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Post by Marcus Huang on Jan 30, 2021 16:45:34 GMT -5
While part of Marcus was certainly feeling glad to be leaving Kaitlyn's family behind (they were nice but a bit much he'd come to find), he had to admit that there was a nervous edge to his thoughts as he sat next to his girlfriend on the plane that was approaching San Diego. His parents were not going to like Kaitlyn, he already knew that and he'd already told her as much. Still, he was serious about her and so he'd felt that it was important for her to meet them and for them to meet her. If things went well they'd be in each other's lives for a while still and it was better to get this over with. He'd never been so serious about someone as he was about her and if he wasn't so serious about her he would have never brought home a white woman to meet his parents. By the time that they landed, he steeled himself for the reception that he was bound to receive as they went to go to the arrivals area, not needing to stop by the baggage claim. Then he caught sight of his parents standing right in the same spot that they always stood.
"Marcus," his mom said, sweeping him into a hug and rapidly starting into him in Mandarin. "你太瘦了。他们不是在那个奇怪的白色假期养活了你吗?我知道他们不会。他们不会做饭。好吧,你现在到家了,我可以喂你."
"妈妈我很好他们给我喂了很多好食物。" he answered, pulling back from the woman. And turning to his father, inclining his head toward the older man. "你好爸爸你好吗"
"精细。" the older man answered then looked beyond him at Kaitlyn and inclined his head slightly toward her. "那是你的白人女孩吗?"
"是," he nodded and moved back to her hand in his. "Ma, Baba, this is Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn these are my parents."
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on Jan 30, 2021 17:50:48 GMT -5
shirt . skirt . pantyhose . boots . necklace . bag
Kaitlyn wasn't exactly nervous as she stepped off the plane with Marcus, although she was rather apprehensive at the thought of meeting his parents. She figured there was no point in stressing herself about winning over people who were going to dislike her no matter what she did, but she still wasn't looking forward to being looked down at or talked down to. As it turned out, she soon found that wasn't likely to be a huge problem - as her boyfriend started leading them toward whom she soon assumed to be his parents and they all rapidly greeted each other in Mandarin, she found herself wondering just how much of the talking down about she would even understand. Before long, Marcus had switched back to English with the purpose of addressing her, formally introducing her to his parents as she gave a slight nod. "Thank you for having me along, it's nice to meet you," she said, figuring she should still try to be nice. After all, she didn't want to go into this not giving it a chance, because at that point if it all failed in the end, she'd be just as much to blame. She'd much rather it be entirely their fault.
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Post by Marcus Huang on Jan 30, 2021 18:44:00 GMT -5
It didn't even occur to Marcus that perhaps speaking in Mandarin would become a problem quite easily, as it was the language that was always spoken between himself and his parents. Even when Evelina was around they tended to favor their native tongue but hopefully Kaitlyn wasn't feeling too excluded by them. As she replied that it was nice to meet them he could see both of them obviously taking her in, probably making a million judgments about everything from her clothes to the way that she spoke.
"Marcus asked if you could join us," his mom said in response. "We want him to be happy, so we said yes. We hope you find our home to be nice."
"You are very young looking," his father mused as he looked at her. "Are you-?" He turned to Marcus. "青少年?"
Cringing Marcus shook his head. "No, she's not a teenager," he answered quickly. Her age wasn't something that he'd exactly been forthcoming with because he knew that they'd find her too immature and it'd be a strike against her even more.
"白人总是看起来很老。她没有你的年," his mom threw in.
He gave his mom a bit of a look, deciding not to reply back in Mandarin to make sure that his girlfriend wasn't completely cut out from the conversation. "Kaitlyn is a bit younger than I am, yes. She's a Junior at Michigan State," he explained. "I told you, she's studying marketing? Maybe we can talk about it in the car?"
His parents turned to lead the way back toward the parking area, speaking to one another in Mandarin but he turned his attention to his girlfriend. "Sorry," he explained quietly. "I forgot that even around Evelina they prefer not to talk in English more than they can help it."
