107: Dinner Party

By pre-arrangement, Glorfindel brought the van to the encampment to pick up Celeborn, Galadriel and Nielluin to take them back to the town square when it was time to meet Alex and Derek for dinner. The ap Hywels, along with Mithrellas, took Gwyn’s car and met them there.

“Just call when you want to be picked up,” Glorfindel told the ap Hywels as he dropped the others off. “Some of us will be over at the Grange Hall for a last-minute rehearsal and then we’re going out for pizza afterwards. You’ve got my number.”

The party crossed into the square and headed for the café. Gareth stole a glance at Celeborn and Galadriel. Before they had left Edhellond, the two had been offered a set of mortal clothes to wear to the café so as to blend in more.

“Though I doubt that will be entirely possible,” Daeron had commented when he offered to lend Celeborn some of his clothes, the two being similar in size and build.

Now, Celeborn and Galadriel were wearing what Gareth thought of as mundane clothes, similar to those worn by the ap Hywels and Mithrellas. Celeborn was wearing an eggshell white polo shirt with an embroidered polo player icon on the pocket tucked into a pair of light brown slacks. His feet were shod in soft leather boots, since there had been no time to find shoes that would fit. Galadriel was wearing an ankle-length, sleeveless summer dress tie-dyed in shades of red, blue and deep yellow with ruffles on the hem and a high waist. A pair of sandals lent by Alphwen graced her feet and she had a dark blue shawl wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the slight spring breeze that had come up.

But nothing could disguise their royal bearing and pedestrians all stopped to stare as they walked by, stares which they patently ignored as they stepped into the Emporium with Gareth and Nielluin leading them into the café. In spite of it being a Friday night, it was not yet overly crowded.

“It’s early yet,” Mithrellas assured them. “Probably in another hour this place will be wall-to-wall people.”

A waitress whose nametag read ‘Chris’ approached them, smiling. “Ah, you’re right on time. Your party’s in the back room.”

“There’s a back room?” Gareth asked in surprise. “I don’t recall seeing one last time I was here.”

“There is no back room,” Mithrellas assured them and Nielluin nodded in agreement.

“Well, there is now,” another waitress said as she passed them on the way to deliver a tray of food to customers. She gave them a smile and a wink and they all saw her nametag (though neither Celeborn nor Galadriel could read it) and Gareth gulped.

“Er… Esther?”

“The one and only, dear,” Esther said. “Now your party’s waiting for you. Show them the way, will you, Chris?”

“This way, if you please,” Chris said and they all trooped behind her with Gareth mouthing ‘Lady Estë’ and pointing surreptitiously at Esther. Both Celeborn and Galadriel gave the putative waitress a hard look as she traded banter with the Mortals at a booth while passing out the dishes on the tray. Esther caught their glances and gave them another wink before heading off to the kitchen.

They wended their way past booths and tables and just before they reached the far end where the restrooms were, Chris turned right through a doorway that had not been there the day before and they found themselves in a small back room, perhaps twelve feet square with a long table set for twelve taking up the bulk of the space. Alex and Derek were already there along with Derek’s father, Andy, and Felicity. Alex and Andy stood when everyone entered. Derek started to, but both Alex and Andy pushed him back down.

“Hello! You made it!” Alex said, putting out his hand for Gwyn to shake. “Hey, Grandmama,” he said laughingly to Mithrellas as he gave her a kiss on the cheek, stealing a knowing glance at a blushing Gwyn, “is there something you want to tell us?”

“Grandmama?” Galadriel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“So I’ve been told, but hey, a discussion for another time. Let me introduce you all.” And for the next several minutes, they were busy exchanging names and greetings. Derek apologized for not standing and Celeborn assured him that they quite understood.

“I rejoice that you suffered no lasting harm,” Celeborn said sincerely as everyone found seats.

“Yeah, well, accidents happen,” Derek said philosophically.

“Accident, my eye!” Andy exclaimed, glowering at Alex who refused to look at anyone, his expression wooden.

“Drop it, Dad,” Derek said firmly. “Hazards of the trade. Hell, I’ve gotten worse just from stepping into a bar in Thailand. So, let’s just enjoy the company and the meal, okay?”

