hadn't was only the stuff of Elric family legends. I bet Mustang spent a lot of time wanting to strangle Ed.
"I'm sure she's glad he's home too then," Wendy replied, clearly unaware of his inner monologue. "James went with you, didn't he?"
Franz nodded. "Him and Roy both. We're fortunate everyone came back. This turned into more than a little bit of a family affair."
"I only hear what they tell us on the news," Wendy admitted. "And what little I can get out of people I still know at Headquarters, but sometimes they don't know much either given their positions."
"Do I want to know what you've heard?" Franz asked between sips of coffee.
"Probably not," Wendy chuckled softly. "Though all of it complimentary about your part in commanding, and there are a lot of people speculating that the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother were involved in whatever it was that completely through the Syndicate into disarray."
"What do you think?"
"I think that it would be entirely in character, given their past exploits," Wendy replied. "Though no one seems to have spoken with them directly on the subject."
"And you probably won't see any interviews with them in the news," Franz admitted with a shrug. "At the moment, they're here in town visiting family." Which didn't admit they had ever been anywhere else. "Though one of my cousin's daughters is getting married this summer, so we'll all be going to Creta for the wedding."
"That sounds lovely," Wendy smiled, her eyes lighting up at the mention of a wedding. "Destination wedding or Cretan groom?"
"A bit of both," Franz said. "They went to high school together in Pylos and have been a couple ever since. The wedding is there because there are many family wedding traditions that matter to his family quite a bit. Ours is a pretty flexible."
"How refreshingly different to have the groom's family want a say," Wendy chuckled. "Does the bride mind?"
"I don't really know, but I doubt it. She's more practical than anything." A trait that seemed to run down both sides of the Elric line. Not that Franz' family was any different. His whole family –father, mother, sister- were nearly as stubborn. He sometimes considered himself the least of them, which was worth a laugh. "Certainly more so than some people I can think of. Did they really pass a new neighborhood association rule against planting exotic flowers?" He had found the notice in the pile of mail Trisha had neatly put on the dining table for his perusal.
"Oh, that!" Wendy nodded. "It was just because Don Pullins' yard tried to eat Mary Vans' cat."
"It what?" Had he really heard her right?
"Yes, he planted this large exotic Aerugean plant. Not that it did very well here, but he took awfully good care of it until the incident. It was supposed to eat insects, or so I'm told, but it was large enough that it caught on to old Fluffers' tail one afternoon and when it was all done the cat was missing an inch of fur and the plant was half shredded. They both complained to the neighborhood association and exotic plants were banned."
"But not cats?"
"They figured it was easier to ban the plants." Wendy rested her cup on her knee. "Most of the neighborhood loves cats."
This was true. Franz chuckled. "Remind me not to bring home any Cretan ferns."