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on Jan 31, 2021 11:45:28 GMT -5
There was no pretense in Marcus' mother's response that Kaitlyn being allowed to stay at their house was far from being done out of a real desire to meet her, but she hadn't been expecting that either, considering how her boyfriend had warned her that they would not like her. Looking over at his father as he mentioned that she was very young looking, starting a question but turning to his son as he completed it in Mandarin, glancing up curiously at Marcus. Hearing him confirm that she was not a teenager first came as a bit of a shock, but then, she supposed that technically anyone under the age of twenty could be classified as a teenager even if they were adults, and by that logic, she had been a teenager when she and Marcus had started dating. Not that she thought it would be a wise idea to remind him of that or inform his parents of it, but their age difference had never really bothered her, nor did it seem to bother him in spite of the fact that he generally got the brunt of the teasing over it.
Following along as his parents started leading the way outside of the airport's arrival section after Marcus suggested they keep the chat going in the car, shrugging lightly as he apologized for not mentioning that his parents favored speaking Mandarin over English if they could help it. "That makes sense, it's their language," she said. Admittedly, that only partly excused it - she could understand people feeling more comfortable speaking in their native language among themselves, but knowing full well there was someone else involved in the conversation who was made an outsider by them continuing to do so was a bit of a different scenario. Especially since she had a feeling some of what they said would likely be about her, and not in a positive light. "Thank goodness I turned twenty this summer, though," she couldn't help but tell him with an edge of teasing to her tone.
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Post by Marcus Huang on Jan 31, 2021 14:23:43 GMT -5
Marcus was glad that he'd given Kaitlyn a bit of warning about his parents not warming up to her because there was a large difference between the reception that she was getting and the one that he'd gotten from her own parents. He could hear his parents discussing Kaitlyn in front of them, talking about why she was so young and what had convinced him that he should bring home a white girl but he focused instead on Kaitlyn as she said that it was logical that they'd favor their own language. Hearing her teasing comment he groaned softly and fixed her with an unimpressed look. "Don't tease me about this, Kaitlyn. It's bad enough some people definitely think that our relationship is an imbalance of power that is dangerous to you," he answered back quietly. The comments that he got on occasion made him deeply uncomfortable at the implications and sometimes outright speculations that his relationship with Kaitlyn could be anything other than a match of equals.
When they reached the car, he put their backs into the trunk before they got into the backseat. Not wanting to have a chance for his parents to start speaking to him just in Mandarian he asked how things were going at work for each of them. Of course, their answers were in Mandarin but he continued to reply in English for Kaitlyn's benefit during the ride home.
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on Jan 31, 2021 17:32:24 GMT -5
Kaitlyn had to keep herself from rolling her eyes as Marcus told her not to tease him about the whole age thing, adding that some people undoubtedly felt their relationship had a power imbalance. "Who cares what they think?" she questioned with a shrug. The way other people viewed hers and Marcus' relationship truly was the least of her concerns, and she had a feeling that this particular viewpoint was far from being the worst some close minded people would have. Besides, the people who mattered wouldn't think that - at least, she hoped his parents wouldn't, and she knew hers didn't nor did their friends. She climbed into the backseat of his parents' car with him once they reached it and spent most of the drive back to their house looking out the window, sending texts to her mom and Faith to let them know they'd landed safely, and zoning out. It was clear Marcus was making an effort not to entirely exclude her from her conversation, but this was about as helpful as listening to someone take a phone call, so she didn't really see a point in trying to join in or listening to what was being said.
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Post by Marcus Huang on Feb 7, 2021 19:33:46 GMT -5
As much as Marcus tried to include Kaitlyn, it didn't seem to work but he continued to do so for the ride back to his parents house. It seemed to take longer than usual, but maybe that was because he was very aware of Kaitlyn's silence for the journey. Either way, he was relieved by the time that they'd arrived to the familiar street that he'd grown up on. The difference between the home that Kaitlyn had grown up in and the townhouse that he had were stark. Obviously there were no decorations about and the outside was plain to begin with, a boxy building with a plain coloring. The inside wasn't much different than the way that his own apartment looked, clean and minimalist though with more decorations passed through the family through the ages. Immediately inside, he stopped to take his shoes off and gestured for Kaitlyn to the same. The house slippers that he'd used for ages were still there and he passed Kaitlyn a pair of extra used for visitors. "I'm gonna give Kaitlyn a brief tour," he told his parents who nodded in approval.
