Meeting Tomer's Parents

Posted on Sat Jan 11th, 2020 @ 1:53pm by Lieutenant JG Kara Quinn-Chaim & Lieutenant Tomer Chaim
Edited on on Sat Jul 11th, 2020 @ 1:25am

1,825 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: History Speaks
Location: USS Kumari - May 2nd 2389

~ Flashback to USS Kumari ~

Tomer could not wait for his fiancee to get off duty. He knew, however, if he did not call his parents soon, that he would be in huge trouble. The problem was that Kara was addicting. Not touching her was dreadful. Being without her was like a pea being without its pod. There was nothing that he could do to explain that lack of oneness. It was a craving. Yet, there were obligations. And if not fulfilled, his mother would be even less pleased than he assumed that she would already be.

Work over Kara made her way to Tomer’s Quarters, they’d finally had Kara’s pregnancy confirmed so that was something else Tomer had to tell his mother. As she arrived she walked inside offering a warm smile as she wrapped her arms around Tomer’s neck and gave him a romantic kiss. “I missed you!”

“You couldn’t miss me! I missed you!” He teased back as he kissed her, emotions starting to take over for logic. With great mental strength and reluctance, he pushed her back and held her at arm’s length. “We need to call my parents. If I don’t stop us now to do this, I don’t think I will have the strength to do it later.”

Kara grinned. "Okay let's get me introduced to your parents! I just hope they like me!!" She grinned nervously.

Tomer bit his lip. "In time, she will." He put his hands on either side of her arms. "I'm going to start the call with her. It is better if you're out of the picture for now." He paused a half second, and decided to interrupt before there was an objection. "You've never met a Jewish mother before. Just trust me on this."

Kara nodded. "I do trust you, I will stay out of sight and be as quiet as a mouse until you're ready to introduce me." She smiled.

Tomer tried to cover a cringe. "Just hang in there, no matter what happens, OK?"

Kara nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.”

The call went out to his mother and soon, a woman that appeared to be in her young fifties was on the screen. Her thick, shoulder length dark brown hair was reminiscent of Tomer's. Her face was narrow but was immaculately made up. Her dark brown eyes lit up when she saw Tomer and in a nasally, heavily accented voice, she called, "Tommmmer! How is my boy?" Without waiting for an answer she said, "Why are you calling? Is something wrong? There must be something wrong if you're calling. What kind of trouble did you get yourself into?"

Tomer shook his head and sheepishly replied, "No trouble, ima. I just wanted to call and tell you that I met someone...."

"Vat?!" Tomer's mother's eyes got larger. "Vat do you mean, you met someone? Is she Jewish? Tell me that she comes from a good family. Why haven't you talked about her before? What are you trying to hide from me?"

"I'm not trying to hide anything and no, she's not Jewish...."

Before Tomer could even utter another syllable, his mother erupted, "NOT JEWISH?! How are you going to give me Jewish grandbabies?! Are you trying to make me look bad to all the other women here in Haifa? Do you have no care about tradition and how you were raised? Oh, God! Don't tell me. You knocked her up, didn't you? That's the real reason! You know, she could get an abortion. You don't even have to stay with her. Easily fixed...."

"IMA!" Tomer squealed in a little boy's shout of exasperation. "She is pregnant but...."

"So, the hussy's trying to trap you! Tomer, you've always been a good boy. Always a bit too caring. Such a good boy you are, but you don't need to throw your life away for this shiksa."

"She's willing to convert, ima. If you would just let me get a word in edgewise...."

"Convert? She's willing? Vell, why didn't you say so in the first place?" Tomer's mother said pleased as a cat that caught a canary. "Of course, the conversion won't be complete until after the baby's born, assuming the rabbi will let her, but then he can convert them both. No shame there. So, why haven't you told me about this vonderful woman before?"

"Well, ima, we only met a few weeks ago...."

"A few weeks?!" Tomer's mother asked outraged. "How can either of you know each other in two weeks. Let me tell you that there's more to a marriage than sex."

Tomer covered his ears, "IMA!"

"Vat? You think that you were conceived immaculately?"

"She's my besherta. I can't help it!"

"Besherta, you say?" She considered the matter. "Well, when do I get to meet this woman that has stolen my son's heart?"

"If you want, you can meet her right now."

Tomer's mother looked sternly into the viewscreen. "You brought her in here while we were having a private conversation? I thought I raised you better than this." She shook her head extremely disappointed. "Are you even going to give me her name?"

"Kara, ima. Kara Quinn." He motioned to Kara to come by his side. "Here she comes."

