CARINA POV
"I heard you've started talking to my mom, going on the weekly dates with her and my sister" Mason started the conversation. He'd asked to meet me at the hospital during one of my shifts, luckily for him today was a day where there were no appointments and only research.
"It makes Maya happy" I retort.
"Is that the only reason you're giving my mom a chance?" Mason asks, his eyes curiously stare into mine.
"At first, it would be nice if Isabella and Alex had a grandparent they'd see regularly. My papa lives in Italy and I'm not sure if I'd ever want him around our children" I say, Mason nods along, seemingly agreeing with everything I say.
"Why wouldn't you want your dad to be around them?" Mason asked.
"From what I've heard, he's very much how your dad was. I'm not interested in having that behaviour around our children" I explain, he sighs and picks up his coffee cup.
"Makes sense" The conversation hits a lull for a second.
"Is that my favourite sister-in-law's brother?" My brother's voice interrupts the moment of silence.
"You only have on sister-in-law" I point out, almost interrupted by Mason.
"And I'm the only brother" He states bluntly, Andrea's face drops for a second.
"Fine, I'll take the compliment back" He remarks, watching us shake our heads. Andrea sat on the bench next to Mason, they fist pumped. It was weird, how they'd become brothers at some point, God knows when that was.
"So, what were you talking about?" My brother asked, leaning slightly into me before pulling away, knocking my leg under the table in a jokey way.
"Mason's mama. She's trying really hard to be a part of our family" I say, sighing. Mason's eyes flicker between our faces as he waits for a reaction.
"If she's trying really hard, maybe its time she gets a reward" Andrea says in a weird way, it almost gives away a connotation it shouldn't. "I know you don't want her to be around the little ones but how long are you going to keep them away from her? If she's doing the work, surely at some point you should celebrate the fact that she's trying" Andrea says, speaking his mind. I hadn't really told him about the situation, it almost felt like I would be bitching about my mama-in-law.
"I'd need to speak to Maya first" I say, finishing what's left of my coffee.
"What do you need to speak to me about?" Maya's voice rang through the air, her hand gently stroking my back as she moves to sit next to me.
"Is this some kind of family reunion?" Mason jokes.
"I was going to surprise my wife with her favourite coffee, but it seems my brother or brother-in-law has already beaten me to it" Maya says, placing a coffee cup in front of me. She smiles brightly as my hands instantly wrap around it, lifting it to take a large sip.
"Mama thought I'd be the coffee addict" Andrea confessed, chuckling at the absurdity.
"She was definitely wrong. I didn't know I was marrying a coffee monster. You're both lucky you didn't live with her during the pregnancies... I'm just happy I'm still alive" Maya jokes, her hand finds my thigh and squeezes it slightly.
MAYA POV
Carina gives me an annoyed look while our brother's laugh, she knows the truth. She remembers the times she'd either wrap herself around my legs or shout at me for not caring about her, I still shiver till this day... maybe that's too dramatic.
"You know it's true" I whisper, she just slightly nods and leans her weight into me. She moves slightly so she can sit almost diagonal on the bench; the perfect position to rest in. I really wanted to come here to talk to her about something to do with my career, it's something I hadn't talked to her about because the perfectionist in me didn't want to jinx myself.
