When The Sun Sets In The East

036| Mama bear is in town

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Elliot paced back and forth nonstop in his living room for what would seem like a while. He felt conflicted, worried about what he was about to do and how he was going to do it. Finally, he drew to a stop. He knew he had to do this. He'd promised Gene that he was going to do it so he picked his phone off the center table and dialled the number whose caller ID was Mrs., then held the phone close to his ear.

It barely rang long enough when the person on the other side came through.

"Hello... Elliot." She called, and he felt the nervousness slip in for a second. It has been a while since he heard her voice and immediately felt a twirl of emotions.

"Good afternoon, mum." Finally, he spoke up and waited for her to speak up, but her silence lasted longer than normal. "Mum..."

"I thought you abandoned me." She stated, sadness latching on to her words, voice. Elliot shut his eyes for a second as he sighed, guilt washing over him.

"I would never abandon you... maybe I reacted a little too extreme by travelling to the other side of the world, but... I never abandoned you."

"You hurt me, Elliot." She confessed.

"Well, you hurt me too. You kept being so adamant by defending a monster."

"He's not a monster. He's your father, my husband."

Elliot furrowed his brows. "He's not my father." Their discussion had escalated faster than he would prefer and was heading towards another insufferable destination.

A strange silence hung in the air before she broke it. "He's a good man. A long time ago, he fell deep into a wrong place in his life and he might have taken his frustration out on me, but believe me when I say he's changed... he's different."

"Surely, you don't believe that. How many times has he sung that song?"

"It's different this time." She defended again.

"No, it's not." He right out and told her, irritated that she was doing it all over again.

Elliot let out a sigh as he looked away for a few seconds. "Anyway... that's not why I called." He began deciding to deviate from their earlier topic and get to the true point of this call. She was silent, and he knew she was waiting for him to speak on.

He lay the truth out in simply. "I'm getting married."

"What? How? To whom?" She asked all at once, and Elliot wasn't sure which to answer first.

"Um... her name is Genevieve. You might recall my close friend, Victor."

"Victor." she mentioned, trying to recall. "Are you talking about the same childhood friend, Victor?"

"Yes. Genevieve is his sister. You might recall her as well."

"His sister... I remember he has an older sister, but not so much a younger one."

"That's because he doesn't... She's his older sister." He explained, and a part of him waited for how she would react.

"My memory of her is a little fuzzy, but... you're getting married to his older sister? Doesn't that make her way older than you?"

"We've gotten over that fact. We love each other and as my mother, I'm obliged to let you know that I'm getting married." He added, his words making it clear enough for her to understand that she was pretty much not permitted to make a big deal out of their age difference.

"So, you've decided." She stated, clearly getting the memo.

He took in a deep breath. "Yes." He replied, and another prolonged silence followed suit. "Well, are there more reasons you're in a hurry to get married?" She queried, which was sharp of her to point out.

Elliot hesitated for a second. "She's pregnant."

"Oh... I see, you've been very busy."

"Mum..."

"Fine. Fine... you've made your decision, so nothing I say will change your mind. I just have a simple question... are you sure you're happy with her?"

"Yes... I'm the happiest when I'm with her." He replied honestly, hopeful that was enough to set her heart to ease.

"Alright... How close is the wedding?"

"Next month. We want to do something really simple. No loud speakers. No canopies."

"And her family is okay with that?"

"Not really, but they've accepted it."

He heard her sigh on the other end and he couldn't help but lower his eyes. Yes, he knew the information all at once might be a lot for her to take in, but what more could he do but come clean? The earlier, the better.

"Is there going to be a traditional wedding?"

"Yes, but like I said, simple, just family members." He replied, a part of him a little disturbed about how they were going to go through with everything.

"I should probably inform you of one or two external family members to take along."

Elliot let out a sigh of relief. "Yes... that would be nice." For some time now, he'd wondered how he was going to fulfil the traditional rites having no member of his family there to help him. That was one reason they made the event a really simple one. Now, hearing his mother say those words felt more than welcoming for him.

~ ~ ~

Genevieve made her way down the staircase, somewhat excited to see him after a long day's work. She felt tired, yet she needed to see him. She hadn't heard from him since she left for work in the morning, and she'd spent most of her time filling her thoughts with him. The days were quickly going by and their wedding date was drawing closer and closer by the second. It felt exciting and nerve wracking, but when she's alone with him, it just makes everything seem better.

Standing in front of his door, she looked left and right. There was no sign of the neighbours. Quick, she took out her lip balm from her pocket and applied a generous amount onto her lips once more. She smacked them together for evenness before tossing the lip balm back into her pocket.

Genevieve drew in a deep breath, releasing it at once and then wore a beautiful smile on her face before reaching her knuckles to the door and placing a few knocks. She waited patiently as he took a little longer than usual. Gene looked down at herself once more and that was when she heard the door unlock. With a wider smile on her face, instantly, she lifted her eyes, but gradually, her smile faded as she stared at an older woman staring back at her a little inquisitively.

"Genevieve?" she queried along a slight amusement on her face and even though Gene was a little puzzled, she somehow replied.

"Yes." She watched as the older woman's smile broadened.