Having heard every word Kara was feeling pretty nervous about meeting Tomer’s mother. She took a deep breath and called upon her Counselling skills to overcome the nerves. “I’m Kara, it’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs Chaim.”

"I apologize for my son, Kara. He's a sweet boy, but often he does not think." She paused considering her next words carefully. "So, why don't you tell me about yourself. Tomer neglected any mention of what you do or where you come from."

Kara smiled warmly as she looked at Tomer's mother. "I have family homes on both Trill and Betazed, my parents are all Starfleet Officers so we all spend a lot of time away from home. As for what I do I'm the head Counsellor here onboard ship. My genetics are Human, Betazoid and Trill so I'm something of a mix."

"I see...." She let the last word dangle longer than necessary, showing some disappointment in the answer. "That's quite the heritage that you have there. Who are your parents?"

"My father is Captain Jack Colburn he's Human, My mother is Captain Dayna Quinn she's half Trill, half Betazoid and my Step-father is Jolan Quinn a Trill. My Step-father sponsored my entry into Starfleet." She looked at Tomer.

Tomer sat meekly and gave Kara a weak smile.

His mother on the other hand brightened. "Two Captains, you say? Why did you or Tomer not say so before? So, Tomer said that you were considering converting? Is that so?"

"If that is a requirement of marrying Tomer then I'm not averse to it." Kara looked to Tomer then back at his mother. "What am I required to do?"

Tomer's mother gave Kara a Cheshire grin. "I will get you in touch with our rabbi. Now, dear, don't you worry. You have to ask him at least three times. You will be refused twice. It is tradition. You have to show your sincerity an seriousness in your desire to convert. Then, once accepted, well, it is not an easy process. It will take over a year. Essentially, you have to show that you will abide by all the rules, including the laws of kashrut. But, in the end, it will be worth it. That being said, maybe we can get you a reform rabbi in the meantime to marry you both."

Kara grinned as she looked at Tomer. "I think I like the sound of that!"

"Just be good to my boy," his mother told Kara. She then called out over her shoulder loudly, "Schmuel, get over here. Meet Tomer's fiance'."

A low curious voice called back, "Vat are you talking about, Shira? Tomer's not marrying. He goes through girls like vater."

Tomer turned multiple shades of red and pink as he shrugged helplessly at Kara.

Shira said, "Get over here. He's getting married. Shiksa, converting to Jew. And she has our future grandbaby in her. So get here and meet her already."

Shira then apologized to Kara, "I'm sorry. He is a bit lazy these days. He takes retirement too seriously. You would think that he would do something else with his time. Retirement doesn't mean dead."

Sure enough, a grey haired, but clearly appearing younger than his years appeared, "Nu? So, this is this Kara. Tomer! You picked a beauty, I see. So vat's this with getting married?"

"I proposed it to her, aba. I did," Tomer replied.

"And you would have my son, Miss Kara? Do you really know what you're getting into?" Schmuel asked Kara.

Kara paused and looked at Tomer before looking back at his mother. "All I know is that I've found the man who makes me feel complete. He holds my heart and my soul and I wish to be with no other." She smiled at his mother. "If that is not enough then too bad!"

Schmuel laughed. "She has spirit, Shira! No wonder Tomer picked her. She'll keep him hopping."

Shira nodded and said, "So far, she seems to have a good enough head on her shoulders. Though, I should like to get to know her in person. A viewscreen can only tell so much."

Tomer's father rolled his eyes slightly and out of his wife's sight. "Don't you worry about her. You're just marrying her boy. I'm sure that you know how it is."

Kara grinned as she looked at Tomer. "I completely understand, I'll be the same when our little one is born."

"See, Shira," Schmuel told his wife. "Already a Jewish mother. She probably will be elevating the child to the next rabbi at this rate."

Tomer stifled and audible chuckle while Shira glared at her son.

"Well," Shira replied, "It has been a pleasure meeting you, despite the circumstances that my son handled it. We will be in touch, Kara." She gave a dainty wave and a hidden smile.

Kara smiled. “It’s been nice meeting you too. Hopefully we can meet in person sometime soon.” She grinned as she turned back to Tomer.

Tomer beamed at his fiance.

"I hope so too," Shira replied. "Perhaps you two can settle on a nice base so it will be easier to visit my grandbaby."

Kara looked at Tomer, it wasn’t something she’d really considered. “Perhaps that’s something we could think about in the future, to be honest I haven’t really thought about being on a Starbase.”

Shira beamed at Kara. "Perhaps you both should." She gave a little wave, "I'll have the rabbi get in touch with you, Kara. Take good care of my grandbaby!"

"I will and it's been nice meeting you" Kara smiled warmly.

 

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