2

"Morning Mom"

"Good morning honey. Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Did you make breakfast today?"

"No. I was waiting for you so we could have a chat. Sit" Cameron eyed her suspiciously "What? Don't give me that look."

"I can't help it. Your morning talks scare me"

Thalia scrunched her nose "I have morning talks?"

"Oh yeah" Celia replied walking into the dining room "And they are not pleasant" She glanced at her brother as she sat down next to him "What'd you do?"

"Nothing. What did you do?"

Before they started quibbling, Thalia reached into her bag and took out the string of shiny square packets. Slamming them on the table. Both her children stared at them and then raised their eyes to her.

"Please tell me that is not what I think it is" Celia spoke first.

"The fact that you know what they are means you need to start carrying them everywhere you go"

"Mom, I'm fourteen"

"And? I bet some girls in your class have already lost their virginity"

"Yeah, I'm not sticking around for this conversation" Cameron made a move to get up but Thalia speared him with a glare that had him sitting back down.

"I'm not judging you guys. All I'm saying is if you have to have sex, do it safely"

"Okay. I hear you, Mama"

"What do you mean you hear her? You're too young to be having sex" Cameron said slapping Celia's hand away when she reached for the condoms. "If I catch some asshole looking at you, I'll break his legs"

"Oh my gosh, you're insufferable. No wonder the guys at school avoid me like a plague. I can't wait for you to go to college so you'll stop cock blocking me"

"What? Mom, did you hear what she said?"

She did and if it wasn't for the persistent heartburn, she would have joined her daughter in teasing her son. Cameron was a lot like Gideon when she first met him. Quiet, reserved, and aloof. Always watching those around him. But he was also protective of his sister and while she was grateful for that, she could understand why Celia thought her brother was annoying. She couldn't believe she had less than two years with her oldest child before he went off to college. Where had time gone? She rubbed her chest, trying to swallow down another surge of heartburn.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just a heartburn" Thalia replied rummaging through her bag for the antacids she kept there even though lately they'd become useless. The heartburn she experienced wouldn't go away. She had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. Hopefully, they would be able to give her something that worked.

"Will you make it to my game this weekend?"

"Of course, honey. I wouldn't miss it for the world"

"What about Dad?"

"He might be busy but I'll ask him..."

"Busy doing what?" Cameron snapped then added, "When did giving women a new pair of plastic tits become an emergency?"

"Cameron!"

"What? If he was going to be a doctor, he should have been a proper one. Not a..."

"A what?" Gideon asked walking in. He was already dressed for work. Placing the briefcase and suit jacket he was carrying in one of the chairs, he turned to look at Cameron "Why don't you finish what you were going to say?"

Thalia sighed. Gideon was already in a bad mood. Since they got back from Tanner's party two days ago, he'd been hostile towards her. His behavior wasn't something new. Whenever they went out, he always came home in a foul mood. She knew he'd never enjoyed socializing with her colleagues and acquaintances but over the years, his irritation had only deepened.

It got to a point where she opted to decline most of the invitations extended to them and if it was necessary, she chose to go alone. But it had been Tanner's birthday. Thalia thought it would be an intimate party with close friends which was why she'd dragged him there. If she had known Tanner would invite so many people, she wouldn't have taken her husband along. Now he was in a rotten mood and about to take it out on their son. It wasn't like Cam would take it sitting. He was straightforward and didn't mince his words.

"Go ahead, Cameron. Why did you stop?"

Not one to back down, Cameron said, "It's not too late to change your profession to something honorable"

"Is what I'm doing dishonorable?"

"Honey..."

