gabriel l. corner (coverstory) wrote in valesco,
@ 2010-05-29 14:59:00

Entry tags:

Rachel! Uh oh
"Yes, good night---I'll owl you in the morning, Mother."

Half of Gabriel was grateful to send his mother home, but the other half was nearly begging him to allow her to stay. He was in trouble. In deep, absolute trouble that he knew he'd never be able to get out of. He had expected more of his mother, that she was a woman who could keep her mouth shut during social situations like a simple dinner with himself and Rachel's family, but no. The company of Rachel's mother simply had to cause her to discuss how this making-a-baby thing was going. In one of those sly ways, at that.

Gabriel had specifically asked his mother not to ask Rachel about this, for privacy's sake, and also because they were not trying to have children, in reality. Gabriel and Rachel had decided that their two children would be more than sufficient in their lives, and what need was there to add another baby? Of course, Gabriel wasn't as opposed to the idea as Rachel was, but he had accepted the fact and he was quite fine with that. Michael was turning a year old in a few weeks, all he needed was to focus on his son and step-daughter.

But, of course he couldn't let his mother know that they weren't trying. It would devastate her, especially with Rebecca being so very secretive with everything in her life. Gabriel had not seen the harm in letting his mother think that they were still trying, but he fully understood the wrath he was about to face with the one glare Rachel had shot him immediately after his mother had brought the subject up.

Maybe he could just sit down in the library for a bit until she went to sleep. Gabriel thought this would be a good plan, and it would have been, if Rachel wasn't already waiting for him in the library. He frowned.

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malengled
2010-05-30 09:22 pm UTC (link)

If Claudia Corner had any idea what waited in store for her son after she left, it would not be a gross exaggeration to say she would have thought up of some excuse to take him with her and never, never return; particularly not if she wanted to cling dearly to her rather tragic delusions of her son being able to produce any other future grandchildren. But being that precognition was not amidst her vast array of talents, she could have no idea of the fate she'd left her son to. A fate Gabriel might have been aware of, whether from the steely glint in his wife's eye or the rather sinister curl of her lip. The gratuitous knife-work whilst she sliced the raspberry torte, of course, had to have been a coincidence.

After bidding both sets of in-laws good-night, Rachel barely waited for them to be out the door before stalking off, whereabouts unbeknownst to her husband.

And Rachel knew, she just knew, that the coward would be slinking off to his little haven in order to avoid having to own up to his enormous gaffe, hoping she'd be sound asleep by the time he crept up to the bedroom with his tail between his legs! Well, if that's what Gabriel thought married life was going to be like with her, he was sadly, sadly mistaken. Which was why she beat him to the library, pacing furiously like a prowling cat whilst she waited for him to enter.

"What," she began, eyes narrowing to slits even as her eyebrows began to lift, "in Merlin's name was your mother talking about this evening, Gabriel Lawrence?"

They both knew exactly what it was, naturally. She just wanted to see him voice it under the force of her icy glare.

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coverstory
2010-05-30 11:31 pm UTC (link)

Gabriel was normally quite good at articulating his thoughts, but when they consisted of absolute panic, it took him a moment to figure out what to say. Honestly, he didn't exactly tell his mother that they were trying, it was just a little white lie, really. Kept everyone happy. Though, he supposed that when they never did conceive, his mother might start feeling bad for Rachel when there was no reason to feel bad, and that could cause even more awkward situations...

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and shut the door behind him. Even though he wasn't one to raise his voice, Gabriel knew that neither of them were going to be able to control their emotions tonight. He was a calm, sensitive person, but with the panic he was in, and still not being a hundred percent behind their chosen decision, Gabriel feared this was not going to end well.

Not feared, he knew that it was not going to end well, he just hated the fact that there was really no avoiding this.

"My mother was very excited at the prospect of us having a child, and I thought it wouldn't--hurt to not tell her that we weren't going to," Gabriel stood a little straighter, though it was hard to keep his face serious and stern, "It doesn't change anything, it's to avoid...any dramatics."

Ha.

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malengled
2010-05-31 02:17 am UTC (link)

"Oh, you wanted to avoid dramatics, did you?" she snapped, placing her hands on her hips and looking him coldly. "Do tell, how do you think you're faring thus far?"

