A Word of Praise

"I'm the one who should be asking" Chris retorted, annoyed. Damn, where did that come from? He noticed Patricia's widened eyes, also surprised at his quarrelsome behavior.

"Watch it, boy. You are stepping out of line." Edgar's jaw was clenched, and Chris tried to recall the last time he'd been so worked up because of him. He was probably sixteen, so it was about time to shake things up a bit. But before he could answer, his mother spoke.

"It's late, maybe we should all go to bed." Her tone was never that soothing, another evidence of the shady situation between them.

"Ok, what the hell is going on here?" Chris accused.

"Language!" his mother scolded, on the first evidence that she was really Patricia Wright and not some phony imitation of his mother.

"Look at what that girl has done to you!" His father raised his voice.

"Don't you fucking dare talk about her right now!"

"Why not? You two are done." The words stung in the pitch of his stomach, and he felt like punching a wall. As always, his reaction to pain was to bite back.

"So you are ready with a replacement, is that it?" Chris questioned sarcastically.

"The Jackson's daughter is a perfect pair for you." Edgar went back to his usual dismissive tone, stating it so matter-of-factly that one would think they were talking about daisies.

But then he heard his mother scoffing. She tried to hide it, but Edgar heard it too, and a shade of red began to climb up his neck. It was an opening. His parents rarely disagreed on anything related to him, but now they did. So maybe he could push it back, just this once. Just for that thing that really mattered to him.

"It won't happen, Edgar. Me and Felicia."

"You will do as I say, Christopher." That was pathetic. Sure, his father had orchestrated Chris's whole life until that point, but he never interfered in his choice of dating.

"I won't. Will you hold my job over my head again?" Damn, it felt good to be standing up for himself once. Do what he wanted to do for a change, much like she said he should.

"Not only your job, son."

The air became thick with the weight of the threat. There it was, the pressure that lurked in the air during every dispute they had, just waiting for a little reaction on his part to be brought to light.

Chris felt a chill run down his spine, knowing he had reached a barrier he was not able to cross. Fuck, he wished he were strong enough to do it. He wanted to be mad, to blow it all up, but he felt himself sinking into despair. Then, like a lifeline thrown at a drowning man, his mother spoke.

"No!" Both men looked at her, incredulous. One with rage, one with hope. "You will not threaten our son with that again. If you want to fire him, go ahead. It's your company and there's nothing I can do about it. But you will not disown him. I won't let you cut him out."

"It is not disowning if he's not my son."

Chris felt his heart sink even deeper at his words. Never before had it come to the point where Edgar reminded him he was not part of the family. Not really. He pressed his nails into his palm, trying to replace his pain with a more physical one. Didn't help.

"He is our son, Edgar. I might not have given birth to him, but he is mine." Patricia turned to look at Chris, who was too stunned to make a move. She had never stood up to her husband before, and it was absolutely paralyzing for both of them.

He felt weak. Weak for holding on to that fear even after he was more than able to go on with his own life. He could have broken free multiple times. But then he had college debts to pay, and not enough of a name for himself to make it alone in this dog-eat-dog world... He knew those were just excuses, but he hated to face reality now more than ever.

"The company needs him," Edgar blurted out.

"Maybe that girl was right. If he is half as brilliant as she believes him to be, he can save the business without your shady schemes" That got Chris out of his shock. He was still trying to figure it out, but he wouldn't be able to unless he started asking questions. "What do you mean 'save the company'?"

Edgar took a deep breath and strode to the bar to fix himself a drink. He sat on his usual stool and sipped his usual whisky, but there was nothing usual about that situation. When he didn't speak, Patricia took the lead. "The company is going through a rough patch"

"No, it's not. I control all the books. We are doing great"

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He watched his father's face contort and, with a large gulp, he emptied his once full glass. His voice was dark when he spoke next.

"That part is not in the books"

"Fucking hell, what have you done?" He shouted.

"Don't you speak with me like that, I am your father!"

"You have to make up your mind, Edgar. Either I am your son, and I will fix whatever mess you made, or I am not. And if that's the case, I'm leaving the company"

There were three people in shock in that room. Patricia was wide-eyed, but her expression held a hint of pride. Chris was feeling the anger of being lied to, of having his company jeopardized because of someone else's mistake. But he was also alarmed by his own ultimatum. He didn't even know if he had the stomach to endure the consequences, but it was too late to back off.

Edgar was by far the most aggravated of the three. He was staring into his glass as if he hoped it would fill itself up. He knew the room expected him to answer, but the man remained in silence as if that would fix anything. Eventually, Chris grabbed the bottle and poured his father another glass of whisky. Then, he filled up a glass for himself and sat by his side.

With the alcohol sorted out, the only thing left to do was talk. There was a decision to be made, but Edgar had a crippling inability to ask for help. Chris raised his glass and stared at the man with expecting eyes. When Edgar raised his own, he knew the deal was done.

"Monday morning I'll be in your office. You will tell me everything I need to know to sort this out"

Chris left the room feeling the weight of change dawning upon him. Things would shift fast from now on, he could feel it. Stability was an old friend, but it could no longer stay, and he was ready for it. Before he could leave the house, his mother called him back.

"Son, we didn't get to finish our talk before. I don't think you need it as much, but I can't let you leave without saying it" "What is it?" That conversation seemed to have happened ages ago, and Chris couldn't even remember what it was about. "Kiara." Her name caused a chill to run down his spine. He wished she were there.

"What about her?"

"Are you heading out to see her?"

"No, mother. We broke up"

"You can't break up a relationship that was never there, son" Chris widened his eyes but before he could protest, she raised a hand. "I'm your mother, I know you." He simply nodded. Perhaps she did. "So why are you asking?"

"Jesus Christ, now I understand why the girl swears so much around you!" She laughed. Then she got closer to him, raising her hand to touch him but stopping halfway. It made him realize how little they touched each other. "Do you like her?" "Yes. More than I should." There was no point in lying there, even if he never imagined that kind of conversation with Patricia.

"Nonsense. You should go after her. It's almost midnight, she's probably hanging from someone's ceiling by now"

Chris only laughed, trying to understand his mother's goal with all that. He could not conceive how the same woman could force him into getting a girlfriend for business reasons and then tell him to go after someone like Kiara. "What's the catch?"

"I was wrong, you know? To let your father use your adoption against you all those years. I'd never... I love you, Chris. Regardless of your choices." Damn, that was not what he expected. Chris felt an ache in his throat he couldn't quite recognize and closed his eyes to swallow the lump that formed there.

"Thank you," he let out in a crooked voice. Her left hand came up to caress his cheek, and this time none of them shied away.

"Go after her. She can make you happy."