ArchivedLogs:Three Hour Tour

Three Hour Tour
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Aloke, Moulik	2014-03-16 Aloke's dad takes the couple on a tour of the plantation
Location Suresh Tea Plantation
In their first week at the Suresh Assam plantation Aloke introduced Mallory to a whole bevy of extended family. The house is large with plenty of room for people to move around, or come together for big gatherings. The immediate family was excited to meet Mallory in the first place, but when they found out the couple had become engaged on the trip over, and family traveled long and far. At least, the family that wasn't quietly shaking their heads at the obvious mutants. It was a whirlwind week of aunts and uncles and cousins, boardgames and bollywood and badminton. There's even an attempt to teach Mallory and Aloke how to play cricket, but badminton is definitely the sport of choice in the Suresh household. The Suresh family estate spans several acres. The house and yard take up about a half-acre, leaving a lot of arable land for the tea plants. The front of the house has a long walk up from the driveway flanked by lush, green lawns. The lawn reaches around both sides of the square house to the large, flat backyard as well. There one finds the long rectangular pool, the badminton net, lawn bowling implements and a croquet set. Aloke and Mallory agreed to the plans yesterday: Moulik, Aloke's father, would take them on a tour of the tea plantation itself, showing them the full grounds before lunchtime. Mid morning finds Aloke out by the pool lounging in a long chair with an iced chai on the glass table next to him. He's wearing tan, linen suit which his personal glow is fighting with the sun to shine through. He's applied his special sunscreen, but this just makes the glow less harsh, and not really much dimmer. Also on the table nearby is the matching straw fedora. His brown, rubber flip-flops are tucked under his chair. It would also appear he's dozed off in the morning sunlight. This has been a wonderful and exhausting week for Mallory as she was introduced to relative after relative, trying desperately to remember names and faces. While Aloke has been relaxing near the pool, Mallory has been once again spirited away by Aloke’s female relatives to discuss wedding plans she has barely even had a chance to start considering. Thanks to the previously agreed upon plans, she manages to bow out of yet another conversation about color schemes and fabrics. Never mind that she may have fudged the time just a little bit as she slips away, beating a hasty retreat along the grounds towards the pool and Aloke. She wears a flowing sundress of cotton, fading from natural beige to a deep rust orange color at the hem that flutters around her hooves as she moves; the back of the dress is rather open, criss crossing several times to accommodate her tail while not leaving her back entirely exposed. As of yet unable to find a sun hat to sit properly over her horns, she wears large dark sunglasses to protect her eyesight. Approaching Aloke’s chair, Mallory moves quietly over the grassy lawn, a mischievous grin on her lips. As quietly and carefully as she can, Mallory sinks into a kneeling position beside his seat, watching him napping for a moment. She leans over to kiss his cheek, her lips quite warm in the heat of the sun. “Hey sleepy head,” she says quietly, smiling at him, “Enjoying your nap?” "Heywhatnotsleeping," Aloke mumbles, blinking as he sits up, turning sideways on the chair to kiss Mallory properly. He sits back and takes her left hand, lifting it so he can kiss the back of her fingers next to her new ring. "I hope you're not feeling too overwhelmed. With everyone, I mean. I know it's a lot." “Uh huh. Decidedly not sleeping,” Mallory chuckles, smiling into the more proper kiss. She leans against the chair with a relaxed smile, turning her hand over to cup his cheek, sighing quietly, “Not… too overwhelmed, no. Just, yes, it is a lot.” Sitting quietly for a moment, Mallory leans her head against Aloke’s shoulder, smiling, her gaze lingering momentarily on the new ring, “It’s a good overwhelmed, if anything. I can’t tell you how many wedding magazines your cousins had ferreted away, just waiting to spring them at the next unsuspecting engaged person to walk past.” She giggles, looking up at him, a bemused smile brightening her features, “How’re you holding up?” Aloke rubs at his glowing eyes briefly, wiping notSleep from them while he smiles, listening to Mallory's morning. "Oh god, tell me they didn't dig out mom's... Notebook." Aloke almost shudders at the thought. "She started it with Raja when she was little, a dream book or whatever. But then Rajani was never that interested in getting married, so mom's been busting that bad boy out any time a cousin gets engaged." He holds her hand and fixes his face in a faux-serious expression. "S'pologies. I should have warned you." "Oh, you mean the big red and gold book with the half peeled off Lisa Frank stickers on it? Absolutely exploding with annotated magazine clippings, color swatches, and print outs going back for decades?" Mallory asks with a smirk, watching Aloke finish waking up from his nap, her close to uncomfortably hot hand squeezing his. She reaches over to snag his chai from the table, stealing a sip