2013.10.11 - Mother and Daughter

The upscale boutiques and cafe's in Soho make for a wonderful place to meet. There's good shopping, nice places to eat, and everything is very, very public. After being silent for so long, Jade just contacted Roy again out of the blue to ask for a meeting. She wanted to have lunch, and strongly suggested he bring Lian along. After she just showed up in his apartment the last time, the implications were pretty clear that she could -take- Lian anytime she wished.

The cafe isn't terribly busy, and there are plenty of tables free outside. The weather is even cooperating. Some business folks mill about looking for someplace for lunch, along with a few locals. Sitting at a table by herself, Jade is dressed in a designer suit and wearing glasses. With her hair pulled back and conservative makeup, it would be easy to walk right by her. Until one picked up the unique jasmine scent of her perfume. Jade Nyugen has reconnected. The upscale boutiques and cafe's in Soho make for a wonderful place to meet. There's good shopping, nice places to eat, and everything is very, very public. After being silent for so long, Jade just contacted Roy again out of the blue to ask for a meeting. She wanted to have lunch, and strongly suggested he bring Lian along. After she just showed up in his apartment the last time, the implications were pretty clear that she could -take- Lian anytime she wished.

The cafe isn't terribly busy, and there are plenty of tables free outside. The weather is even cooperating. Some business folks mill about looking for someplace for lunch, along with a few locals. Sitting at a table by herself, Jade is dressed in a designer suit and wearing glasses. With her hair pulled back and conservative makeup, it would be easy to walk right by her. Until one picked up the unique jasmine scent of her perfume.

When Jade had called out of the blue, after such a long time, Roy had no idea what to think of the invitation. The one thing he was sure of was that Lian's babysitters might need to be forewarned.

Still, in fairness's sake, when a woman asks to see her daughter, Roy was not about to deny her that, despite the risks.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Lian asked as they approached the cafe, dressed in her favorite play clothes, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a Monster High character that Roy had never managed to keep the name straight, but which Lian asserted was a Vampire of some sort that did not drink yucky blood.

"It's a surprise," Roy replies. Although he had no idea whether Jade wanted to surprise her or not, it was going to be her call.

And while Roy might have still recognized the beauty of Jade Nguyen anywhere, it was that unique jasmine scent that has him approach.

"Jade," Roy greets, as Lian gapes, drawing closer to her father. "Lookin' good as always."

Jade Nguyen turns at the familiar voice, the demure business-woman facade dropping as she rises. "Hello, Roy. Thank you for coming." she offers. Then her gaze drops to the girl, and the woman crouches down to be more on her level. "Hello, Lian."

There's something softer and a bit more melodic in the woman's voice, now. Definitely maternal. "Do you remember who I am?" And then she removes the glasses, gazing at her daughter with those big, green eyes.

Shaking her head, Lian Harper looks back up towards Roy.

"It's all right, princess. You were very little when you last saw her," Lian's father responds, bringing his hand down to ruffle the top of her head.

The young girl makes a face as she tries to straighten her hair again. "I'm sorry, she says, before squinting again. "But you smell... nice. I know that smell, Daddy, don't I?"

"Yeah, you do. She wore that all the time," Roy says softly, as he looks back towards Jade, leaving it to tell Lian just who she is.

Eyes bright, Jade watches her daughter without even glancing up at Roy for the moment. "Yes, Lian. No one else wears this perfume. You remember the smell from when you were very, very little because I am your mother."

She remains crouched down, watching the young girl's reaction to the news. Unsure what Roy has told Lian about her mother, Jade glances up briefly to him with a questioning look.

Roy had mentioned little about what Cheshire did for a living. It'd been something that had only really been shared with Dinah Lance. Oh Slade Wilson knew, which was why he had offered Rose's services as a babysitter, but precious few knew.

Lian's eyes widen, before tears well up in her eyes, and she flings herself towards Jade. "Mommy...? You're back?" she whispers plaintively, her voice muffled in Jade's business suit.

Roy's eyes are bright. "Yeah, Lian. She's been a busy woman, working all over the world," Roy admits, hands in his pockets. "But she's here to see you."

"Are you staying?" Lian asks, pulling back to look up at Jade with bright brown eyes.

