Chapter 12: The Dinner Party

Present Day – September 16, 2016

This was it. The vision of a perfectly prepared, expertly hosted evening surrounded by her family and friends. The atmosphere was like that of the dinner parties that she and Oliver had hosted and attended in Ivytown, except that Felicity actually liked these people … no, loved these people. Felicity had people; people who she could invite over for a spontaneous dinner party on a Friday night. So many people, in fact, that she and Oliver had had to put leaves in their dining room table to make enough space – leaves! In their already massive dining room table!

Felicity gave a polite laugh at something Curtis said to his husband Paul and Digg as she walked over to Laurel and Josh with a bottle of wine asking if they would like a refill. She looked around for a moment and enjoyed the jovial atmosphere. Oliver was excitedly sharing something with Lyla while Thea was happily carrying Sarah around to show her the city lights out of the Loft's large windows.

There was a knock on the door and Felicity practically floated to the door, feeling her best in her bright red dress that had just the right amount of flounce in the skirt. Opening the door she happily greeted her mom and Captain Lance. Lance gave a polite grin and thanked Felicity for having them, but her mom made her pause. Donna was dressed poshly for the evening, as always, but her face was serious and she said a quick, "Hi honey," like it was an afterthought. Felicity watched as they walked in to join the party. Lance walked straight over to pull Laurel into a hug and to give Josh a firm handshake. Donna followed behind, still quiet (a word which was not a descriptor ever applied her mother) and quickly helped herself to a glass of wine.

Felicity was wary of her mom's attitude – but, this evening was going to be perfect, regardless of whatever Donna Smoak had going on. Firmly setting it aside in her mind, Felicity resumed hosting duties. Felicity stopped to help Curtis explain to Digg the applications of their newest burst-mode receiver. Digg looked like his eyes might glaze over with the explanation, so Felicity said, "Maybe you should show Digg a video of your thermal battery. What do you think of a battery that harnesses its own heat as a power source?"

Digg looked bewildered. "Honestly – all I want is for my batteries to work."

"Then thermal might be for you!" Curtis rejoined cheerfully.

Felicity noticed her mom had pulled away from the rest of the party near the kitchen and had approached Thea and Sarah. Well, maybe that was a good thing. Her mom liked babies and loved Sarah. Baby time might sweeten her mood. Felicity had just picked up the wine bottle to make a second round when her mom's voice arrested her, "Oh, you didn't bring your boyfriend with you?"

Felicity's eyes went wide and she pivoted to see her mom with a hand on Thea's arm. Thea chuckled a little ruefully and said, "I'm not seeing anyone right now."

"Ah, that's right," Donna said in a falsely light-hearted tone. "You're too busy making the rounds."

Felicity thought her jaw would drop at her mom's catty comment. Thea also looked bewildered at the remark and scrunched her brow in confusion. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Oh, I mean no offense, dear!" Donna enthused in a fake tone that made Felicity's skin crawl. "No one expects someone as young and pretty as you to just settle down. Showing up all of us old ladies."

Thea laughed a little nervously, attempting to break the tension. "I'm actually kind of a homebody."

"Oh, is that what they're calling it now?" Donna asked. "We used to call them 'booty-calls'." Donna then leaned over Sarah and cooed at her for a moment before turning and returning to Quentin's side. Thea stood frozen looking after Donna in wide-eyed confusion.

Felicity sidled up to her mom, locking her arm around her mom's, and said to Laurel, Josh, and Quentin, "Sorry, just going to borrow my mom for a second." She tugged her mom a few steps away and hissed, "What was that?"

Donna looked at Felicity with innocent confusion. "What was what, dear?"

Felicity said in an angry whisper, "You cornering Thea about her love life? That's so inappropriate!"

"Oh please, Felicity," Donna said flippantly. "Thea's practically family. I was just getting caught up."

"Please, mom," Felicity said. "This party means a lot to me and these people are Oliver and my family and friends. Whatever is going on with you, please keep it together, for one night!"

"Felicity!" Donna said as if shocked by the accusation. "These people are my family too! Why would you even feel the need to say such a thing?" With that, Donna excused herself, gliding back to stand by Quentin's side.

Oliver came up next to Felicity. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh," Felicity said darkly. "It had better be."

Trepidation remained, but Felicity was pleased to see her mom behaving appropriately as she interacted with the rest of the guests. Felicity called out to pause the conversation and invited everyone into the dining room for dinner.

