Subtle
"Very subtle," her grandmother said, judging the flavor of the loose leaf tea blend that Minka had poured for her just moments prior. "You're finally developing your palette and not buying such obnoxiously strong flavors."
Fortunately, the younger Sun Bear still had her back turned and was able to roll her eyes and bite her tongue. She frankly preferred stronger flavor since she was trying to give up coffee and it was a hard road without having the dark tang and bittersweet burn in the mornings. She had just learned that whenever Dame Ricia made it known she was dropping by, Minka had better have tea freshly brewed and it had best be something that the silvering old bear wouldn't complain as much about. "Thank you, Grandmother. It's a white coconut cream blend that I found."
Ricia sniffed haughtily. "It's a smidge heavy on the coconut, but I suppose everyone has to experiment."
They sat in silence for several moments as they sipped their tea and Minka couldn't help but think about the day she'd gone downtown to the quaint little tea shop owned by a family of Spectacled Bears to purchase this blend. She had done research for hours online trying to find something that the grumpy old bear would like so she could get some sort of validation whenever a visit happened. Ricia was the only family Minka had in the same time zone, so she would rather keep the peace.
The owner's son Nero had been the only one in at the time, so he was happy to shuffle around the counter that just barely came past his knees. He had caught her smile and explained that his family had purchased the business from a family of Lop Rabbits when he was only 10 years old, so everything was a little on the petite side for him and his parents. His father worked outside of the city in a factory, so it was primarily just Nero and his mother that ran the shop.
For close to an hour after he had bagged up the half pound of white coconut cream tea, the pair had talked about everything from how Minka was enjoying the city since her move from a small farm town several hours away to how to best brew the tea since it was a white blend instead of a green or black that she was used to drinking, to finally, him asking for her number when the evening rush of hipster moms heading home from their day jobs stopped to pick up their pre-ordered blends.
"Are you listening to a word I'm saying, young lady?"
Minka was jostled out of the memory, blushing and embarrassed to be caught daydreaming about the tall stranger. "Sorry, Dame Ricia."
Harumphing, Ricia puffed herself up a bit. "I was just saying that I think we need to see about setting you up with some suitors. I'll chaperone of course, but it's not right for a woman your age to be completely on her own with no marriage prospects."
"I am 27!" She exclaimed and set her pale blue teacup down hard before she could catch herself. "I am perfectly fine just seeing what comes along, thank you. I'm not sure that you and I would be on the same page for what I want in a partner."
Ricia's eyebrows rose comically high. "Oh, don't tell me you're one of those queers."
"GRANDMOTHER!" Minka stood and rubbed her forehead, trying to think of something safe to say. She wasn't out of the closet to her family where her bisexuality was concerned, and starting with the angry old matriarch on her father's side was an absolutely terrible idea, she knew that well enough. "Regardless of who I choose to love, I was referring to the fact that you would most likely want someone with a six figure salary and a summer home on the cape who's already planning for 4 cubs and I'd have to join a country club. That's not the life I want."
The old bear sat there, stunned. None of her grandchildren, not one of the twelve of them, had ever spoken to her in that fashion. She certainly didn't appreciate the tone, but Ricia knew she was out of her element. "Well," She stood and smoothed the non-existent wrinkle from her jacket, "I must apologize for touching on a nerve. I should go."
Groaning, she stepped closer to her grandmother. "No, I'm sorry. You don't have to go. The truth is, I've just started seeing someone, and I don't want to muck it up with him."
"A him, oh thank God."
Deep breath in, deep breath out, Minka thought to herself. "He's very polite and knows his tea. He helped me pick out this blend that I bought for you."
Ricia sniffed again. "Well then. I expect to see you both for dinner this weekend. I need to meet this young man."
That was enough to set off a panic for the younger bear. "Oh, sure. Saturday around seven, Grandmother?"
"Perfectly." She still moved towards the door. "I have much to do, dear Minka. So I'll see you then." As her large paw touched the door knob, she turned and tilted her head. "I hope he's also a bear, but that's probably too much to ask, isn't it?"
"No, actually...Nero is a Spectacled Bear. Thank you for the invitation to dinner, Dame Ricia. We'll see you then." She bowed her head slightly out of respect. When the door clicked shut, she facepalmed as hard as she could. "Stupid stupid STUPID!"
She whipped out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Nero's name and number. It rang a few times and she was rehearsing in her head what to say to his voice mail when he picked up.
"Minka? Hey, how's it going?" He sounded so laid back and sweet, even though she knew it was about the time that the shop would be getting busy.
"Well, this is going to sound...really weird. I know we haven't had a chance to go out on that date or grab a drink or anything yet...but my scary controlling grandmother that I was telling you about has mandated that I bring you to dinner Saturday night at seven. Would you be willing...to join me?" It came out mostly in a rushed jumble, her heart in her throat. She wasn't so much worried about rejection as much as she was worried about him saying no and what kind of consequences that would leave her with as far as Dame Ricia went.
There was a long pregnant pause on the line and she was getting more and more nervous by the second until he cracked up laughing. "Sure. I'm assuming semi-formal, no blue jeans. Want me to pick you up at six so you can brief me?"
"My God you're amazing, thank you so much." Minka all but sighed in relief.
"Don't think anything of it." He chuckled. "But y'know, if you wanted me to meet your family old school style before the first date, all you had to do was say so. Not the most subtle, are we?"
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