Andy nodded somewhat reluctantly and busied himself with looking at the menu. An awkward silence followed. Felicity gave Alex a light kiss on the cheek and Derek patted him on the shoulder. When Alex looked up he gave him a warm, understanding smile. Alex smiled back, though it was tremulous, his eyes too full of pain and shame.

“I could have killed you,” he whispered.

“But you didn’t,” Derek retorted mildly. “Now, let’s change the subject. So, you-all are here for the wedding, huh? How are you related to the bride and groom?”

Celeborn was the one to answer. “Elrohir is our grandson, as are you, Alex Grant.”

Alex looked up from his menu with a startled expression. “Huh?”

“You are descended from our granddaughter, Arwen,” Galadriel explained, “or so we were told.”

“Some people have all the luck,” Derek groused good-naturedly.

Alex glared at him. “Let’s not get into that argument again. I never asked to be related to anyone, least of all to Elves. Hell, I can barely tolerate my mortal relations except for Uncle Frank. He’s cool. The rest can drop dead for all I care.”

“Whoa, Alex, get a grip!” Gwyn said. “I think you’re lucky too to have so many relations. Gareth and I had no one but our parents to rely on. Frankly, I envy you and every other Mortal who can name grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins even if they don’t like them.”

“Sorry,” Alex muttered. “Guess I’m still feeling…”

“Everything all right, here?”

They turned to see Esther walking in. All the Elves automatically started to rise, while the four Mortals just sat there. Esther gave them a surprised look. “Leaving so soon? Sit down, sit down, children.”

“Hey, Esther, how’s it going?” Alex asked, giving her a grin. “Seen Manny or Nate, lately?” Derek chuckled, while the Elves, even Nielluin and Mithrellas, appeared somewhat nonplused at Alex’s cavalier attitude.

“Cheeky as ever,” Esther said with a sniff, pretending to swat Alex upside his head. He dutifully ducked. “So do you need another minute to look over the menu?” she asked. “Your drinks will be out shortly.”

“But we haven’t given our drink orders,” Iseult said, looking confused.

Esther smiled. “My dear, I know what everybody prefers to drink.” She turned to Celeborn and Galadriel. “I can’t serve you wine or even beer as the café doesn’t have a license to serve alcohol, so you’ll have to make do with tea unless you would like to try coffee.”

“Whatever you think best, my lady,” Celeborn said with a gracious nod.

Esther nodded. “Now, let me give you a run-down of the day’s specials and then I’ll give you another few minutes to decide what you want.” She rattled off the specials even as Chris and another waitress came in with trays full of drinks. Esther pointed out who was to get what and then they were left to themselves. Nielluin quietly read the menu to her parents while the others were also deciding.

“Esther knows what we want to drink, but not what we want to eat,” Andy said. “Interesting.”

Derek and Alex both shrugged, not having an answer. A couple of minutes went by and Esther returned and everyone gave her their order. Alex noted that Esther wrote nothing down but simply nodded, assuring them that their meals would be out shortly and then she left them again. For several minutes, no one spoke, none of them sure about what topic might be considered ‘safe’.

“Do you not find it strange to be waited on by one of the Valar?” Celeborn finally asked.

Alex and Derek exchanged glances and Derek shrugged. “Intellectually, we know Esther is… not Esther, but emotionally… it feels as if she’s your own grandmother who’s always in the kitchen baking and plying you with molasses cookies and milk every chance she gets.”

Both Celeborn and Galadriel raised eyebrows at that. Gareth grinned. “Now, that’s the kind of grandmother I would like.”

“You can borrow mine,” Derek said. “I’m sure Grandma Lowell wouldn’t mind.”

The others chuckled. “Speaking of relations,” Tristan said after clearing his throat, “I suppose we should discuss the imminent union of our respective children at some point.”

“Well, while I’ve agreed to waiting until Nell’s finished with her studies, I think we can dispense with betrothal contracts and the like,” Gareth said. “Let’s not go all medieval here.”

“Yet, you are not marrying just any elleth, my son,” Tristan said solemnly, “and we need to respect that and her family’s culture even if we no longer follow the same customs.”

“Well, as I pointed out to Finrod and Glorfindel, I’m not about to buy my wife with horses and cattle and the like. All I have is a bank account and that’s very modest as such accounts go. When Nell starts working, we’ll have to pool our incomes together if we even want to buy our own house.”

