Thornton & Coombs Dinner Party (Closed)

[jamesthorn]

The table is set with the family's finest china. The candles lit, and doors are open at Thornton Estate this evening. While the estate has seen countless elegant affairs throughout its long history, there's never been one quite like this one. Tonight, the Coombs are coming for dinner as William Thornton's personally invited guests. Despite the recipe for drama, there's still a dinner to be thrown and William has spared no expense for his son's newest girlfriend, Amelie. Fine wine, gourmet breads and cheeses, fruits, and appetizers are laid out in gorgeous displays by the caterer. To be certain that no nosy members of the press learn of tonight's momentary truce, the invitations were hand delivered and the family's private staff are serving.

Promptly, at eight o'clock dinner will be served, but in the meantime, there's plenty of time for mingling...and drama.

OOC: I've always used this particular property for Thornton Estate even though I believe it's more traditionally furnished than the one pictured. However, if you want an idea of the layout, there are plenty of photos and even a movie on the link above, lmao.

William is played by Pierce Brosnan. Obviously he's American in the game. If you wanna talk to William one on one, Rachel and I both have control of that old fart.

Comments

[under_the_radar]

William raised an eyebrow. "Yes well...I hope you don't find the evening a disappointment. My eldest son, James, has made quite an effort." He said, and James really had done a fine job. Even the wine selection was good enough for the Coombs. William would have been...upset had he wasted the really good vintages, but the selection was acceptable. "So what is it you do, Miss Coombs?"

[davin]

Wow. A real charmer.

Davin grew up with two shitty parents so he has little patience for anyone else's. But still, this is the father of his date and Davin is a good person, so he'll be polite and respectful. The scrutiny he's given doesn't phase him in the slightest. He's used to it by now, from rich cocky businessmen and women who just can't believe this kid is the mechanic that came so highly recommended. Davin takes great joy in exceeding expectations.

He shakes William's hand firmly and stands up straight, regarding him with a pleasant smile.

"Little bit o' both, I'd say," Davin tells him. "I was a witness in a case he worked awhile back, an' then not too long after he brought that gorgeous car o' his in for a tune up. I run Oceanside Auto, ya see."

A waiter passes by with a tray of champagne and Davin is sorely tempted, but he's already had a glass and he doesn't want to look like a lush. So instead he keeps his polite gaze trained on James' father. "James has been a good friend t'me, sir. He's a very good man."

[jamesthorn]

"I mean that cocoa is good." James leans over and kisses Davin gently on the cheek, feeling grateful there's one person around here tonight to put a smile on his face. Even though it would be easy to do more than that, this is supposed to be an elegant affair and his father is in the same room, so he backs off and pats Davin on the arm, as he goes to take another of the appetizers from the table.

He places a few slices of the cheeses onto Davin's plate. "So how are you enjoying Thornton Estate and all its grandeur?"

[davin]

"Excuse you, it's the best - " He cuts himself off when James kisses his cheek and goes a bit pink, biting back a smile and giving him a dopey grin. He understands why he backs off, but that doesn't want to make him pull him back in close any less.

"It is very grand," Davin agrees, smirking as he looks around. He picks up a piece of cheese and turns to smile at him. "But I'll take your fairytale cottage over this place any day."

[under_the_radar]

"A friend." William says, catching the term and raising an eyebrow. He'd seen the way his son had greeted Davin and he'd seen the way Davin flushed when he had. Friends...of course. "Yes, James is very good at taking in strays." He said dismissively. "But you run your own business. That's very...enterprising of you."

[ameliecoombs]

Amelie shifts a little, guilty that she hasn't invited Aoife here herself. She knew that she was on the guest list, but with the current state of their relationship, she made no effort to ask Aoife if she was really coming.

"I keep waiting for her to hit someone," she says under her breath, watching where Aoife is talking to William. "I'm as surprised as you that she came."

