Our Love is Evergreen

Chapter 67: Gustave's Reaction

   Erik and Catherine reentered the main room. Apollo and Aphrodite were bothering poor Demetrius. Christine and Bella were tending to Athena. Gustave sat in his chair and glared at Pierre, who was afraid to look away for fear that Catherine's older brother would actually try to kill him.

   Without removing Pierre from his sight, Gustave asked, "Cath, can I see you in the other room?"

   Catherine and her older brother walked swiftly into the next room.

   "What is it, my brother?" Catherine asked.

   "How could you? With him! And how...why...ugh," Gustave stuttered angrily, throwing his hands in the air.

   "Woah, slow down. Gustave, why are you so upset?"

   "You're pregnant," Gustave answered, gesturing angrily toward his sister's stomach.

   So that's why he was so distraught. Catherine loved her brother very much. She didn't understand why he couldn't just be happy for her, yet, at the time, she understood him perfectly. Despite her comprehension, she wanted to hear her brother tell her why he was angry.

   "Gustave, I didn't react this way when Bella became pregnant. Why do you act this way toward me?" Catherine asked.

   "Bella and I were twenty-two when Demetrius was born and twenty-seven when Athena was born. You are sixteen and Pierre is eighteen. There is a significant age difference. You are still but a child," Gustave replied.

   "A child?" Catherine exclaimed. "You fainted when Bella became pregnant with Demetrius. When Demetrius kicked Bella while she was pregnant, you asked if he was dying. Any true adult would do or know otherwise. You can't exactly go around saying that you were an adult and that I am just a child when I clearly know more than you. Besides, Mother was the exact same age when she was pregnant with you. What is the difference? Gustave, why can't you just be happy for me?"

   "I am happy," Gustave said in a not very convincing tone.

   "You're about as happy about this child as Demetrius is an extrovert."

   "Now, that's not fair."

   "It's true, Gustave. Admit it. You're not happy about my having a child."

   "Fine. I admit it. I'm not happy, and do you know why I'm not happy? I'm not happy because you aren't a little girl anymore."

   "What?" Catherine asked in confusion.

   "You're going to be a mother, Cath. It's just...you've grown up so much in the past few years. I'm supposed to protect you, but I don't know how anymore. You're a grown woman and you have a husband to protect you. I feel as if I'm not needed any longer," Gustave confessed.

   Catherine embraced her brother. "Gustave, of course I need you. You are my big brother. I'll always need you, no matter how old I am. I love you, Gustave."

   "I love you too, Catherine," Gustave replied, wrapping his arms around his sister.

   The brother and sister soon joined the rest of the family. They engaged in a lively conversation regarding the newest addition to the Destler family.
    Though Catherine was happy, something wasn't sitting quite right with her. Her father's words resonated in her mind, "I fear for your mother's life." What was really wrong with her mother? Was she in fact in ill heath? If she was, how much longer did she have to live? These were the questions that rested on Catherine's mind. She feared losing her mother. She was only sixteen. She was going to have a baby, and she needed her mother now more than ever.
   Later that evening, Catherine decided to talk to her mother.

   "Mother, may I be blunt?" Catherine asked.

   "Always, Dear," Christine replied.

   Catherine took her mother's hands in hers. "Mother, I fear for you. You have not been acting at all yourself lately. Are you in ill heath?"

   "No, my daughter. I am perfectly healthy. I am just not quite so young anymore."

   "Nonsense! You are still very young and beautiful."

   "It's not outward appearance that concerns me, Catherine. I have just been feeling older. My darling, your father and I are aging and there will come a time when-"

   "Don't say it!"

   "There will come a time when we are no longer with you," Christine finished.

   "No. Purge your thoughts of the matter! You are too young to die. You won't die. I refuse to let you. Promise me you won't die," Catherine begged.

   "I do not wish to make promises that I cannot keep. I only make the request that you think of me fondly when we've said goodbye," Christine replied. "Do not fear, my child, for that will not be for some time yet."

   "Don't ever leave me, Mother. Please."