When You Know Ch. 04

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Joe seeks the approval of the Mullens.
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Part 4 of the 6 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 01/03/2017
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laf199
laf199
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"You're sure Glenlivet is the Scotch your father drinks?" Joe asked Vicky anxiously, for about the 10th time that day.

"Yes...well that's the brand I've seen in the house," Vicky replied, rolling her eyes at being questioned again about this. "I'm telling you, it doesn't matter; that bottle cost you almost $100, I'm sure its fine."

"There's a difference, believe me," Joe answered. "If I got the wrong one, I'm pretty much screwed. He'll never like me."

"Stop being ridiculous," Vicky laughed. "My father is not going to dislike you because you bought the wrong bottle of Scotch." She didn't say that Henry Mullen had probably already thought of another hundred reasons to dislike Joe; what's one more to add to the list.

Joe had been like this all week leading up to his big first meeting with Vicky's parents. He wanted to make the best impression on them; Vicky tried to tamp down his expectations, knowing her parents. There likely wasn't anything Joe could do in this first get together to get them on board, short of revealing his secret blue blood upbringing and spitting out $100 bills from every orifice.

But Joe wanted their approval, he needed it. He still figured that it was the only way his relationship with Vicky was going to progress where he wanted it to; and by this point, that was everything. If all went well tonight, he could see himself proposing to her by the end of the year. He knew he was young, but he also strongly believed that you couldn't choose when in your life the right person came along. Vicky had come along now, in his mid-20's, and he wasn't about to let their age difference stop them.

For Vicky, she really just wanted to get through tonight without any disasters. She figured Henry and Caroline would have any number of snide remarks directed to her boyfriend; her goal was to keep her mouth shut as much as possible and not create any more damage. But if they did anything she felt was over the line, she wouldn't hesitate to put them in her place.

Vicky had never felt like this with any other guy; she now laughed over how upset she was when Richard left her. She couldn't even imagine why she ever wanted to marry Richard; him leaving was the biggest favor anyone ever did her. Vicky had even thought of looking up Richard and thanking him for having the courage to do what he did, but she knew he was probably knee deep in wedding plans and didn't want to get in the way.

"Come on, baby," Vicky said to Joe, as they prepared to leave their apartment. "Time to go and get this over with."

They drove the 25 minutes to her parents' house on the Main Line. It was certainly the biggest house Joe had ever seen, the biggest one even in this posh neighborhood. He fiddled with his tie (it was his idea to dress in a suit) as Vicky punched in the security code at the front gate and drove up toward the main house.

"Breathe, baby," Vicky consoled, as she thought Joe was going to have a panic attack. "They're not monsters, well most of the time they're not anyway."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Joe said sarcastically as Vicky laughed. But it broke his tension somewhat; they were just people after all. He talked to all different types when he was bartending; it shouldn't be any different than that. Except he felt strongly his chance at happiness depended on the two people in this house approving of him.

They rang the bell, and the Mullens' housekeeper answered. She was thrilled to see Vicky, and vice versa; Vicky honestly had a much better relationship with Luisa than either her parents. They were shown to the living room where Caroline and Henry Mullen were waiting.

Caroline was a spitting image of Vicky, if only about 30 years older. Even in her mid-60's she still turned heads, and it was her distinguished beauty that helped raise so much money for the charities she was passionate about (it was about the only thing she was passionate about nowadays, thought her daughter.)

Henry Mullen was also a handsome man, quite tall and striking with his grey hair and cool blue eyes. Joe saw where Vicky got her looks; they looked on paper to be the perfect example of a successful, wealthy American couple.

"Vicky, dear, good to see you," her mother said upon their entrance, stiffly greeting Vicky with air kisses to both cheeks.

"Mother, always good to see you," Vicky replied, equally stiffly. It was quite honestly a little painful to watch for Joe. He could never imagine him and his mother greeting each other that way. But then again, even though Vicky had told him much about her contentious relationship with her mother, he figured they had only scratched the surface of those bad feelings.

"Vicky darling, great to have you back home," her father greeted her with a warmer embrace. "This must be the man who has captured your eye, Joe right?" he offered his hand to Joe with a smile. Maybe this will be OK, thought Joe in the moment.

