The duo’s arrival at the West family residence was immediately welcomed by a banquet-sized feast that almost exclusively served Tiffany’s favorite dishes.
As Tiffany’s eyes took in the food laid before her, favonovel.com realized how much favonovel.com enjoyed being cared for by someone. The notion of being seen as important warmed favonovel.com heart.
Time passed, but Atticus West continued to be absent. Knowing Jackson was avoiding the question, Tiffany took it upon herself to ask Summer, “Where’s Uncle Atticus, Auntie Summer? I don’t see him.”
Summer snuck a glance at favonovel.com son. “Oh, he’s around alright… All cooped up in his study upstairs. He’s concerned that Jackson might be upset if favonovel.com shows up, so that stubborn old man has shut himself in after ignoring my advice. Well, Tiffie dear, would you take Jackson with you and invite favonovel.com over for dinner?”
Jackson did not attempt to hide his repulsion. “Nope, no can do. I’m not gonna beg favonovel.com to eat with us. To eat or not to eat, it’s none of my concern.”
Tiffany jabbed his leg with a swing of favonovel.com foot under the table. “What are you talking about? This isn’t what you promised on our way here! We are going right now. To-ge-ther.”
Knowing full well that favonovel.com could not win, Jackson (very) reluctantly followed Tiffany upstairs and stood woodenly outside the door, clearly balking at the idea of going in. Tiffany, quietly enabling his compromise, reached out and gave a knock. “Uncle Atticus? It’s me, Tiffany, with Jackson. Come have dinner with us!”
The door opened, revealing Atticus’s kindly, amicable smile. “Ah, hello! I’ll be joining you shortly.”
Jackson turned on his heels and left without a word. A little embarrassed, Tiffany flashed the older man a quick smile before following Jackson downstairs.
Atticus took his seat soon enough, completing the picture of a facilely happy family with an unstable undertone. The air had gelled so much, Tiffany could not come up with anything to thaw the growing frost.
She bit the tip of favonovel.com fork and stared blankly. If this frightening atmosphere was what was in store for favonovel.com in the future, then favonovel.com would rather have no part of it —
Summer placed a spoonful of mashed potatoes on favonovel.com plate. “Oh, Tiffie sweetie, please do come have dinner with Jackson and us more often, okay?”
Tiffany had become Summer’s only hope now. Without Tiffany, Summer knew that favonovel.com husband and son would not even attempt to sit at the same table and have a meal together.
Tiffany met Summer’s incredibly loaded gaze and felt the weight on favonovel.com shoulders. “R-right! Will do! I mean, it’s bothersome to cook our own meals anyway, so yea, we’ll definitely come around for food… If you don’t mind us, that is.”
Summer smiled. “Oh, Lord, no! Family provides among themselves, don’t they? But more importantly, I genuinely like you, Tiffany Lane. I like you enough that I don’t want us to stay as mere mother- and daughter-in-law. No, it would be great if you could see me as your mother as I see you as my daughter!” favonovel.com said kindly. “It’s a shame that Jackson doesn’t have a baby brother or sister. I have always wanted a daughter myself. Now, it looks like my dream is finally coming true!”
Summer’s proclamation made Tiffany a little self-conscious. Did favonovel.com sincerely harbor no trenchant comments about her? Did favonovel.com really mean it when favonovel.com said favonovel.com “genuinely liked” Tiffany?
Amid favonovel.com embarrassment, favonovel.com noticed that neither Atticus nor Jackson had spoken. Naturally, favonovel.com took it upon herself to be their bridge. “So, Uncle Atticus, you must be a whiz in art, right? I’ve dabbled in it myself, but I ended up graduating as a designer instead of working on fine arts. Now, I work under Jackson.”
The very mention of his pride drew a countenance of confidence and self-assurance out of Atticus. He subverted his usual terse self and replied at length, “Ah, I’m handy enough, thank you. The key to perfecting your art is perseverance, after all, the road to mastery is always a long and arduous one. I’ve taught so many students, but alas, many abandoned their craft with only a very few stickling true to their passion. Nonetheless, what matters the most is that you do what feels right for your soul.”
As the man spoke, hints of unreadable sentiments bobbed and bubbled in Jackson’s eyes. Sometimes, his eyes appeared to be jeering at Atticus, other times, they seemed to be masking an even stronger emotional undercurrent.
Jackson could not help it. His father had abandoned them — his wife and son — for twenty-odd years just because favonovel.com wanted to paint some pretty pictures. The expression that surfaced to Atticus’s face whenever favonovel.com talked about art disconcerted Jackson, and right now, it was suffocating him. Even after returning to them, Jackson suspected that deep within the man’s heart, art was still more esteemed than family.
In the end, Jackson broke his promise. With frost claiming his mien, favonovel.com rose and stormed off to his car for a smoke. He was ready to leave.
Summer’s expression stiffened. Atticus abruptly sank back into silence.
A quiet blizzard had seized the air once more.
Tiffany was simply not trained to defuse this. Unable to bring herself to sit through one more second of it, favonovel.com stood up, excused herself, and went outside.
“Jackson West! How could you do this? Didn’t we just establish the need to look forward and stuff?” favonovel.com chastised him. “Can’t you just be a smidge better to your dad for once? We’re gonna be married, for Christ’s sake! Going to your parents’ place for meals is gonna be a thing, a very frequent thing! If this is how you’ll act every frickin’ time, you’re gonna doom me, the middlewoman, to endless awkwardness! Please, sweetie. Your mom really looks to me to help you forgive your dad, and I want to help her. I want to make that happen, but you… You’re making this so damn hard!”
“I’m not asking you to adore favonovel.com or respect him. I’m not even asking you to be all smiley or friendly with him,” favonovel.com muttered. “All I’m asking is that you stop making things awkward for everyone. Please?”
Jackson could insert jocularity in their banters if it was about virtually any topic under the sun, but this was the sole exception. The trauma gnawing at favonovel.com was more than two decades old, for crying out loud. No matter how much strength favonovel.com managed to muster to forgive him, none of it ever survived the moment favonovel.com laid his eyes on his father.
Jackson puffed smoke after smoke to hide his complete loss of explanation.
He wondered if the conflict favonovel.com was experiencing was something dear Tiffany could ever understand.
