Life had been calm the past few weeks. I was doing well enough in my classes. I never missed a homework assignment for calculus. Astronomy lab trips had been fun. Art history put me to sleep in my chair every time I was in there, but I had aced every test for it. English literature had one book to read that bored me to death so much I had to turn to Jordan to explain the book to me so I wouldn't have to read it—Old Man and the Sea. The rest of English literature hadn't been difficult, though. My architecture class was challenging, but I had made a mid-B on the first test and low-A on the second, so I wasn't struggling by any means.
Outside of class, things were going well. Not much was happening on the Dreamwarden front. There hadn't been any new flash quiz in our dreams and no new summons to Phobia Remedy's house. There had also been no further sightings of the doll or word about Moses. It was too quiet, and I half-expected they were lulling us into a false sense of security.
Maggie and I had gotten back into the swing of being best friends and tended to do something with one another at least a few times a week. Sunflower was opening up a little and had joined a club—she wasn't doing great in most of her classes, but she was maintaining C's, which was passing. She had a different English lit class than me, and that was her lone A so far. The three of us who knew we were candidates got together for a few minutes each week to tell each other that we hadn't heard anything either. We all talked to Dreamwardens in our dreams, but the Dreamwardens mainly just asked us about how our days went and how different events during the day made us feel. It wasn't anything mind-blowing.
Foalsitting was going well enough. Drizzle wasn't that bad a filly to deal with, and she was starting to get her dog somewhat trained. There had been some messes here and there, and one temper tantrum on her part over not being let outside to play in the rain until she finished her homework, but overall not much of an issue. Her mother still didn't like me, but she tolerated me and complimented me on being the most reliable foalsitter she had found to date. There hadn't been any crying or rage outbursts from her again either, so I took that as small progress.
That left one last aspect of life, and it was going great too, which was a problem.
Things with Russell were going amazing. We had had many dates over the course of the month. We had done a great deal of cuddling on couches and benches, and after an awkward first time where we had both been timid, we were now comfortable sharing a kiss—no tongue or anything, much to my friends' disappointment, but some of them lasted a long time.
I wasn't sure how the subject had come up on our previous date, and we didn't explore it much. It was like the subject was sending its first scouting party to find out if it was worth exploring further. The thing touched upon was feelings about getting more intimate than just cuddling and kissing and how the other felt about that. After all, we were two different species, and some people could have strong moral feelings about how physical a relationship between two species should be allowed to progress. We didn't discuss it at length, but the subject had been touched upon, and neither of us seemed to have any objection to such a thing happening.
That was terrible because that meant it was now time to introduce Russell to my parents.
I was at my parents' house, pacing back and forth in the living room. My stepdad was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. My mom was sitting on the couch, sipping some tea and watching me pace. Russell was on his way and would arrive at any minute.
"You're going to pace a groove in my rug," Mom said as she watched me. "Everything will be fine. You look beautiful, by the way. I have never seen you wear makeup before."
Until recently, I had never worn makeup in my life, but I had taken to wearing a tiny bit of eyeliner and mascara on my dates with Russell—not a lot. It had taken me some practice to get used to applying and even more practice not to wipe my eyes, but Russell seemed to notice how much more it brought out my eyes, so I taught myself to apply it without poking myself in the eye. Poking yourself in the eye with an eyeliner pencil or mascara brush really hurt. It was like stepping on a lego block; only the lego block went into your eye. I also had my mane and tail braided for the first time in forever—I owed Maggie a big favor for helping with that.
"I'm worried you are going to make things weird for him," I said, deciding to be honest.
"Why do you think I will make it weird?" Mom asked; she didn't seem offended.
I stopped in my tracks and looked at her. "That you'll be overprotective and scare him off."
She frowned slightly. "I might be a bit protective, but I made a solid effort to give you freedom. I do my best to stay out of your affairs and let you do your own thing, and ensure you learn how to be independent. I sometimes think I do that too much. Speaking of which…." She sat her glass of tea down. "I was wondering… insisting you find an apartment for the summer may have been pushing you a little too far to be independent. I know I was concerned about making sure I could afford a roof over my head at your age. I wanted you to know, I decided not to convert your room to a guest room just yet, and it is still available for you to use during and between school years."
"Your mother is dealing with empty nest syndrome," Stepdad called out from the kitchen. "It took her all of three days after you moved into college before she was fretting about how much she missed seeing you every day."
"You miss her being here too," Mom called back to him.
"I do," Stepdad agreed. "But you are right. She needs to be independent, and I mean no offense to you, dear, but you try to control every situation around you and get very assertive about it. You provide a lot of stability, but Becky does not need you butting into her… professional… life right now. You know that, and we talked about what is best for her. You wouldn't be able to help yourself; it goes against your core personality, but it would only cause her unneeded stress at a very crucial time."
Mom didn't seem happy, but she nodded. "You're right. I know how I get, and I am very grateful you put up with me being the way I am. I lucked out marrying you. Being commanding and demanding works in the corporate world, but it doesn't always work away from it. Rebecca needs to show her higher-ups she can be independent and assertive, and I only get in the way of that. The offer still stands if things don't work out." She gave me a small smile. "And I wouldn't mind you visiting a little more often. I know I said you were guesting here from now on, but I didn't expect you would stay away from the house altogether. This is the first time I have seen you in weeks."
I blushed. "Sorry. I have just been busy with schoolwork, friends, foalsitting, and Russell. I'm kinda glad my interview thing has been mostly quiet the last few weeks. It gives me some breathing room."
