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Post by Madison Benson on Jan 4, 2016 0:22:22 GMT
If she was being entirely honest, Madison Benson was nervous. There were a lot of milestones that she had crossed with both her son and step-daughter that she had felt unprepared to deal with, from having "the talk" to first dates, poor grades and the reappearance of biological mothers, but she had never been necessarily nervous about them. She had tried to take them all in stride, making lists of things that needed to get done, relying on Cooper's support when things became truly awkward or uncomfortable. Maddy hadn't really been prepared when either of their children had started high school, knowing that somehow this was the sign that things were going to be changing dramatically for their family over the next several years. She hadn't been ready for Jamie to start growing up, being the baby of the family and the one that she had unfortunately felt like she coddled a bit much - and she hadn't been prepared for him to start dating as such. But he was the least of her worries, she supposed. Now at seventeen, he was still the one that she knew what to expect from - his sister had always been a different story. And while Melanie's teenage years had been a bit difficult, they had all made it through with barely a scratch. But now, with her relationship with her father fractured, Maddy wasn't sure what her next step was meant to be.
Not sure what else she was supposed to do, and perhaps in some part owing to the holiday spirit, she had gotten into her head that the best way to start repairing their family was getting everyone together. And by everyone, she meant everyone. She had extended the invitation to dinner to both Jamie and his girlfriend, as well as Melanie and her new boyfriend though she was sure that the latter was going to get under her husband's skin. Trying to ease his agitation at their eldest, Maddy had tried to offer him the excuse that they were able to keep a better eye on Melanie's relationship this way, but the truth remained that Maddy really just wanted to meet the charming man that had sent her daughter a box of delicious jam and had swept Melanie into her first true relationship.
And so she was nervous. It seemed like there was a lot riding on this one dinner, and while most of her concern came from her husband's preconceived notion of what Melanie and Tripp's relationship was, she had to admit that she was nervous about accepting the fact that their son was nearly grown as well. It was a lot to take in, she admitted.
As she poured over the recipe for dinner that evening, mentally checking off all of the steps that she had completed, she couldn't stop thinking about all of the things that could have gone wrong, and a few things that she hoped that she would go right. Sighing heavily, she stood up from her spot hunched over the counter and started repacking the recipes away in her favorite recipe box. Leaving the kitchen to find her husband in the living room, she tilted her head at him, just watching him for a moment before speaking.
"Cooper," she started, "I want you to promise that you're going to try and be nice tonight. This is important to me and I want it to go well. Neither Melanie or Jamie have ever brought anyone over like this before and I want them to be as comfortable as possible."
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 4, 2016 2:10:22 GMT
Cooper Benson looked up from the book he was reading for a moment, glasses that he'd become more accustom to wearing over the years for reading sliding down to the tip of his nose. He looked up at his wife and smiling at her. "Madison," he nodded at her. "I promise to do my very best to be on my best behavior," he told her. "Though, I expect the same from all four of them." Since the last disastrous dinner with Melanie, he had taken some time to cool down and while he still wasn't keen on Melanie's current relationship status, he was going to make an effort to not make a scene as long as he could help it - until he could figure out more about Tripp and handle the situation more delicately. Which would require a few third party conversation and background checks. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?" he offered.
The morning for Melanie Benson had been slightly stressful. She'd contemplated trying to get out of dinner with her family several times before remember how Madison had stressed the importance of all of them meeting. After agonizing over what to wear and giving Tripp one more out, the two of them had finally made their way to her family's apartment. "So, my dad is a little...lukewarm on our relationship," she reminded him. "But mom loved the jam and necklace - she thought they were sweet," she told him as they stood on the other side of the door. She lifted her hand to knock but then dropped it again, turning back to him. "Jamie's girlfriend is supposed to come...he can do better," she paused again, lifting her hand yet again only to drop it. "They're not used to me bringing anyone home," she added. "In fact, you're the first man I've ever brought home."
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 4, 2016 2:31:21 GMT
Maddy smiled at him and nodded before stepping toward him and kissing him quickly. "Thank you, I appreciate it." She was hoping that everyone being on their best behavior wasn't going to be a problem. As much as it was a big deal for her to have everyone come over, she assumed that it was going to be a big deal to Jamie and Melanie as well. At least she felt like it would have been a big deal if she had been in their shoes. "Sure, if you don't mind coming to help me set the table." She knew that their guests were going to start arriving at any moment, and for now distracting herself with the task of getting dinner ready was helping, though she was sure that having Cooper's company couldn't hurt either.