It needled Rachel endlessly that he hadn't bothered to inform his mother that additional grandchildren was simply an impossibility. That had been one of the reasons, one of the main reasons, to stress a point, that she'd gone along with this farcical arrangement—Gabriel intimated that two children in their lives was certainly enough to manage; if she didn't want a third, why push the matter? Fat lot of good that promise had been! This was pushing the matter in a very big way, and Rachel did not care at all for the subtle manipulation. She understood the psychology of it all too well.

"It changes everything, Gabriel! And now she has my mother thinking that I've agreed to this procreating nonsense, as well! Do you even have an inkling of how hellish life will be—for the both of us—now that she's been given this gross misconception?"

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coverstory
2010-06-02 12:06 am UTC (link)

"It isn't nonsense!" Gabriel curtly stated before he could help himself. "You act as if our mothers want us to chop off our limbs! They want us to have children, they think of this as a good thing, not some curse they want to lay upon you to make you suffer!" He huffed quickly before crossing over to the bookcase, reading the spines of the various novels and texts to try and calm himself. Gabriel avoiding confrontation like no other, so when he actually gave in to an argument or heated discussion he needed to force himself from going off into uncharted territory.

He managed to pull his eyes off of the books. Even though he disagreed with Rachel about how terrible another child would be, Gabriel would honor their decision. He didn't want her to think that he secretly opposed it, because it was a sensible life choice for them to make. It just--it irked him immensely at how she abhorred the idea of having children; was sit because of her experience with Amissa, or did she not want to have children with him?

"I will arrange a lunch with my mother tomorrow to explain our decision if that will make you happy," he said, barely refraining from rolling his eyes. As much as he hated conflict, he found the fact that Rachel couldn't put on a face to keep the peace more irritable. Maybe it wasn't something he should wish for of his wife, but it was, and he was frustrated. "Don't think I've changed my mind on that."

Gabriel felt cheated as he nearly spat the last comment, which in his mind was supposed to reassure Rachel of his opinion on the matter. Michael and Amissa were two beautiful children that he would love as long as he lived, but hearing how hellish the nonsense of procreating again would be---it stung in numerous ways.

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malengled
2010-06-04 02:29 am UTC (link)

Rachel snorted indelicately. Why shouldn't they assert perfectly well that they would tolerate absolutely no outside pressure when it came to their own family? Unless, of course, Gabriel didn't mind other people dictating the way things ought to be done in his own home—the thought set Rachel's teeth on edge, literally, as an audible click sounded when she clenched her jaw. Hadn't the two of them been bossed around enough during their lives? It was high time they made people stop telling them what to do and how to do it. Perhaps her own poor relations with her parents made it difficult to see why Gabriel would want to pander to his mother's wishes; she understood it in theory, but empathically, the motivation was lost on her.

"I don't see why she needs to be told one way or the other, in any case!" she retorted, hands beginning to curl into fists hanging by her sides. "To the best of my knowledge, there are only two people who have any right at all in deciding whether or not we have children. And as they are both standing here at this very minute and she is not among them, it seems to me that it doesn't concern her at all!"

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coverstory
2010-06-09 04:02 pm UTC (link)

Gabriel's mouth looked like that of a fish out of water, "Because she's my mother, Rachel!" he sputtered, "I'm sorry if I don't find anything wrong with relaying to her the life decisions I make with the woman I love!"

He could have called her his wife, and he probably should have because Gabriel was quite certain that this was the first time he had ever referred to being in love with Rachel, in front of Rachel. He held his ground however, as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said; Gabriel was beginning to think that his choice of words had been an unconscious doing on his part. He wanted Rachel to know that his motives hadn't been to hurt her, that he in fact loved her and wished to keep things going as well as they had been, but he also needed her to see that this was an important topic to him and that it shouldn't be dismissed as quickly as she had.

Whether he was thinking about keeping the peace with his mother or having more children with Rachel, Gabriel wasn't sure, but he decided that they were definitely not going to be able to settle this tonight. He pressed his hand to his forehead and let out a breath. He was not going to agree with her, and she certainly wasn't going to agree with him. And, for the first time in his life, Gabriel didn't feel like lying about his feelings on a subject to end an argument. Rachel deserved the truth from him.

"I will inform her tomorrow," he said with some finality.

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