Chapter Twenty-Two
Theo followed his mother into the crystal white kitchen, the dirty bowls and plates stacked in his hands. Taking them from his fingers and transferring them to hers, Gladice looked him dead in the eye. “You better be careful with that one, Teddy.”
Both mother’s and son’s eyes wandered towards the door where the sound of Olivia’s laughter, matched with his father’s rare bellowing laugh echoed through the hall and sank into every crevice of the home.
He was going to lie to his mum, but as he stood there, looking into the same honey eyes that had loved him and preached about honesty his whole childhood, he just couldn’t bring himself to say anything but the truth. “It’s nothing serious, Mum.”
Gladice Constantine placed a pair of yellow rubber gloves in her son’s hands and gestured to the pile of dirty dishes before them.
“I gave birth to you; you can’t fool me.
A magnitude of romantic flings, and you have not once brought any of them back home to meet us.
Not even that nasty woman you were living with for god’s sake.
But this girl? She’s wonderful and light, and Lord knows how but she makes your father laugh. ”
The two of them shared a small smile and, as if on cue, his father’s boisterous laughter once again followed Olivia’s, the two sounds somehow melodic despite the brutishness of his father’s and the light bells of Olivia’s.
Theo grabbed a pot and placed it in the sink and got to work, washing until suds appeared and it was sparkling clean. “I can’t get into anything serious right now, you know that.”
“She’s not just any girlfriend, Teddy. Even a blind person could see that she’s already so much more.”
Theo’s jaw tensed as he looked back towards the sink and resumed scrubbing the dirty saucepan.
He didn’t know what to say. He certainly wasn’t going to deny it.
His mum was almost always right, and he would be silly to argue with her.
Gladice Constantine was a wild woman with a quirky nature and a sharp sense of honesty and compassion that he wished he had inherited.
“Most importantly” – his mother passed him another pot – “you’re happy.”
Theo looked over at her with questioning eyes. It was no lie that he had been miserable since his break-up, he just hadn’t realised how much his mother had taken notice. “How is it you know everything?”
“Oh please. I am your mother.” Gladice hit him gently against his side with the end of the tea towel. “Annika was a rotten apple and good riddance to her, I say. This one is different, this one is special.”
Olivia’s laughter rang out once again, before a small “aw” was sounded.
Oh God, Theo thought, Dad’s showing her the baby album.
Both of them stood in silence, listening as Olivia and Denis laughed together in the next room.
Before he even knew it, Theo could feel the corners of his lips curl up at the sound.
“I haven’t seen you smile like that in a long time, boy.
She makes you happy, and for that you get my approval a thousand times over.
All your father and I want is for you and Georgia to be happy.
You’re our children. We don’t care who you’re with, as long as they make you smile like you are now and laugh like you did at that silly ‘leek in a boat’ joke your father made earlier. ”
Theo’s grin widened. “He really needs to get some new material, doesn’t he?”
“Well” – Gladice patted her son on the shoulder – “I encourage you all to dream, but his days as a stand-up comedian? Never going to happen.” Winking at Theo,, his mother gathered a cup of tea in each hand and gestured to him to get the dessert behind them.
“Trust your gut, kid. If you have feelings for her, then go for it, go all in. And if you insist that it’s nothing serious, well just don’t be surprised when she starts to feel differently.”
And with that, she was gone. “Denis, get your cup off my oak table; where is your coaster?”
“Sorry, my treasure…” Theo’s father’s voice droned out.
Shaking his head, Theo grabbed the dessert and headed back out towards the dining room, and back out towards the woman he was madly in love with.