Tripp sighed, shaking his head at her and giving her a small smile. He didn't understand why she seemed so on edge about the dinner with her family, considering the fact that they had already established that they had perhaps reached a point in their relationship where they needed to approach things in a more official capacity. That's what this was as far as he was concerned, it was just a step that they needed to take in order to solidify the status of their relationship, nothing more than a mere formality. Despite the fact that he knew that Melanie's family had gotten the wrong idea about some well-placed marks around her wrists, he was sure that their opinion of him and of their relationship wasn't going to really change anything. "It's going to be fine," he reassured her, taking the initative to knock on the door for her. Knowing that this entire ordeal meant a lot more to her than it necessarily did to him, he reached down and grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
At the knock on the door, Maddy's eyes widened and she grinned, feeling the nervous excitement rushing over her. "James," she called out to her son, "I think your sister is here, come out and say hello." Her giddiness over finally meeting her daughter's first real boyfriend must have been getting to her as she playfully prodded her husband in the side as she excused herself to go answer the door.
"Hi!" She greeted brightly. "You must be Tripp, it's so nice to meet you."
Tripp smiled in response, "Mrs. Benson, thank you for having us over."
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 4, 2016 2:48:18 GMT
Melanie relaxed slightly with Tripp's hand in hers and when she saw Maddy's smiling face, she chuckled. "Hi Mom," she nodded, stepping in to hug her tightly. It was with a subtle clearing of his throat that Cooper made his presence known and Melanie looked up at her father. "Dad," she greeted him. "How are you?"
Cooper stepped into the foyer and eyed Melanie and her new boyfriend for a moment before stepping in to press a kiss to the top of Melanie's head and then offer his hand out to Tripp. "So, you're the man I've heard so much about. Come in, would either of you like a drink?"
Melanie, relieved that things seemed to be much calmer than before, nodded at her father. "Wine would be lovely," she told him before taking Tripp's hand again. "Come on, I'll show you where to put your coat." She tugged him away towards the closet, shrugging out of her own winter coat to hang it up before tugging the sleeves of her blouse down over her wrists. She smiled up at Tripp, standing in front of him, "If you think I'm a mess now, wait until I have to get ready to meet your family," she muttered before turning back to her parents. "Dinner smells great, what did you make?"
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 4, 2016 3:29:12 GMT
Tripp shook Melanie's father's hand, nodding at his offer of a drink. "Wine would be great," he echoed Melanie's drink order before being pulled away to put away their coats. When she tugged down the sleeves of her top, he couldn't help but smirk at her, thinking about what it was that they had been doing at the time that had caused the slight bruising. Knowing that those same bruises that he was so proud of were behind the tension between her and her family, he hesitated to say anything about them to her presently. Smiling at her, he placed his hand on the small of her back when she turned away from him and back toward her family, hoping that his touch acted as a comfort in the moment.
Maddy watched Cooper and Melanie for a brief moment as though she was afraid that the smallest pebble might create ripples in her carefully constructed dinner plans and when Melanie and her new boyfriend moved to put their coats away, she let out a small breath that she hadn't realized that she was holding. Moving to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine that she knew that Melanie liked, she poured two glasses and laughed softly when she heard her daughter's question. "It's that braised chicken recipe that you recommended to me a while back. I've made it a few times since then but I wasn't sure that I had ever gotten the chance to make it for you, so I thought that now was as good a time as any." She walked back over to where everyone had gathered and handed Melanie and Tripp the wine glasses.
Jamie had chosen that time to make his appearance to the rest of his family, having just recieved a text from Kensi letting him know that she would be over soon. Despite the fact that his sister seemed to be uncommonly happy with this new boyfriend, he couldn't say that he was particularly looking forward to meeting him. There was a lot of drama coming from their relationship and he didn't necessarily enjoy the way that Melanie had been fighting with their dad recently. "Hey," he greeted them all. "Kensi's on her way," he informed his mother.
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 4, 2016 3:58:15 GMT
Melanie smiled at Jamie when he walked in but frowned when he greeted them all so casually, "'Hey'?" she questioned incredulously. "That's all I get?" she scoffed jokingly. "I'm going to have to rethink the Christmas present I already got you if all of a sudden, I'm being reduced to a 'Hey,' baby brother." She shook her head at him but then smiled before gesturing up to Tripp. "Tripp, this is Jamie. Jamie, meet Tripp."
