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He pictured his mother as he spoke. She was Japanese, shorter than him, thin, with a wrinkled face and gray at her temples in her otherwise dark hair.
And eyes that could kill if you stepped out of line. If there was ever a tiger mom, Sean’s adoptive mother was it.
He once made the mistake of calling her a tiger mom once, and she scolded him to remind him that was something from the Chinese.
And that she was far better.
There was long silence before she eventually spoke. “I am calling to let you know I’ll be in town this upcoming week.”
Sean squeezed his eyes closed tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. Not now. “What? Oh. That’s...nice.” Now? Right now? She always had perfect timing...
“If that’s not a problem,” she said in haste. “Do you have some sort of trouble?”
“No, Mother,” he said and looked pleadingly at Owen, silently asking for some help. Tell him that this emergency is way more important than his mother visiting. Give him an excuse to put her off.
Owen stayed quiet, eyes on the road.
Stifling a sigh, Sean said into the phone, “What brings you down?”
“Work,” she said. “Temporary, but it might be a long while. Might be a month or more. I might secure an apartment close to downtown...”
“No, I wouldn’t hear of it,” Sean said automatically. She knew full well he had a spare bedroom and she’d agonize over the cost of another apartment. Not to mention she would never let him hear the end of it if he didn’t invite her to stay. “Of course you should stay with me. The guest room is yours.” He loved his mother and appreciated all the hard work she put in raising him when she didn’t have to, but this was the worst timing.
Owen remained quiet, although Sean could tell by the clenching of his jaw that he didn’t really think this was a good idea.
Silence again on the phone. “Oh, I shouldn’t do that,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”
Since his mother was Japanese, it was really hard for her to do anything but politely decline at first and make him insist she stay. It is built into the Japanese culture to decline once. It was the same dance they’d gone through since he moved out.
If only Sang weren't in so much trouble, he might have even enjoyed her visit. This time, it felt like a shackle. She wouldn’t understand the fuss he was making about a girl.
“Of course, Mom,” Sean said, feeling the regret drip through his body at agreeing. “Stay with me. When are you getting here?”
“There’s a cheap flight tonight,” she said. “I can call a cab. Or Uber.”
Sean spoke through his teeth. “No, it’s fine. I can come pick you up. Text me the details?”
“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Why do you sound like your mouth is broken?”
Sean coughed and then spoke properly. “Sorry, Mom. Might be the phone reception.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
She disconnected. Sean dropped the phone into his lap and leaned back against the seat. “Tell me I can just sleep at the hospital and tell her I need to work overtime.”
“Isn’t that what you do most of the time anyway?” Owen asked. “But I agree. This isn’t the best timing.”
“She may not understand about Sang,” Sean said, rolling his head to look out the side window. Trees zoomed by, making him dizzy. “No, she wouldn’t understand. Not at all.”
“Because she’s sixteen,” Owen said.
“Because no one knows her the way we do. The way we all do, but...yeah,” Sean said and sighed, closing his eyes. He knew this was going to be a problem. For another two years, perhaps, he and Owen would have to feign their interest, hide their feelings about Sang, keep their distance. She was so mature and close in age, so close that in two years, it wouldn’t matter.
But for two years, it might kill them.
And right now, they were two of a group of nine that loved her, who needed to take care of her.
“There has to be a way, Owen,” Sean said.
“We’ll find it,” Owen assured him and then returned his eyes to the road. “But first, we have to get there and stop whatever is happening.”
