Mother Knows Best (2/2)

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 1st September 2019

Characters: Thayde, Aydrisia
Description: Aydrisia gets to the bottom of her son's problems with his new wife.
Location: Dolphin Hall, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 19 of Turn 9

Thayde

************

Thayde followed his mother into her study with mounting dread. He
remembered walking this path several times as a young boy, and what
followed was always a tongue lashing followed by punishment for
whatever his wrongdoing had been.

"Sit down, son," Aydrisia said, closing the door and crossing around
to her desk.

It was never good when she called him "son."

Thayde settled into the chair across from her and waited for her to
speak her mind, as was her way.

"Why is my new daughter-in-law so certain that she is not pregnant,
nay, I believe she said that she 'could not be,' didn't she?"

"Ma," Thayde groaned and dropped his head back against the chair.

"Don't you 'Ma' me, that girl out there is not behaving the way a new
bride in love usually acts." Aydrisia pointed out sharply.

"In love, Mother? You read my letter, we had to marry for the sake of
her reputation." Thayde said, as if that answered everything.

"So I'm to expect no grandchildren? Aydramine described her as very
sweet and smiling and that you both looked happy. I'm not seeing that
at all, from either of you. Even marriages like yours can end up
happy, Thayde." Her hands went to her hips. "She's pretty and has a
nice body and you're still a vigorous young man. So what could
possibly be the problem?"

Thayde had ceased to be embarrassed by his mother's discussion of the
facts of life, she had always been very open about it with her
children. That did not mean, however, he wished to talk about it.
"She's fifteen, Ma." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair,
weeks of frustration finally showing through.

"And?" Aydrisia eyed him, drumming her fingers against her hips. "Need
I remind you that _I_ was fifteen when your father and I married? We
certainly didn't have any problems making an effort. That's _why_ we
got married. So that's no excuse, son." She frowned. "Are you telling
me that you've been sharing a bed with that pretty girl and you
haven't done _anything_ yet? Have you been gelded in some accident and
you just haven't told me?"

"No," Thayde said, lips thinning. "I promise you that everything is in
working order." He dropped his head into his hands, face hidden for a
moment. "Everything is such a mess. You know she had a child that she
gave away to the Weyr, the last thing I wanted was for her to feel as
though she was duty bound to share my bed just because we had to get
married. She's so young and she's had very little control over the
decisions in her life."

He studied the patterned rug on the floor. "Then the tailor sent
lingerie with the rest of the wardrobe I had made for her. She
actually started wearing it to bed," his words were becoming more
rushed as he finally began blurting out the truth, which had been
weighing heavily on his guilty conscience for a week. "I started
slipping out in the middle of the night, to swim and clear my head....
Jalodwyn, you remember her? She was out there one night and..." Thayde
trailed off, both hands buried into his hair at his temples. "And I
screwed up."

His mother went completely quiet for a long moment and just stared at
him. Her lips thinned as she stared at him. For a moment, there was
real anger in her eyes, anger at him for the violation of his vows.
She'd never expected something like that out of him, ever. But then
she saw his distress, felt his guilt, and she shook her head, anger
mostly dissolving as she moved around her desk to sit beside him. "Oh,
Thayde. No wonder you're not yourself." She sighed and laid her hand
on his shoulder. "I would call you an idiot, but...I think you've
already realized what you did was monumentally stupid. I know you
don't think like a woman, you can't because you aren't one. Didn't you
know that your wife was trying to entice you, Thayde? No woman wears
lingerie to bed just for comfort. You didn't need Jalodwyn. I think
maybe you were so worried about not forcing a choice on Enamra that
you didn't notice she'd already made one."

Thayde's brow furrowed in confusion as he lowered his hands and looked
at his mother. "Then why didn't she just say something?"

Her brows rose as she looked at him. "You've told me a bit about her
background, so let me ask you something. Has she ever asked you for
something she wants or told you she wanted something? Anything? Or has
she just let you make the decisions for her? That's what's expected in
the South with Hold and cothold families, right?"

He thought back over their relationship, the realization that he had
been the one making the decisions all along, even though he had been
worrying so much about Enamra's choice, hitting him hard. Thayde
thought back to those nights she had worn lingerie to bed, how closely
she had slept beside him and now....

"She's stopped wearing the lingerie," he said, mostly thinking out
loud. "She's been wearing her old gown to bed again and wearing her
old clothes around our place instead of the new dresses she has."

His mother snorted. "Well, no wonder. If your father refused me over
and over again if I tried getting him interested, I certainly wouldn't
take it well. I'd be furious. She's not me though. I can imagine that
she's probably embarrassed, a little humiliated, and probably feeling
rejected. If she's as shy as she seems to be, she might withdraw from
you a bit until she finds her feet again or starts feeling more
confident in herself." Aydrisia then frowned. "She doesn't know about
Jalodwyn, does she?"

"Faranth, I hope not." Thayde said. "I haven't told her, and if she
knew, she probably would have laced my klah with poison by now,
right?"

"Probably not. She doesn't seem the type. But don't ever do something
like that again, Thayde. You have a perfectly good wife right in front
of you. I suggest that you let her know you find her attractive and
desirable. You _do_ find her attractive don't you? Because if you
don't want her..."

"Physical attraction isn't a problem," Thayde interjected. "I
even...." he hesitated, "the thought of hurting her or losing her
makes me... panicky. Not telling her about Jalodwyn is the right thing
to do, isn't it?"

Aydrisia's eyes softened, but her voice was firm. "It depends. Do you
think Jalodwyn will tell tales at the Hall? Because if she does and
Enamra hears about it, then I'm sure it'll hurt her that she heard it
from someone else. I'm not telling you to lie, Thayde, I never would,
but if you you don't think Jalodwyn will tell anyone, then no, I think
your marriage is too new for that right now. Maybe when you're both
settled and completely trust each other she can be understanding of
the situation. But if she feels rejected by you now, telling her that
you went to another woman would crush what self-esteem she has. But
the next time you think about straying or Jalodwyn offers, I suggest
you think about the guilt you're feeling right now."

"This will never happen again. Ever." Thayde said vehemently. "I never
wanted it to happen in the first place. Jalodwyn left a few days ago,
fortunately. She's posted elsewhere. As soon as I can get Enamra to
look me in the eye again, I will do what I should have done when I
married her." Faranth, he felt stupid.

"You're making decisions for her again, Thayde." Aydrisia scolded
gently. "Give her a few days, maybe even a sevenday, but let her know
in some small ways that you think she's desirable and that you want
her. She'll feel more confident and maybe then you'll get to see that
lingerie again." She grinned. "Then you can get busy making me some
grandchildren."

Thayde rubbed his forehead. Why couldn't this be simple? How was he
supposed to let Enamra know that he did desire her without just coming
out and saying to her that he had been an idiot and he planned on
rectifying his mistakes as soon as she would allow it?

"This is why I waited so long to get married. It's too complicated,"
he said with the hint of a grin.

"Marriage is simple. People are complicated." Wrapping her arm around
his shoulders, she gave him a hug. "Faranth, Thayde, just be
yourself."

"I'll try." He thought he had been himself, but realized he had been
treating Enamra with kid gloves the entire time, rather than just
treating her as he would had she been a wife near him in age. "We has
better get back out there, she's probably overwhelmed."

Aydrisia nodded and rose. "Probably. Your sister has probably started
with the questions and Faranth knows that when she starts talking,
Enamra won't be able to get a word in. "

Last updated on the September 3rd 2019

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Mother Knows Best (2/2)