Summer trips to his parents are...complicated. Hell, Antoine's relationship with just about any other human being tends to be complicated, let alone with his own flesh and blood. He and his mom have always been close, though she comes down hard on him often. His dad, though? They've never seen eye to eye, so tensions are always at least a little high when Antoine goes for a visit each summer. It also doesn't help that every time Antoine comes home for the summer, his parents try to convince him to stay, to go back to school, to make something of himself. It's the same song and dance every year.
Needless to say, coming off the plane he's already slightly tipsy, speaking quickly and slurring his words a bit as his bags are passed off to one of the butlers. Sunglasses perched on his nose, he struts into the Beauséjour-Christensen estate like he owns the damn place. His mother greets him at the door, all smiles and hugs and la bise, a bit overkill in Antoine's opinion, but he goes along with it. She scolds him for drinking on the plane, which results in a brief argument in French before he's ushered off to his room to change and lay down for the night, recover from jet lag before morning.
In that time, his mother pulls aside their newest employee to give her a bonus in exchange for her to interact with and entertain her eccentric son. It's not part of the job description--she's a landscaper, after all--and the woman's husband has no idea she's offering the extra money for such a trivial matter, but it's important to her and she stresses it. Even more than that, she stresses that she be a good influence on him, maybe try to talk him into going back to school and, pour le Dieu, convince him to lay off the wine.
Barely a nod is given to the new employee as he treads off to bed, a few hushed words exchanged with another staff member and awkward glances shot her way. They can't remember the last time their parents hired someone new, but they figure it was about time the old landscaper retired...
They're given a few days to settle in before their mother is insisting the new landscaper take the day off in order to connect with her son--who, notably, is yet to speak a lick of English since arriving, only a mix of French and German. At the moment, xe's out by the pool, lounging and writing down thoughts in xyr notebook, xyr hair a complete mess as usual and a glass of white wine perched on the stone ledge alongside a small afternoon meal that's barely been touched.
@monachopsicalwhimsy DEFINITELY deserves a shoutout!! The mun is suuuuper talented and really goes in depth with her muses! She's always been so friendly and open ooc too. She was one of the first people I started writing with and she should get more love. I think she's finally really back from the little hiatus she was on and I couldn't be happier!
“It’s so nice to meet you !” Willow feels the need to point it out once again, her smile as bright as the sun at the mere thought of everything Lennon has told her about James. She fixes two cups of tea for both of them, waiting for the musician to come home soon. “Jim’s told me a lot ‘bout you,” She giggled through her words, inviting him to sit at the small breakfast table in Lennon’s kitchen. “It’s nice to finally put a face in such a nice guy ! A--- A-Am I talkin’ too much ?! M’ just excited,” She laughs, lifting her mug to get a small sip.
@monachopsicalwhimsy liked for a starter from Mattie
"Every single time that I see mistletoe hanging up somewhere, I'm pulling it down." Mattie's nose wrinkled as they sipped on their cocoa. "Does that make me a horrible person? Maybe but I'm not going to get stuck under some with a random person and feel forced to kiss someone. Mistletoe's just..dumb. Sorry if you like it, I just can't deal with it."
Credence was standing a little far away from the other working girls and boys. He was close enough that he was one of them, but he always stood a little on the outside. Just by the edges.
Credence lit a cigarette and sighed; no customers so far this night, which was grinding on his nerves as the rent was coming up. So Credence threw off his jacket and tied it around his waist, leaving him in his sleeveless shirt, short shorts and bandages around his chest.
The young man quickly sensed he was being watched, and he whipped around to his left further down the empty part of the street. There was an older man, maybe 30 or around that, holding a camera in his hand and watching Credence closely. Credence bristled and turned to walk away.
