Ethereal Love

Making Sure He's Okay

When Carol Roberts got back to her ex-wife's house after a long day of shopping and negotiating time off with her boss and packing herself some essentials, it was past midnight and the last thing she was expecting was to find her seventeen year old daughter dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, doing star jumps along with some busty blonde on the television screen. She blinked, unable to take in the scene in front of her, and then shook her head and made her way upstairs to dump her bags in the guest room she'd been allocated. She then checked the time on the clock beside the bed, just to be sure, as if the pitch darkness outside wasn't enough of an indicator, that it was in fact late at night. Then she shook her head and took a deep breath, half-hoping she was imagining things and that she was, in fact, losing her mind, because the only other explanation was much worse.

Nini was losing her mind.

She made her way downstairs and sighed when she walked into the lounge and found that she hadn't been mistaken. Nini glanced over at her and stopped, turning to grab the remote and pause the DVD.

"What are you doing, Nini?" Carol asked, voice a little shaky as she tried to sound normal. Nini bit her lip, looking down. It was then that her mother realized, with a rush of relief, that Nini seemed upset. (Carol herself always found herself with an excess amount of energy when she was upset.) Then she felt bad for being relieved that she was upset, but it was a much better alternative to insanity. Though, depending on the circumstances, equally likely to lead to homicide.

"Mom, I... I screwed up." She mumbled, suddenly bursting into tears. Her mom gasped and rushed towards her to hug her tightly and stroke her hair.

"Shh, baby, don't cry. It's okay." She soothed, but Nini just cried harder.

"No, mom, I really messed up. Ricky's gone. What if he doesn't come back? What if he's done with me?" she cried, almost hysterical. Carol just rubbed her back and tried to be reassuring, but for obvious reasons she didn't have much experience with crying girls. The little she had garnered, however, working with kids at the camp for all those years, told her that it would probably be best to let her cry herself out. Eventually, Nini's tears slowed and the sobbing subdued until it was just a few stifled sniffs every now and again, and Carol felt safe to pull away and wipe the hair out of Nini's face and ask her what had happened.

As Nini recounted the events of earlier that evening, Carol listened intently, trying her best not to cut her off. Eventually, once Nini had finished explaining, she opened her mouth.

"He'll be back, Nini. He won't leave you for good over something like this. He just needs to calm down a little, have some time to himself." She assured her and Nini smiled slightly.

"You think so?"

"I know so. But, Nini, to be honest... I can see where he's coming from." She said honestly. Nini's face fell but she nodded.

"I know. I should have told him, but I still think he overreacted... it's not like I decided anything." She mumbled miserably. Carol sighed.

"Nini, he wasn't angry about the adoption thing itself."

"Then what was he angry about?"

"Okay, so imagine you were him. You've gotten your girlfriend pregnant, and you're obviously going to stay with her because you're one of the few guys out there man enough to face up to his mistakes. And, of course, you love your girlfriend more than anyone else in the world." Nini blushed, but nodded. "Okay, so imagine the insecurities you have. Does she even want you around? Does she love you like you love her? Does she want you to be in the baby's life?"

"He knows I do, though!" she protested. Carol shot her a look, and she bit her lip. "At least, I think he does. Maybe. I don't know."

"Have you ever told him that straight?" Carol asked, and at Nini's dejected look, she nodded. "Exactly. I know you do, Nini, but he doesn't. And nobody expects you to say that to him. It's natural for you to assume that he knows that. But then, imagine you're him and you're constantly worrying about all that... and then you find out that she's been researching adoption behind your back."