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In Sheep's Clothing	By : ParisWriter Category: +G through L > Harvest Moon Views: 2169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Eleven

Avery played with her root beer float, covering the end of the straw with one finger and pulling it out of the tall glass, then lifting her finger up and watching the dark soda fall back in amongst the ice cream. Occasionally, she would steal a glance at the entrance of the cafe, the rapidity of her leg bouncing nervously under the table increasing each time she looked.

"You know," Klaus said, reaching down to place his hand upon her knee in an attempt to steady her nerves, "this seems a little backwards. Shouldn't I be the one who's nervous about meeting your parents?"

"You aren't?" Avery asked him.

"I am," he told her, flashing a nervous smile. "But I'm more worried about what has you so worked up. They're your parents, you shouldn't be this on edge."

"Did you forget what just happened, Klaus?" she wondered, pulling her hair back just enough to flash the dark mark he'd left upon her neck. "My mother caught us going at it pretty hot and heavy back there."

Klaus blushed, but leaned forward and gave her a reassuring kiss. "I do remember. But I like to think that means the worst of this is behind us, now."

"You don't know my mother," Avery reminded him, shaking her head.

"I've dealt with my share of overprotective parents in the past," he told her. "As long as I have you here with me, there's nothing I can't handle. So just take a deep breath and try to relax, okay?"

Avery nodded, taking a slow breath, then leaned forward and kissed him.

"Thank you. I really needed to hear that." She met him halfway for another kiss, then pulled away when she heard the chime above the door sound, signaling the entrance of another patron. She looked toward the entrance, nervously biting her lip, then broke into a smile when a man with thinning silver hair and a cane carefully made his way through the door.

"Daddy!"

She jumped up and rushed over to her father, nearly knocking him over when she threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. He chuckled and returned her hug, and Klaus stood from his seat at their table and made his way over to greet the man as her mother entered behind him.

"There's my baby girl," Avery's father said, his voice thick with an accent that was unmistakably country-bred. After a moment he kissed her temple and looked past her to Klaus. "And you must be the young man she's told us all about."

"Klaus Albrecht," he introduced himself, holding out his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

Avery's father released her and switched his cane to his left hand to shake hands with him, grinning even more.

"Call me Henry, m'boy, I... Wait." He tilted his head slightly to one side, narrowing his eyes as he took Klaus in again. "You're that perfume guy, aren't cha?"

"I am," Klaus said with a nod, blushing a little. "I take it you've heard of my work?"

"Here and there, mostly from the classier dames at Delilah's gallery shows," he turned to look at his wife. "I honestly feel kinda silly I didn't realize it before, his name bein' Klaus and all."

"I knew who he was from her first letter," Lila said, taking her husband's arm in hers and leading him along as they followed the younger couple back to their table. Klaus pulled out a chair for him to sit in and he thanked the younger man, who then helped the two women with their seats before taking his own next to Avery, opposite her father.

"Such a gentleman," Henry commented to his daughter, and she smiled at Klaus.

"He is."

"See, now aren't cha glad I made you leave home?" he asked her, and Klaus looked from him to Avery and back again, confused.

"I'm sorry, you said you made her leave home?" he wondered. "Avery said she'd had enough of the city and decided to move to the country for a change of pace."

"That's true," Henry said, nodding. "She made the decision to leave home on her own. Even had everythin' all set up and ready to go when I had my heart attack."

"Your what?" Klaus asked, blinking and turning to Avery.

"He had a heart attack a couple of days before I moved to Oak Tree Town," she told him. "A bad one. Needed to have bypass surgery and everything."

"I take it she didn't tell ya that?"

"I didn't tell anyone in town," Avery answered as Klaus shook his head. "I didn't want people thinking I was feeding them some sort of sob story, looking for pity."

"Well, she wasn't gonna go," Henry continued. "I woke up in my room and she was right by my bed, fast asleep all curled up in one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs. Remember what I told you, Avery?"

"You mean after you threw the box of tissues at me to wake me up?" she asked him, chuckling a little. "Yeah, I remember."

