MY PRETEND WIFE

Confession

Madame Faulkerson turned to look at Maine. As if sensing her discomfort, the older woman reached out and touched her arm. "I'm not expecting you to learn everything right away" she assured her. "You'll learn everything in time. It also took me years to familiarize myself with it."

After the tour Richard's mother brought her to the hotel's café to have tea. As they settled down on one of the tables, Madame Faulkerson looked at Maine with a small smile on her face. "How are things going with you and RJ?" she inquired.

"I think we have adjusted quite well mom" she responded rather truthfully. It was true that it hasn't been that difficult adjusting her life to fit RJ's and vise versa.

"That's wonderful to know. You know, he has changed a lot since he married you. He's happier now than before. He has always been a brooding child and it carried on to his teenage and early adult years. But now I noticed that he smiles a lot especially when he's talking about you. He may not realize it but you're all he talks about when I visit him in the office." Madame Faulkerson narrated with an amused smile.

Maine blushed at her mother in law's last comment. Was it really true that her husband talked about her all the time?

"I don't know how you did it but my son seems to be completely smitten by you" the older lady added teasingly.

Maine did not comment but instead looked guiltily down the table. She tried focusing on her tea cup as she did not have the heart to look at RJ's mother in the eye. How can she explain to her mother in law that she must be imagining things because RJ definitely did not marry her out of love?

Madame Faulkerson continued on not noticing Maine's uneasiness. "My son has always been afraid to love." RJ's mother confessed with a wistful smile on her face. "I've always blamed myself for that. My failed marriage to his father caused quite an impact on him and somehow I feel that he is afraid of making the same mistake. He has always been withdrawn from people, wary of establishing relationships. I know that it is his fear of getting hurt that is stopping him to do so."

Madame Faulkerson reached over to take Maine's hand from across the table "But you, you've been able to break down his barriers and make him take the risk. I thank you so much for that." his mother said fervently.

Maine could not take it anymore and she started to cry right in front of Richard's mother. Madame Faulkerson looked at her in alarm. "Maine! What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry mom" Maine said as tears started falling nin-stop. "I just feel so guilty already. RJ and I did not get married because we love each other. We did it because he needed to, so you would turn the company over to him."

Madame Faulkerson looked at her for a moment. "Do you love my son?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, very much" she admitted. It was the one true thing that she was sure about. "I've loved him for a long time."

"Then the circumstances surrounding your marriage does not matter. I know that  Richard loves you too." his mother assured her.

Maine looked at her disbelievingly. It was hard to believe that Madame Faulkerson was telling the truth.

"You may not believe it now sweetheart but I assure you, I know my son very well. I am very sure that he loves you. You tell me that you have been best friends for seven years. My RJ has never established a relationship that long with any girl he has met except you." the older lady looked at Maine apologetically. "I'm sorry if my son seems to be too blind to see that. You have to understand that Richard has always shunned the idea of love that I'm sure he wouldn't be able to recognize it even if it's staring at him right on the face."

Madame Faulkerson stood up from her seat and enveloped Maine in a motherly hug. Maine hugged her back. The expression of hope apparent in her tear stained face.

"I'm sure RJ would realize it in time. In the mean time I plead you to please be patient with my son. I know that he will come around soon enough."

Later that evening Richard got home and found Maine asleep on their bed. She had a book that lay open on her chest while a dozen other books were stacked on the floor beside her. With a small smile on his face he approached her and watched her for a while as she slept. Her countenance was relaxed and void of any worries that she almost looked as young as a teenager. Curiously he looked at the title of the book that she was reading and was surprised to find out that it was a book on photography. He glanced down and scanned the books on the floor and saw that it was all about photography and art in general. He found this quite intriguing because even though Maine liked photography it wasn't to the extent that she would study it comprehensively.

He reached out to wake her up. He watched her with an amused smile as she began to stir. She stretched her arms and body languorously like a cat getting up from a nap and slowly opened her eyes. She gave Richard a lazy smile as soon as she saw him and almost automatically he felt his heart involuntarily skip a beat. "Hi honey, you're home" she said as she slowly propped herself to a sitting position.

Richard sat beside her on the bed and held up the book that she was reading. "What is this all about?" He asked curiously.

"Oh that" Maine said as a tinge of pink stained her cheeks. "Your mother gave me that to read."

"All of these?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Maine nodded in response. "She wanted me to learn about photography and art especially since it is what your family is known for" she explained.

Richard shook his head in frustration. His mother could be too much sometimes. "You don't have to pressure yourself into doing this"

Maine answered him with an assuring smile "But I want to, and besides I'm finding it very interesting."

Richard couldn't help but smile at her. It was very typical of Maine to want everybody to be happy.

"So where did my mother take you today?" He asked. He has gotten used to his mother whisking his wife away once a week.

"Believe it or not she took me to your museum. She gave me a private tour and gave me a brief history of each piece that you have there" she replied as she smiled back. "It really blew me away that she knew a lot about art history."

"That's my mother" he said proudly. "So, is that all you talked about? You talked about art the whole time?

Maine was silent for a moment and her smile turned melancholic as she remembered her conversation with his mother. By the way, she told me that you love me. Maine wanted so much to blurt it out and see his reaction. But she was so afraid that she might not want his reaction so she decided to keep quiet about it. Finally she answered "Yeah, that's all."