Marriage Of Secrets

Obligations

Sean arrived at his little family home. His mother and his siblings were seated in the living room, basically waiting for him to come in after a while. He walked in with a bag of gifts he got for a nearby mall. Though his siblings were teenagers, he couldn't help but get something for each of them. They all scurried the bag grabbing hold of all they could before leaving him with their parents.

"You need to stop spoiling them," his mother said with laughter.

"Who will spoil them if I don't," Sean smiled. They are very young mums. They have every right to enjoy their age.

"You do not get paid much," his father waved it off. "Just stop spending too much for now. It isn't worth it."

Sean nodded, and placed the now empty bag beside his feet.

"So what is wrong?" He asked his dad who gazed at his mum for a while. "Why did you call me here?"

"Your mum thinks it is unwise for you to stay apart from the family at a time like this," his father began clearing his throat. "You need to start learning to spend time with us, even if it is just for a month or so."

Sean scoffed and stroked his beard, as his beard went to the floor.

"Just because of what a doctor said does not mean I will bury myself in worry. I am totally fine, dad. I can take good care of myself."

"You are sick," his mother lamented in rage. "You are freaking sick! You have cancer! This is not a joke, Sean. You have worked with this Anderson or whoever he is for a long time now. You have stayed with him for too long and neglected your family. It is high time you spend time with your family too."

Sean was silent. He gazed at his parents for a while and nodded. He did understand where their point was coming from. He just couldn't put up with how much they worried.

"Do you not trust me to take care of myself?" Sean asked his parents, resting his chin on his curled hands.

"We are just worried that you will focus entirely on your job, and forget to take care of yourself," his mother said with teary eyes. "That's how you are. Nothing else but a workaholic. Even your family means nothing to you until you get your freaking work done. You were never like this Sean."

"Things happen, mother," Sean said with a factual look. "People change. Please let's not dwell too much on this."

He knelt before them and took their hands for a kiss. Then he stroked them softly for a while and gazed into their eyes.

"You both trust me to take care of myself, right?" He asked with a smile.

"You have no woman to take care of you," his father had to ruin everything. Sean let go of their hands sharply in disappointment.

"I told you not to bring that up," Sean's mother argued in disappointment.

"We have to bring it up," his father said in anger. "If we  do not bring it up then, who will? He is the first son! The first child! If he doesn't bring a lady home, then what can we tell our friends? What can I tell my siblings?! My family members  keep asking about Sean. When will he get married? What are his plans? The guy says nothing. All he does is bury himself in work like we are irrelevant to him."

"He tries for us, honey," Sean's mother told her husband with a calm tone. "Despite his sickness he tries so hard to ensure things work out on both ends. This is a new generation and people do not view marriage the same way anymore..."

"He needs to get married soon!" His father roared with a harsh tone. "He needs to bring in a lady. If he doesn't, my rank as the eldest son of my family is irrelevant. I can assure you that! Do you know how much hard work I had put in just to avoid shame among my peers."

"Others' opinion about you is irrelevant," Sean advised.

"Says someone who can barely look a lady in the eyes!"

"Honey!" His mother snapped as she slapped his dad on the thigh. "You are taking things too far now!"

"I don't sugarcoat things," he said with a stern look. "I speak facts!"

Sean gazed at them helplessly as they exchanged words. They weren't focused on him anymore, and were now focused on each other opening old wounds.

"Mum, dad," Sean tried getting their attention back to him. "It's enough."

They ignored him and went on with the arguments. Sean massaged his now aching forehead and walked up towards his old childhood bedroom. His younger brother who had now occupied his space, looked up from his phone grinning.

"Are you here to stay?" The young boy asked.

"No," Sean responded with a smile. "But I will come back for good soon. I promise. For now, I still have a case to handle."

"You know our parents are right about the wife aspect though," his younger sister said from the door. His eyes stared at the door, and he watched the chubby lady walk in. Her olive skin and beautiful dimples told a lot about her never ending smiling face. Damn! The girl loved to smile. "I also need an elder sister, you know. Come on. It takes nothing to fall in love and charm a girl."

"Sounds easy for a teenager," Sean said with a smile as he caressed her cheeks.

"We both know I am right," the girl hissed. "You are a lady's guy. Just check out that muscle and that glass clear skin. Come on, what lady won't fall for such charm."

Sean smiled and nodded with a blush.

"Alright, you have a point," he couldn't deny his good looks.

"So why is it hard?" She asked. "Why haven't you settled down yet?"

"My work," Sean admitted. "I have been so focused on my work that it's hard. Presently, I have a lot on my plate right now. It's difficult to not think about anything but my job."

"Try to think outside the box," his sister tapped his shoulder. "In fact, I have pictures of hot girls you might love. They are the sisters of my friends. They look straight up take away."

Sean laughed and took a look at the pictures anyway. As he inspected their nice style and unique looks, his mind never left his parents. Damn! Their worries were his worries! Now he had to get a woman just to put his mind at rest. He wasn't even sure of how to start.

"Interview your good friend," the inspector sent him a text, causing him to get up from where he sat.

"I need to leave," he told his siblings who looked rather disappointed.

"No...you just came," his younger brother said.

"I am sorry...," he apologized. "I do need to leave now."