>>5221918>>5221990>>5221991>>5222144>>5222288>>5222293“…because I loved your mother,” you whisper softly.
Caroline Godwin. The daughter of the purser managing the finances and books of the Engineer’s Guild. A homely young woman who caught the attention of two young apprentices, two best friends sent to repair and fix a broken AC unit at the accountant’s home. On a fateful summer day, the lives of three young people became permanently intertwined.
It was, by all accounts and in hindsight, love at first sight. Childhood infatuations and adolescent crushes came and went over the years. But it had been different with her. She stole your breath away without even trying, and her smile was brighter than the sun itself. Gentle yet stern, kind but intolerant of fools. Not a sensual figure to be found languid in the Temple of Ishtar or at the arm of Babylonia’s mercantile elite. That was not her place.
The inner light within her made all the little blemishes and imperfections accentuate a warm and vivacious soul. And it was perhaps a blessing that AC unit was faulty enough for both you and Jean to make multiple visits, and that there was something else within the wings always on the verge of breaking. Household visits between strangers quickly turned into meetings with friends.
The weight on your shoulders…it doesn’t completely go away as you confess to Tom. But there is a distinct feeling of catharsis, the sensation of releasing your breath after holding it for too long. What you kept bottled up for the better part of…God, how many years had it been? At least a decade, if not more of carrying that burden all by yourself.
There are plenty who know of why you’re in debt. Larkin, a few of the Duck’s roughnecks, Geary, Elishani and Kwan. They see it as helping out your godson and his parents. A good man helping out his best friends at the lowest point in their lives. And that is true enough, but not the real motivation for why you signed the dotted line. Stolze might've been the only one shrewd enough to make the connection, but wisely knew better than to make snide remarks.
“Really?” interjects Tom, confused. “I mean…I love her, too.”
“No, Tom. Not…not like that.” You sigh, running a hand through your hair. “Kid…look, you’ll understand when you get older.”
“Only because you foot the bill,” he interrupts, “I only have a chance to grow up because of what you did.”
You grunt. “Again, tell me something I don’t know.”
Tom frowns, pursing his lips in thought. "...oh." Then, he asks with a troubled expression: “…does dad know?”
“About what?” you ask with a frown.
He gestures vaguely. “…uh, about you and mom…”
You laugh, in spite of yourself. It isn’t a pretty sound. “He’s got nothing to worry about. I’m many things, kid. An engineer, a PUEXO pilot, a wretch in love with a married woman…but I’m not a homewrecker. Your mother and I..."
(cont.)
