Lilith's Emporium Pt. 12: Meet the Parents

Nessira stood in her bedroom looking in the mirror as she wore the dress she had purchased. It was white which she didn't enjoy wearing but something about all of this just gave her a feeling of happiness that she could not describe.

She thought about what Lilith had said to her about planning the wedding to take her mind off of what had happened and for the most part it worked. Still she couldn't help but feel like she didn't deserve this sort of thing in her life. A tear began to slide down her cheek as she stood there in silence just staring at her reflection when she heard the door open.

"Ahem," she said as she wiped the tears away trying to hide her emotions as Shadow walked into the room. "So um, what do you think?" She said showing her daughter.

Shadow stood there almost in shock seeing her mother standing there looking as stunning as she did. "Wow, you look, I mean, wow Mom."

"Is that good?"

"You look like a princess, with very nice boobs."

"Princess, you mean some dumb damsel stuck in a castle waiting for a man to come and save her?"

"Um, not exactly what I meant."

"This is stupid, I should just wear one of my red dresses and forget this silly thing," Nessira said before she looked over seeing Shadow standing there with a look on her face like she did something wrong. "I'm sorry," she said walking over and giving her a hug. "This is all so new and strange to me, I don't know how to feel and don't even trust my own feelings anyway."

"What's wrong Mom, I mean, what is really wrong?"

Nessira let go of Shadow and went back to look in the mirror and said: "I don't deserve this."

"What do you mean?"

"This life, Patrick, You, to have a beautiful wedding day."

"Mom we have been over this."

"But, I once turned a man's fiance into a succubus and made her kill him, how many other wedding days have I destroyed, how many hearts have I broken, lives ruined, families destroyed, and how many more will I?"

"You won't."

"Come on Shadow, we both know that apparently, all it takes is a magic necklace to make me almost kill my own daughter."

"Yup, and you failed at that remember, you were told to kill us all and capture me, but you couldn't even accomplish that, I kicked your ass if I remember correctly."

Nessira looked over at her daughter with a confused look on her face before she said: "and your point is?"

"My point is you were ordered to kill us all and you didn't, you turned Patrick into a statue to protect him which made them question your loyalty, and then when you fought me, you lost," she said as Nessira crossed her arms more curious to where Shadow was going with this. "You have killed many people and many creatures, but even when the darkness inside you is brought to the surface you still hesitated when it came to us, deep down you know that nobody can control you, you are the red witch, and whether or not you deserve to be happy is irrelevant, you don't ask for permission or forgiveness, you take what you want."

Nessira turned back towards the mirror letting Shadow words rattle around in her head for a minute before she smiled and said: "You're right, my boobs do look amazing."

"They really do, so what do you want?"

"I want..." She said pausing to stare at her reflection. " I want Patrick, I want to be his wife."

"And if anyone objects?"

A sinister smile came across her face as her hand turned into a taloned claw before she clenched it. "Then they will truly see how dark I can be."

"There's the Mother I know and love," Shadow said walking up behind her and wrapping her arms around her.

"What would I do without you?" Nessira said with a smile.

"Be the queen of a wasteland getting fucked by a demon and his goat with a statue of Patrick in your chambers."

Nessira looked at Shadow through the mirror raising an eyebrow before she said: "Not funny."

"Sorry, I just think this life is a better fit for you."

"I think so too." She said smiling at the reflection herself standing there with her daughter. "Now I have to do something even more dangerous."

"What's that?"

"Meet Patrick's Parents."

"Oof, that should be fun."

"Yeah, his mom is apparently very religious, so this should go over well."

"If things start going bad just let me know and I'll swing by and pull the fire alarm."

"That's not... I mean you shouldn't... That's actually not a bad idea."

-----

Later that evening Patrick and Nessira were sitting in his car outside this fancy Italian restaurant as Nessira was trying to relax but she was sweating. She was wearing a red dress but something more business casual than she usually wore as she wanted to impress Patrick's parents more than anything.

"You gonna be alright?" Patrick asked.

"I'm working on it."

"Well, you look beautiful."

"I look like a slut who has murdered hundreds of people."

"Stop it," he said taking her hand. "You have nothing to be nervous about, this isn't about who you were or what you've done in the past."