As dishes were passed and plates filled with cuts of tenderloin, asparagus, and red-skinned mashed potatoes, the conversation built up, bright and cheerful. Felicity laughed appreciatively as Oliver relayed something amusing about Brenda from the Mayor's office and her jazz band. Thea in particular cracked up, having been Brenda's former colleague. Donna was getting obviously tipsy, but was making inane chatter to those sitting closest to her. A few of her comments made Felicity cringe with embarrassment as she confused the term 'gerrymandering' with 'filibustering', but that was just part of her mom being her mom. Felicity was regaining her confidence that this dinner was going to be a success. Glasses clinked against the table and happy chatter filled the room. Plates emptied and were refilled just as quickly. As appetites slowed, Felicity began imagining the reactions she would receive for her incredibly cute, fall-themed raspberry tart waiting in the kitchen for dessert.

"It was just announced this week that, since becoming DA, Laurel has led the district attorney's office in convictions for the last ten years," Josh was saying proudly to Lyla across the table. Laurel looked a little flushed by the flattery, and Josh sweetly squeezed her leg and said, "You won't brag on yourself, so I am more than happy to brag for you."

"That's my girl!" Quentin said with a wide grin.

"Speaking of bragging," Oliver said as congratulations on Laurel's success died down. "Thea landed a big account. Queen's Jubilee is going to be planning Mick Portier's annual Fall Soiree." Impressed murmurs and congratulations arose from the guests as Thea flushed. "Wow, Thea! That's huge!" Laurel said, impressed. "The Fall Soiree has to be one of the biggest and best-known annual events in the city!"

Quentin added to Laurel, "I have a distinct memory of taking you, your mom, and Sara to the Soiree when you were little." He grinned, clearly taken by the memory. "I remember how sweet your little checkered dresses were. Your mom put those huge bows in your hair."

Laurel laughed, "Oh, I remember. Sara tugged at that bow all night long."

"Aw," Quentin said with a laugh, "But it was so dang cute!"

"I'll bet I know what you did to win that bid," Donna said calmly addressing Thea with a hint of a slur in her speech, but not looking up from cutting her steak. The jovial mood faltered as everyone tried to make sense of the comment, doubting that it could be meant as an innuendo but not knowing how else to take it. Felicity's heart sunk.

After the briefest pause while Thea stared at Donna's down-turned head, trying to understand, Oliver said lightly, "Of course – by running the best and hottest new party-planning business within the city. Well done, Thea! I'm so proud, and I can't wait to attend." He said with a kind smile at his sister.

Felicity held her breath and looked over at her mom. Not being a praying woman but still a hopeful one, Felicity pleaded in her head Please let it go. Please let it go. But she should have known better. When had Donna Smoak ever let something go?

"We women do what we have to do to get ahead, don't we?" Donna asked in a slurred voice. Donna's eyes raised from her meal to fix Thea with a sharp look. "There's no shame in bedding an older man, dear," Donna said. "I understand you have experience since you were practically in diapers."

It was like the world stopped moving. Felicity felt like she couldn't even choke in a breath of air, but she did manage to cry out, "Mom!"

Thea's eyes were huge as she stared at Donna like she had been slapped. Oliver turned in his seat to look at his mother-in-law in horror and Digg had a forkful of food halfway to his mouth, hovering in the air. But it was Lyla who reacted first.

Turning to Felicity, then to Quentin, she said severely, too angry to address Donna directly, "One or both of you need to get her under control or we will be leaving." Lyla dropped her gaze to where Thea sat two seats away from her and seemed to notice the pricks of tears starting in Thea's eyes. Lyla stood up quickly, her chair shoving back from the table with a squeal. "No, you know what? John, get Sarah. Come on Thea, we're going to get ice cream." Lyla reached down and grasped Thea gently around the arm, urging her to stand with her. As Thea stood, she set her napkin on the table, looking bewildered at the evening's turn. They stepped away and commotion erupted at the table.

Oliver stood and waved a finger at his mother-in-law, saying something about "how dare you?" which was drowned out by the sounds of nearly every other chair being pushed out from the table as feet scuffled across the floor. John was picking up Sarah while Curtis uncomfortably tried to raise his voice enough for someone to hear his excuse that he and Paul needed to head out. Josh had a gentle hand on Laurel's shoulder, as if asking her to stand down, while Quentin was leaning over, demanding from Donna "What the hell do you think you're doin'?"

The door clicked shut behind Diggle as he followed after his wife and Thea with Sarah in his arms. The noise in the Loft only seemed to increase and Felicity felt dizzy with – with anger, with hurt, with a million emotions as she dropped from the fuzzy high of a perfect evening to the cold low of a perfect disaster.

