A/N: Hello! Apologies for the longer interval between updates. I've been caught up with other RL stuff, but rest assured this story is being taken care of! I really, really appreciate you who keep coming back to this and voting and reading and I hope you don't stop! :)
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Rae
I yelped as soon as my eyes focused on the smiling face of Georgeta Orlovschi. I have never been more thankful for Josh who broke my fall. To say that I became a bumbling, clumsy mess after that would be an understatement.
After the perfunctory introductions, I decided to let the mother and son duo catch up first before anything else. Georgeta insisted I stay in the room, but I told her that I'd be okay with hanging out with Josh for a while. Ann and Leslie had already been dropped off at their hotel so it was just me and my male's trusted assistant slash friend lounging in the hospital cafeteria, sipping on bland hospital tea and eating equally bland vending machine crackers.
"I should have ordered take out while waiting for Georgeta. This is just downright abysmal," Josh quipped as he took another sip of his tea. I kept my gaze trained towards the hallway that led to Sebastian's room, my chin resting on my hand.
"What do you think they're talking about, Josh?" I asked absentmindedly while letting out a sigh.
"Jeez, Rae, relax, it's probably the usual mom and child stuff, Seb hasn't had the time to visit Georgeta and Anthony in Rockland County," Josh responded. "That, and she probably is biting his head off right now for being so reckless about his health. You probably already know Anthony is sick too, yeah?"
I nodded, my eyes not leaving the hallway. "Do you think she'd like me?"
"Oh for fucks sake, Raezelle, not this insecure bullshit again, girl!" Josh said exasperatedly, pulling the arm that was holding my face up. I flinched as I heard him use my full name, clearly understanding I've pissed him off somehow.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, keeping my head low. "I don't have any track record in terms of meeting the parents, or even meeting the mom. I just always thought there was something wrong with me that none of my exes thought I'd be okay meeting their family. They always thought I'm this delicate, porcelain doll with a fucked up past, and no family of her own to understand how another family would fit in her life."
"Jeez, Rae, how long has it been since you've been in a relationship?" Josh asked and I can tell there are hints of worry and concern in his voice.
"Way too long," I say quietly. Just then, the memories of my last relationship slowly came back to consciousness one by one, none of them pleasant memories I could find some sort of relief with.
I met Reggie at my first job being a content writer for a multinational oil firm's official website. He was the more senior employee at the time and I'd been assigned to shadow him during my first month. Sparks immediately flew between us and we got together even before my sixth month on the job. At the time, he was the perfect boyfriend anyone could have asked for. He was sweet, attentive and supportive of me until I got my first and only promotion.
I guess you could say things went south after that. We'd argue more often about the workload I was taking, claiming that I was purposefully doing so to one up me. He even wanted me to stop about the new side project I had at the time, which was the now demised Escape the Bullshit, but I put my foot down and told him no. He eventually warmed up to the idea of my little online magazine and not too long after, we were okay again.
I didn't know then that another shit storm was brewing in the horizon, far worse than our boyfriend-girlfriend spats.
By the time I was four years into the job, my adoptive family would have been gone for the same amount of time. Every year, during their death anniversary, I would take the day off and spend the entire day at their graves. I'd have food with me to last me the whole day and I would just sit there talking to them as if they were still alive. It was what kept me from going off the deep end and a reminder that I can still keep them close while I go on with my life.
On the fourth year of their passing, Reggie had decided it was time for me to meet his family. After all, we'd been going steady for almost four years and we had already been talking albeit very vaguely about our future, getting married and all that good stuff.
He wanted me to meet his family on the death anniversary of mine.
I of course, told him that it was a hard no. I tried to make him understand that out of 365 days in a year, it was the only time I have to be able to spend time with them. He gave me the silent treatment for about a week, only acknowledging me if it was something work-related.
Reggie finally confronted me by the eighth day and it wasn't anything pleasant at all. He accused me of being afraid to be around any sort of family because I still couldn't move on from the death of my own. That I would never be deserving of any family at all. He told me I would be destined to live alone until the day I die. I remember being so flummoxed by his words; I didn't even say I didn't want to meet his parents and four siblings. I just told him I couldn't on the date he wanted, but that we could reschedule. Apparently, it was the last straw for him, not that I knew he was keeping score of all my shortcomings. He broke up with me right there and with the website coincidentally taking more and more of my time, I resigned just a few weeks after.
