Madame Faulkerson headed straight to her study as soon as she got home from her weekly meeting with Maine. Her study was a haven for her where she can sit and think about issues and problems. Right now, the pressing matter that she wanted to mull about was Maine's relationship with her son.
She sat on a chair by the window. Maine's confession came as a surprise for her. It wasn't actually the content of the confession that surprised her but rather that Maine actually told her about it. She had known from the start that Richard's marriage wasn't exactly ideal. She was not naive enough to believe that her son was marrying for love. She knew her son well. He wouldn't really have gotten married if he had a choice and for him to have found a fiancée two weeks after she gave him her ultimatum confirmed her suspicion that Richard was not going to marry for love at all.
She had to admit that she was kind of worried when Richard finally told her that he has found someone. Knowing her son's history with women, she was afraid that he just picked the first woman who agreed to be his wife. She would never admit it but she did some researching on her own prior to her dinner with Richard and Maine. It surprised her immensely when she found out that Maine was his best friend and that they have been friends for several years now since all those years his son kept Maine's existence from her. That piece of information had given her hope that maybe this marriage was going to be a turning point for her son. Her son has never seen the opposite sex as actual friends but rather as playmates or bedmates and for him to have actually started and flourished a friendship with a certain girl heightened her interest and curiosity.
Her dinner with Maine finally put all her worries to rest. The first time she laid her eyes on Maine she had a good feeling that she was who her son needed. The love that Maine felt for her son was as clear as night and day and she also had a good intuition that Richard felt something special for the shy, unassuming girl that he brought home to meet her. She hoped that after they were married Richard would finally realize that but apparently her son was more clueless than she thought. It seems that her son needs a good whack on the head to make him realize how special Maine is to him.
It pained her to see Maine so miserable. She had spent enough time with her daughter in law to know that she was a good and caring soul and apparently lying was not something innate in her personality. She did not feel anger towards Maine and her son for deliberately lying to her. As a matter fact her heart went out to Maine. She knew extremely well the feeling of unrequited love. She has loved Richard's father with all her heart but unfortunately he never learned to love her in return. But Maine, her sweet and innocent Maine who she has learned to love as her own daughter, does not have to experience that. She knew deep in her heart that Maine's relationship with her son was not a case of unrequited love at all.
Madame Faulkerson sat there deep in thought. She had to think of a way to bring her oblivious son to his senses before everything was too late. After much contemplation her face suddenly widened into a big smile as soon as a good plan dawned on her.
Maine was packing up her things after school on Monday. She had been contemplating on her conversation with RJ's mom during the whole weekend and it left her completely distracted. There were a lot of moments last Sunday when Richard looked at her in a concerned manner. He must have noticed that she was not her usual self. Maine prayed hard that he would not confront her about it because she was not ready to tell him that she told his mother their secret. She did not know what possessed her to spill the beans about their marriage. It was just that his mother was so nice and so happy about their marriage that she had felt so guilty misleading her. Before she knew it she had blurted out the truth. She felt both surprised and relieved that she did not appear angry that they've misled her. In fact she was extremely considerate and kind and even consoled her while she cried. The biggest surprise she had that day was when the older lady told her that RJ loved her. To be honest she had a hard time believing that it was true. She could not deny that RJ has been nothing but good to her. He was a good husband and he kept every promise that he made. He has not looked at any woman since they were married and tucked away his playboy title. But she also knew that her best friend was very vocal from the very start that love was not in his vocabulary at all and she entered this marriage knowing that fully well. That was the reason she proposed the marriage only on paper agreement. It was her last defense to preserve whatever was left of her heart because she knew that if she gave herself to him she would have finally surrendered everything to him-body and soul. Maine however could not help but blush as she remembered the kisses that they've shared. In spite of her determination to uphold their agreement she has completely melted when he kissed her the first time. Since then she never had the strength to resist him whenever he took her in his arms and captured her lips. In fairness with RJ, in spite of the freedom she has given him to kiss her, he continued to respect her and never went beyond the line that she had set between them.