"STOP!" Felicity shouted, standing up to be heard. All noise stopped. Felicity said into the quiet, "Thank you for coming, Curtis, Paul. I will bring you some raspberry tart tomorrow at work. Drive safely home." Curtis nodded, grateful for the out, and scurried towards the door with Paul. Felicity turned. "Laurel, Josh – would you mind heading out with Quentin? I need to have a conversation with my mother."

Quentin broke in, "Look, I can take care of your mom. I don't think this is the time to try talking to her."

"No, Quentin," Felicity said tensely. "I think this is exactly the right time. I will call you to let you know if she is coming home tonight or staying here."

Laurel said softly, "It was a really nice evening, Felicity. Thank you." Felicity felt her eyes fill with tears at the kind words which belied how the evening had ended. Felicity gave Laurel a trembling smile to thank her and Laurel rested a comforting hand briefly on Felicity's arm. Josh walked behind Laurel and placed a hand on the small of her back. Laurel looked towards Quentin. "Come on, Dad." The three walked out with Quentin shooting concerned looks back towards Donna.

Donna had not moved. She continued to poke at the bits of food on her plate.

Oliver stood, his back to Donna, and looked with wild eyes at Felicity. "Felicity," Oliver said in a low, dangerous tone. "I don't want her here."

Felicity nodded quickly. "I know. But she's my mom."

Oliver looked at her bitterly, "And Thea is my sister, and your mom crossed a line. There is no coming back from what she said."

"I know. I know, okay?" Felicity said, the emotion of the evening leaking into her voice. "Please – something is clearly going on. Let me talk to her."

Oliver studied his wife and then nodded slowly. He slowly stalked off to the kitchen where pots and dishes were stacked waiting to be washed. "Okay, Mom," Felicity said sharply to her mom, walking up to where Donna still sat at the abandoned table. "We're going upstairs."

"I'm fine here," Donna said, continuing to eat casually off her plate.

"Now," Felicity said, pulling the chair back with Donna in it, and gripped under her arm. Donna stumbled as she was pulled upright. Felicity directed Donna up the stairs towards the guestroom, needing to have this conversation away from Oliver.

As soon as they stepped into the room, Donna sat down heavily on the bed while Felicity closed the door and leaned against it, trying to calm herself.

"Throughout my life you have embarrassed me – a lot," Felicity said in a low voice. "But I have never seen you be mean, or cruel - until tonight. Thea is my family. How could you say those things to her? How could you say something like that to anyone? I told you about Thea being molested as a kid so you could be a little kinder to her. I can't believe I broke her confidence like that in telling you, and I can't believe that you used something so horrible to attack her!"

Donna just gave a little burp and shrugged.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Felicity raged, seeing how utterly unrepentant her mom was. Felicity didn't even recognize the woman before her. Felicity shook her head and then asked in confusion, "Seriously – what the hell is wrong with you? I feel like I don't even know you!"

"Baby," Donna said. "When the day comes that a man breaks your heart, then you and I can talk."

Felicity's eyebrows leapt into her hairline as she stared at her mom. "What are you talking about?"

"Quentin has been cheating on me," Donna said wistfully, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Mom," Felicity breathed out, shocked and confused by the conversation's turn. "What -?"

"I suspected it for awhile," Donna continued. "He was getting more and more distant. He started having to 'work late' and was texting at all hours, or taking calls. He went on a 'work trip' for a few days in the summer and when he came back, he wasn't the same – he just wasn't that interested in … being with me."

"Mom -" Felicity began, prepared to cut her off, not having any interested in discussing her mom's love life with the man she had known for several years now.

Donna was becoming more upset. "He would leave at weird times and give the stupidest excuses, all having to do with work – but if things were such a big deal that they call the deputy mayor in in the middle of the night, at least some of those things would end up in the paper, right?"

Felicity was getting a gross feeling in her stomach. The way her mom was putting it, Lance's actions did sound awfully suspicious.

"Last weekend he goes out of town again. For 'work', you know?" Donna gave a wet laugh through her tears. "And he came back in, like, a weird mood, like he was kind of standoffish. So last night he gets a call. Says he has to leave, it's work. So, I followed him."

Felicity's eyes were wide, sucked into the story.

"I took photos," Donna said, trying to pull out her phone and fumbling with it. "You know where he went?" Donna asked, handing Felicity the phone. "Straight to Thea Queen's apartment." Felicity's heart plunged into her stomach as she looked at the photos of the old clock tower building in the Glades which she knew well. "And you know what else?" Donna asked. "Guess who else was out of town last weekend. In Central City - the same place Quentin was."

Felicity's eyes prickled with tears and said softly, "Thea."

