The Stoic And The Beast

The Thing About Women

Luke's  POV

When I got home from the hospital, my mother was waiting in her wingback chair beside my father who was working on his laptop. Her wine glass in hand.

"Where have you been? You've been gone for two days. Do you even live here anymore?" She slurred.

"I was at the hospital with Alicia if you must know."

My father looked up from his laptop and closed it abruptly. Readying himself for an explanation with a look of concern in his eyes.

"Is everything all right?" He asked.

"Yes, Alicia is fine. There was an incident the other night that caused her to get injured. But she is fine."

"Were you hurt?" My mom anxiously tapped her nail on the bowl of her wineglass.

"No, I wasn't but I wish it was me who had been hurt instead of her," I said as I stepped further into the room.

My mom laughed. "Surely you don't mean that."

"Alice.." my dad warned her. "Luke, how are the babies?" He asked with worry in his voice.

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot that our careless son got her knocked up too." She swirled the wine in her glass and took a gulp.

"Alice, that's enough!" Dad's voice came like a clap of thunder. Even I flinched in fear of my father's angry voice but my mother only closed her eyes and sighed.

"What? Why can't I yell at my son or tell him how stupid he is for getting a girl pregnant? Can't I?" She leaned forward and poured herself another glass of wine.

"Will you continue this argument forever? Do you know what will happen if you keep insulting that girl in front of our son? Who do you think he will step away from Alice? Her? His children or you? Stop your incessant bickering and accept that what has happened, has happened." He sighed. "He isn't a child anymore. He is a grown man. He lives here alone most of the time, as a grown man would, he has begun his own successful business, as a grown man should and he is near finishing college. Be proud that he has done so well for himself. Nothing will change his path by having Alicia and those babies."

"But.."

"I'm not finished! You are my wife but he is our son and be so proud that he didn't wind up choosing the other path! You should thank him for being the man standing before you! You should ask for forgiveness. One day we will have him and only him to care for us when we are too old to care for ourselves. Think about that before you ruin your relationship with your son." He sighed. Tiredness weighing heavily on his words.

"What are you saying?" My mother asked meekly.

"I'm saying, do not think you can become a wall between Luke and the mother of his children. I'm saying, become a pillar supporting the bridge for them to cross." He raked his hands through his hair. Flecks of silver hairs have become a prominent show of his age.

"You want me to be happy about this? You can't be serious!" She slammed her glass on the table beside her chair spilling half its contents.

Dad stood from his chair and walked to the kitchen and grabbed the dish towel hanging from the oven handle. When he returned he kneeled down beside mom and quietly wiped the spilled wine from the wood top table. Then he leaned over the arm of the chair and kissed my mother on the lips. As he stood back up, he spoke once more.

"Your mother refused to accept me at first. Do you remember? What did you do when she forbade our relationship, do you remember?"

"I.... refused to have a relationship with her. We never spoke again." She closed her eyes and sighed.