"Yes sir, Joe Chambers," Joe replied reaching for his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. And pleasure to meet you Mrs. Mullen."

"Likewise," was Caroline's only reply. She quickly turned all her attention to Vicky.

"You should come to the club dear, everyone is asking for you," Caroline started.

"I doubt it, haven't been there in years," Vicky said dismissively. She had no interest in hob-nobbing with those stiffs. Mostly, she didn't want Joe to see the kinds of places she grew up in. In a reverse logic, she thought he might think less of her if he saw firsthand how privileged she was as a child.

"Everyone is asking for you, Trip, Robert, Marcus..." of course Caroline rattled off three male names in front of Joe. The sabotage had already begun, and we weren't even served drinks yet, thought Vicky angrily.

"Well tell them I said hi, even if I haven't seen any of them in 20 years," Vicky replied with a glare.

"Why don't I take Joe into my study, so we can learn more about each other," Henry said. "I think you two have some catching up to do as well."

"You'll have to excuse my wife," Henry started to Joe as they entered his study. "She's always had impossibly high standards for Vicky."

"I understand, sir," Joe replied. "I know I'm probably not who she pictured dating Vicky. But I do love your daughter, sir, I want you to know that."

"Terrific," Henry replied, blowing right past Joe's expression of love. "Now, tell me about yourself. You're getting ready to work for the DA, Vicky said."

"Yes, well I need to pass the bar obviously," Joe replied. "But if I do I start in a month."

"And where do you see yourself going from there?" Henry pressed. "The DA's office is a nice start, but no one who wants to make it as a lawyer stays for more than a few years."

"I haven't really thought about that yet, sir," Joe replied. As soon as it came out, he knew he already made error #1, so he tried to cover. "Well, I mean, I'm sure I'd like to try my hand at a big firm after that."

"OK, well what area of the law interests you?" Henry asked.

"Well, I've always want to make a difference, so along with criminal law I've always had an interest in working on social issues, the environment especially."

Henry fought all his might not to roll his eyes; his daughter brought a friggin' tree hugger home, he thought with contempt. But he wanted to have some fun, while also going in for the kill, so to speak.

"Well, most big firms don't really do that, or pay that much for those kind of lawyers," Henry laughed. "You need to do what Vicky does, corporate law is where the money and power are at."

"Well, honestly that doesn't really interest me," Joe said quickly, without thinking. Mistake numero dos.

"Money and power doesn't interest you, how could it not?" Henry asked incredulously.

"I just don't think I can represent those kinds of clients," Joe answered.

"Those are Vicky's clients, are you saying you don't respect what she does?" Henry pressed, seeing a weakness and going for it.

"No, I do, she's great at it; I've seen her up close," Joe replied as he tried to stop the bleeding. "Those kind of people need to be represented, but just not by me."

"Ah, you're too good for that," Henry said icily. "I see..."

"No, it's not that..." Joe started.

"No matter, it's fine, to each his own," Henry said dismissively, pulling out two cigars. "Enough talk of work, let's drink the scotch you brought and smoke these before dinner."

"Actually, sir, I don't smoke," Joe answered. The hits just keep on coming he thought. Joe was very anti-smoking; his father had smoked for almost 30 years, the only way he quit was due to his wife's death and his fear he would leave his kids early too. Plus, Joe hated the smell of cigars; he had to put up with it in the bar and didn't want to deal with it now in his free time.

"It's not smoking, it's a cigar," Henry said a chuckle. "Very well, you don't mind if I do, then?"

"No sir," Joe replied. If this was a boxing match, Joe was losing this round 10-9; he just wanted to avoid being knocked out in the next 5 minutes at this point.

"Joe, I'll be honest with you," Henry started, preparing to lay down the hammer. "You're a nice smart kid, I can see that. Vicky clearly likes you, and that says something for you in my eyes, believe me. But you two are so different, I've only talked to you for 5 minutes and I can see it. I just don't see you as Mullen material, you're not what my Vicky is really looking for in a long term relationship."

"Doesn't Vicky get to decide that?" Joe replied, as he staggered and tried to hide his heart break. Henry Mullen had completed the 10-8 round with those words.

