the oscars- t.c

29. london day four

Timmy was shitting himself, again, metaphorically.

He was so nervous to meet Ella's dad after meeting her mum. He knew he was going to be much nicer but the lesser of two evils. Ella didn't think Timmy would be nervous for this, her dad was so kind to everyone but then again she had never introduced her dad to any boys before.

They arrived at the restaurant after a long ride of Timmy asking questions such as 'do I speak french to him?' And 'will he ask me about my income. I don't know how much I earn every year, will he mind?'. It was sweet but also very annoying.

"Bonjour papa" Ella greeted her dad who was already at the table. Her dad stood up and kissed his daughters cheek and then eyed up the man she had brought. "C'est Timothée. This is Timothée" she said his name with a french accent which turned Timmy on a bit but he wasn't going to show that right now.

"Hello sir." Timmy held out his hand for her father to take. Her dad stared at his hand before taking it reluctantly.

"Vous-parlez français non? you speak french no?" Ella stared at her dad, not expecting him to expect Timmy to speak french to him. She doesn't even speak much french around him, she dips in and out.

"Uhh, yes" Timmy was stuttering. Ella held his arm and squeezed in to try and calm him down.

"Avec un nom comme Timothée, j'ai pensé que...with a name like Timothée I thought..." her dad trailed off while Timmy panicked. Ella deadpanned her dad for making Timmy feel this way.

"Non non, je parle français monsieur. No no, I speak french sir" Timmy replied, Ella smiled at his accent. Timmy's heart was racing as the man stared at him.

"I'm just kidding Timothée. It's nice to meet you" Timmy let out a sigh of relief and they all sat down. Ella sat in between them and the awkward silence commenced. "So Timothée, you're an actor as well. Would I have seen you in anything?" Timmy genuinely didn't know how to answer this question.

"I'm fairly new to the game and have only really done independent films" he replied modestly. Ella's dad was confused, to him that wasn't an answer.

"But you were nominated for an Oscar, what was that for?" He just wanted to know some names of films. Ella widened her eyes at Timmy as if pushing him to just say some names.

"Well, I was nominated for best actor in 'Call Me By Your Name'. And then, another film I was in 'Ladybird' was also nominated" he was speaking so well, Ella was impressed.

"I think I have heard of 'Call Me By Your Name'. You've done very well for such a young age" he complimented him which Timmy saw as a sign of acceptance.

"Well, your daughter has achieved so much more than me and she's even younger" Timmy was trying to compliment Ella but it came out differently. It sounded as if he was much older than Ella when in fact they were only seven months apart.

"Yes, I'm very proud" he ended the conversation just as the waitress came over. They all ordered their thing. Timmy and Ella's dad felt the same sad emotion when Ella ordered her salad.

"So Timothée, where did you go to school?" He asked as the waiter walked away. Ella took a sip of her water and realised she was just going to be watching their conversation the whole night.

"La Guardia school in Manhattan. It's a drama school" he answered as he too took a sip of water.

"So you were bred for this kind of thing." He joked, Timmy laughed politely and nodded.

"I'd like to think so" everyone sat smiling for a second before Ella's dad turned to her.

"So Elle, when are you filming your movie?" He asked, Timmy smiled to himself at the thought of Ella in New York.