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Mother didn’t like drama. Of course, he liked drama, as in theatre. But, the instant he saw his wife after five or six years, he froze. He didn’t know what to do. Become angry at her and cause a scene in front of his kids, Monty, and the others? Just apologize knowing damn well she should be the one apologizing? Or just ignore her? Clementine gave him an upsetting look. He knew that he still loves her, but sometimes he wonders why he agreed to deal with the whole burning in a warehouse thing. He sighed and looked at the dark brown eyes he used to adore.
“Hello, dear.” he said awkwardly, giving her a slight nod.
Clementine sighed. “Hello, Bertie.”
Monty and Tru knew where this was heading. They saw them-or at least heard Mother rant about how much they argued for planning Operation Gumdrop. The City Spies rolled their eyes, and simply just braced themselves for whatever was going to happen. Meanwhile, Robert was simply used to this happening, so he sat down and watched the show.
“So… how’s the MI6 treating you?” Clementine asked, trying to maintain her cool.
Mother shook his head, as if he wanted to simply not talk to her. “Mighty fine. How’s Umbra treating you?”
Clementine gasped. “Look, I know that I did what… I did what I did to you,” she said, while pointing at the burn scars on him. “But, I did what was necessary. For the kids.”
Monty gave them a look that said, “Not the time, you two. There’s kids in the room.”
Mother scratched his head. “What you thought was necessary? Did you really think leaving with our kids for half a decade was necessary? The amount of surgeries I had to go through just to look decent? The pain that you made me indulge in both physically and mentally? I love you, I love you more than words can ever say, but I know for a fact that I can’t forgive you just yet after all that’s happened with us.”
Clementine nodded. “I see. You just want me to apologize for doing the right thing, right?”
In the background, Paris was comforting Robert because arguments really weren’t his thing. Brooklyn, Rio, and Sydney were whispering about how they should try to defuse the argument with some comedic relief, and Kat was simply watching. She sure didn’t like it, but she knew that there was nothing she could do.
“Look, doing the right thing can hurt the people that you left behind to rot. I was the one that was-”
“Just, SHUT up. There was an option to continue working for MI6 or not. And, you chose the first option. That’s not my fault.”
Monty groaned. “Clementine, let the man speak.”
“Whatever. I’ll just always be the happy-go-lucky one here. That’s the only role I serve, correct?” Mother stated, giving Tru a look to answer his question.
Clementine just caught what she said. “Love, I didn’t mean it like that-”
“It’s fine. Everyone says it like that. Sometimes, even the people I trust. It sucks, dear. But, sadly, that’s life,” Mother said, grabbing his bag and opening the door. “See you guys at the castle.”
He then slammed the door and rushed to the bathroom. He allowed himself to sob. He let the tears down his face just… stay there. Mother hoped that he wasn’t heard from the other room where the others were.
“Oh, God. What have I done?” he asked himself, with his head in his hands.
He grabbed his headphones and put on First Love/Late Spring by Mitski from his playlist. He sat on the toilet and was just trying to cope with all that had happened. He wondered why he was such an emotional baggage, but that was the least of his worries right now. He looked up, and tried to make it look like he wasn’t having an emotional breakdown a few seconds ago. He turned off the headphones, took a deep breath, and put on a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. It was a smile he always put on. When he saw the kids enjoy Monty’s company more than his. When he figured out he would never be the first option. He opened the door and walked back. He waved at some of the people in the hallway, and he tried to keep a smile on his face. When he opened the door to see Tru, Monty, Clemmie, and the kids, he put his bag down on the table and sat down.
“What do you want now?” Clementine asked.
“Nothing. I just want to be civil, that’s all,” he responded.
A few minutes after the talk with being civil, Mother let out a tired sigh, and collapsed to the ground. It seemed like he fainted out of exhaustion, but if he was being honest? That wasn’t the worst thing that happened when he was that tired. The list can go on forever, actually. But, the truth is that’s just tough luck.