Cheryl invites Toni over for dinner for the first time, however she is anxious about her dad's reaction, because he isn't a fan of her 'lifestyle' as he calls it.
Penelope and Jason are both very accepting and supportive.
Cheryl and Toni have been dating for 7 months but Toni has never properly met Cheryl's dad.
*Fluff
*Homophobic comments
—
"Hey mom can I talk to you for a sec?" Cheryl says peeking around the corner of her mom's office.
"Yes sure sweetheart, come in", Penelope answers, turning around in her chair to look at her daughter.
Cheryl enters, closing the door behind her. "Uhm..I've been thinking lately about dad and his so called standards that he wants me to live up to. I've got an idea, however I wanted to inform you beforehand."
Penelope looked confused, unsure what she was on about. "Are you talking about your relationship with Toni?"
"Yes that and just the whole liking girls part in general I guess."
Penelope hummed in agreement.
Penelope had always accepted and supported her daughter for who she was and who she liked. Her husband on the other hand never quite approved of Cheryl's preference. He often said her behaviour was repulsive and deviant and that one day she would find that out for herself.
"I want to invite Toni for dinner, because she's my girlfriend and this just shouldn't be a big deal". Cheryl said abruptly taking her mother by surprise.
"I...yeah, I mean I guess it's a good idea, if you think you're ready for that. You know your father though, always fighting for his believes even when they don't make sense."
Cheryl sighs, "Trust me I know, I've had to put up with his crap for 18 years".
"You're right sweetheart, go call Toni and ask if she's free tonight." Penelope said with a comforting smile.
"I will"
-
(7 hours later)
*doorbell rings*
Penelope looks at Cheryl and then eyes at the door. "Can you go get that Cheryl?" She says nonchalantly as if she has no clue who it could possibly be.
"Of course", Cheryl says while standing up from the couch she was sitting on, leaving her unfinished homework in front of her. Giving her mother a careful smile as she passed her.
Cheryl closes the door of the hallway behind her before opening the front door. "Hey babe", she says as she looks at her precious girlfriend standing on the doorstep. "Hey babygirl", Toni says in response before pecking Cheryl on the lips.
Toni frowns, sensing some of the anxiety Cheryl seems to have, "are you okay? You look paler than usual."
Cheryl nervously giggles, "well thanks babe", she says sarcastically. "But I'm okay....I think, I'm just a little nervous about my dad, I'm sure he's totally gonna flip."
Toni grabs Cheryl's hand and gives it a little squeeze, "It's fine baby don't worry about it, I can handle it."
Toni stared into Cheryl's eyes for a few seconds, "are you sure you're okay, you seem upset."
"I'm not, just...Toni please don't take anything to heart, he never-
"Babe listen, it's all good, I don't care if your dad likes me or not and his stupid homophobic comments aren't gonna get to me, I promise. I'm here for you remember, because I love you and I care about you."
Cheryl takes a deep breath in order to keep her emotions under control, "I know Toni and I love you too", she smiles at her girlfriend.
"Come here babe", Toni says as she holds out her arms to hug her girlfriend tightly, they kiss each other on the lips before breaking apart. "Let's go inside yeah, it's freezing."
-
"Cheryl dear what took you so long?" Clifford says looking over his shoulder.
Cheryl closes the door with her left hand, holding on to Toni's hand with her right. "Dad this is Toni, I've-
Clifford's strict but calm expression suddenly changed as he looked at the two girls holding hands. His face turned a light shade of red as he put his newspaper down on the table. "Cheryl I thought we talked about this."
"We did indeed daddy, that's why I thought it would be nice to invite Toni for dinner, so that you could finally meet her for realzies." Cheryl said appearing to be very confident, however deep down she was feeling miserable and insecure.
"Cheryl you know this is not acceptable, especially not in the Blossom family, my very own bloodline", Clifford scoffed, "It's not natural and-
Before he was able to finish his sentence Penelope cut him off, "Clifford please, that's enough, we have a guest. Plus give our daughter a chance, she isn't perfect, no one is."
"Oh Penelope please, spare me your pity and your desire to restore all justice in this world." Clifford said turning his back on the rest of his family again.
Penelope sighs deeply, "we are not having this conversation right now Clifford, like I already said, we have a guest."
Clifford laughed sarcastically, "Right."
Toni looked at Cheryl who seemed concerned, she rubbed her girlfriend's back trying to calm her down.
"Girls, just come into the kitchen and help me prepare the food will you?" Penelope said, sensing the tension in the air.
Cheryl quickly wiped away a tear that escaped her eye, "Sure", she said looking up at her mom.
-
Penelope called down Jason from his room and Clifford from the living room once dinner was ready to be served.
"You have some flower on your nose babe," Toni giggled. Cheryl felt embarrassed and quickly wiped it away with her sleeve.
Without realisation Cheryl and Toni shared a quick peck before sitting down at the table next to each other.
Penelope stared at the girls for a few seconds, feeling grateful that her daughter had finally found someone she could be happy with. Unfortunately she was pulled out of her thoughts when Clifford came into the kitchen.