Jade Nguyen doesn't know what to do at first, but instinct is instinct. She returns Lian's embrace warmly, drawing a deep breath as she hugs her daughter. Glasses perched atop her neat hair, Jade's eyes squeeze shut and Roy just might notice moisture welling in the corners.

Then come the questions, and she blinks a few times as Lian pulls back to look at her. "I still need to travel, darling, which is why it's best you stay with your father. But I will be seeing you regularly." There's a knowing look to Roy at the last.

Rising smoothly, she lifts Lian into her arms without effort and turns back towards the table. "Right now, however, we will have lunch. You and me and your daddy."

"Okay, Mommy. Look at what I'm wearing, it's Draculaura, isn't it neat?" And off Lian goes, detailing what her latest dolls were up to, how they were getting along, and about school, as she settles comfortably in her mother's lap, showing no signs of moving.

A sight that has Roy smiling faintly as he takes a seat, looking back towards Jade. Picking up the menu, Roy grins cheekily at Jade. "Enjoy. Seems only right she talk your ears off, I've had to put up with -that-..." he says.

"Daddy! Mommy, Daddy's being mean," Lian protests, in that 'long-suffering' way she has whenever Roy is teasing his daughter. "Daddy never listens to me when I tell him these things."

"I do too listen," Roy protests.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Jade Nguyen relaxes noticeably, settling with Lian firmly on her lap and looking quite pleased. Plucking up a menu with one hand, she multitasks and studies it in between her lessons of Monster High. "Your Daddy is a very patient man, Lian. He is not mean." she replies with a knowing smile.

"Now tell me what you would like to eat. Do you have any favorites?" And the questions continue, keeping the girl talking more about her life rather than trying to get her to focus on lunch. Then again, Jade doesn't see her daughter every day like Roy does.

"I like grilled cheese sandwiches," Lian says. Whatever else could be said, at least Lian could speak properly. Which was completely at odds with Roy's own speech patterns. Must have had very good teachers. School, classes, teachers, and even her various babysitters, were detailed, along with Roy's very bad habits around the apartment, some of which probably was entirely too familiar. At least certain others seemed to have ended, judging by Lian's lack of mention.

"See, Lian, I'm not mean," Roy retorts, looking smugly back at his daughter, which only earns him an audible hmph and a very brief pout before she goes back to regaling her mother about her travails.

And Jade is very understanding, as well as sympathetic. She bristles once or twice, specifically at the mention of the babysitter named Rose and her 'Auntie Dinah'. Yeah, Roy gets a -look- for that one. But it's all over Lian's shoulder, of course, so the girl is very much oblivious to it.

The waitress arrives to take orders, and Jade orders for her daughter. Grilled cheese and french fries, of course, along with a glass of fruit juice and the promise of ice cream if she eats it all. Lian is encouraged to talk as much and as often as she wishes, and her mother soaks it all up. Yes, she misses her daughter and wants to learn more about her. But her tactical mind is working as well; probing for opportunities.

Daddy's specific dates no doubt also earns him a look, but Roy's only response is to just raise eyebrows at Jade, before he leans over. "Ixnay on the atesnay-day," he remarks to his daughter. His daughter, however, seems offended at the notion. "But Daddy, if Mommy's back, you should..." Lian begins, before being distracted by the fruit juice that's delivered.

Roy only grimaces a bit. "Okay. Don't talk about Daddy's job, and don't talk about Daddy's personal life," Roy admonishes.

"What's a personal life?" Lian replies, wide-eyed.

Jade Nguyen chuckles softly at the question about 'personal life', and that's where she does something Roy would likely not expect. Kissing her daughter on the cheek, she answers the question for him. "Honey, it means there are some things your Daddy doesn't want me to know about. And that's quite alright."

Looking up to Roy again, her wine is brought and his drink arrives as well. "Mommy and Daddy probably aren't going to be living together anytime soon, Lian. There are very adult reasons why not, and I will explain them to you when you get older. But for right now, just know that we both love you very, very much. And we would do anything it takes to protect you."

"Oh," Lian frowns. "Then Daddy keeps snooping around my personal life too," she says. "Like... like the candy in my drawers."

"Lian, that doesn't count. You're -not- supposed to have candy after seven o clock. You know that."

"But I brush my teeth! See?" She points to her teeth with her finger for her mother's sake.

