Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious. Making no profit off of it either.
:}
Trina was looking around nervously, wondering if she should give Tori and Jade a heads up. This was big; everyone they'd invited from Jade's family was showing up for the play. Trina knew that because they were all having dinner together first. It started when she was taking Scotty to hook up with her parents at Fast Choice, the salad restaurant, for dinner. While walking to the restaurant, she'd ran into Adam and family. She'd thought of avoiding them, but Adam knew her, so she decided she had to at least say hello. They got to talking as more of his extended family, and those from the dojo who were like family, started showing up. One thing led to another, and the two families were meeting, and sharing dinner. Wasn't hard, considering the place was a buffett. Adam's introduced Meg, his girlfriend (Fiance!) to his family at the same time they were meeting the Vega's. The whole thing felt off, since neither Jade nor Tori was there to witness the two families getting together.
Wyatt was his usual charming self, joking with Jade's father, Richard, about this being the first time the two of them had gone to one of Jade's "Things" together. Mike and a few of the others were there as well. They kept things lite, talking about the play with anticipation. That was, until Stan explained why he'd never saw one of Jade's plays.
"Girl fights dirty. I think I can take her in a straight fight, but if she goes for the knee's, it'd be over before I knew it." The black belt was joking, kinda, but it cut the mood. Everyone was suddenly off.
"Scotty, maybe you could have her show you some moves. It'd help out on the street." David said, breaking the awkward silence. "Oh, yea, Trina's guy is going to be a cop. It takes a modern kind of guy to be comfortable knowing his wife is going to bring in the majority of the family's income."
"What makes you say that?" Richard West asked.
"Trina's always had so much drive, and lately she seems to have picked up whatever she was missing in the talent department. If I had to guess, she's going to parlay her small role on Spanish TV into something major. Or maybe she'll be a singer. Whatever happens, she seems to have all her pieces in place now. Scotty's not going to be broke, but a cop only earns so much." David replied. "Besides, I've heard her plotting with Jade, and I'll bet they come up with something. I mean it's Jade, right?"
"You talk like she's going to make some money at that foolishness she keep doing." Richard West said, sounding dismissive.
"Why wouldn't she?" David asked, keeping the challenge out of his voice. Trina was in awe of how he did that, asking without pressing, so that Richard wasn't feeling like he had to defend his position.
"Because the odds are against it." Richard replied, and for the first time anyone could remember his voice rose. "Jade's good at this, but I want her to have a career. Something where she can be comfortable. Actors, writers, directors, I've met a couple of those when I went to get my morning coffee. If she can make a living at it, then fine, but I don't want her hopes up on something where five thousand people every year try to break in. Five thousand. And how many make it, maybe a couple of dozen at most?"
"Where do you get those numbers?" Trina asked, suddenly very curious.
"Law and Order, Criminal Intent." Scotty answered. "That had an episode about music, kinda gave the numbers."
"Still." Richard said, as if that was enough.
"Then you let her know you're worried, but still support her dream." David said. "Before this year, I paid for Trina to go to Hollywood Arts, but didn't think she had much of a chance. Now, I can see that she does, and even if she doesn't make it, she can still have a career in music or acting, just in a smaller way. Maybe she'll wind up singing in the lounge of some Hotel, but she'll be making a living doing what she loves. I mean, she got that part on that show."
"Playing cheese." Richard said.
"Wait, how'd you know that?" Trina asked.
"Jade burned herself a copy of the episode she was in." Pearl, Jade's mother, said.
"Then Jasper here sent copies to all his friends." Katelyn added.
"So?" Wyatt asked. "Rickie, relax, they have more of a career then many people ever get, and their not even out of school yet. I'm more worried about what that kind of life is going to do to them. Success can take more out of you then failure. When you're struggling, people understand, are willing to help. When you succeed, no one cares, cause you're not supposed to have problems any more."
Kevin, one of Wyatt's 'sons', said "There goes Wyatt, dispensing the wisdom he got from Spinal Tap."
"It was a good movie." The older man said.
"Doesn't make the advice right. I mean, it was one song, at the end of the film." Kevin replied.
"Are we really going to let this conversation get so distracted?" Richard asked.
"I don't know?" David replied. "I mean, it's a good movie, but do we really want to use it for life lessons? I mean, it's a movie about a fake band."
"Look, Mister West, I know you care." Scotty cut in, trying to shift the discussion back to the girls and away from movies. "I know you just want whats best for her. But you have to ask yourself, is you're vision the best? My family wanted me to play football, cause I could go to collage, or maybe make a lot of money playing it professionally. But I had a different view of my life. I want to serve and protect. If Trina makes a lot of money, they we'll live a more comfortable life. If not, I'll take care of her. Either way, my parents will support my decision. All Jade wants is for you to tell her you believe in her."
"Not sure he can do that." Adam added. "Dad, there's a reason I succeeded in life, and part of it is you. But just as big a part is Wyatt, and a bigger part was Jade. Yes Jade. I knew you'd never be there for her, and she was so talented. So I decided to make sure I made it so I could support her if things went bad. Every sacrifice I made along the way..y political decision that made me contacts, those were made to support Jade."