She turned to Maddy and smiled at her. "I love that recipe, I can't wait to try it. It smells great and I'm starving." She nodded, as she leaned slightly into Tripp, allowing her nerves to be comforted by his proximity to her.
Kensi wasn't necessarily looking forward to spending the evening with Melanie Benson, but when Jamie had invited her to dinner she'd found it difficult to say no. So she'd arrived at the Benson family apartment with a box of store bought cookies and knocked on the door, fidgeting and kicking her beat up Converse against the floor as she waited for someone to answer.
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 4, 2016 4:09:19 GMT
Jamie didn't know how to explain to Melanie, particularly in their current situation, that he wasn't entirely thrilled about the whole dinner with the parents ordeal either. If he hadn't known that it was important to his mother, he might have actually put up a bit of an argument about it. Though, he had to admit, there was a possibility that his lack of enjoyment about this set up had more to do with the fact that he wasn't sure how throwing Kensi into this mix was going to work out. His girlfriend had a tendency to be a little outspoken and very much a free spirit, and he had never put her in a situation like this before where there was more at play than just meeting someone new. Added with his hesitations about the new man in Melanie's life, he was feeling as though the entire evening was going to be awkward.
"It's nice to meet you," he told Melanie's boyfriend before walking up to his sister and giving her a hug. "Nice to see you Melanie, so glad that you could make it," he told her, a not-so-subtle note of teasing sarcasm in his voice. "Better?" he questioned.
At another knock at the door, Maddy excused herself to get the door. "Hi, Kensi," she greeted with a warm smile. "Come on in."
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 5, 2016 0:01:14 GMT
Melanie rolled her eyes at Jamie playfully but pulled him in for a tight hug. "Much better," she told him. Upon Kensi's arrival she stepped back though, rejoining Tripp and taking his hand before lifting her wine glass and having another sip. She wasn't a fan on Kensi, that much was true. But even aside from her previous desires to set someone up with a girl that she knew and who she could - due to her former status as Queen Bee - control, she just felt that her younger brother could do better. Kensi liked to think of herself as an edgy outsider, but really she just voiced opinions that most people were too polite to say. And while Melanie wasn't the most appropriate person, she knew that Jamie was as sweet as they came and she didn't want him overshadowed by some quirky girl's loud personality just because it was his first experience really being in a teenaged relationship.
Still, given the situation with her and her father, Melanie decided people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and she elected to try and behave herself.
Kensi smiled at Madison, holding out the box of cookies. "Hi, these are for you, thanks for having me over." She fidgeted a bit before stepping further into the apartment, walking over to Jamie and leaning up to kiss him quickly. "Hey you," she greeted. She hadn't been in a relationship in quite sometime and what she liked about being with Jamie is that he was so easy to get along with and agreeable. Kensi tended to have a big personality and it didn't seem to bother him. Her eyes flicked up to look at Melanie and the man she supposed was her boyfriend. Having been filled in a bit on the Benson family drama, she just nodded at them both in greeting before waving at Jamie's dad. "Hi, Mr. Benson."
Cooper nodded at his son's girlfriend before clearing his throat. "Shall we sit and eat?" he suggested, taking a sip of his scotch and gesturing everyone to the table. "And while we do, Tripp, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" he questioned, trying to make polite small talk.
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 5, 2016 1:10:38 GMT
Madison grinned and accepted the cookies graciously. Watching her son and his girlfriend for just a moment, it occurred to her that she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of her baby boy dating. She couldn't say that she knew Kensi well enough to judge whether or not she was necessarily a good match for him, but she did take note of the way that her personality seemed to outshadow Jamie's at time and she wasn't particularly fond of that. Also, she didn't like the way that Kensi had kissed him in front of the entire room, but she thought that was much more a mom thing than it was anything else. Moving into the kitchen to put the cookies away for later, she grabbed a glass of wine for herself and moved to the table, taking her seat and curiously turning her attention to Melanie's boyfriend. For every question she had of Kensi, she felt like she had twice as many for Tripp.