"It's fine sweetheart. I'd like to hear what our son thinks of me" Gideon said his hands in his pocket and eyes trained on Cameron. His stance looked relaxed but she could tell a storm was brewing underneath. The two glared at each other until Cameron said,

"You don't want me to answer that"

As a mother, she understood why her son felt some resentment towards his father. After all, Gideon had missed a lot of Cameron's games. Eight out of ten times it had been Tanner who was there for him. But she couldn't blame Gideon when he was busy. His schedule was fully booked until the next year April. And he couldn't cancel because his clients were high-profile. The son refused to understand and the father refused to explain himself. As a result, she found herself stuck between them.

"Guys, it's too early for this," she said. When no one moved, Thalia grabbed her bag and motioned for Celia to follow her "Let them sort this out by- fuck!" She doubled over as pain, unlike anything she'd ever felt cut through her middle.

"Mom" Celia cried. Both Gideon and Cameron moved to help her to a chair.

"What's wrong?" Gideon asked his voice filled with concern. Thalia managed a small smile, happy that at least he'd stopped being angry. Sometimes his attitude scared her. There were times she didn't know how to approach him and they would go for days without speaking to each other. Making her think her marriage was falling apart. But then he'd go back to his normal self and she'd chalk everything up to her paranoia. No one said marriages were easy. "Talk to me, baby"

"It's fine. I'm fine"

"You don't look so well. You're pale and sweating, Mom. Get up. Let's go to the hospital" Cameron said trying to pull her to her feet but Gideon slapped his hands away.

"Will you let your mother speak?"

"And say what? In case you haven't noticed, she's lost a lot of weight. If you weren't busy with other women's bodies, you would know your wife is not well and take care of her"

"Cam, stop it" Celia tried to tell him but he wasn't listening. It occurred to Thalia that if she didn't do something to fix Cameron and Gideon's relationship, it would be too late. The way their son spoke to his father didn't sit well with her. It was as if he truly hated him.

But why? Surely it couldn't be because he'd missed a few games. Was there something else going on between them? She made a note to ask one of them later.

"Guys, I'm fine. My body is just complaining because I almost left without having breakfast again"

"You need to take care of yourself. Cameron's right. You've lost too much weight"

"Promise to love me even if I get fat and I'll stop dieting"

Gideon cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs rubbing circles on her cheeks "I'm serious, honey. From now on I want to see you eating three square meals every day"

Thalia promised to do it despite not having any appetite. The pain reduced to a dull aching as they sat down and had breakfast together. Even though everyone cast worrying glances at her, she was happy she'd turned the situation around. She forced herself to take more bites even though she felt full.

At the office, she got down to work and forgot about that morning. If her secretary Bianca hadn't reminded her of the appointment, she would have forgotten. And the only reason Thalia didn't reschedule it was because the heartburns were starting to interfere with her work. She took the afternoon off and went to the hospital. Feeling lucky that Tanner was in court or he would have insisted on going with her and making a fuss. After a round of tests, she was told to wait a few days for the results.

In her head, she thought that if it was serious, they would have kept her. So she pushed everything to the back of her mind and enjoyed her afternoon. She got matching T-shirts for her and Celia so they could wear them to Cam's game. She also got her husband one in case his schedule cleared up. Then she called her best friend Jessica to see if she was free so they could catch up.

"This is such a rare opportunity. What has gotten into you?"

"What do you mean? We hang out all the time"

"We used to hang out. I barely see you these days. What did you have in mind?"

"Food and then drinks later. I cleared my schedule"

"It's a date"

They agreed to meet at Fiorella, a famous three Michelin stars Italian restaurant. Thalia pulled up outside and was in the process of handing her car keys to the valet when she spotted Gideon coming out.

"Hey you," she said walking straight into his arms. He looked startled to see her. Making her pull back to look into his eyes "What's wrong? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"It's nothing. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Are you alone? Where is Hale?"

"Tanner had court. I'm meeting up with Jess. If I'd known you were..."

"Darling, did you wait long?" Someone asked. It took a moment for Thalia to see the set of red nails curled around Gideon's bicep and another for the woman's words to sink in. Did she just call him darling?

"Honey, who is this?"

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