"Well of course, but I know her," Henry said with a smile. "This is just fun for her, an escape; she just got out of a bad relationship you know. Once that fun is over for her...well, I'm just saying for your own sake, don't get your hopes up on a future here. Now, why don't we go inside, dinner should be ready."

Joe had lost all his appetite, if he had any walking in here. He had a mental picture of what the worst case scenario would be, somehow even that would have been better than what he actually experienced.

Vicky had been making banal conversation with her mother for the 10 minutes her father and Joe were in the study, her eyes glued to the door in the distance. Her mother said nothing of Joe, asked her no questions of him. No doubt father was doing all the dirty work for her, as usual.

Seeing them walk out, Henry with a broad smile, and Joe with a sad, dejected look on his face, Vicky knew it was probably even worse than she feared. As his father left the room to freshen up, she pulled Joe in the hallway.

"What happened, baby," Vicky asked, consolingly rubbing his arm. "Whatever he said to you, it's utter bullshit."

"Let's just get through dinner," Joe replied, not making eye contact. "We'll talk about it later."

"No, tell me," Vicky insisted.

"This isn't just fun for you, right?" Joe nervously asked. "You see a future with me, with us?"

"Of course, baby," Vicky grabbed his cheeks and kissed him. "I told you, don't listen to a word they say, it's all bullshit. They think they know me, they don't. I've never felt about anyone the way I do you. I can't imagine my life without you."

"OK, let's go eat," Joe said with a small smile. Vicky could still sense his insecurity, but now she was overpowered with another emotion, blinding rage, aimed precisely at dear old Dad.

Vicky stewed through dinner, like a tea kettle waiting to boil over. It was somewhere during the main course, with her parents carrying on about some nonsense, and her boyfriend barely picking at his dinner, that the top finally blew off.

"Well, mother and father, I came here with a nice, sweet loving man," she started. "And after 10 minutes with you he's crushed. What nonsense did you spew this time, father!"

"Relax, dear," Henry started calmly. "I just talked to Joe, man to man, to see what he was like. He's a nice boy; but as I thought, and as I told him, he's not right for you."

"Not right for me!" Vicky bellowed out. "How the fuck would you two know who's right for me?" It was the first time Vicky had ever really cursed at her parents like that. They were both taken aback.

"Victoria, no need for that gutter mouth," her mother admonished. "But I shouldn't be surprised seeing what you've been up to these past few months."

"Oh, shove it mother," Vicky replied. "Joe is the best thing that ever happened to me," she reached out to grab his arm, eliciting another weak smile from him. "I told him it would be like this, that you would be horrible, but he gave you the benefit of the doubt, even defended you. Then he comes here and you treat him like shit, telling him he's not good enough for me, that I'll break his heart. Shame on you; if anything it's me that doesn't deserve him."

"I was only looking out for him, for both of you," Henry said, still as calm as could be. "It's clear he wants different things than you, those things can't be reconciled. I'm only trying to save you both the heart ache."

"You have no idea what I want..." Vicky started.

"He doesn't respect you darling, what you do," Henry said. Joe finally broke out of his near trance to respond.

"No that's not what I said," Joe replied softly. "We've talked about this Vicky, what I've said, about some of your corporate clients."

"Big deal, hell I don't respect them either sometimes," Vicky said to her father. "Joe still supports what I do, what I want to do."

"Well, maybe I misunderstood him, but that's not the impression I got," her father replied.

"You I know respect you, Vic," Joe answered her directly. "It's just not something I could do."

"That sounds to me like he doesn't respect you, your job at least," her mother piped in.

"You know what, stop it both of you!" Vicky yelled at her parents. "I know what you're doing, it's not going to work. And we don't need to stay here for this anymore. Have a good night, come on Joe."

Vicky grabbed Joe and they made her way to her car. They drove in silence for a few minutes, before Vicky could stand it no longer.

"Baby, say something," Vicky pleaded.

"It was the cigar," Joe finally said. "I totally lost him when I turned down the cigar."

"Baby, it wasn't that," Vicky replied with a sympathetic smile. "And I hate cigars, good for you for not giving in. I know how you feel about smoking."

"Look, my father had this all planned out before we even walked in the door," Vicky continued. "The whole plan was to drive a wedge between us, to get us to question our love. We can't let it, I won't let it."