"A few weeks ago I turned you into a statue and tried to murder my daughter."

"I wouldn't mention that, okay try this, when I was younger I worked in a store where most of the customers were assholes, so each interaction I looked at it like a video game, like an RPG, every question was an attack and when my turn came I had to think of a good counter-attack."

Nessira stared it him with an almost disgusted look in her eyes before she said: "God you are such a fucking nerd, thank god you have a big dick."

"Um, okay well..."

"I feel like I am on trial here, It would be easier if it was a trial by combat."

"Game of Thrones reference but I'm the nerd?"

"What's Game of Thrones?" She asked with a curious look on her face.

"Really?... Forget it, let's just do this." He said before they both got out if the car and headed inside.

They walked in and Patrick saw his parents already seated at a table by the window. He held Nessira's hand as they walked over before he introduced everyone.

"Mom, Dad, this is my Fiance Nessira."

"Hello, it is so nice to finally meet you." His father said standing up and giving her a hug which surprised her a bit.

"Oh um, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Johnson."

"Please call me Dad."

"Okay then."

"Hello," his mother said standing up and shaking her hand. "You can call me Diane."

Nessira took the rather cold response from his mother with a smile before she sat down trying to hide how uncomfortable she was. Patrick's father seemed very taken with her but the look in his mother's eyes just made Nessira's skin crawl a little. She knew she was in for a long evening.

"So tell me Nessira, how did you and Patrick here meet?" Diane asked. "You remind me of another woman he used to date, what was her name?"

"Mother, there's no need to compare," Patrick said.

"No, who was that redhead you dated years ago, she was such a nice girl."

"Mom, you hated her when we dated, you begged me to break up with her remember?"

"Jenny?" Nessira said as Diane was a bit surprised she knew to whom they were referring to. "Actually it's funny because he came into my shop one day and thought I was her, that's actually how we met."

"She actually turned me down the first time I asked her out."

"Oh really, and why is that?" Diane asked.

"I just wasn't looking for anything at the time, just focused on my work."

"I see, you said you had a shop?"

"Oh, um, yes, I am a small business owner."

"Interesting, what kind of shop?"

Nessira looked over at Patrick who wasn't sure how to answer the question either before he said: "it's sort if an artifact store, she sells statues and incense, things of that nature."

"Oh really, how is business?"

"As good as it can be, it's sort of a family business, it is also a Massage parlor and I offer my services as a sort of matchmaker."

"Huh," Diane said in an almost unimpressed tone "Oh, by the way, the name Nessira, where does that come from?"

"Um, I'm honestly not sure, I was adopted when I was a baby, my Adopted mother named me."

"I see, so you don't know about your lineage?"

"Never really thought about it,"

"So, what is everyone eating tonight?" Patrick asked picking up a menu trying to change the subject.

"So let me get this straight, you run a small store and you are engaged to my son who is a successful financial advisor?"

"Mom, I know what you are thinking and that's not what is going on here."

"You know what Patrick, you are her son, and Mothers are protective of their children, so let her ask me whatever she wants to ask me, I would want to know the same things if my daughter got engaged," Nessira said.

"You have a daughter?" Diane asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, she is also adopted and her name is Sh... Sara."

"Why did you hesitate like that?"

"My apologies, Sara has this nickname that she prefers to go by so sometimes I forget to introduce her by her real name."

"I don't care much for nicknames, we are all given a proper name at birth, seems a shame to hide it."

"Her true name reminds her of a past she didn't enjoy, She likes to be called Shadow, apparently when she was younger she moved so quickly and quietly that she earned that nickname from her friends."

"When she was younger?"

"Yes, she is 19 now, I adopted her a few years ago after she was put in my care temporarily, but we bonded and she needed a family so I took her in."

"I see."

"I love her, just as much as I love Patrick here, and let me be honest with you Diane, I have a troubled past, I have done some things I am not proud of to the point where my own mother put me in a position where I had to learn to sink or swim, in that time I met Patrick, adopted Shadow, and have spent every day trying to make up for things I have done while also trying to help others find love, if you don't like me that's fine, I am used to it, but Patrick means the world to me, more than you will ever know." She said taking his hand and holding it. "His happiness is my happiness, Shadow loves him and he has been an amazing father to her."

