Chapter Text
After a year in which he had entirely focused on obtaining his degree, Otis was finally about to return to Moordale. The declining number of visits he made to Jean and Joy had become a recurring source of conflict between him and his mother, despite the fact that she had eventually stopped mentioning it after understanding the reason without him having to elaborate on the subject. He had become the man she had hoped to raise: an exemplary student, a very promising future therapist, he had graduated at the top of his class and was about to start his PhD at UCL, just steps away from the British Museum. Even though Jean wasn't the type of mother to boast about her son's achievements to the world, she had to admit that he had already exceeded her expectations. The clinic he had founded with Maeve Wiley was already a harbinger of his future talent, and the last few years had only confirmed it.
The first few months following their separation were difficult, of course, but Otis quickly adapted to his new environment. Jean had the opportunity to see this when she visited him three to four times a year; he was still the same Otis she had always known, just living under a different roof now. However, there was a significant issue for Jean: her son, although seemingly happy in his new life, was at times relatively reluctant to return to his former home. Another parent might have concluded that he was simply happy where he was and wanted to distance himself from his family. After all, considering that she had crossed certain boundaries for a mother, this could have been a normal reaction for a young adult asserting his independence as her son was doing. However, this was not the conclusion Jean had reached. In this regard, Otis's changing behavior seemed very strange to her. During his first visits, everything went well. He often spent those few days with Eric and Joy and seemed very happy to come back, even for a relatively short time. But after the first year, he became increasingly distant and tended to want to stay holed up at home. The frequency of his visits had not diminished, but he seemed more and more troubled and moody.
It was during one of his visits in his second year that Jean began to find an explanation. While they were heading to the nearest grocery store, they ran into two people straight from Otis's recent past, Anna and Elsie Wiley. What happened next in an extremely short span of time exactly mirrored the phenomenon that made Otis want to stay at the Milburns'. While he was initially cheerful and enthusiastic about spending time with Joy, Otis almost instantly stiffened upon seeing the young Wiley. Jean could often discern her son's mood just by the reflection in his eyes. Usually vibrant, his eyes became duller as he became upset. Otis's mood swings were explained by this simple fact: Moordale and its surroundings reminded him of a painful past that he would prefer to forget but was not entirely able to.
These thoughts occupied the therapist's mind as she made her way to the airport, where she would find her son. A week earlier, she had the opportunity to talk to Aimee (with whom she had maintained regular contact), who expressed her desire to reunite the Moordale group, five years after their separation. She didn't show it to Aimee, but this idea worried her. If Otis was affected so much by each of his returns to Moordale, with certain familiar places triggering strong reactions (especially a certain bridge he refused to talk about), what would happen if he had to see all his old classmates again? The central issue, of course, was Maeve Wiley. Jean knew this all too well. Otis had no particular resentment or bad memories associated with his former classmates, but Maeve was a different story. She knew that the pain of seeing Maeve leave without being able to follow her was still deeply ingrained in her son. When Aimee brought up the topic of their reunion, she didn't mention Maeve, but it would be surprising if she didn't attend. It remained to be seen if her son was ready to face that possibility. This conversation was going to be challenging, even for a professional like Jean Milburn.