Maine still had her misgivings in spite of Madame Faulkerson's bold declaration that her son loved her. Could that possibly be true? She did not want to hope because she might be just setting herself up for disappointment but she still could not stop herself from doing so.
As she was about to leave her classroom her phone rang. She quickly searched her purse for her phone and checked the caller id before answering. The caller id registered her mother in law's name and Maine couldn't help but feel curious why she was calling her.
"Mom?" Maine answered.
"Maine, how are you? Are you done with your class?" Madame her voice was heard on the other line.
"Yes" Maine replied. "I was just about to leave the classroom. Do you need anything?"
"I was wondering if you could meet me at the café downtown. I wanted to talk to you about something." Madame Faulkerson asked.
Maine felt uneasy. What could her mother in law want to talk to her about? She could not say no to the older woman who she has learned to consider as her second mother.
"Alright mom, I'll be on my way" Maine finally agreed.
"Good" the older woman said in a satisfied tone. "I'll see you in a while sweetheart"
Maine arrived at the café after twenty minutes and her mother in law followed five minutes later. Maine stood up from her seat to give her mother in law a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm so happy you could make it" Madame Faulkerson said as they took their seats.
"What is it that you want to talk about mom?" Maine asked curiously.
"Remember what we talked about last Saturday?" Her mother in law began while Maine nodded in agreement. "Well, I've decided that I can't stand and wait any longer for your husband to come to his senses" she declared.
Maine's jaw dropped in surprise.
"It's taking too long and knowing my son's capacity to understand the affairs of the heart we might have to wait for years. He might need some outside help to hasten the process so I've decided to rattle his chains a little bit." Madame Faulkerson said with a mischievous smile on her face.
Mai elooked nervously at her mother in law. What does she have up her sleeve?
"I've come up with a plan but for my plan to work I'm going to need your help" she said.
Madame Faulkerson is so determined to make Richard realize that he loves me but what if she's wrong in the first place? What if RJ does not love me at all?
Madame Faulkerson spoke as if she read her mind "I know you still have your doubts. But trust me on this. I know my son"
Maine was silent for a moment. Finally she said "Okay, what do you want me to do?"
Maine was restless while she was on her way home from her meeting with RJ's mother. She has already called RJ upon his mom's request and told him that she wanted to talk about something. The worry in RJ's voice was so apparent when he asked her what it was about but his mom instructed her not to say the reason yet. Before they parted ways her mother in law repeated her instructions over and over again.
"Remember, say it exactly the same way I asked you to say it." She reminded Maine before getting into her car.
Maine went straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner as soon as she got home. Richard will be home in an hour. Maine's heart was beating like crazy as she tried to concentrate on her cooking. Will she actually be able to pull this off?
Richard was anxious as he drove home from work. Maine called him earlier and told him that she wanted to talk about something. The tone of her voice was so somber that he could not help but worry. He asked her what it was about but she refused to tell him. That heightened his anxiety even more. Since her call he was not able to concentrate on his work at all. His thoughts kept drifting back to his wife's phone call and in the end he gave up and just decided to go home.
As he entered their house he spotted Maine at the dining table fixing their dinner. Maine looked up as soon as he entered. "Oh, hi honey. Come sit down, dinner is ready" she said with a small smile.
Richard had a strong urge to take her into his arms and ask her what she wanted to talk about. He has been going out of his mind thinking about it. But by the looks of it, he needs to wait til after dinner to find out.
Dinner was silent all through out. Maine was too busy thinking about the next step in their plan while Richard was busy worrying about his imminent talk with Maine. Finally when all the dishes were cleared Richard could not stand it any longer.
"Hon, what is it you wanted to talk about?" He asked nervously.
Maine looked at him and his heart beat quickened. "I'm leaving"