"Nevermind, Lian. Just... your mother's right. We love you. And sometimes we have to tell you things so that you can -have- a personal life, all right?" Roy sighs, before looking back up towards Jade. "And sometimes, adult things are part of -our- personal lives, because we're adults. You... aren't going to be an adult until you're at least thirty." Crossing his arms, Roy looks sternly at Lian.

Candy in the drawers? Jade arches a brow at that and looks really amused. "And you do a very nice job of brushing, too." she compliments smoothly. "But yes, your daddy will tell you what you can and can not share with me. You will respect his wishes in this, as well as mine." Her words are light and casual, but there is something unspokenly serious about them all the same.

Looking over to Roy, she sips her wine. "I know it doesn't sound fair, but you will learn more as you grow up. That's part of the fun of getting older, after all." Smiling again, she tilts her head and looks down at her daughter. "You are one very lucky little girl, did you know that?"

"Uh huh, Mommy." Reaching for her sandwich, Lian settles comfortably back against Jade, the young girl smiling up towards her mother as she eats her sandwich with both hands and gusto, taking care to not let crumbs fall. A good deal more finicky about appearances than her father. Apparently whatever made her Daddy's little girl seems to have shifted to Jade now that she was around, and Roy can't help but feel a bit of a twinge.

"So, uh..." Taking a sip of his drink, Roy looks back up towards Jade. "Don't suppose we'll be seeing more of you soon, will we?"

Jade Nguyen smiles knowingly, starting to pick at her pasta alfredo. And she eats quite neatly, showing that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. "Oh you know what my schedule is like, Roy. It's so hard to predict." Her gaze flashes from playful to deadly serious, then, even accompanied briefly by her trademark smile. "But you can rest assured that I will be keeping close tabs on our daughter."

The expression softens almost immediately and Jade looks down at her daughter. "Would you like that, honey? Maybe I'll take you on an outing sometime as well. Just us girls for a weekend or something." Like Disneyland. In Paris. "Of course I'll bring you back to daddy just fine."

"Of course. Very hard to predict. For all I know, you might show up in the middle of the night," Roy comments coolly, finishing his drink.

"Aw, Daddy, if Mommy shows up, you wouldn't make her go away, would you? She can have my bed," Lian begins, before her eyes widens. She nearly drops her sandwich onto her lap, but manages to put it down on the plate in front of her, before nodding vigorously. "Okay! Daddy goes on outings all the time without me," she says, matter-of-factly. "I want to go!"

Roy sighs. "I don't know, it could be..." Dangerous was the word he wanted to use, but then again... "... a bit of a burden for your mother."

Jade Nguyen's fingers smooth Lian's hair gently, giving Roy a curious look across the table. "Not to worry, sweetie. You're getting into those 'personal life' discussions again, but it's not your daddy that makes me go away."

Pausing to take another bite or two of pasta, she replies to her daughter. "I won't be able to take you -every- time, but be assured that I will take you on outings with me. Some of the places that I go... and that your daddy goes... aren't good for girls your age. That's why we can't bring you along all the time." Yes, it's definitely for HER own good.

"But mommy..." Lian begins.

"We've been through this a lot, Lian," Roy sighs. "What goes for me goes double for your mother. That's how I met her, after all. If I had a choice, I don't think I would have left her, but I... had to." Eyes shift up towards Jade, an apology for five years ago, for now, for... everything that kept them apart.

"When you're older, you'll understand why everything's so... complicated. It's something your mother and I haven't really had a chance to talk about, how it's affecting you, but for today... well, you have your mother. Look, uh... do you want to spend today with your mommy?"

The look Jade gives him is full of a myriad of emotions, but curiosity and affection seem to be pretty high on the list. Yes, she knows the parting was a two-way thing, and she also knows that the present situation is better for Lian. She returns his look evenly, all the same, emotions melting away.

"Yes, darling, it is as your father says. But that is serious talk for another day. Right now, you need to finish your lunch. I know a very good place to get ice cream around the corner, and then there's a park where we can play." Yes, the happily-dressed assassin said 'we'. "I will visit again, and maybe someday you can stay for a longer time." There's just a brief look at Roy with that, perhaps a warning or even a threat. But the afternoon will pass pleasantly enough all the same.