Insecure

‘Hi, Maria. Thanks for coming.’

‘You’re welcome. So what can I do for you?’

‘Mum told us about you and her being a couple.’

‘Ah, I wondered if it was about that. She said she’d told you three.’

‘Makes sense.’

‘So… You don’t seem happy. Is it something that bothers you…?’

‘No. At least, not in the way you might be thinking. I’m happy for Mum to move on and find someone else. But… I want you to be honest. This has been going on since at least before we left Sunset Valley, hasn’t it?’

‘Ah… There’s no point in denying it.’

‘I figured it was. I dunno about the other two, if they noticed or even care.’

‘Does it bother you that we were technically an affair?’

‘No, not that part. Father’d been cheating on her and treating her like shit for years, so she was hardly betraying an innocent party. I don’t blame her for trying to find some happiness during that time. It was shit for all of us.’

‘In that case… what is the problem?’

‘I guess a part of me is wondering about you here, at work. When I first came back after, y’know. You helped me out a lot. Would you have done that anyway, or did Mum ask you to?’

‘It’s both. It’s true that your mum felt more reassured asking me to keep an eye on you when you first came back to work – and honestly? I would’ve done the same, if something happened to Logan and I had the option of asking somebody to look out for him. But it’s not the only reason, Tristan. Okay, so you’re my boss, and you outrank me by quite a few levels, so I wouldn’t have wanted to patronise you. But when I saw you in front of the elevator that day, knowing what was going on and seeing you needed the support… I’d have wanted to help anyone in that position. And I don’t think that’s just my maternal instincts, either. It wasn’t a case of just being asked, or wanting to gain favour with your mum. You just… needed someone.’

‘...I’m being really stupid about this, aren’t I?’

‘No, of course not. I know it’s an awkward position for us both to be in, given everything.’

‘Ha, isn’t that the truth.’

‘I don’t want to let this make things difficult for you. I certainly don’t expect any special treatment here for dating your mum, or anything like that.’

‘Oh, I know. You’ve been here a lot longer than I have, so it’d be a bit ridiculous to accuse you of doing anything like that. Anyway… look, all I want at this point is for Mum to be happy again. You seem like a pretty good choice of partner for her, so don’t worry about me not approving of you.’ 

‘Aww, thank you… I appreciate that.’

‘I think my own insecurity was getting to me… but there was no need for it. You’re a mum too and a caring person in your own right, so I had no reason to doubt you.’

‘It’s confusing when the terms of your relationship to someone suddenly change, though. Me being with Roxxi does alter things a bit. Logan had a similar kind of reaction to you when I told him, albeit for different reasons. Especially when I pointed out to him that you’d potentially be both his brother-in-law and his stepbrother at the same time.’

‘...Wow. Still, that’s kinda tame for this family. It’s not really anything new.’

‘I’m sorry to complicate the family tree further.’

‘Honestly, Maria, like I said. There are a lot worse people who could join the family tree than you. So was Logan really a bit weirded out too…?’

‘Mostly by the length of time we’d been together. Saraya wasn’t at all bothered, though.’

‘Sounds right. Anyway, neither am I. I promise. It’s time for Mum to start living the life she always wanted, and I’m happy for someone like you to be a part of it.’

‘And I’m happy to be a bigger part of your life, too.’  

Elsewhere...

 

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