[ameliecoombs]

She understands perfectly well the underlying poison in Aoife's words, and she's reminded all too well how much all of them are like their mother, whether they like it or not.

"Can't say I've had the cause to wear it before, no." She pauses, on unsure ground and half expecting Aoife to walk away from her. "I know you were invited. I saw you talking to William Thornton..." She trails off, unsure herself of where exactly she was going with that.

[davin]

"Yes," Davin replies easily. "Our relationship may be evolvin', but that doesn't negate the fact that he's still a very good friend t'me."

His jaw ticks when William casually refers to him as a stray, but he shakes it off easy enough. It would be cool if James's father liked him, but hey. Davin's own father doesn't even like him, so he's sure as hell not going to lose sleep over someone else's feelings about him. Still, he keeps a neutral smile on his face, refusing to let William get to him.

"I don't own it, not yet, but the owner has put me in charge of the business, yes," Davin clarifies, feeling quite proud of himself. He's twenty-two and the most sought after mechanic in town, running a shop on his own. It's what he wanted; of course he's proud. "An' I love what I do quite a lot, so I'm happy."

[summersong]

Alodia is, of course, perfectly aware that Davin isn't completely sure she's not serious. It's half the reason she said it in the first place. Sometimes it's kind of fun to have a family with such a notorious reputation.

"Oh, I'm in the family business," she replies. It should be self-explanatory - Coombs & Co. is a fairly well known establishment in Siren Cove, even if her involvement isn't. The perils of keeping mostly to the back of the store. "And I spend most of my spare time in my studio, so I'm afraid I don't get out quite as often as I might like."

[summersong]

"Precisely," Alodia says, smiling. "I will be forever grateful to whoever it was that decided wine was the appropriate drink for formal events." She shakes his hand, and for a moment, doesn't even bother to hide her assessing look. He's dating her cousin, she's allowed to judge him openly. "It's nice to finally meet you properly, Daniel. I've heard so much about you." Not entirely true, but that's hardly the point.

[summersong]

Huh. He's better at this than she'd been expecting. The pause is a little too pointed, but it's not a half-bad attempt - and one she has to leave unchallenged. It's galling, and for a minute, Alodia regrets her decision to be properly polite this evening.

Be the bigger person, Al, you can do this.

"It certainly shows," she says, injecting as much genuine appreciation into her voice as possible. If she's lucky, he'll realize she caught the slight and is choosing to ignore it; if not, he'll probably assume she's a little dim and it flew right over her head. She can work with either outcome. "I think it's wonderful that you're so happy for the two of them."

[summersong]

Alodia can't resist a soft huff of laughter. "It's the Thorntons. They might keep everything perfectly polite, but they could just as easily decide we're all devil-worshippers who must be burned at the stake."

"Honestly," she adds, lowering her voice, "would it be so bad if they thought we were afraid of them? I hate the idea as much as you do, but it seems like they might pay less attention to us if they thought we'd cower and obey their laws like good little witches." Less attention means more room to maneuver, and it's not like Alodia's planning to turn into Violet, or - god forbid - a Grimhilde, but the idea of being able to do what she needs to, if she needs to, without the likes of William Thornton breathing down her neck does carry a certain appeal.

[aoife_coombs]

"Do?" She allowed a tinkling laugh to escape. "You mean like, for a living?"

"It's an honest shame June and Demetri couldn't be present. I do hope nothing vile is keeping them away from the family home? Your daughter would have loved this come together, I'm sure. And not just because it would give her an excuse to go dress shopping."

[aoife_coombs]

That is something Aoife would never have considered. A Coombs doesn't cower, but ..

"Give the good little witch master the feeling that he doesn't has to watch our every turn?" She readjusts a lock of Alodia's hair that doesn't need readjusting. But if they can go be good little witches, while not vapid little girls to finish the illusion off?
"Expect when he can't resist our looks, of course. How did you come up with this?"