for herself before offering it to him with a smile, "That particular book made its first appearance just after lunch our second day here." Lifting his hand to her lips, she gently kisses the back of his hand, a pleased smile lighting her features. "I don't mind, really. I have, ah, never had this sort of experience - being doted over by an extended family," Mallory explains with a sheepish smile, "Your family has been absolutely amazing, and welcoming and…” She trails off with a shrug, reaching up to run a hand along a horn, “There’s no need to apologize. This week has been an amazing whirlwind of activity, but I’ve rather enjoyed it.” Aloke sighs and looks down. "Yeah. Yeah, that's the one," he says as if he's just heard the worst news. Then he looks up and winks. It's all in fun. "Out here… our family actually gets to be who they want. It's not any safer in India, really, except when you live out here, you don't get as much attention." Aloke looks around when he hears a cheery little meep-meep sound. On the far side of the pool, Moulik has pulled up in a four-seater golf cart. He's wearing khaki shorts, a loud print short-sleeved collared shirt, and deck shoes with no socks. Moulik doesn't have much hair, and what's left is worn as a short, wiry gray circlet. "Hello you two!" he calls, as cheery as the cart's horn. "C'mon, it's time to see the plantation." He grins and pats the seat next to him. "Mallory can sit up front with me. Aloke has seen all this before." Mallory grins in amusement and looks like she is about to say something, but pauses when the meep-meep of the golf cart interrupts her. The greeting is met with a cheery wave and happy smile as she begins to carefully stand from her seat beside the chair. It may take a moment, trying as she is to avoid trodding on the hem of her dress, or another accidental spill into the pool. Once standing, she brushes the stray blades of grass off her dress, and holds out a hand for Aloke. A nervous grin curls the edges of her lips at the invitation to sit up front, her skeptical glance at the set up of the seats thankfully hidden behind her sunglasses. Mallory carefully makes her way over towards the cart, perhaps skirting the edge of the pool a bit wider than is really necessary. She pauses near the passenger side and offers a cheery smile to Aloke’s dad, “Hello, Moulik,” there is perhaps a slight stutter as she almost addresses him as Mr. Suresh, but she smiles and climbs into the cart as gracefully as possible - which is to say Aloke likely gets leaned on rather heavily as she tries to get situated. Tails, digitigrade legs, and hooves do not entirely agree with modern methods of conveyance - but she manages to do so without making a complete spectacle of herself. "Well, not entirely, dad," Aloke says while helping Mallory aboard. "You said they installed a new irrigation system last summer. I'm curious about how it works…" Moulik puffs out an incredulous, amused breath and Aloke's assertion. He also does his best to look busy fiddling with something on the cart's controls so as to not embarrass Mallory while she gets situated. "Oh sure, like you care about the /irrigation/ system," Moulik says with a chuckle. "Hang on!" And when it looks like Mallory at least has a grip on something, Moulik floors it leaving little gouges in the finely manicured lawn as they tear off towards the tea plants. Mallory has gotten situated in such a way that her long tail is threaded through the opening in the seat, somewhat awkwardly curled on the floor of the back seat. She sits prim and upright, hands neatly folded in her lap, a bemused smirk on her lips at the banter between Aloke and his father. The command to hold on to something catches her by surprise, and she manages to grab on to part of the frame of the cart, a startled yelp as the golf cart lurches off towards their destination. The motion of the cart makes her tail flail slightly, thwapping into Aloke’s ankles unless he moves them out of the way. Moulik clearly enjoys driving this golf cart. He's not /too/ out of control, and he knows the grounds well enough that when he comes to a sharp corner, he can adjust the speed appropriately. Slowing down at various points on the tour, Moulik explains the different growth phases of the tea plants, and explains the harvesting process they use at the comparatively tiny plantation. Before too long though, the three arrive at the barn, which is actually a fairly modern building, built for the purpose of drying and packaging the leaves. "Here we are," Moulik says with a proud smile. "The good stuff." He glances over at the two, including Aloke's white-knuckled deathgrip on the side of the cart. "What's the matter? Thought you'd be used to New York traffic!" Moulik grins and chuckles as he climbs out of the cart and heads toward the building, leaving the new fiances on their own for a moment. "Jesus, he's a madman," Aloke says, laughing. He leans forward to take Mallory's shoulders and kiss her cheek. "Are /you/ ok? I think I stepped on your tail back there, sorry about that." Aloke is looking slightly out of sorts, and could probably need just another moment of sitting. At first, as the not-quite wild golf cart ride progresses through the tour of the grounds, Mallory is actually doing pretty good for maintaining her own balance. At