“There’s no reason why you can’t still live at home,” Gwyn said. “If you move out, it’s going to be rather lonely just by myself.”

“Unless, of course, you also marry,” Gareth said, looking pointedly at Mithrellas.

“That is a discussion for another time,” Gwyn said stiffly. “Misty and I are… just friends at the moment, nothing more.”

Felicity, who had remained silent all this time, leaned over so she could see Mithrellas, giving her a knowing smile. “They’re so clueless, aren’t they?”

Mithrellas beamed at her but did not comment and Gwyn, looking bemused, said, “What? What did I say?”

“Oh, my son, when you speak of a woman as being ‘just a friend’ in that tone of voice, you are asking for trouble,” Tristan said.

“Amen,” Andy added, lifting his water glass in salute.

“Such a newbie,” Derek commented to Alex. “How old did he say he was? Even I know better.” Alex snorted in amusement, while Gwyn blushed and Gareth and Nielluin exchanged grins.

Galadriel, watching the exchange, looked to Iseult. “You do not comment, my dear.”

Iseult shook her head. “I’m his mother. I changed his nappies and taught him how to eat with a spoon. When he turned fifty, I handed him over to his father, whose job it was to teach him about women and how to treat them. My job, as far as I was concerned, was done.”

Alex chuckled. “Don’t worry about it Gwyn. If you have any questions, you can just come to me. I know all about it.”

“Oh?” Felicity said, giving him a jaundiced look. “And what do you know, Mr. Grant?”

Alex turned to her, giving her a bright smile. “I know enough to keep my mouth shut when she’s voicing opinions and really doesn’t want to hear mine even when she says she does. I know enough to agree that the lady is right even when I know she’s dead wrong. I know enough not to use words like ‘nice’ or ‘pretty’ when she asks my opinion about how she looks and I know enough to apologize for being an unfeeling Neanderthal without a clue even if she’s the one who’s being unfeeling.”

“And did your mother teach you all that?” Andy asked with a knowing grin.

Alex laughed. “Hell, no! That was ‘How to Treat Enemy Female Agents 101’ in spy school.”

“Oh, you!” Felicity exclaimed, playfully punching Alex in the arm. He laughed some more, taking her in his arms and planting a light kiss on her lips, while the others looked on with various degrees of amusement.

“Well, to get back to the original discussion,” Celeborn said after a moment, “I can assure you that Nielluin’s dowry is more than adequate.”

“But it’s sitting somewhere pretty in Valinor, and I doubt you people have Federal Express service to cart it all over here,” Tristan said with a smile.

“Maybe some Maiar can transport it,” Derek suggested. “What exactly is a dowry anyway?”

“It’s just money and property that a woman brings into a marriage,” Tristan answered. “Generally, such money and property passes into the hands of the husband, but not necessarily, and it’s usually held in trust as an inheritance for their children. In this case, though, any property Nielluin owns is in Valinor and their value worthless unless they are sold and the monies become part of her dowry.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Gareth said decisively. “I am not so craven that I would demand such a thing as part of the betrothal contract if we must have one. I have no intention of buying Nell and she’s not buying me. Once Nell finds work, we’ll pool our resources together and go from there, just like everyone else in the world who’s not rich and famous.”

“Commendable, but beside the point,” Celeborn said. “Our daughter is used to a certain standard of living.”

“Which I could not give her with my income, but so what?” Gareth countered. “Do you think she’s living that way now? At the moment she shares a suite of rooms with other young women. She has no servants or bodyguards. She helps with the cooking and cleaning. She buys her clothes off the rack and in another year or so she’ll be working in a daycare center changing diapers and playing house with the little ones, taking orders from Mortal supervisors and earning a paycheck, most of which will go towards food and rent with a little left over for the occasional dinner out. Welcome to the Current Middle-earth, my lord, where even the great Finrod Felagund has to earn a living, never mind the rest of us.”

“I agree with Gareth,” Nielluin said quietly, taking his hand, though she did not look at him or anyone else. “I haven’t had so much fun in too long a while and I am enjoying myself immensely. The dowry is of no importance. I didn’t earn it and I don’t want it.”

“Surely you miss some things about Valinor, Daughter,” Galadriel said.

Nielluin shrugged. “Not as much as I thought I might. You really do not understand how liberating it is to be able to walk down a street by oneself without two guards and at least one handmaiden trailing along making sure I don’t get to have any fun.”