The downstairs was easy enough, past the entry hall was the living room area and a dining area attached to the kitchen with a half bath off the side of it. Going up the stairs there were only three doors. "That's my parents' room," he pointed toward the one door on the left of the hall. "First door is the bathroom and the second door is my room." That's where they headed, into his bedroom which was even less decorated than the rest of the place because he'd taken most of his personal items with him when he'd moved out and his parents hadn't felt the need to redecorate. The double bed sat with a bedside table featuring a small lamp, an empty desk sat where he'd used to do his homework and a bookshelf stood mostly empty with only a few books that he hadn't felt like bringing with him remaining and a dresser that he knew to be empty standing beside it. "Here it is."
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on Feb 14, 2021 14:09:51 GMT -5
Kaitlyn probably would have been taken a bit more aback at the look of Marcus' parents' home if she hadn't already lived with him for several months, but considering the fact that he didn't seem to believe in decorating, she figured that must have come from somewhere, and that somewhere seemed to be the home he'd grown up in. Of course, she was well aware that most people didn't go quite as hard as her own mother did, but most homes she'd visited over her life had had a bit of personality infused into them. A bit more observation did show that there were a few pieces here and there, so it wasn't entirely bland, but still one of the least decorated homes she'd come across. The tour of the house was certainly more to give her a clearer idea of the layout than to show it off, but she mostly just made mental notes of the bathroom and the door leading to her boyfriend's bedroom. Unsurprisingly, there was little more than a few pieces of furniture, looking over at Marcus as he spoke and simply giving a slight nod. "It sure it," she said, figuring she should at the very least be glad that her boyfriend had had a full size bed as a teenager.
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Post by Marcus Huang on Mar 27, 2021 15:09:17 GMT -5
Marcus knew well that Kaitlyn was going to think that his room was cold and impersonal. He knew this because she'd thought that his apartment was cold and impersonal and he'd had it more decorated than the room here. But he didn't feel bad about it and he hadn't felt bad about his apartment before she'd moved in and started adding what she called 'homey touches' to it. Personally, he didn't think that the place felt any different since she'd started adding things to it but they made her happy so that was what mattered. He gave a shrug as she made her acknowledgement. "Anyway," he said, moving to start unpacking the small suitcase that he'd brought - knowing that he was not going to be living out of it while he was there. "That's pretty much everything you'll need to know. If you want to relax a little, we've got some time as my parents will expect that I'll unpack right away." He wouldn't mind unpacking Kaitlyn's things either, knowing that there was plenty of space for him to put her things away as well and figuring that Kaitlyn would be less likely to want to do so if she had the choice.
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on May 4, 2021 16:20:21 GMT -5
Kaitlyn watched her boyfriend as he mentioned that they had some time to relax, finding herself momentarily distracted by ideas of just how they could put that time to use, but it was only a brief lapse of judgment on her part. Marcus' parents would be expecting him to unpack right away because that was exactly what he was planning on doing. She wasn't exactly planning on living out of her suitcase for the length of their stay either, but she figured putting her things away could wait. It wasn't like she needed to do a whole lot of sorting, whatever clothes were in her bag would go into a drawer, and her toiletries and accessories would probably just end up set on top of his dresser. It wasn't exactly a complicated matter, and there was no point in doing it at the same time as him since they'd just get in each other's way. "Alright," she said after a moment's consideration, kicking off the slippers she'd put on upon entering the house and moving to sit on the bed, propping the pillows up so that she could lean back against them while turning on her phone and pulling up a couple of different apps.
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Post by Marcus Huang on May 7, 2021 17:21:10 GMT -5
Marcus unpacked in silence, not feeling the need to say anything to Kailtyn as she lounged on his bed. It was strange to have her here, in a way, in the bedroom that he'd grown up in so far away from her. Like the two parts of his world finally colliding against one another. He expected there would be some turbulence from that collision and he hoped that he'd prepared her for it but there wasn't much more he could do now that she was already here. It took next to no time for him to finish unpacking his things and then, he went ahead and started unpacking Kaitlyn's as well since he was already in the midst of unpacking. When both of their bags were empty, he put them into the closet and shut the door behind them. Looking at Kaitlyn on his bed he couldn't help but smile slightly as she'd made herself at home in the way that she seemed to be able to do most anywhere. Like somehow his room was out of place around her rather than the other way around. How she managed such an effect he still had no idea but he couldn't say that he minded.
