Jay was extremely nervous, Erin could tell. Despite her assurances that there wouldn't be a scene when they told Hank their fantastic news, Jay seemed convinced that there would be. She was going to have to make sure Hank proved him wrong.
The proposal, as wonderful as it had been and continued to be, had come at a time when Erin really needed to be discussing other things with her dad. There was important WWE business that needed to be addressed, mainly regarding when the stocks were going to be signed over to her, allowing her to take charge along with Lucy Thorne.
Erin had a feeling that the reason she hadn't heard back from Clementine was because nothing had actually changed in WWE as yet. Promises of changes possibly didn't mean much to her; she was waiting for actions not words. And that was fair enough in Erin's opinion. But she was still going to call Clem and keep the line of communication open.
But first there was the trip to Hank and Mandy's place. Seeing Mandy wasn't exactly something Erin wanted to do. She felt like she couldn't warm up to the woman if they were cremated together. However, they had agreed to be civil with each other, and to her credit Mandy had always lived up to her end of that agreement.
Erin had driven her and Jay over there in her Ford GT. She loved driving, and in any case Jay couldn't because at the moment he only had one good arm. The injured one was back in its sling.
She had worn leather gloves even though they would spend almost no time outside, the main reason on this occasion being that her engagement ring would stay hidden until she had given her dad the news. The ring was a bit loose until she got it altered, but not so loose that it could fall off her finger.
"If I don't come out of the house alive, I just want to thank you for making my final couple of years on Earth so happy," Jay quipped as Erin parked up near the front door of Hank's house. Erin still had a hard time thinking of the place in those terms. She managed a laugh at the joke though.
"What, you think he's going to shoot you or something?"
"At this point nothing is ruled out," Jay said as he awkwardly got out of the car. The low seating position of the sports car made it slightly tricky for someone with an injured arm.
"Are you okay?" Erin asked, noticing him wince from the other side of the car.
"Yeah. I get shooting pains sometimes. They'll stop soon as it starts healing properly."
"I'll mention it to Doc Mikami on Monday night."
"No need," he assured her as they met up at the front of the car. "It'll be fine. Just needs time."
"If you're sure," Erin said hesitantly before giving him a kiss on the lips.
"I am. Come on, let's go in. Being engaged to you is the thing I'm most proud of in my life, but I'm dreading telling your dad about it. Dreading it to the point that I feel sick."
"Oh, Jay. It's awful that you feel that way. You really should not be made to feel that way. At some point I'm going to have to sit down with my dad and have a serious conversation about how he behaves towards you. As for right now, if he does give you any grief, which I doubt, I'll jump right in and make him stop. Okay?"
"Let's do it," he said, taking her hand and walking towards the front door.
When they got there, Erin rang the bell. Moments later, it was Hank himself who opened the door. He looked delighted to see her, as he always did, and she felt the same about him. Despite his shortcomings that had led to some of the behaviour that had forced him out of WWE, Erin loved her dad with all her heart. Theirs was a bond that could never be damaged, much less broken.
"Erin! It's so good to see you!" Hank cried, embracing her immediately.
"Hey, dad. Good to see you too. Sorry it's been a while since we came over."
"Jay," Hank said as he moved on to his other guest, offering a handshake. Erin noticed that it was hardly the warmest of welcomes. Hank really did need to do better with Jay, she thought.
"Hank," Jay said, shaking hands.
"Come in. Mandy's in the kitchen, working on our food."
Mandy's food was one thing Erin could definitely look forward to. The woman was an unquestionably amazing cook, especially with Italian food.
Erin followed her dad through to the kitchen, with Jay lagging slightly behind. He wasn't good at hiding his nervousness.
"Whatever we're having, it smells amazing," Erin said, picking up the smell of herbs, onions and tomato in the air. Entering the kitchen, she saw Mandy at the stove, stirring something in a big steel pot. There was other food prep ongoing too. Mandy was wearing latex gloves, which Erin noticed right away and tried not to get excited about. Not now. Not Mandy.
"Hey, Erin. Hi, Jay. How are you?" Mandy asked. There was the usual hesitance about her. Maybe if she wasn't aware that Erin didn't like her, she might have greeted them with the more Italian peck on each cheek, Erin wondered. But for her, keeping a distance was fine.
"We're good, Mandy," Erin said. "That smells incredible."
"It's my own tomato sauce recipe. You're going to love it. We're having it with eggplant and chicken parmesan."