Jamie smiled at Kensi, glad that she had accepted his invitation to dinner. "Hey," he greeted her in response. Nodding in the direction of the table, he led her over to their seats. For the moment he was glad that his father had decided to turn everyone's attention to Melanie and Tripp for the simple fact that he wasn't sure how either himself nor Kensi would fare under interrogation. They had never been in this kind of situation together as a couple, and he was fairly certain that they had never been in this kind of situation separately either. Dinner with the parents was a big deal, dinner with the overprotective big sister was an even bigger deal - especially when he factored in the idea that neither Melanie nor Kensi seemed to like each other very much.
Tripp was simply biding his time before he feared that the conversation would inevitably turn toward the marks and bruises he had left on Melanie's body. Not that he thought that they had any particular right to ask any questions or pass any judgment on what they did privately, but he was sure that there must have still been some residual tension in the room - that or Melanie's family just naturally tended to be impossibly polite. Taking his seat beside Melanie, he smiled at Cooper and nodded, "I have a degree in finance from Cornell University before starting my career as a Mutual Fund Manager for a large corporation," he hated this part of dates and meeting someone knew, it always seemed like a job interview. "I grew up in the city, but when I was younger we traveled often and as such most of my hobbies tend to be water-related - particularly sailing." Feeling as though he had given them enough details to focus on, he opted to try and change the course of the conversation. "Mrs. Benson, this wine is very good," he complimented.
"Actually, it's one of Melanie's favorites," Madison pointed out, smiling at her step-daughter.
"I'll have to remember that," Tripp added.
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 5, 2016 1:48:11 GMT
Melanie smiled at Tripp as he spoke, reaching under the table and taking his hand for a moment. “Tripp’s very good at his job, very dedicated,” she told her parents, hoping that might help put him in a more favorable light. After all, she was of the opinion that her parents wished she’d always had a bit more of a work ethic to pave her own way.
Cooper nodded, taking another sip of his drink before chuckling as Tripp spoke. “I’m sorry, that’s not…I didn’t mean to – but has Melanie told you about her and water?”
Melanie’s eyes widened and she took a deep breath. “Dad…”
“It’s my fault really. I was trying to teach her how to swim, and as I’m sure you know – raising kids in the city, they’re just not used to water. But I thought I’d teach her the way my uncle taught me and so I tossed her in, thinking she’d tread. About ten seconds later I had to dive in and fish her out. She hasn’t really gone near the water since.”
“You tried to drown me,” Melanie countered.
“It worked for James.”
“Jamie might be part fish for all we know.”
“She wouldn’t take a bath for three months, only showers and even that was a struggle.”
“People have drowned in puddles,” Melanie pointed out, but then laughed even as she dipped her head in slight embarrassment.
“Well that’s a little melodramatic,” Kensi said gently. “You’re not worried about melting in the water, are you?” She blinked as several sets of eyes landed on her and she shrugged, “It was a joke.”
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 5, 2016 2:17:35 GMT
Jamie tensed when Kensi made a slight about his sister apparently being akin to the wicked witch. Despite the fact that she tried to dismiss it as a joke, he couldn't help but feel a little upset with her for saying it at all. "Kensi, stop," he told her softly.
Tripp squeezed Melanie's hand under the table, turning and smiling at her softly as he learned about her obvious fear of water. "I would be happy to help you conquer that fear of water," he offered to her. He chose to ignore the subtle jab from Melanie's brother's little girlfriend and instead kept his attention on his own girlfriend.
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 5, 2016 2:49:57 GMT
Kensi turned to Jamie and frowned, "I'm sorry. It was just a joke." Tapping her fingers on the table she then shrugged. The truth was though that she had only partially meant it as a joke. She didn't like Melanie and in her experience the older woman didn't like her and had never been shy about it. In fact, she was a bit surprised Jamie had said anything to her about it when she knew that Melanie was constantly telling Jamie that Melanie didn't like her and that he could do better.
Cooper cleared his throat, eying Jamie's girlfriend briefly. Despite his current disagreements of his daughter, he still hadn't been a fan of the comment. As the tension returned to the dinner table, he tried to diffuse it. He flashed a good natured smile at Tripp, "Well, good luck. She's very stubborn and we've been trying for years to get her to try to swim now."