"It's true, I love her like she was my own," Patrick said smiling at Nessira.

"What about more children?"

"Oh, I actually can't have children, medical reasons," Nessira said.

"But Patrick, I thought you always wanted kids?" Diane said looking at her son.

Nessira also looked at him as this was something they had never discussed so she was curious as to what Diane was talking about.

"Mom, yes, there was a time I imagined myself having children of my own, but this relationship with Nessira was never about children or anything like that, I love her, more than anything, so kids or no kids I wouldn't trade her for anything."

Nessira smiled at his statement before Diane said: "sounds a bit odd to me."

"Diane, that's enough." Patrick's father finally said: "Nessira here seems like a lovely girl and you have never liked a single woman Patrick has ever dated, you know how stressful weddings can be and how my mother made you feel before ours, so just stop."

"Fine," Diane said standing up and heading to the restroom.

"I am sorry about her." He said to Nessira.

"It's fine, I sort of expected it," Nessira said.

"I think you are a lovely woman, taking in a young girl on your own, running your own business, you have guts, brains, beauty and a good taste in men."

"Really Dad?" Patrick said.

"I call it like I see it, Diane will warm up to you eventually, she has a good heart but ever since she joined the church, she even drives me crazy sometimes."

"So, you don't go to church with her?" Nessira asked.

"If what the bible said is true and Sunday is the day of rest, then why the hell do I have to get out of bed and sit in an uncomfortable wooden bench for an hour?"

"Valid point." Nessira said.

"Alright Nessira," Diane said sitting back down at the table. "You say you have a troubled past, and that you have done things you are not proud of, so tell me."

"Tell you?"

"I am a woman of God, so tell me of your dark past, what sent you down this wicked path and why should I believe you are better now?"

"Mother, that's a very private matter," Patrick said.

"No Patrick, if she wants to know, then fine," Nessira said with a very serious look in her face. "Once I was in love, I loved a man more than anything, he was my whole world, we were living together and planned to spend our whole lives together," Nessira explained as Diane listened intently. "And then one day I came home, my home had been... Broken into and," she said while Patrick acknowledged her edit to the story. "And I found him dead, he apparently walked in on the robbery and, well they killed him."

Patrick took her hand seeing the pain in her eyes as she relived the event in her mind which he knew was far more gruesome and horrible than the version she was telling. "Ness, are you alright?" He whispered to her.

"Needless to say my world came crashing down around me, I took my frustrations out on anyone I could, I turned on my own friends, fell into a bad crowd, and it got to the point where my own mother had me locked up for a little while."

"My word," Diane said listening to her story.

"When I was released she put me in charge of the shop, as I said it is a family owned business, and as a way to make me pay back the damage I caused and learn some responsibility, and in that time is when Patrick came in, and Shadow, and everything good that I have in my life right now." Nessira wiped a tear from her eye before looking Diane in hers and she said: "so you can judge me all you want Diane, you can disapprove and dislike me all you want, because whatever harsh way you look at me is nothing compared to how I see myself, I know I don't deserve your son, no woman does, which is why I will spend the rest of my days making sure I come as close as I can to being worthy of his love. Now if you will excuse me."

Nessira stood up and headed for the ladies room to freshen up a little. Talking about her past made her very emotional so she didn't want to look that way in front of Diane so she left to compose herself. Back at the table, Patrick looked at his mother with a bit of a scowl on his face.

"Are you happy now Mother?" He asked.

"She seems like too much of a basket case for you Patrick."

"You know, tonight wasn't about getting your approval, tonight was about introducing you to the woman I love and am going to marry, it's happening whether you want it or not."

"I only want what is best for you Patrick, you know that."

"Yeah, and remember when you convinced me to break up with Jenny, well guess what Mom, she died, her demons caught up with her and she is gone, all because I listened to you, maybe I could have saved her if I hadn't turned my back on her, so forgive me if I don't really care what you think of Nessira because I refuse to let her go," Patrick said angrily before he attempted to get up and leave when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Well well, Patrick, I was not expecting to see you here," Lilith said as she was suddenly standing behind him. "So where is my lovely daughter?"

"Lilith, Hi, oh um, Nessira just ran to the restroom."

