Come back whenever you can!
An awkward reunion in my first novel occurred off-stage, it’s suggested to happen after the last chapter. Zorik, a veteran Golani Commando, former mafia assassin, Karen’s bodyguard and first mercenary, had the unenviable task of returning home, to explain why he had not been at his parents’ shabbat table since the IDF threw him out (court-martial) about four years ago.
Zorik predicted his mother will yell at him, without pause, the instant he steps through the front door. Yet Zorik was hopeful the presence of his new girlfriend (a beautiful, brave and devoted Ukrainian albino girl) will calm some of his mother’s fury.
There’s also a likely awkward reunion and first meeting moment in about three chapters time in my current work. When Karen’s mercenaries return home, after three months in northern Syria, training and fighting alongside Kurdish forces, Krista has to explain to her father (one of Karen’s first mercenaries) why there is an Australian (Dov) and an mysterious orphan girl with no history (Freyja) now staying at Karen’s villa, and how did their new housemates become such close friends of Krista’s and so fast…Dov is staying in the room of Krista’s (deceased) older brother, and Freyja is Krista’s roommate…
At the moment, Krista is the only character stressing about the approaching meeting / reunion as she is desperate for Dov and Freyja to be accepted by her father, more as her companions than their new housemates. Dov and Freyja are not so concerned. Dov is familiar with the slow process of being accepted by close-knit Special Forces units, and Karen has given him a few hints on how to ease the process. While Freyja is only concerned about Dov and Krista. For now, Freyja hopes to be accepted by Karen’s mercenaries because she thinks that will cure one main source of Krista’s stress.
Also, Karen and Polanski (Krista’s mother) have been keeping the mercenaries informed, via brief encrypted texts, about their new housemates’ adventures since their arrival at Karen’s villa. Dov saving Krista’s life on one (maybe two) occasion so far might put him in the mercs’ good graces before they return home. And the mercenaries will likely want to shower, eat, and sleep for a few days before they worry about the presence, purpose, and history of Krista’s new best friends…Or maybe they’re relieved Krista has best friends again, and not interrogate Dov too much (gift-horses, etc)…
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Hm, awkward reunion… I do a lot of “surprise! I’m here!” type of reunions. I can’t think of any particularly awkward ones…
Oh! Wait. Got one from The Facade of Quad in Nimrod.
Fernando’s been away from the Quad family mansion for a long time. Fernando decides to return to try to get his name on the will to get the Quad money. He goes to the mansion and Valerie, his fiancé, opens the door. She’s the only one there, and she and the house are a total mess and disaster after all the maids left. Not a bit of high-class-ness remains. It also smells really bad. Valerie is gushing about him and doesn’t realize how filthy she is.
She also does not see reality at all.
I’d say, for Fernando, even though he doesn’t care about her, that would have been an awkward reunion.
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