Castle Of Glass | B. Wayne

[28]

Calmia reached her office to find out that a client was waiting already without an appointment. Usually, she made it clear to her clients that she would only attend to their concerns upon prior appointment but as she needed something to take her mind off Talia's words, she asked Nicole to send them into her studio.

Her studio was where she worked usually and it was a creative space designed according to her requirements. The room also had a coffee table and chairs in the corner for client discussions and the major portion of her studio was taken up by boards, a bookshelf, a catalog shelf, and a material samples shelf. She had organized everything and put up handmade signage so that it would be easier for others to navigate through the shelving as well.

Her firm Interiospective had been in the market for about five years by then however, it was starting to gain more clientele recently. Whether it was due to her being offered higher scale projects and getting more clients as a reference or due to her being married to Bruce Wayne, she now had a lot of people approaching her for their interiors.

The clients who had come to her office that day were a couple wanting to renovate their house and looking for an interior designer. She discussed their project with them, noting down the kind of interior they were hoping for, and showed them a few projects she had done earlier through her firm's portfolio.

Halfway through the meeting, she called in Benjamin and Nicole as well for discussing the furniture that the couple wanted to have and what they could do for the project. After an hour, they convinced the client and had that residential project to work on as well.

Calmia had already told her team that after that project they would not be accepting more projects for at least two months so that the work they had already taken up did not get compromised.

She sent a text to Jade as well to see if she could join her at lunch and the woman replied immediately with an affirmation. In the time left until lunch break, Calmia discussed the newly taken project with her team and sat with them to collectively manage their timeframes for all the rest of the work they had as well.

By lunch Jade had arrived, her high spirits brightening up the usual dull working environment. She had brought pastries for Calmia's team as well, telling them that those pastries were a celebration of her boutique project coming to completion.

Then they decided to order lunch together but as Calmia had things to discuss with Jade, the two of them went to the studio while the rest of the team had their lunch together in the conference room.

"So sweetheart, how's married life going?" Jade asked but then paused, noticing that Calmia looked slightly worried, "is everything okay?"

"I just wanted someone to talk to and my first instinct was to call you over," she replied, forking around her food as her mind was deviating again to the things Talia had said to her.

"Good instinct. You are always there for me when I need you to talk to so I will be more than happy to do the same," she smiled, squeezing Calmia's hand in reassurance, "now spill, what happened?"

"Damian's mother has come to visit," she spoke up, thinking about how to explain the situation, "and she's staying for a few days so things are a bit awkward at home."

"I thought Damian's mother had died or something," Jade shrugged, "we have heard absolutely nothing about her."

"Yeah, that's because she doesn't live in Gotham. She's... Well, from very far away."

"Okay, and how are things awkward?" She asked, trying to figure it out for herself as she knew Calmia hesitated to open up so she would have to prompt her, "is this some kind of insecurity of having your husband's ex around? Because in that case, you are getting worried for nothing. Bruce loves you a lot, Calmia, he's not going to change his mind now."

"I know, I know, it's not that," she took a deep breath, putting down her fork at last, "I am not worried about Bruce. It's Damian I am worried about."

"Damian? But why?"

"Jade, it took me long to get Damian comfortable around me and now I am worried that with his mother here and her not approving of my presence, things might get terrible again. I mean..." She paused, feeling that she was unable to express herself clearly, "I have made it very clear to him that I will never take Talia's place because she is his mother and I can't replace her. I told him that all I wanted was to just be friends with him and he agreed. But now... Talia doesn't... I feel like she doesn't want me around her son and might say something to keep him away."

Jade was silent for a while, pondering on her friend's words, "seems like you're really fond of Damian."

"I am. I feel like he and I can understand each other better and would be able to bond well. We share a considerable part of our culture with him being half Arab too, he's a brilliant boy and I don't want him to treat me like how children often treat their step-parents. That's all."

Jade could understand the situation a bit clearer by then. She knew Calmia was a very kind and caring soul so for her, Damian was just as important a family member as Bruce or the rest of them. She did not want to have a strained relationship with any of the Waynes. "I see. But I am sure Damian would be smart enough to understand both your and his mother's perspectives separately. How old is he again?"

"Fifteen."

"Ah right, that's a tender age but from all I have heard about him, I feel like he will be able to sort things out for himself," Jade tried to convince her, "you shouldn't be so pessimistic. Every one of them accepted you and what some other woman has to think about you isn't going to change their perspective on you."

"She's not some other woman, she's his mother. He would always put his mother first."

"And that's what you want too, right? You don't want to take Talia's place, honey, because you have your own," she patted her hand lightly as she resumed, "and you should be more confident about yourself. If you and Damian were on good terms before Talia's visit, it's not going to change just because she came and stayed for a few days. Don't worry yourself too much, I am sure Damian and the rest of the boys and girls appreciate your presence in their life very much. I know I do so why wouldn't they when you're such a lovely and wholesome person to be around?"

A soft smile flickered on Calmia's lips at last upon hearing that, "oh come on..."

"No really, hun, you are one of the sweetest people I have ever met," Jade emphasized, "and I am not saying that just because you're my best friend. I am being honest. You are perfect the way you are, the only thing you need to work on is to stop worrying so much and start paying yourself more credit. Okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, feeling a lot better after sharing that problem with Jade and receiving her positive advice.

"Now don't waste your food and eat up," Jade remarked, "I didn't come to have lunch with you just for you to not eat anything. Come on, finish everything, and then let's check out this new project Ben was telling me about."

Calmia knew Jade was right. Perhaps she was worrying and overthinking too much and the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed in her head. Damian was a smart boy, he wouldn't go back to being cold to her just because of what Talia had to say about her.

So for as long as Talia was staying over at the manor, Calmia had to try and ignore if she made any hurtful remarks. In the end, Talia had to go back, and nothing she said or did would really have any impact on her life.

Jade was right, she was getting worried about something that didn't matter.

***