The first thing Oliver saw when he stepped into the house was Polina, hands on her hips and a look on her face he could only interpret as fondly amused, as she stared at the numerous boxes and bags he had just finished unloading.

"You went a little overboard, didn't you Oli?" She asked with a soft chuckle. "What all is this, anyway?"

Smiling sheepishly at his fiance, he shrugged slightly. "A little, I guess... At first, I was just thinking about getting a computer for Jal to help with her studies-"

"And because you want to show her some video games." Poli cut in with grin.

"Well, yeah..." Oliver admitted, just a touch embarrassed to be called out on it. "But, then I thought that maybe Lily could use a computer too, and I figured that, if I was grabbing one for each of them, you needed one too..."

"And the rest of this stuff?" Poli arched an eyebrow in mock sterness.

"Ah... A tablet for everyone, as well as a cell phone each for Jal and Lily... And some drones, since Jal likes to fly them- and I figure they could be useful..." He cleared his throat as Poli just continued to stare at him. "And... some games and gaming accessories... Plus a few other odds and ends, just stuff that may be good to have..."

Snorting in amusement at her fiance, Poli shook her head and directed her attention to the woman that had followed Oliver inside. "And this is...?"

"Oh, right!" Oliver quickly waved between the two- he was certain Poli already knew who she was, likely already having looked into everyone she was interviewing. "This is Ling Mei, she's an Education Major and here to interview for the tutoring job. Ling, this is my fiance, Polina Ramirez."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ramirez." Ling greeted her politely.

"It's nice to meet you as well." Poli smiled easily before throwing a glance at Oliver. "Already skimmed her resume, Oli?"

"No ma'am." Ling answered for him. "We met previously... in a social setting."

Hearing the slight hesitation in her answer, Poli chuckled softly- she could easily guess that a 'social setting' for people in college was just polite way of saying they met at a party. "Well, how about we talk in the kitchen? Unfortunately, someone decided to clutter up the living room so there is no where to sit..."

"That's fine, Ms. Ramirez-"

"Please, call me Poli." Polina gently interjected, already leading the way to the kitchen. "Can I get you anything to drink? We have water, lemonade, coffee, sweat tea, hot tea..."

"A hot tea would be lovely." Ling smiled, relaxing under the welcoming atmosphere.

A low chuckle escaped Poli at the answer- with Oliver's extensive collection of teas, that was easily the most complicated choice. "Do you have a preference? Oliver... has more teas than I even knew existed, so there are quite a few options..."

"We have... black, green, white, and herbal teas." Poli said, opening a cabinet that was lined from top to bottom with a variety of teas. "Some in teabags, and some loose leaf; Oli is partial to the loose leaf- not that I really get it, since I'm more of a coffee drinker anyway."

"A green tea would be lovely." Ling said, a hint of excitement in her voice- it was rare that she met someone who enjoyed tea as much as she did, let alone had so many options.

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"You should try the Bohemian Raspberry Tea." Oliver enthusiastically exclaimed, having rejoined them the moment he heard them talking about tea. "It's a pan-fired green tea in the sencha style from Hunan Provence... Honestly, it's fantastic! You just have to brew it for three minutes in 180-degree water..."

Seeing Poli's teasing smile at his unexpected tea rambling, he smiled sheepishly once more. "Ah... How about I handle the tea while you two talk?"

"That would be great, hon." Poli replied, suppressing a laugh. "Like I said, Oli loves his tea..."

"Oh, where are my manners? Please, Ling, have a seat." She gestured to a chair at the table, claiming her own across from her. "While he's whipping us up something to drink, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

"I would be happy to." Ling said, a touch of nervousness creeping back into her voice as she slid her resume across the table. "As Oliver mentioned, I'm an Education Major- specifically secondary education, with a focus on English; My hope for my degree is to teach middle school after I graduate."

"I see you have some tutoring experience." Poli said, glancing through the resume. "Can you tell me a little about that?"

Oliver only half listened as the interview went on; While he certainly wanted the best tutor possible for Jal, he trusted Poli to handle it... And, admittedly, he was engrossed by the art of making the perfect cup of tea- there was just something he found relaxing, almost meditative, about making tea...

Even engrossed as he was, he picked up on enough to know that Ling would probably be a good choice. She had experience tutoring, not just college students, but a number of young children of a variety of ages, and she seemed to genuinely want to help people learn and grow.

The fact that she was very open and friendly- if a bit nervous- certainly weighed things more in her favor.

"Honestly, Ling, I like what I see so far." Poli admitted not long after they had finished their drinks. "Though, I feel I should warn you that this position comes with a few unique challenges..."

"I'm sure I can handle a few challenges." Ling answered, her confidence boosted thanks to the budding success of the interview.

"I like your confidence, but you shouldn't be so quick to agree." Poli admonished gently. "Some of these challenges are pretty straightforward- namely our daughter's current education level."

"You see, she is a very bright girl... But, at the same time, she is from a very remote and isolated area. She only just started learning English a month ago, and her knowledge of world history... is basically just what she has picked up from us over that same length of time."

"That won't be a problem, ma'am." Ling responded quickly, already considering a possible curriculum for the girl. "In many way, that actually makes it easier; I can build things up from the beginning, given enough time."

"That makes sense." Poli acknowledged with a nod. "The next challenge- and one that Oli and I struggle with as well- is that we have to travel for work, with rather irregular schedules. That means that trust is a major factor in who we hire, as there would be times we wouldn't be present. Though my mother has already agreed to be here to care for Jal when we are away, we are very protective of our daughter- and we only want the best for her. We will try not to be helicopter parents, but, being new parents, it's almost certain that we will be a little... overbearing... at times..."

"That's completely understandable." Ling said reassuringly. "And I don't have a problem with that as long as it doesn't interfere with our lessons- and, if it does start to cause problems, I'll address it with you directly."

"We can work with that." Poli nodded again, before shifting uncomfortably in her seat- she knew well how awkward this next part could get. "Well, the last issue I want to bring up- and I understand if this is a bit uncomfortable- is our relationship."

"You see, we have a bit of a non-traditional relationship; While Oliver and I are engaged, our girlfriend also lives with us. I know some people would be uncomfortable with this, and some would flat out refuse to work for us based solely on that fact, which is why I bring it up now to avoid any possible conflict or issues moving forward."

"Oh!" Ling exclaimed as she blushed brightly, eyes darting to Oliver in surprise. "Oh, well... I mean, that shouldn't be a problem, as long as things remain professional between us-"

"They will." Poli cut in to reassure her. "We aren't trying to indoctrinate people to our lifestyle, or trying to flaunt it to everyone. I just wanted to be upfront in case it was a deal breaker for you, or it made you uncomfortable. We thought it was best to just have it out in the open from the start rather than surprise someone later on and create unnecessary problems."

"We're just trying to find the best tutor for our daughter that we can, nothing else."

"Y-yes, of course." Ling stammered slightly, still off balance from the revelation- while she knew such relationships existed, she had never actually met anyone involved in one. "That shouldn't be a problem, then."

"Wonderful!" Poli exclaimed, standing from the table. "Well, would you like to meet Jal? Fair warning, she can be quite excitable..."

Oliver chuckled softly at the understatement- calling Jal excitable was hardly enough to describe the bundle of energy that was his daughter.

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