"For god's sake", Clifford said shaking his head. "I don't want to see my daughter kiss another girl, let alone in my own house, it's repulsive."
"But Toni is my girlfriend, I love her", Cheryl said in response looking down a bit. Toni held one of Cheryl's shaking hands in her own, trying to comfort her.
"Jeez dad why make such a big deal out of it" Jason said as he walked into the kitchen and sat down next to his father.
Clifford looked infuriated, his fists were clenched and his face turned a darker shade of red by the minute. "Let me be very clear", Clifford said facing Cheryl again. "It's not natural and it's definitely not something to be proud of. If you want to screw your life up like this then that's your problem Cheryl, but know that it's your own fault. Have you ever even thought about having children? How's that supposed to work huh."
Toni had always known Cheryl's father wasn't a big fan of their relationship and was hard to convince, but she never imagined him to be so cruel to his own daughter. Moreover seeing Cheryl receive all these false allegations and how she suffered made her heart ache.
Fighting with her girlfriend's father wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she came over for dinner, but she couldn't just sit there and do nothing about it.
"Please sir, can you go easy on her, she is really not doing anything wrong", Toni said in an attempt to settle things down.
Clifford now looked at Toni. "And who are you to tell me how I'm supposed to talk to my own daughter?"
Toni didn't flinch and immediately objected. "I'm someone who is sitting at this table and has to listen to all the horrible things you're saying to Cheryl. You're accusing her of something she has zero control over. Being a lesbian or bisexual or gay is not a choice, it's a part of who she is and there is nothing she or you or anyone can change about that. And I'm sorry if you think that I don't have the right to say something, but I'm not just gonna sit here and listen to your sickening commentary towards my girlfriend." Toni scoffed, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"TT, it's okay", Cheryl whispered so that only Toni could hear her.
"No babe it's not okay, I'm not just going to allow him to talk to you like that, it's unacceptable."
Clifford stood up, his face about the same color as Cheryl's significant lipstick. "Don't talk to me about acceptance in this household. GET OUT!!" Clifford yelled, pointing at the door with a shaking finger.
Toni felt like her only option was to leave for now, as she was scared things could probably get even worse if she stayed.
However she could feel a hand on her shoulder pushing her gently down again. "Clifford I've said if before and I'll say it again, if there is someone who needs to change, it's you. I'm not even kidding, you have to check yourself or else there will be serious consequences. I'm not putting up with this crap any longer, I've had enough. So the only one who is leaving right now is you, get out before I make you." Penelope said in a very direct, but calming voice.
Clifford huffed while grabbing his jacket, "we are not done talking about this Penelope." He said before closing the door behind him with a loud bang and storming off to his car.
As soon as the door closed, Cheryl started crying, hysterically. Her emotions had been pushed down for the last two hours and she was no longer able to contain them. "Toni, I'm so....so-rry, you had to go....through that." Cheryl said, incapable of saying the sentence without a few pauses.
"Baby, it's fine, I'm okay, I'm worried about you. He had no right to talk to you like that and it honestly shocks me. You know it's all bullshit right? It's who you are, it's not your fault. And remember it's not a bad thing, it's a beautiful thing. We're all unique and special in our own way."
"I know...TT", Cheryl sobbed.
Penelope and Jason left the room in the meantime in order to give the girls some privacy.
"Please don't focus on your father's words, he isn't in his right mind, I'm sorry to say it like that."
Cheryl cuddled into Toni, burying her head in her girlfriend's neck and intertwining their fingers. Tears falling down onto Toni's lap. "I'm so grateful....for you TT, I...love you."
Toni kissed the top of Cheryl's head, "I love you too baby, so much."
Penelope peeked around the corner, seeing the two girls all cuddled up. The thought of her husband ruining all this made her feel anxious for her daughter. When Cheryl came out to her 3 years ago, she knew she was going to face a rather difficult time. Clifford had always been passionate about finding Cheryl a suitable husband who would provide her a wealthy life. His plans for his daughter collapsed when he found out about her relationship with Toni. Regrettably...a girl. Penelope had tried to change his mind plenty of times but her good intentions were of no avail to him.
However seeing her daughter today with a girl that makes her happy and cares about her so much made her feel less afraid of the future.
Toni looked up after 5 minutes, seeing Penelope staring at them. She smiled awkwardly now that she had been caught. "I think we're gonna go to bed", Toni whispered just loud enough for Penelope to hear, since Cheryl had fallen asleep on her chest.
Penelope gave them a thumbs up.
"Hey Cher, baby, I'm sorry to wake you up but we're going upstairs okay?"
"Sure", Cheryl mumbled
Toni helped her girlfriend climb the stairs, making sure she didn't fall asleep halfway.
Once they had arrived in Cheryl's bedroom they changed into some comfortable clothing.
They both lay down on the bed, staring into each other's eyes. "You want to take a nap babe?" Toni asked because Cheryl looked exhausted.
"Yes, but will you stay here TT?"
Toni moved a few strands of hair out of Cheryl's face, "of course my love."
And with that Cheryl fell asleep with Toni's arms wrapped tightly around her, keeping her safe. Forever protecting her.