Since then, I would automatically distance myself from the guys who were trying to date me as soon as they mention things that are family-related. I began to see myself alone for the rest of my life. I grew anxious around gatherings especially when I see how parents interact with their children and vice versa. I'd seldom attend birthday parties of my colleagues, preferring to stay at home doing work or holing myself up in the office doing more work on the website.
"That asshole's very lucky he's halfway across the world otherwise a manhunt would be out by now for him," Josh was livid at this point, and I hugged him for being such a wonderful friend.
"He did a number on me, hasn't he?" I asked while buried in his arms. "Now you know why I'm absolutely terrified of meeting Georgeta."
"Hey, look," I broke away from Josh and found he was looking at me intently. "If it's any consolation, maybe...this is your chance to start anew. Maybe this is the universe telling you that since you already found the love of your life, that you get a new lease on things. Just try for Seb, Rae. This means so much to him and I know that you desperately want to do this for yourself as well. Time to get rid of those demons bothering you."
When Sebastian texted me that we could come back, my hands began feeling clammy inside my jeans, a sure sign that a panic attack is about to happen. Josh puts an arm around me and squeezes my shoulder reassuringly, telling me that I just need to breathe to steady my nerves. He leaves me by the door of my boyfriend's room, finally deciding on getting some decent food in any of the surrounding joints in the area.
I turn the knob carefully even though I knew full well that Sebastian was wide awake. He smiles like a million light bulbs going on at the same time as soon as he saw me enter the room.
"Mom's just in the bathroom, she'll be out in a bit."
I nod slowly as I took the seat beside him. I ask him what they talked about so that my brain has something else to think about. Sebastian tells me that she basically updated him on what's happening to his stepdad Anthony and that he was given a mouthful for being so careless about his health. I laughed at how Sebastian described his mother's wild gestures, we didn't notice Georgeta come out of the ensuite bathroom.
"You better not trim out what I told you earlier, Sebastian," came her stern but playful tone as she stood on the other side of her son's bed. Seb looks at her with a naughty smirk and I keep my gaze trained on him, my nerves slowly taking over.
"You don't know how I'm excited I am to meet you Rae," Georgeta finally addresses me and I knew then I should try for Sebastian's sake. I know deep down he's scared too, but he just won't tell me knowing how anxious I got the first time he told his mother was coming to Romania as well.
"Likewise," I say politely and offer her a smile. She's really a beautiful woman for her age. Sebastian really took after her. I can see how he got her best features—the icy blue eyes, the impossibly fair and smooth skin, the pink lips, it was like she was Sebastian's female version, just a little older, but still so unbelievably beautiful.
Sebastian gently squeezes my hand discreetly beside him as I began a conversation with his beloved mother. Soon after, we sat ourselves on the couch just as Sebastian began dozing off again.
"My son says you're terrified to meet me," Georgeta says moments after Sebastian had begun lightly snoring. Wow, this woman did not want to waste any time, does she? I stay silent, not really knowing what to respond to that. She takes my hand and offers it a reassuring squeeze. I was taken aback by the gesture but don't move my hand away from hers.
"You know, I haven't had any say in any of his past relationships. He never talks to me about any of the women he dated until he met you."
Wait...what?! I look at her with a bewildered expression, the words I was thinking of saying earlier now escaping me one by one.
"After he came back from Singapore, he came to visit me at home and he was all excited to tell me about this feisty writer he met. He told me how this woman was so unbothered by the fact that he and his friend were popular celebrities. I have never heard Sebastian so enthusiastic about a woman before and from then on my interest was piqued. He had a glow in his eyes I've never seen since he got his first big break in that movie with Chace, Steven and Taylor. I told myself I have to meet this woman he speaks so highly of and so when I saw how he held you and how you held on to him earlier, I understood why right away."
By this time, I was looking at Sebastian's mom, my eyes brimming with tears as she spoke about her son and me.
"Charlotte, you don't even need to talk me into convincing how good you are for my son. My eyes told me everything I wanted to know. You are a wonderful person and because of that Sebastian has found the happiness he thought he could never find anymore after Margarita."
"I...I don't know what to say..." I finally manage out in between quiet sobs.
"You don't have to say anything, draga, just please take care of my boy."