"I told her that life's too damn short and she needed to get out there and live and follow her dreams," Henry said, looking at Klaus and smiling. "And I'm sure glad I did, 'cause now look at her: a successful farmer, startin' her own winery, and she's landed herself a fine man."

Avery's mother scoffed at his final comment, and Klaus turned his attention to the woman to find her sitting with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed firmly over her chest.

"Mom, why don't we go order something for you and Daddy?" Avery suggested, standing from her chair and looking pointedly at her mother. Lila nodded and stood, tugging sharply at the bottom of her jacket to straighten it.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Avery," she said in a clipped tone. Her husband reached for her hand and waited for her to look at him, and he shook his head as they shared a look.

"Oh, relax, Henry," she told him, leaning over and giving him a brief kiss before following their daughter toward the counter at the far side of the cafe. Klaus watched them, his mouth set in a firm line and his brow furrowed, and saw Avery grab her mother's arm and detour her in the direction of the ladies' room.

"I gotta apologize for my wife," Henry said, drawing his attention back across the table. "She's always been like this whenever Avery brings home a new boyfriend."

"Has she?" Klaus wondered, reaching out and grasping Avery's glass and pulling it toward himself, peering into it curiously. He had insisted they simply share the root beer float she'd ordered, but instead of drinking it she had ended up nervously stirring and playing with the drink until the ice cream melted.

"My little girl got her heart broken when she was younger by a selfish bastard who was only after one thing," Henry explained, leaning closer to the younger man. "So now Delilah sees every man as someone who just wants in her pants and will either leave her when she refuses, or leave her after she finally gives in."

"I see," Klaus said, trying his best not to shift uncomfortably in his chair. That had been him, once. He had been the one who either left them when they refused to give him what he wanted or shortly after he got it. Most of his previous lovers had been aware of what the true depths of the relationship were, but he was sure there were probably more than a few who had also been misled by his charming smile. He momentarily wondered how many broken hearts he had left in his wake, but shook the thought from his head and turned back to Avery's father with a determined look in his eyes.

"I'm not like that," he assured him.

"Never said you were," Henry assured him, smiling. "After all, you sure did take your sweet time finally confessin' your feelings to her, from what she said in her letters."

"I was concerned that, with my being so much older than her, she wouldn't have been happy with me," Klaus told him, choosing to leave out his other concerns he had been forced to address earlier in the day.

Henry let out a hearty chuckle and leaned back in his chair, grinning at Klaus. "My boy, age don't matter a bit when it comes to love. Did Avery ever tell you how her mother and I got together?"

"She mentioned there was a considerable age difference between you and your wife, but that's all," Klaus replied.

"I was a friend of her father's," Henry expounded. "I never expected to fall in love with her, and believe me... there was a lot of guilt when I realized I was seein' a girl I'd basically watched grow up in that sorta light. I felt like a right old pervert."

"I know what you mean," Klaus said, chuckling a bit. "I admit that my own feelings toward Avery made me feel... uncomfortable, at times."

"But then I realized that she felt the same way, too, and all bets were off," Henry continued, smiling fondly at the memory. "We were in love. At first, we tried to hide it. Snuck around to see each other without her parents knowin'. But then she ended up gettin' pregnant with Avery and we ran off and got married. People told us it was a mistake, but I knew I was gonna marry her, anyway. We just sorta got the order of things mixed up a bit."

Klaus blinked in shock at the confession. "Does Avery know all this?"

"She does," Henry replied, nodding. "She's a smart girl. Figured out when she was about ten that her birth date and our anniversary didn't quite line up right, so we told her everythin'. The only reason we didn't tell her from the start was because we didn't want her thinkin' she was a mistake and unwanted."

"I'm sure she never would have felt that way," Klaus assured him, smiling. "You both seem like very devoted parents."

"We do love our girl," Henry agreed. "Would have been nice to have a few others runnin' around the house, too, but... it wasn't in the cards. Hopefully you two will have better luck, in that area."

