"You don't mind me being here?" Jenny asked as she sat down at the Jenkins dinner table.
"Of course we don't dear," Lisa Jenkins, Harry's mother, said with a soft smile, "You seem like a bright and kind young woman... and we'd be more than glad to welcome you to the family."
"Besides... think of this like training," Henry Jenkins, Harry's father, playfully teased, "If you and Harry move into your own apartment above the garage... you'll be here anyway. Might as well know what you're in for."
"Come on, dad, you guys aren't that bad," Harry called from where he was in the kitchen, checking on a few things that were being prepared for dinner, some beef stew.
After the session with Doctor Twist, Harry and Jenny finished their classes for the day and by mutual agreement between the two lovers to have dinner with Harry's parents and spend the night. They had arrived to find Lisa and Henry both eager to have her visit and were very friendly to Jenny. It was something that Jenny liked and made her feel welcome. Of course, a part of her was still a bit troubled by the fact that typically when people had trouble with "parents" going into a relationship, it was usually the in-laws that were the problem as they either tried to go too far in protecting their child or never seemed to approve of their child's choice and took it out on the person joining the family. But for Jenny, she found her future in-laws to be both friendly and very tolerant. And as they joked with her, she couldn't help but give a bit of a smile at that.
"I don't mind," Jenny said with a polite smile, "You guys have been so polite to me and... well... it makes me feel welcome here."
She didn't mention Mr. Anderson's offer to her, that if her own family did reject her that his family would take over that role, as she figured that would be a topic for a later conversation. She did hope that her parents would see reason and see that Harry was a good man, but she still had the fear that they would reject her, that they would put her siblings in a tough spot. However, there was no way to know for sure at the moment, and she knew that if worst came to worst and she burned all her bridges with her family she would have a loving mate and husband and a community that had seemed to bend over backwards for her. A lot of that gave her reason to hope that things would be okay.
"You'll always be welcome here, dear," Lisa Jenkins answered, "and that's both with us and in Moon Lake."
Harry quietly began to bring over plates of stew, complete with dumplings, potatoes, carrots, and gravy, while Lisa and Henry took seats on either side of Jenny. Jenny scooted her chair in so that she could more properly sit at the table. As she did so, she looked to Henry Jenkins who nodded at his wife's comment.
"Especially welcome with Moon Lake as a whole," Henry commented, "No one here will treat you the way you've said your parents have..."
"Henry..." Lisa spoke.
"I'm sorry if this is a touchy subject for you dear," Henry said to Jenny, "but from what you and Harry told us about what has gone on since we last talked... that is too much for me."
Jenny didn't answer vocally, but did nod in response.
"Moon Lake has what some might consider rather pushy laws regarding at least one member of a family becoming a were," Henry continued, "and when Lisa and I first moved here... it wasn't something that I really thought was necessary. I even told the Town Chancellor at the time that we were good people and that if no one hurt us, we wouldn't hurt them. But their rules are rules."
"Thankfully Ian volunteered to be our family were," Harry commented as he handed Jenny her plate and then moved to sit opposite her, "a weredog... though it isn't a bad existence. I've kinda got what he came to like about being a were."
Henry and Lisa both nodded to their younger son and Henry then turned his gaze back to Jenny. His face was firm and it looked as though Jenny wouldn't be able to change his mind if she wanted to based on his narrowed eyes and straight lips. Yet at the same time he also looked understanding with his eyebrows raised slight.
"And while our older son, your future brother-in-law, became a weredog to abide by Moon Lake's laws, that doesn't mean that Lisa and I didn't stop learning," Henry spoke, "And in that, we learned WHY Moon Lake put the rules that they have in place."
"I'd suppose over fears of human hunters," Jenny commented.
"That is the fear..." Henry nodded, "and I did work here after moving here. I was able to talk with various weres on the reasoning for it. That fear is prominently mentioned... but among the older citizens here in Moon Lake, be they those that were alive here when the town was founded or were descended from one of the various founders, there were various stories of extensive hunting of weres and religious inflamed hatred. So even in areas where outright hunting wasn't common... the attitude was such that at time... the fear was that being revealed would lead to murder without a chance to explain..."
"And that is what put the law in place," Lisa finished, "that people moving to Moon Lake wouldn't betray family that's become weres... and the law has stayed in place. Today... it may not be needed as much as it was in the past, but the memory of the threat is still there in the city's elders and even the younger ones know of the fear. Which leaves the law in place. In that sense... the law is rather pushy, but it's not there without good reason..."
"And the lack of a good reason is what really rubs me the wrong way with the way your parents are behaving," Henry grumbled.
"Well... hopefully when they meet you both and Harry... they'll see that you're good people," Jenny spoke with a sigh, "and if not... then if Mrs. Twist and Mrs. Tachibana's idea works..."
"Then all they'll interrupt is a redundant ceremony," Harry finished, "We'll have already been married and legally so."
"Rather clever," Henry chuckled.
"Jenny and I thought so," Harry answered, "a shame we have to resort to these things to make sure that Jenny has happy memories for her wedding day... but it was a clever idea."
"Hopefully things will work out well," Lisa commented as they continued to eat. Quietly chewing on their food before speaking and while the others were speaking. "Hopefully they see that this is a good place and that you and Harry will do well and will be happy together."
"Hopefully," Jenny said slowly in agreement.
She was nervous over her parents arrival, fearful of their rejection, and to a great extent even more fearful of whatever devious game that Dieter Wilhelm was playing. He had to have been the one behind giving her his surname for the return ticket. But, if they were lucky, her parents would realize they were wrong and that Dieter wasn't the man they thought he was.
The rest of the evening went rather well, as they finished eating. They discussed lighter terms, such as the dresses Jenny wanted to wear for the wedding or wanted her maid of honor to wear and so on. They also showed a few family photos, much to Harry's embarrassment. Jenny smiled at that, and told Harry that he was cute even back then. In that way, it was a good night with her fiancee's family and would hopefully be something she and Harry could enjoy more of in the future.