She narrowed her brow. "Nothing has been happening with the interview process?"
I shrugged. "I wouldn't say nothing, just nothing big. I get questioned regularly, and the first week of school, they hit me with a bunch of things close together, but it has been quieter since then—for all the candidates and me. We're wondering if they are waiting to hit us with something during this trip. They won't be in Equestria, but Luna is there."
"Other candidates?" Mom asked, both eyebrows arching. "You're in contact with other candidates?"
I firmed up my expression. "Mom, that's not your business. I'm not going to give you that many details. I shouldn't have mentioned that much. I've got this; don't worry. I'm pretty sure the next thing will be coming from Luna. In Equestria, she is Dreamwarden, and meeting her there is a whole lot different than meeting her here."
"Let Becky deal with her own stuff, dear," Stepdad called out.
My ears perked as I heard a car pulling into the driveway, and I turned to see headlights in the window. "Russell!"
I went bounding to the door and opened it, stopped myself, took a deep breath, and calmly went out to meet him with a smile. My smile got bigger when I saw him getting out of the car, but it fell a second later when I saw an earth pony and another man step out of the vehicle as well. He brought his parents!
"Be careful with that food! I didn't sweat over a hot pot making that for it to get served to the grass!" the earth pony mare bellowed. She was just as round as me, only taller and with a much larger frame, which made her all the more impressive. Her fur was the color of grape jelly, and her mane was strawberry red. The mark on her flank was a pot of stew with a huge spoon sticking out it.
The other man was dark skin, balding at the top of his head with grey hair along the sides. He had a short mustache and beard and looked pretty big himself, but not in a fat way. He was wearing a formal jacket that looked a little worn but nice, and he was carrying a big steaming pot with both hands.
Russell walked up to me, bent down, and gave me a quick kiss before giving me an embarrassed look. "Ma insisted on coming. I'd have called to warn you, but she accidentally stepped on my phone, and I didn't have your number memorized. When Ma wants to do something, it is hard to stop her. She's kinda strong-willed and near impossible to argue with."
"This your filly-friend, boy?" the mare said as she stomped over to me. I couldn't tell if it was stomping or not. She was so big that every hoofstep seemed like a stomp. She looked me over and smiled. "This one's got some meat on her bones! Somepony that knows how to appreciate a good meal! Rebecca, isn't it? I'm Jasmine Rice, but you can call me Mama Jas!"
She held a hoof out to me to bump, and I did so. "Um… nice to meet you, at last, Mama Jas. We weren't expecting you. My parents will be so surprised. I know I am. Let me tell them real quick that you're coming in."
I tried not to hurry to the door, even though I wanted to. I stuck my head into the house and gave a sheepish grin. "So… Russell's parents decided to surprise us by coming along with him. I think they brought food, so nothing extra needs to be made, but you might want to set two extra spots—one pony and one human."
Mom frowned. She didn't like guests dropping in without at least a few minutes' notice. Maggie doing it was generally okay, but not strangers, and definitely not for a meal without notice. This was not a great first impression with her, and now I had to worry about impressing Russell's parents while he was concerned about mine. Stepdad didn't frown or anything like that. He just started fetching additional plates.
I turned to see Russell came up behind me with his parents following. He mouthed me a voiceless I'm sorry and looked utterly abashed. I couldn't get mad at him. At the moment, I couldn't even get mad. I was too busy worrying about dealing with his parents, not to mention dealing with mine.
I stepped inside and to the side. Russell came in, followed closely by his parents, and stepped between them all and my parents.
"Hey, Mom and Dad, meet Russell and his parents. I'm just meeting his parents too," I said, grinning like a madpony.
Russell stepped forward and extended his hand towards my stepdad. "Pleased to meet you, sir and ma'am."
Stepdad didn't show any sign of hesitation or being perturbed. He just gripped Rissell's hand and shook it. "Good to meet the guy who has gotten Becky's attention. I wasn't sure if she would ever get in a relationship. She has always been so adamant about not wanting to get involved in one. That's a strong grip you have there."
"I wrestled in college," Russell replied. "I'm not as fit as I was then, but Ma keeps me doing heavy lifting whenever I'm at home."
His mom took that as a chance to introduce herself. "I'm Jasmine Rice, but you can just call me Jas. This here is my husband, Terrell." Terrell smiled and gave a quick nod while lifting the pot slightly in greeting but didn't say anything before his wife continued. "Forgive us for taggin' along, but my boy ain't never dated nobody and nopony. I was startin' to wonder if he was gay an' too embarrassed to admit it for some dog-gone reason. We ain't gonna be freeloadin' in your meal; we brought a big pot of my slow-cooked black-eyed peas and greens. Never show up unannounced unless you bring food. That's what my mama always told me."
"Where do you want this at?" Terrell asked, lifting the pot of food they brought.
"Oh! In the kitchen," Stepdad said as he hurried towards the kitchen. "Let me clear a spot on the stove where we can keep it at a low simmer. If you don't mind, can you help me fix everyone's plates? I normally serve everyone by myself."
"Sure thing," Terrell said as he followed Stepdad to the kitchen. "I normally do that at home anyway. Jasmine cooks the food, and I serve the food and clean up after. Team effort."
Mom stood up and walked towards the table. She had been quiet through all the earlier introductions. I knew she felt disrespected by them arriving for dinner with no notice they were coming, but I didn't expect her to say anything about it. "Let's take our seats. We can get to know each other a little while they are getting the plates prepared."
Please, please, please, let the rest of this visit go smoother!