“Fun?” Celeborn echoed. “Life is not about having fun, child,” he said mildly.

“Perhaps not, but frankly, no one in Valinor would even know what fun is if it came up and jumped all over them, as Mortals like to say. When I think back to what my life has been, what all our lives have been, I am truly appalled by our people’s lack of estel. I did not realize the depths of despair to which we have descended until I came here and watched Mortals whose lives are so uncertain and end with death from which none can return still maintain hope in their hearts for themselves and their progeny. These are dark times and they are getting darker, yet the Mortals keep on keeping on, as they say.”

“They have no choice in that, my dear,” Iseult said.

“Of course we have a choice,” Felicity countered. “We can give up. We can do nothing. We can opt out of life by taking our own. We all have choices and some of us choose the bad but the majority of us are too stubborn to give in that easily and we’re not about to let the bastard win. We’ll die eventually, but in the meantime, we’ll do what we can to make this world a better place for the next generation.”

Before anyone else could comment, Esther and Chris entered the room bearing trays and for several minutes everyone was occupied with their food while Esther made sure they all had what they needed. Chris left but Esther remained, casting a knowing look at them all. Then her gaze settled upon Galadriel and she gave her a smile. “You know, dear, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your daughter is just following family tradition, going her own way and damn the consequences. You were just as anxious to ditch the strictures of your society as Nell is and in the end you got what you wanted.” She glanced at Celeborn who smiled benignly. Galadriel merely raised an eyebrow, but did not otherwise comment.

“Now Gareth, your attitude is commendable but ultimately pointless,” Esther continued. “Don’t think of accepting the dowry as you being bought by Nell. Think of it as a wedding gift from your new in-laws. If you don’t want to use the money yourself, put it in trust for your children. College educations don’t come cheap even for the Firstborn.”

“We’re not even married yet, and you’re talking about sending imaginary children off to university?” Gareth exclaimed.

Esther smirked. “Always good to plan ahead. Now your topic of conversation is not conducive to good digestion,” she said to them. “Why don’t you speak about something more uplifting?”

“Any suggestions?” Alex asked with a grin.

“You are attending a wedding tomorrow and in a few weeks Nielluin and the Three Amigos will be going to Fairbanks for the first time. Summer is nigh and there’s the Fourth of July town picnic to look forward to. Pick something.” With that she gave them a smile and left.

However, for several minutes they concentrated on their meals and there was no conversation. Finally, though, Galadriel looked at Tristan and Iseult and said, “Perhaps you could tell us what it was like to raise your sons among the Mortals. My lord and I remember the Havens of Sirion where Elves and Mortals lived together for a time. We were living on Balar with Círdan and Ereinion, but we occasionally went to the Havens.”

“It was not easy, of course,” Iseult answered. “We were lucky that we lived in a country where the existence of Elves, the Tylwyth Teg, the Fair Folk as they were called, was an accepted fact of life. We named Gwyn after Gwyn ap Nudd, the lord of Annwn, the Welsh Underworld, and King of the Tylwyth Teg. Gareth we named after one of the heroes associated with King Arthur, a prominent figure in Welsh legends. Tristan and I adopted the names of two others who were also associated with Arthur.”

“And even though the good people of Wales with whom we lived believed in the existence of Elves, we still found it prudent to move house every so many decades,” Tristan said. “We decided it was safer that way, particularly as the old ways were being supplanted by other, newer beliefs which did not tolerate such nonsense as Elves.” He gave them a resigned shrug.

“That was particularly necessary when our sons were growing up,” Iseult added. “To Mortals, they were either too young or too old looking for their ages. At twelve, our sons looked no older than a Mortal of around six or so, but at forty, while we knew they were still elflings, to Mortal eyes, they appeared to be adults, young yes, but adults nonetheless.”

“I was never so glad to reach fifty and know that I no longer had to pretend to be what I wasn’t,” Gwyn said. “I watched my mortal friends who were sixteen or eighteen marrying and having children and I really did not understand how they could be so… responsible at such a young age.”

“And I had to wait another forty-two years before I could stop pretending,” Gareth said with a huff of annoyance. “And not long after that we went on Crusade and stayed away for well over a century.”

“It is rather unusual to have children so close in age,” Galadriel said.