Adam had stood up by now, walked over to sit next to his father. Katelyn moved to give him room. "Guess what happened while I wasn't looking? Jade made something of herself, and she did it in a way I didn't approve of. She's a champion fighter. Not like I'll let her do that again, but only because I want to see the kind of movies she'll make."
"Nahh." Meg said. "You don't do well in horror films. Jade's work will scare the shit out of you." She walked up to Richard. "I'm Meg, and my family didn't believe in me either. But you know what? I found someone who would. Not Adam here, but one of my teachers in school. She pushed me to work hard and make something out of my life. So here I am, a college graduate, looking for work in LA because my safe career is being outsourced to fucking china. I took a job at the accounting firm near Adam's work just to help pay the rent. Turns out I'd have done better if I'd gone in to music or acting, cause then I could still make money, and I'd be doing something I enjoyed." She shifted a little. "Except, I enjoy music, but not making it."
"So what is it that would make you happy?" Richard asked.
"That's the thing. I'm not that talented at anything, but I do enjoy playing soccer, or hiking. I love spending time at the beach. I just know that's not what I'll make my living at. I'm trained as an archatect, with a minor in accounting, cause you have to keep the books." Meg said.
"Have you considered going for you're MBA?" Richard asked. Meg could hear that conversations had spread around the table, but this was her chance to size up her boyfriends father.
"Me and everyone else." Meg replied. "Why should I bother?"
"Because you want it." Scotty cut in. "Maybe it's not the guarantee for a better job, but if it's something you want, then go for it."
"I like you." Richard said to Scotty. "Why can't Jade date someone like you?"
"You mean male?" The big guy asked.
"Why does everyone think I have a problem with that?" Richard asked the room. "No, I mean practical. You value education, and having a plan. I think Jade needs more of that in her life."
"Mostly I'm not dating her because she scares the living chiz out of me." Scotty said. "Besides, I think Jade's on the right track. And Meg, I think I'm going to like having my sister in law's girl be your sister in law."
"We're practically sibling." Meg said, laughing.
Even Richard laughed at that moment. The whole family had broken into smaller conversations, and he could see them bonding. Wyatt and Holly were talking about something, while David was explaining something to Kevin. Even Trina was busy talking to Pearl, while playing with Jasper. It was a scary moment for the West patrearch, as he saw the one thing he never quite understood forming before him. Family, in all it's quirky glory.
"Adam, I think, maybe, I should talk to my boss about Meg here. If she's willing to continue to work in accounting, we might need someone like her. Besides, I don't think Jasper is going to follow in my footsteps, and I should be getting someone trained to help me once my boss retires. Who knows, maybe Meg here can be my replacement if I ever retire." Richard said to his son. It was him reaching out.
"You'll never retire." Katelyn said. "You'd go mad within a month."
"So, whats the play about?" Pearl asked someone, effectively changing the subject.
"It's started as something Jade wrote, and then became a class project, so I'm thinking it's going to be a mess." Trina said. "But an entertaining mess."
A short time later, they decided to head to the theater and see the play. Trina knew the black box held about a hundred people at a time, and that they'd take up about a fifth of that capacity. Multiple cars drove to the theater, each spilling out relatives of either Tori or Jade. Trina took the time to talk to Richard as they were walking into the black box.
"This would be the second of her plays you've seen, right?" She asked.
"Fifth." He replied. "They have a very good Auden-Video department here, and sell the DVD's of their performances. I could just pay a little to download it, but I wanted a permanent copy, and you wouldn't believe how the laws differ for buying a hard copy and downloading it."
"I thought you didn't support her dreams." Trina said.
"I don't. She should do something practical. But, I do admit she's good at this stuff, and it's a fathers duty to know what his child is up to." Richard said. "Now this Tori girl, I'm led to believe she's under contract with Neutronium, is that right?"
"Not sure, but she's on good terms with them." Trina replied. By then, they were in line, waiting for their tickets to be ripped.
"Then I'd recommend she take a course in economics. Many first time artists go broke because they don't know how their contracts work." Richard said. He noticed the look Trina was giving him. "The studio loans you the money to record you're first album, then expects you to pay them back from the proceeds. I learned this stuff after Jade first started attending this place. I didn't want her to be just another one hit wonder, forever in debt because her brush with fame came at a cost."
"You do care." Trina said, smiling.
Richard West brushed off Trina's statement statement with "I'm just practical. Her debt could easily become mine, so I wanted to be ready if some fool offered her a contract. I always want to be ready, cause I don't like to lose." His voice showed a strong aggressive streak, and more emotion then his family got to see in a week.
"She must get that from you." Trina replied.
"Maybe." The West patriarch said. "Now lets see if this play is any good."
:}
Well, that was a thing. Jade and Tori missed it as their families, nearly all of them, got together and bonded. Now that horde of relatives is descending on the Black Box to see the class project. Lets all hope it's good, cause I kinda forgot what it was about. See you next time, Space cowboys.
Oh yea, review.