"The little whore," Donna mumbled, wiping at her eyes with one hand.

"Mom – I get how upset you are right now, but don't ever use that word in my home and never about Thea Queen."

Donna just let out a small sob and Felicity sighed and sat down next to her mom, pulling her into a hug. "Mom, have you – talked with Lance about everything yet?"

"No," Donna said quietly. "I've been lied to before, by your father … by others. I just wasn't ready to hear Quentin lie to me too."

Felicity sighed. "Okay. Look, you're staying here tonight. But you have to talk to Lance tomorrow. You're right, maybe he'll lie, but – look, I get that Thea had a reputation in her teen years, but even with everything you've said, I just don't feel like what you're describing is something Thea would do. She was so upset when she thought her mom was cheating on her stepdad that she got high and drove her car off an embankment."

Donna gave Felicity an incredulous look. Felicity shook her head. "People change, I know that … I just … think we should talk to them before we jump to conclusions."

"Well, you enjoy your 'not jumping' while I just sit here as my world crumbles around me," Donna said angrily.

"Okay, Mom," Felicity said. "There's a change of pajamas in the drawer, towels are in the bathroom, and I will call Lance to tell him you are staying here tonight. Now I have to go convince my husband to not put you out on your butt for making innuendos about his sister's childhood trauma."

For the first time Donna had the grace to look chagrined. She said quietly, "Whatever else Thea is and what she has done to my relationship … I am sorry for what I said."

"Well, there's that," Felicity said with a sigh, standing up. "Goodnight, Mom. I'm sorry you're hurt." Felicity slowly, wearily stood to her feet, closed the door behind her and walked down the stairs to where Oliver was methodically working his way through dinner cleanup.

Oliver met Felicity's eyes. "I'd like her to stay the night," Felicity started.

"Felicity!" Oliver started, opening his mouth to argue, anger clear in his eyes.

"Oliver," Felicity interrupted. "We need to talk. We've got some things to figure out. And she needs to sleep it off. Our lives just became a lot more complicated."

Oliver looked concerned, but still said, "Felicity, the things she said about my sister -"

"I know, Oliver – it was really bad. And she understands that and feels bad now, but she had her reasons -"

Oliver made an incredulous choking noise, "She – she 'had her reasons'? And what reason could she possibly have for throwing my sister's childhood rape in her face? In front of a roomful of people?"

"She thinks that Lance is cheating on her with Thea." Oliver was clearly not prepared for the explanation, as his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.

"Wha- why would she think that?" Oliver asked, stunned.

"That's the thing, Oliver," Felicity said quietly. "I also can't imagine them … having an affair. But honestly, my mom has pretty good reason to feel like there's something going on with them." Oliver motioned for Felicity to continue. "Okay, so Mom said Lance has been staying out late, texting someone frequently, and will get texts or calls and leave in the night. She also said that last weekend both Lance and Thea were in Central City together and Mom followed Lance last night to Thea's apartment at 10 pm."

Oliver looked nauseous. "If I haven't mentioned it before, I really don't want to have to spend any time thinking about my sister's love life," he muttered.

"I think there's probably a more reasonable explanation than they are having an affair," Felicity said firmly. "I think, just like Lance was for you, he's Thea's police contact for her work as Arae."

Oliver looked immediately relieved. "That would actually make a lot of sense," Oliver said, pleased there was an easy justification for a late-night rendezvous.

"But why would they go to Central City together?" Felicity asked.

Oliver shrugged. "Maybe Thea got her new suit from STAR Labs."

"Maybe," Felicity said. "But … why would Lance need to go?"

Oliver paled suddenly. "You know who else is in Central City?"

Felicity tried to think who could upset Oliver like that. Then her own heart felt like it stopped. "Tim Phillips."

Oliver nodded slowly, "And the evidence Walter had the Central City PD lock up."

Felicity took in a shaky breath. "My mom did say that Lance was distant after two recent trips to Central City. I would also be standoffish with you for awhile if I spent time handling child porn – especially if it was of someone I knew."

Oliver turned away from Felicity and leaned over the sink of dishes, closing his eyes. "Oliver, what is it?"

Oliver said in a low voice, "Phillips is locked up – he's going to be in there for years. Why would Thea and Lance want that evidence? There's no need to take him back to trial."

Felicity shook her head. "I don't know, Oliver."

Oliver's eyes opened and he turned back towards Felicity. "Think of Earth 42, Felicity. The journals – I was afraid Phillips had been … trafficking her, even here. He was involved with her long enough. On Earth 42, Thea went to that Lance for help building a case against Phillips. But what if Thea is … building a case against the other people who hurt her?"