“Yes, but we were living among Mortals, don’t forget,” Tristan said. “As it is, Gwyn was almost an adult before we decided to add another child to us. In fact, for a time, until Gareth reached a certain age, we decided it was prudent to have people believe that Gwyn was Iseult’s younger brother rather than our son since we looked no older than he did.”

“That was hard,” Gwyn said, “remembering to call Mam and Da by their names, pretending I was old enough to make certain decisions on my own, but then having to ask about it later in private. I hated it, but it was easier when it was just Gareth and me when we went on Crusade.”

“Still, to think of the history you’ve lived through, the people you’ve known,” Felicity said. “Frankly, the mind boggles.”

“That’s for sure,” Derek added. “I’ll be sitting there with Loren and Darren and the others and someone will make a casual reference to some event and the others will make their own comments and then I realize they’re talking about something that happened centuries ago as if it was last week’s news.”

“But what about now?” Alex asked. “Iseult, you’ve been teaching at the University of Wales for how long now? And Tristan, surely your colleagues in the Physics Department must wonder how you can still look so young when you were hobnobbing with Albert Einstein back before the war.”

“True,” Tristan allowed, “but we’ve been a fixture in our respective departments for so long that the Mortals tend to ignore the fact and simply accept us as a given. A few, very few, know the truth about us, but we are very careful to whom we choose to reveal ourselves.”

“A dangerous undertaking as Amroth could tell you,” Alex said with a nod. “He told the wrong person about himself and ended up virtually a prisoner and a slave to the guy for fifty-odd years before he was able to escape. You’ve been damn lucky, as have Gwyn and Gareth.”

“How are we doing? Anyone interested in dessert?”

They looked up to see Esther.

“What do you recommend?” Derek asked.

“Well now, we have carrot cake, chocolate cream pie, fruit-of-the-forest pie, triple-chocolate cake, crème bruleé, and for the weight conscious, jello with fruit.”

They took a couple of minutes to decide on dessert with people also ordering coffee or tea. Chris came in and cleared their tables while Esther went to put in their orders. For a time, no one spoke, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Finally, Andy spoke up, addressing Alex.

“So Annie gets in around three you said?”

“If all goes well,” Alex answered. “Even if the bus is a bit late, there’s plenty of time for her to get ready for the wedding.”

“You must be excited to see Roy getting married,” Derek said to Celeborn and Galadriel. “What about Dan? Do you think he’ll ever find someone to marry?”

“We hope he will, but unless he returns to Valinor with us, I do not see it happening,” Celeborn replied.

“And that he won’t do,” Alex said categorically. “He and Roy are committed to remaining here. They’re already making plans to become qualified as surgeons. I don’t think he wants to give up that idea just yet.”

“Well, if there’s more traffic between here and Valinor, maybe he’ll have better luck finding someone,” Felicity offered.

“We can hope,” Galadriel said, but there was doubt in her eyes and in Celeborn’s.

“Still, a wedding,” Derek said with a grin. “It’s always a happy occasion. Lots of food and drink and music. I’m sure we’ll all have a good time.”

“Amen,” Andy said.

Just about then, Esther and Chris returned with their desserts and for the rest of the meal they shared some of their more memorable memories of past weddings. Felicity had them all laughing as she described her cousin’s wedding where just about everything that could go wrong did from the flowers for a funeral being sent by mistake to the wedding cake toppling over before they had a chance to cut it. Eventually, they finished their meal and, as had been agreed earlier, they each paid for their own meals, though Gareth insisted on paying for Celeborn and Galadriel.

“Since you’re our guests,” he told them as he pulled out a credit card and then had to explain what it was.

Soon, they were leaving the café, thanking Esther for everything. Outside, the spring evening was cool but not unpleasantly so as they wandered across the square. Gwyn had pulled out his phone and called Glorfindel as they were leaving the café so they only had to wait about ten minutes or so before he showed up with Finrod at the wheel. Glorfindel, sitting in the passenger seat, invited them all to return to the encampment and the ap Hywels and the Mortals agreed.

“We’ll meet you at the side gate, then,” Glorfindel said. “That’s the only entrance the Maiar are allowing.”

Galadriel, Celeborn and Nielluin climbed into the van and Finrod carefully pulled out of the parking lot while the others found their own vehicles and followed.