"OK," was all Joe said.

"Baby, I love you," Vicky said, as she pulled the car over to look in his eyes. "I know you're not crazy about what I do, but I also know you'll support me no matter what. Nothing you told him makes me think anything less of you. And for the record, I will never get tired of you; it's an impossibility baby."

"I love you too, Vic," Joe replied. "I feel like I let you down though."

"Stop that right now," Vicky said, kissing him again. "You beautiful man, you always want to see the good in people. You got your first lesson that sometimes it pays to prepare for the worst."

"Well, I can't just give up," Joe answered as he began to perk back up. "I can't be the guy that keeps you from your parents. I'll work harder at it, be the guy they want me to be."

"Baby, I don't want you to be the guy they want you to be," Vicky replied. "It wouldn't be you, and I love you the way you are."

"There's a happy medium, I just need to find it," Joe said with determination. As they drove home, Vicky feared his quest to find that, and to get her parents' approval, was going to fundamentally alter who Joe Chambers was. And this was all likely part of Henry Mullen's plan.

"Well, that went well," Henry said later that night to his wife. "They're so different; it's so obvious if you take a second to look at it. They'll be broken up before the end of the year, I guarantee it."

"She's never spoken to us like that," Caroline warned. "I've never seen her so passionate about anyone else she was dating. What if she really loves him?"

"No, she may think that now, but her reaction was all about what she thought she needed to do in the moment," Henry said with confidence. "Over time she'll begin to see it our way. We don't have to do anything else but watch it happen."

"And if it doesn't happen, if they're still together by the end of the year?" his wife asked. "I really want her to find someone and start her own family, not waste her time on hopeless relationships."

"Then we revisit it, and figure out what to do," Henry stated. "Trust me, those two are never getting married."

Their experiences with Vicky's parents stood in stark contrast to their visit with Joe's family a few weeks later. Vicky knew Joe was stressed out over studying for the bar, which he was scheduled to take in a few weeks, as he started his job with the DA. And that he was still upset over how poorly things went with her parents. So she thought it might help him take his mind off everything to spend a weekend at his home in North Jersey.

Joe grew up in a decidedly middle class neighborhood in a town called Elmwood Park, a few short miles from the George Washington Bridge. His parents' house was a cozy brick colonial, similar to others in this neighborhood. But each house had a character of its own, and Vicky found it all quite charming.

You could hear the faint whirr of traffic driving past on the nearby Garden State Parkway as they sat in the Chambers' backyard on this August Saturday. Ken was having a barbecue, with several of his late wife's siblings and their families over. These were regular occurrences when Olivia was alive; it seemed someone was over every weekend then.

But they had become rarer since her death; she was the glue that kept the extended family together, and once she was gone people had started going their separate ways. It was probably natural in any large family, especially as the generations passed and more layers were added. But you couldn't help shaking the feeling that this family was forever altered by the death of just one of its members.

But Ken was still very close with Olivia's two sisters; they had provided much help after she died. So they still held a smaller version of these get togethers on a regular basis, and this one was special since everyone knew Joe would be back. It was the first time many of them had the chance to meet the sophisticated older woman he was dating, who Ken and Annie spoke so highly about.

Vicky was greeted with lots of hugs and kisses from people she had never met before, which she would have found odd if Joe didn't explain it was an Italian thing. It certainly wasn't a Mullen thing; Vicky rarely even hugged or kissed her own parents, let alone distant relatives.

But she had come to love experiencing the closeness of this particular family. Annie was clearly in her element, showing off her boyfriend Josh to all her female cousins. It felt like Annie had finally found happiness after her mother's death; the sullen teenager had been replaced by a bubbly young woman, much like the little girl who existed before that awful time when she was 10 and 11.

Ken credited it all to Joe, and it made Vicky love him all the more, for how much he sacrificed to allow his sister to blossom. Though admittedly at the moment, Joe was still having a hard time processing that blossoming; he hadn't fully accepted her dating life. He was working on it, but he still winced slightly (most didn't notice, but Vicky did) when he saw Josh put his arms around his baby sister.

"Josh is a nice kid," Vicky said as they watched their interactions from afar. "It's sweet you're worried about her, but you have to let her go. You can't protect her forever."

laf199
laf199
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