Jareth's Return

Dori(9)

"We're here!" Dori could smell Sally's cookies, causing the slight nausea that the Shifting caused, to evaporate.

"Oh, hello, Miss Evelyn! How are you, my dear?" Sally hated Dori's first name and always called her by her middle name. Sally came in, drying her hands on a dish towel. She enveloped Dori in a hug, her floral print shirt and pink pants smelling of vanilla.

"I'm fine, Miss Sally, happy late birthday."

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart. Now, where's that friend of yours?"

She turned to see Jareth lurking outside the doorway. "He's right here. He seems to be a little shy."

Don't be silly, come on in here." Dori grabbed his wrist and tugged lightly.

"Mrs. Mardin, it's lovely to meet you. My name is Jareth. You have a lovely home from the outside, I'm sure the inside shall be just the same." He kissed her hand and straightened. "I do thank you for letting me come this evening."

This must be something akin to 'Diplomat Mode.' Dori thought.

Sally seemed to enjoy the compliments. "Why thank you, young man. Glad to have you, the more the merrier in any celebration, we always say."

They were ushered into the kitchen and given chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. Dori watched as Jareth's eyes lit up when he but into the cookie and gushed at how good it was, and laughed when his face screwed up at the tart drink. These were things he had never tried before, she realized. Dori had finished her third cookie as Sally had concluded telling them about the time their son had eaten an entire batch of her cookies and thrown up on his girlfriend. She laughed so hard that she inhaled some cookie crumbs and started coughing like mad.

"You are supposed to breathe oxygen, not food." A voice spoke behind her as she drank lemonade in an attempt to soothe her throat.

"I'll keep that in mind, Mardy." She rasped at the gray-haired man.

"Are you alright?" Jareth asked beside her.

She cleared her throat and nodded, feeling better. "Yeah, fine." She half turned towards her coach and nodded at him. "This comedian is Alex Mardin, my coach. Mardy, this is my friend Jareth."

The blonde in question stood and walked to his host to shake his hand. It seemed Diplomat Mode was back on. "It's good to meet you, sir. I thank you for allowing me in your home tonight."

"Jareth, huh?" He looked Dori, his eyes laughing. He was no doubt thinking of a certain movie Dori loved. "No problem, son, none at all. Good to have you. Any friend of Theo's is a friend of ours." Jareth quirked an eyebrow at the name as both men seated themselves.

Mardy reached for a cookie from the diminishing pile. "So, Jareth, where are you from?"

Dori panicked for a moment. *Why didn't I think of that stuff?* She scrambled to think of something, and was amazed and nervous when Jareth opened his mouth.

"Actually," he said in his smooth brogue, "I grew up going between two places. My mother and father split when I was young and my mother moved back to Newcastle, in England. My father stayed in Glasgow, Scotland. One year with one parent, one year with another, the usual. Moved here recently and met Dori on the street the other day, when some young men accosted her. I escorted her home and here we are."

He's better than I thought. I could almost believe that if I didn't know the truth.

Sally's hand flew to her cheek. "Oh my! Evelyn, you are so lucky this man happened upon you! Is that where you got that mark on your cheek? I was going to ask, but I didn't want to pry."