least at first. Over the course of the journey, Aloke has almost certainly been smacked by her tail several times as she instinctively tried to regain balance - unsurprisingly, her tail is rather muscular, and sensitive. There is a pained yelp when Aloke steps on the appendage, stifled though it is to not embarrass herself in front of either of them. By the time they pull to a stop in front of the barn, she has her own death grip on the frame of the cart, her face flushed several shades paler than her normal ruddy color. Moulik's joke about New York traffic gets a nervous laugh from Mallory, expressed through a queasy grin, her dark eyes wide behind the sunglasses. It takes her a moment to uncurl her fingers from the frame of the cart, slumping back against Aloke when he leans forward. "Oh god. I... I don't think I like motor vehicles anymore. Is it too far to walk back?" she asks with a chuckle, glancing back towards the main house. "I'm alright now. You did get my tail back there. I think it got you back, though," Mallory admits with a grimace, glancing back over her shoulder at him, "S'pologies, love." Turning slightly in her seat, she reaches out a hand to stroke his cheek, smiling tiredly, parroting his own question back at him in a concerned voice, "Are /you/ ok?" "Oh yeah, I'm fine," Aloke says smiling. "I grew up with him, remember? He's always been ridiculous." He shakes his head and takes Mallory's hand in his as he steps out of the cart and waits to help her back to standing. When Mallory is standing again he scoops her into a hug and a kiss that turns into something more than a basic kiss. After a significant amount of time has passed, some clanging and clanking can be heard from inside the building. Aloke sighs and pulls away, resting his forehead against hers. "Subtle, dad. Real subtle." He chuckles though and asks, "You ready to go inside?" Mallory is a bit wobbly as she stands from the cart, stretching her legs and tail out once she is free of her seat. "Good to know," she chuckles, smiling warmly at Aloke. Once standing she moves her sunglasses up to perch somewhat awkwardly atop her head, just behind her horns. The kiss catches her pleasantly by surprise, a contented, happy sound escaping her throat. She wraps her arms around Aloke's waist, pulling him closer to her as the kiss deepens, eyes fluttering shut happily. The clatter from inside the barn earns a snorting chuckle as the the kiss draws to a conclusion, and Mallory sighs, shaking her head. "I think that might be a hint that we should go inside now. Just maybe," she giggles, glancing towards the barn and pulling Aloke closer for another more chaste kiss, "Though I don't know. Far too subtle to interpret one way or another." Another quick peck on the lips, and Mallory finally relinquishes her hold on Aloke's waist, "We should probably go check that he is alright, though." Inside the barn Moulik is restacking a collection of rakes. He goes through a brief explanation of how the leaves are harvested and brought here, first left out on the patio to dry, and then brought inside to be packaged into loose leaf tins. "It's too bad you can't stay longer actually," Moulik continues. "We're just ramping up to have people in for the harvest. We're a small plantation but we'll be very busy for a few weeks." Moulik is very cheery as he explains the process, proud of their little business. Aloke listens quietly, and even a little wistfully, not so much proud of the family business, but proud of his father. He smiles as his dad goes on and on, but doesn't interject or ask anything until he's done. When they finish the tour, Aloke walks up and puts his arm across his dad's shoulder for a squeeze. Moulik squints a little with Aloke standing so close, but is happy with the contact. "It's great, dad. All of it. Really." Mallory follows Aloke into the barn, looking around appreciatively as everything is explained. She nods at all the appropriate times, listening intently with a curious grin on her face. Her eyes are wide - the subtle fiery glow of them visible now that they are out of the sunlight - as she takes in the actual process of how tea is made. It’s a rather eye opening experience for the Brit. As the tour concludes, Mallory is smiling cheerily, nodding in agreement with Aloke. “This is amazing. I truthfully never knew quite how involved the process was,” she admits with a sheepish smile, looking around again, “Thank you so much. For the tour, for being so welcoming. For everything.” She sighs wistfully at the thought of getting to see everything in full production, nodding, her tone hopeful, “I wish we could see that. Perhaps another time?” "Another time!" Moulik agrees, eager for the follow up visit. He hugs his son across the shoulders and nods at the barn doors. "Shall we head back to the house? I think Padmajai wanted to talk about something to do with the wedding over lunch." He shrugs and smiles in a 'what can you do' gesture, and heads towards the doors and the cart beyond. Aloke nods as well. "Yeah, maybe we can come back for the fall harvest?" Aloke hugs his father back, and then shoots Mallory a Look when his father talks about the lunch plans. Perhaps, an apologetic look? Then he blinks when Moulik heads for the door, realizing something. "Hey dad! How about uh… I drive back?"