"Sounds delicious. It's good to see you," Jay said. The words he chose were fine, but his social awkwardness and nerves made them sound strained.
Hank said, "So, I'm going to do this right off the bat. I've got something to tell you, Erin. You might not take it too well, so I want you to try not to overreact."
"Okay," Erin said slowly, her first thought being that he was backing out of handing over his WWE stock for some reason. "I could say the exact same to you actually. We also have news for you that you'll probably not take well."
"Oh?" Hank asked, immediately looking at Jay, then back at Erin.
"You go first," Erin said.
Hank took a deep breath. "Okay. I've asked Mandy to marry me, and she's said yes."
"You've what?" Erin shrieked. It was the last thing she had expected. Her attention went straight to Mandy. "Oh, that's great for you, huh? What's the plan, give it a couple of years and then take half?"
"Erin!" Hank snapped.
Mandy was clearly angered but she kept her composure. "Actually, I've already agreed to sign a prenup. So if for any reason do we do separate, I'll take nothing from your dad, and he'll take nothing from me. As I've repeatedly told you, I'm not with him for money or anything like that. We love each other. One day maybe you'll come to terms with that and accept it."
"Erin, back off," Jay said, more firmly than he had ever spoken to her before. That, more than her own reaction to what Mandy had just said, told her that she was in the wrong. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it needed to be swallowed.
Looking down for a moment, Erin did her best to compose herself. Then she looked back at Mandy. "Fine. I apologise. Speaking to you like that was wrong. Again. I'm going to try to be more respectful towards you in future. Treating people that way is not who I am."
"Thank you. I hope you're serious about that," Mandy said, turning back to the stove and giving her sauce another stir.
"So do I," Hank added. "Now, what's your news?"
"Believe it or not, Jay asked me to marry him too," Erin announced. She pulled off her glove to flaunt her ring.
"You asked her to marry you without even speaking to me first?" Hank demanded of Jay, sounding like he wanted to start throwing fists.
"Hank! Enough of this bullshit between the four of us!" Mandy yelled at him. "For fuck's sake, can't we all just get along and be happy? I want to marry you. Erin wants to marry Jay. Be happy about it!"
"And I'll sign a prenup too," Jay said, even though it hadn't been discussed. "I've never been with Erin for money. Quite frankly, I'd prefer it if she wasn't rich. But I love her, and all I ever want to do is be with her and make her happy."
"Amen to that," Mandy said. "Hank, shake the man's hand and congratulate him. And Erin, hug your dad and congratulate him, because I'm about ready to start knocking heads together here."
"I'm with you, Mandy," Jay said. "Hank, yes maybe I should have spoken to you first. But how could I when you've pretty much always been hostile to me being with Erin?"
"He's got a good point there, dad."
"Just like you've always been hostile to me with Mandy," Hank retorted.
Erin signed. "It must run in the Voight family, huh? We both need to do better."
"Yeah, we do," Hank reluctantly admitted before offering his hand to Jay. "Congratulations. I know you'll both be happy."
"Thank you. We will," Jay said, accepting the handshake.
"Erin, let me see your ring," Mandy said. She pulled off her glove so that Erin could see hers too
Erin saw a silver ring with a single white diamond on it. Beautiful, no doubt, but she liked her own more. "Stunning, Mandy," she said nonetheless.
"Yours is too. Look at the way all the little diamonds shine in the light. That's really something."
Hank was apparently keen to move on from all of the engagement talk and the confrontation. "Why don't we leave Mandy to her cooking? Erin, we need to talk shop before we sit down to eat."
"I'll stay here with Mandy. The business talk doesn't interest me," Jay said.
"I'll fix drinks for everyone," Mandy offered, going on to ask everyone's preferences.
Erin asked for wine, feeling like she definitely needed it. She was going to have to attend a wedding where her dad tied the knot with someone younger than her. It felt so strange. And she could never get that fan's shouted taunt at the airport out of her head either. 'Someone younger and hotter than you.' Those words really hurt. But taking it out on Mandy was wrong. After all, it wasn't her who had said it.
"Do you have an update for me on the stocks?" she asked, following her dad to the main living room.
"I do."
Good, Erin thought. It was time things started to move, then she could get a deal done with Clementine on a new contract. Hopefully.
A/N: Two engagements announced, which may have finally put a stop the feuding in the Voight family.
How long will it be before Erin takes the top job at WWE? And will she get Clem to re-sign before her contract expires?