[aoife_coombs]

"I had to be invited by a Thornton, yes. Didn't you want me to meet your paramour or did I simply slip your mind?" Aoife sips her drink.

"I'm here for you, Amelie, no matter if you like it or not. If you don't, I'll be with Alodia for the rest of the hopefully short night. I mean, the Thorntons aren't really well known for their inspired banquets, no matter how hard James seems to have tried."

[ameliecoombs]

She takes a sip of her drink and tries not to react. "You made it quite clear you had no intention of meeting Daniel, if I remember rightly." She knows her sister likes to play the victim, but honestly, she'd told Amelie herself that she had no intention of getting to know any of them.

"Of course I'm glad you're here, don't be ridiculous. I just didn't think you'd actually come for me."

[aoife_coombs]

"That was before you changed your mind about him being someone you seriously wanted to date. Like, in the outside world, opposed to some ..whatever you two did in his studio. He's the artistic one of the family, isn't he?" Like Aoife didn't know, but if her sister was being stubbornly dumb, so could she.

"And show the Thorntons that this is how easy they can rip us apart? I didn't think so."

[ameliecoombs]

"I never changed my mind, I wasn't exactly hiding him before. Yes. He's an artist. You know that perfectly well, as you've so delightfully mocked me for it in the past."

Amelie sighs, adjusting the gold bracelet on her wrist and eyeing Aoife seriously. "I don't want to play this ridiculous game any more, Aoife. I like Daniel a lot, and you can either be supportive of that and be my twin sister again, or..." She shrugs. It'll kill her to continue letting this drag on, for it to get worse, but she's not about to throw away the first thing she's felt honest to god happy about in years.

[aoife_coombs]

"Or what? Drop the family name? Disappear from this town and never see me again? Permanently pretend not to be a witch so you won't worry your father in law?"

I have a boyfriend that makes me nervous and excited and I need your help with a load of things concerning him, Aoife wanted to tell her. One of our ancestors got me a familiar and it's amazing how good the magic feels, moving freely through me. I'm happy. Except for this, because somehow there always had to be something on the other side of the scale.

"I thought I was the one always working so very hard to be something I'm not, but I guess it's a thing we share."

[under_the_radar]

William had to admire the young mans guts. He wasn't being intimidated. Not easily anyway.

"You're somewhat of a surprise, Mr Kavanagh." He said. "Not as much of a surprise as finding out my eldest son is gay in the middle of a dinner party, but a surprise nonetheless."

[under_the_radar]

"Father is full of surprises, unfortunately." He said, grunting slightly. "This one's going to be a doozy I think." He took a breath and held her hands in his, towing her towards the stairs. "Come on. I want to show you the house."

[under_the_radar]

Daniel looked at her for a minute and then shook his head. "No you haven't. You've probably gotten my summary description so you can avoid me but I'd wager that's about it." He said with a grin.

[davin]

Davin is sort of surprised to learn that James' family, or at least his father, didn't know that he liked men. Davin thinks James is bi, anyway. Not that he'll say that, but still. James never said anything about it, and was obviously comfortable enough to invite Davin and not a woman, so he just assumed it was common knowledge.

"Well, sir," he says with a bit of a cheeky smile, keeping the surprise off of his face. "Maybe I'm just special."

Davin really isn't in the mood to deal with homophobia tonight. His attack is still a little too fresh on his mind and he's just sort of done with ignorance. But hey, at this point he's pretty much the opposite of intimidated.

He turns to load two appetizers neatly on their own napkin, holding one out to William. "Mini quiche? I hear they're quite tasty."

[under_the_radar]

William tensed at the mention of his absent children. "They're extremely busy out of town. It was impossible for them to attend." He smiled tightly.

[aoife_coombs]

Her mother would never show her emotions in such a blatant way. Aoife swallowed. Her mother probably wasn't the best subject to think about right now.

"Completely understandable. This is just a small affair, after all. Only dinner, nothing that can't be missed. Or so I hope."