Melanie ignored Kensi's comment easily before turning to Tripp. She flushed a bit as he offered to help her get over her fear of the water and chuckled. "It's kind of a crippling fear of water, Tripp. But it doesn't mean we can't go to the beach, you can do water things and I can just get a tan. I look very good when I'm tan," she grinned at him, squeezing his hand back. She hadn't previously told him about her phobia when she'd realized how important water-related activities were to him. She figured they would have crossed that bridge when they got closer to summer. Kensi, at Melanie's vain comment, couldn't help but snort a bit under her breath and this time, Melanie looked up at her. "Is there a problem?" she asked the younger girl pointedly. She reached for her wine glass, not quite noting the way her sleeve slid up slightly as she did so.
"I just kind of find it hard to believe that someone with low enough self esteem to be in some sort of unhealthy relationship also manages to be as full of herself," Kensi replied calmly.
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 5, 2016 3:17:49 GMT
Instead of the comment he had been about to make about his own stubbornness now being pointed toward teaching Melanie to swim, or at the very least becoming comfortable in the water, Tripp found himself turning his attention toward James' girlfriend and debated the appropriate way to deal with the situation. He wasn't fond of the comments that the petite teenager had been making, but he was sure that his defense of Melanie at the moment wasn't going to be taken well. Despite the fact that he had been expecting the conversation to eventually turn toward other aspects of his relationship with Melanie, he hadn't been expecting the first stone to be thrown from a child. "Unhealthy relationship?" He couldn't help but question it, mostly out of curiosity of how much she knew about it all, or rather how much she thought she knew about it.
Jamie hadn't been particularly happy when Kensi had made her first comment about Melanie, but now she was crossing the line. He didn't even know where to start with all of the things that he wanted to tear into her for. He barely even considered the fact that they probably should have left the dinner table before he turned on her, but he simply had enough with her attitude at the moment. "Kensi, that's enough," he snapped. "I don't know what makes you think it's okay to say something like that to my sister."
"James," Madison warned, afraid that this nice dinner was very quickly taking a sour turn.
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Post by Melanie Benson on Jan 5, 2016 3:30:07 GMT
Kensi turned to look at Jamie, lifting her eyebrows up. "What? Obviously other people are thinking it to - you told me it was a thing."
Melanie put her hand on Tripp's arm, shaking her head when he started to respond to Jamie's girlfriend before her eyes flicked up to Jamie and she frowned. "Jamie, it's fine," she told him calmly. "Obviously she's been misinformed." She wanted to ask exactly how much he'd told his little girlfriend before she cleared her throat, taking another sip of her drink. "There's nothing unhealthy about our relationship," she told Kensi, fixing her with a stare. "Tripp is the most incredible man I've ever been with..."
Kensi let out a low whistle, "That's a big deal, given the length of the list."
Melanie didn't bat an eye, she just continued as though Kensi had never chimed in. "And while I wouldn't expect everyone to understand, we're very happy and while I appreciate any well meaning concern, we also..." she trailed off, trying to find a tactful way to finally put the conversation to rest. "Very passionate people." She turned to her father, "That's all there is to it," she told him.
Cooper realized what Melanie was trying to say right away, and while he didn't like it - it certainly clarified the situation that had been bothering him for weeks now. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sipped his drink, "Would anyone else like more alcohol?"
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Post by Tripp VanderMill on Jan 5, 2016 3:51:47 GMT
"Melanie, you don't have to explain yourself to her," Tripp told her forcefully. If they were in any other situation there was no doubt in his mind that his anger would have gotten the best of him at this point. At Melanie's explanation and her compliment of him, he found himself very much wanting to get her back to his apartment and show her just how passionate he truly was, but he was finding it difficult to even stay distracted by that thought as his temper continued to rage. Instead of taking it out on this girl, Kensi, as he would have liked to, he nodded at Melanie's father's offer of more alcohol. "Please."
Jamie's explanation of the situation to Kensi had been simple, he had simply informed her that Melanie and their father had gotten into a fight over some bruises that they had seen on her wrists. The rest of it, he assumed came down to his girlfriend's own assumptions about what Melanie and Tripp were getting into. "Kensi," he couldn't stop snapping at her. "If I could speak to you for a moment in the other room."
Maddy sighed heavily but waved dismissively at her son and his girlfriend, unwilling to admit it but a little relieved that they were stepping away from the table for a moment.
Jamie walked into the living room, waiting for Kensi to follow him. Not caring that they were still within earshot of the rest of his family, he just knew that he wasn't going to make it far into their home without he started shouting at her. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but you can't talk to my sister like that. And where do you get off saying those things about her?"
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