Diving Deep (UK Crush #2)

Chapter 19

Teddy had gone to the local village to pick up some gardening supplies with his father, leaving me chatting with his mother. Gentle exterior aside, she was a very sharp woman who missed very little, and I could tell that she knew how deep Teddy's feelings for me were, even after just seeing us together for one day. I could also tell that she wanted to talk to me.

    "So, Tinker Bell, what's your actual given name, sweetheart?" She smiled at me.

    "Aileen Foster, Mrs. Shelley," I said, smiling back. I explained to her the Japanese origins of my name, and how Ronan had come up with my fairy nickname on the day we met.

    "First, please call me Kathy, my dear, 'Mrs. Shelley' makes me feel as old as I probably am," she laughed, sipping her tea.

    "That Ronan, he is a funny one isn't he? He just tilts the world to however it suits him, always has. I was so happy when I found out he'd been selected to be in the band with Theo. I knew that there would always be fun and laughter as long as he was around.

    "They were so little when it all started," she recalled fondly. "No one knew it would end up this way, so huge."

    "Yes, I've seen video of when it all began," I volunteered. "They look like babies. It must have been really hard to let them go when they were so young.

    "I lost my mother when I was sixteen, and it was difficult to learn to get along without her," I added, surprising myself. I didn't usually volunteer this information to people I'd just met, and almost never in a situation where sympathy could be elicited. "She was all I had. It was probably tough for Theo to be on the road without you at that age."

    "You're an orphan?" Kathy asked, setting her tea cup down. "You've no father?"

    "Well, he left us when I was a baby, and I have no idea where he is, so for all intents and purposes I suppose I am," I said, keeping my voice neutral and steady. I honestly had no feelings about my father, so it wasn't difficult.

    "Oh, my dear, I had no idea, Theo never said," she cried softly, rising and coming to sit next to me. She enveloped me in her arms. "I'm so sorry! What an awful thing, to lose a mother, and at such a young age!"

    I put my arms around her, feeling surprisingly comfortable. Maybe because she was Teddy's mother? "Thank you, very much," I said softly into her shoulder. She stroked my hair, much like her son did. "It was pretty awful for a long time, but I'm okay now." I let her go and looked her in the eye.

    "Truthfully, a lot of it has to do with having met the boys in the band, your son specifically." I took my arms from around her and put them in my lap.

    "Look, we've been doing a lot of talking here this afternoon, and I can tell that you're really curious about me and my, um, motives where your son is concerned. So I'm going to save you a lot of time and trouble and just tell you everything you want to know, and you're just going to have to trust I'm telling you the truth, because I have no way to prove it to you." I took a deep breath. Why was talking about myself so hard? This woman, this woman who had produced the loveliest man, deserved my honesty, my candor.

    "I am in love with him. I think that I've been in love with him pretty much since I met him, though I didn't recognize that's what it was at the time, because I'd never been in love before.

    "I was very isolated growing up. I didn't have many friends, I focused mainly on swimming and playing the piano, and when my mother died I was pretty much alone. I continued with the plans we'd made for me, and became even more isolated as a result. Then, a couple of months ago, I went to Japan and met the boys. I got to know them very well because, well, we were together all the time. And I fell in love with Theo. And I think he fell in love with me." Another deep breath. You can do this, Foster. Just the truth, nothing more.

    "I'm not interested in his money. Does it make my life much, much easier that he has it? Absolutely. I don't have any. I want to go to one of the most expensive schools in the world next year. But I was going to apply for a scholarship to that school anyway, and work my way through. That hasn't changed just because I'm involved with your son."

    Through all of this, Kathy just sat and listened attentively, making no attempt to interrupt or say anything.

    "I love Theo so much sometimes I don't think it's possible that anyone has ever loved anyone as much, ever," I admitted with an embarrassed smile. "I know, sounds so stupid, doesn't it? And it's not like I'm a teenager or anything, I'm a full grown adult, too."

She put a hand on my arm, smiling.

    "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that, for as long as he wants me, I'm going to be around. And as soon as he doesn't want me anymore, I'll melt away like snow in the sun, and I won't take any of his money with me. All I want from him is his love, his heart, I promise." I blinked rapidly. I was getting pretty good at controlling my tears lately, and today was one of the good days.

    "I know you two fuss about money, dear," she said, leaving her hand on my arm. "Theo's told me about your financial situation, and about how you don't want to take his money. I find it admirable that you're trying to do all this on your own, truly, but I think it's okay when you've been struggling on your own for so long, since you were a child, really, to accept a little help from someone who has so much to offer, who wants to help you so badly.

    "I've never seen Theo like this about a girl, never. He's never brought anyone home to meet us. To be honest, I can't imagine what we'd have done if he'd brought one of those models he dated in the past home to one of our family gatherings. They look absolutely horrid, if you ask me." She smiled conspiratorially. "They don't even look like real people, you know?

    "We've been worried about him. I'd spoken to all the boys, and no one really knew what to do, but then, while they were in Japan, everyone started talking about you." She patted my arm.

    "For a little while, it seemed like you were intended for Matthew, or even Gethin, but suddenly I heard that you were coming back to England to stay with Theo, and I started hoping that you might be the person we'd been waiting for." She kept smiling at me.

    I stared at her. Here I was worried she was thinking I was a gold digger, but apparently she saw me as some kind of savior for her floundering son. Wow.

    "I only worry that Theo's going to overwhelm you with his feelings, Tink dear. He has a big heart, and he loves with all of it. Don't let him scare you away. You seem like a very strong person, I think you can handle it. The pressures of what he does, those crazy fans he has, his life is madness. He needs a person who can see through all that, to the person he is. You seem like a girl who can do that. Just stick with him, he's worth it, love." She patted my leg, and leaned over to kiss my hair.

    "Oh, sounds like they're back. Let's go see how many useless things they bought, shall we?" She rose and waited for me to join her, and as we walked toward the back yard, she put her arm around me, and said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "If it wouldn't make you too uncomfortable with the memory of your own sweet mother, perhaps you could call me 'Mum'?"

MUM. Not the convo Tink thought they were going to have, I think lol.