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Luke's, Monday

Neither Eliot nor Nana would have let the team's trip to Chicago end without Eliot going home with at least a few of her recipes. If nothing else, Hardison was bound to get sick or injured by being stupid again, someday, and when it happened Eliot wanted to be able to make the right sorts of comfort food.

In fact, Eliot had come home with quite the stack, and a list of detailed notes on cooking techniques his haphazard country-western/French provincial chef training hadn't covered. So the trick today was picking out just a few recipes to start with.

The kitchen staff had at least learned to just get the hell out of Eliot's way when he came in with a sheaf of notes and that look on his face.

Today's specials
Buttermilk brined-fried chicken
Fried pecan okra
Sweet potato pie

Luke's was open. And soul food-filled.

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Yeah, that was pretty much the reaction Eliot was expecting. "I know it's hard to hear. They're your parents and you love 'em, and I'm sure they've never raised a hand to you. But you're a smart kid. You know the way they were speakin' to you wasn't right."

"Well, no, but there's a difference between being a...a jerk--which my dad absolutely is, no question--and, you know, what you said."

"Alright," Eliot said. "So what's the difference, then?"

He had his own opinions about the answer to that question, but a lecture wasn't going to help Kathy, right now.

Dammit, Eliot!

Kathy groped for an answer. "He just...wants me to be the best I can be. He doesn't yell much or swear at us, or..."

She was having some trouble.

"Or listen to you," Eliot observed. "Or tell ya you've done a good job. Or let you make your own decisions."

"I--I wouldn't be who I am today if he hadn't constantly pushed me to be better..."

Or, well, who she'd been at fifteen, anyway.

"That's probably true," Eliot said slowly. "But I wouldn't be the same person I am if I hadn't become a mercenary in my twenties. Doesn't make what I did back then right."

Kathy had to get up and pace. Since getting her powers, it had gotten harder and harder for her to sit still, especially when her emotions were so chaotic. "I just--I can't--I'm too close to the situation," she said, speaking faster, too. Her hands came together in front of her, rubbing small circles in her palms with her opposite thumb.

"Present your arguments," she said, like this was a geometry proof in need of solving.

Eliot folded his arms over his chest, watching her pace. "In the ten minutes we interacted, I didn't hear him say one encouraging or even approving thing to ya. It didn't matter what you said, he and your mom had some argument for why it was the wrong thing to do."

"So they're not supportive. And critical. They don't understand me, and think they know better than I do about things," Kathy said truculently. "That's not the same thing as abuse."

"Kathy, if one of your friends were datin' someone who ordered them around, who always tore down everything they tried to do, what would you say?"

It took Kathy a long time to respond and when she did, the words were dragged out of her. "That they needed to leave them," she mumbled, suddenly fascinated by the floor. "Because they were hurtful and not good enough for my friends."

"I ain't here to tell you what to do, Kathy," Eliot said softly. "But it's important that you recognize that your father's behavior to you ain't right. That it can cause damage." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You're a remarkable young woman, and I've seen you grow so much even in just the short amount of time I've known ya. But when your dad was here, it was like none of that ever happened."

"I--I mean, I had to pretend--they wouldn't have approved--" Kathy stopped, chewing on her lip.

Except how much of that had been a pretense?

"I don't doubt that. You and Sarah have gotten pretty good at managin' your parents, huh?"

"Well, we had to," Kathy said. "It was the easiest way to deal with them."

Wait, no that didn't sound good.

Eliot knew better than to try to bring the 'a-word' back into the conversation. "How's Sarah doin' dealing with them on her own, these days?"

"It doesn't bother her as much," Kathy said, shaking her head. "Like, she doesn't care when Dad does his silent treatment thing. It just rolls off her back. They're harping on her a lot more with me gone, but she doesn't seem to care."

"A solid strategy," Eliot said, nodding. "Not givin' a crap really riles up those types."

He meant bullies. He wasn't about to say it out loud, though.

"I don't think she does it because it's smart, but she really is less concerned by it," Kathy said, shaking her head. "I think it's because I spent most of our childhood stepping between her and our parents."

"Oldest kids tend to get the most focus from parents, too," Eliot said. "Lord knew my sister had it easier growin' up. Though that might be a boy-girl thing, too."

"She's my little sister," Kathy said softly. "I just wanted Sarah to be--"

Safe. She wanted to keep her sister safer.

"I know," Eliot said. It was why he hadn't spoken to his sister for so long before last May, after all. "And, hey, you need help with a plan to make sure she's good, let us know."

"What were you thinking?" Kathy asked. "You mean, once I'm in college? I'll be closer then than I am now."

"Meant more if dhe wanted to go away for school ir somethin', like you did."

Re: Talk to Eliot

spin_kick_snap - 2015-11-06 09:49 (UTC) - Expand

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Luke's, Monday

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