He winked at Klaus and Klaus suddenly felt very uncomfortable. First Antonio had been pressuring him to marry Avery, and now her own father seemed eager for them to start having children. He wasn't even sure he wanted kids. Every interaction he'd had with them had been awkward. He never knew what to say or how to act around them, so the thought of having children of his own scared him. He couldn't very well say that to Avery's father, though – not when the man was looking at him in such a hopeful way. So he did the only thing he could.

Putting on a charming smile, he nodded at Henry and hoped that Avery would return soon to save him from the rest of the conversation.

"Avery Lavelle Durand, let go of me this instant!"

Avery pulled her mother along by the arm to the ladies' room at the back of the cafe, ignoring the way her full name was being called in a threatening growl, and didn't release her until they were finally in the restroom, the door closed firmly behind them.

"Mother, I need you to stop this," she said through clenched teeth, keeping her eyes averted.

"Stop what?" her mother asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know what!" Avery replied, finally looking at her, her brown eyes flashing in anger. "You always do this! You immediately assume the worst of every man I date and then end up driving them away."

"I do not!" Lila insisted.

"Yes, you do!" Avery argued, pointing a finger in her face. "Do you know what Darren said to me when he broke up with me? He said, 'I care about you, but your mother is a complete psycho.'"

Lila sighed and rolled her eyes, looking away from her, then wandered over to the mirror above the sinks to examine her makeup.

"You don't understand, Avery," she said, meeting the identical eyes of her daughter in the mirror's reflection. "What do you even know about this man?"

"I know more than you do about him," Avery told her, going to stand next to her. "I know that he didn't have an easy childhood, and he's been through some rough spots in his life... but I also know that he's a good man. He cares about me and I love him, so please do not screw this up for me."

Lila suddenly turned to look at her daughter upon hearing the desperate, pleading note in her voice and found tears welling up in her eyes.

"I have never felt this way about anyone before," Avery continued, her voice shaking. "It's thrilling and it scares me to death at the same time, and that's how I know it's real. He's the one, Mom. I can feel it. So I swear... If you drive him away, I will never forgive you."

Lila sighed and stepped closer to her, pulling her into her arms to hold her and stroke her hair. "Don't cry, sweetie. I just want to protect you."

"I know you do," Avery said, pulling away just enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. "But I'm almost twenty-two years old. I'm not sixteen any more. I think I'm a good enough judge of character now to know which men are just trying to use me for sex."

"We'll see," Lila remarked, then kissed her on her forehead. Avery looked confused, but she continued speaking before her daughter could question her choice of words.

"You're right. Klaus doesn't deserve to be prejudged based on the mistakes of some horny teenage boys. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, but you really should apologize to him, too," Avery pointed out.

Lila sighed, but nodded in agreement. "I know. Say, why don't you two come home tonight and have dinner with us?"

"Why?" Avery asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Consider it a peace offering," her mother told her. "What's his favorite dish?"

"Bouillabaisse," Avery answered, causing her mother to frown a little and make a thoughtful sound.

"I think we have everything for that," she finally said. "But how about you? What would you like for dinner, since you haven't been home in so long?"

"I'm fine with bouillabaisse, Mom," Avery replied. "It'll just be nice to eat a home-cooked meal with you and Daddy."

"Yeah, right," her mother said sarcastically, pulling Avery to her and chuckling as she hugged her. "You just want to be sure I don't poison him."

"Something like that," Avery said, laughing and winking at her as she pulled away. The two of them remained silent a long time, Avery taking some slow breaths to calm herself as she wiped away the rest of her tears, glancing at her reflection to be sure she hadn't messed up Marian's expertly-applied makeup. Lila stood behind her, combing her fingers through her daughter's hair and arranging it over one shoulder to hide the mark Klaus had made.

"So we're okay now?" her mother finally asked after a while, turning Avery around to look at her. "Because I think we should get back out there before your father starts telling Klaus about how you once 'married' your toy lamb."

"I'm sure he'll wait until we get home for that," Avery told her, going to the restroom door and holding it open. "There's pictures, after all."
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In Sheep's Clothing