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on May 22, 2021 9:36:15 GMT -5
For the most part, Kaitlyn didn't pay too much attention to what Marcus was doing as she busied herself on her phone. It was only once she realized it was taking him more time than she'd have expected that she looked up to find that he was now taking care of her own suitcase, which she decided not to do anything to interrupt. It wasn't like he was likely to listen to her objections anyway, and besides, why should she complain if he wanted to do the work for her? So instead she simply returned to catching up on her various social emdia pages until she felt the room had been silent for a couple of minutes, glancing up to find her boyfriend just watching her. Raising an eyebrow at him as she put her phone down though not bothering to get off the bed just yet, not sure if they actually had to return downstairs at this point. "What?" she couldn't help but ask, wondering what was going on in his mind at this point. Marcus wasn't exactly the kind of person you could read like an open book, and as such it wasn't actually easy to figure out how to interpret the looks that crossed his face.
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Post by Marcus Huang on May 24, 2021 12:45:11 GMT -5
Never had Marcus thought that he'd bring home someone like Kaitlyn. It wasn't only that she was more than a couple of years younger than him, it was just that she was not who he could have imagined being the kind of partner that he'd look for long term. Yet, she managed to be the type of person that he both wanted around, and that made him better. If they had been the same age for whatever reason he wasn't even sure that it would have worked out. He hadn't changed all that much since he was an undergrad but he would have been much less likely to make an effort to fit her into his life than he did now. It was probably for the best that there was the gap, allowing him to get the slightest bit more flexible so that he was ready when she came around. He didn't believe in fate or things being planned or whatever, it was just good that it'd worked out as it had. When she looked up to see him and asked what was going on, he shook his head, walking over to the bed and taking a seat on it. "Nothing," he answered. "Just thinking about when I used to live full time here."
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Kaitlyn Foster
Midwest Native
Daughter of Bethanie and Samuel
Posts: 261
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Post by Kaitlyn Foster on May 24, 2021 14:24:28 GMT -5
Kaitlyn watched as Marcus moved over to take a seat on the bed and said there was nothing, raising an eyebrow slightly at that as there had clearly been something on his mind. As he kept speaking, she moved herself slightly so that she could kneel behind him, leaning a bit against his back as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind him, her nose lightly brushing against the side of his neck. "Do you miss living in California?" she asked a bit curiously. She knew, logically, that he was unlikely to consider moving back here regardless of how he felt about his home state versus the one he'd moved to. She also knew it had nothing to do with her being from Michigan, and all to do with wanting to stay close to his best friend and be there to watch his goddaughter growing up. She couldn't fault him for that, and for the most part it suited her. She'd never really considered the idea of moving away from where she'd grown up, at least more than a couple hours' drive. Part of that, however, was that she'd never really been presented with the choice or a reason why she should even consider moving. If Marcus had wanted to come back to San Diego after finishing the last of his studies, she probably wouldn't have minded the idea of a change of scenery.
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Post by Marcus Huang on Jun 1, 2021 18:49:36 GMT -5
Marcus moved his hand to Kaitlyn's once her arms were wrapped around him, leaning his head back against her as she asked him if he missed living in California, giving a light hum as he considered her question. "Parts of it," he answered after a moment of contemplation. "The weather. The Chinese community here. Being able to have my mother's cooking on a more regular basis." Sure he could cook a lot of things himself and do a decent job but it didn't quite compare to the way that his mother did things. The snow and cold were not his favorite things in the world either and the lack of a larger Chinese community in Lansing could feel isolating at times but it was all manageable. Evelina wasn't going to leave Michigan and truthfully if he could find work there he likely would stay around too because the thought of leaving behind Amelia and Evelina was not one that he cherished. Even so, he didn't feel a stronger pull to San Diego than anywhere else except for the idea of being able to see his parents more often than he currently did - but no matter where he ended up he knew that someday they'd end up living with him so that was only a matter of time.
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