"I see, and who might these two charming people be?"

"Oh, this is my Mother Diane and my Father Jerome."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Lilith said walking around and shaking both of their hands as Jerome had a big smile on his face while Diane seemed more shocked.

"Wait, you are Nessira's Mother?" Diane asked confused.

"Well, yes, I raised her from a baby."

"I don't believe you are old enough to be anyone's mother," Jerome said complimenting her.

"Oh stop, I am much older than I look."

"Nessira was just telling them about her darker years before she left," Patrick said.

"I see, those were tough to see, she was such a sweet girl, she could put a smile on anyone's face simply by smiling at them, she had a heart of gold, but when you lose someone that close to you, it can change you, very few people can understand that pain."

"I see," Diane said.

"But deep down, she is still that wonderful sweet girl, even if she won't admit it, but I see it, Patrick see's it, and Shadow see's it too. Speaking of which, where is that girl?"

"Who?" Patrick asked.

"Shadow, I decided to take her out to dinner for a little grandma grandaughter bonding," Lilith said looking all around. "Oh, there she is."

Shadow came walking over wearing a very nice black dress as Patrick stood up before she gave him a hug. "Mom, Dad, this is Sara, or as we like to call her Shadow."

"Sara?" She whispered giving him an odd look.

"It's a long story, I'll explain later." He whispered back.

"Oh my, so this is my Grandaughter to be?" Diane said suddenly having a different tune as she smiled and Gave her a big hug.

Shadow played along confused but enjoying the hug before she said: "Um, it is so nice to meet you both." Before Jerome hugged her as well.

She looked over at Patrick as she had an almost concerned look on her face as he mouthed the words. "I'm so sorry," To her.

"What did I miss?" Nessira said finally walking back over to the table.

"Nessira, you didn't tell me your daughter was such a pretty thing," Diane said seemingly over excited to meet Shadow.

"She is beautiful for sure," Nessira said look at Patrick wondering where everyone came from.

"I take after my mother," Shadow said looking over at Nessira with a smile.

"I have to ask, did you know your birth mother?" Diane asked.

"No, I was referring to my real Mother." She said as she walked over and gave Nessira a big hug in front of everyone.

Nessira held her tightly as she tried so hard not to tear up again. Diane smiled at the two of them which Patrick caught out of the corner of his eye.

As Shadow finally let go of Nessira she walked back over to Lilith and said: "well, enjoy your dinner, you ready Nana Lily?" She said looking at Lilith.

"Of course my dear, we already ate so I am taking her out for a little night on the town, if that's okay with you Nessira?" Lilith asked.

"Have fun, but don't keep her out too late." Nessira said.

"Of course not."

"Hey, is Kevin with you?" Patrick asked.

"Um, no he's at home, I actually need to talk to you, when you have a moment, maybe tomorrow?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, no problem, everything alright?"

"Yeah, I think he just needs a little, help?"

"Gotcha, yeah just remind me in the morning."

"Thanks," she said walking over and giving him a hug before leaving with Lilith.

"My my Nessira, you have a lovely daughter," Diane said with a big smile. "But who is Kevin?"

"Kevin is her Boyfriend," Patrick said a little surprised by his mother's change of tune.

"I see, So what is everyone eating, dinner is on us tonight!"

Patrick looked over at Nessira as they shared a confused look before Nessira asked: "What the hell just happened?" To Patrick in a quiet voice.

"I am going with my mother just had a stroke, just go with it."

-------

Later that night Nessira and Patrick came home walking into her bedroom as he dropped his keys and wallet on the dresser. Nessira seemed to have a lot on her mind which didn't surprise Patrick as the night had not gone as well as he had hoped but also not as bad as he expected.

"So, that was um..." He said as he sat down and took his shoes off.

"It could have been worse."

"Oh definitely."

"Guess it was a good thing Lilith and Shadow showed up?"

"Yeah, I sort of invited them."

"Really, I had a plan to have Shadow pull the fire alarm."

"That would have been easier, I knew my mother would just love meeting Shadow so I asked her to meet us there at some point, in case things went bad, I guess Lilith offered to help as well."

"I love you." She said with a smile walking over and giving him a quick kiss.