Chapter 21.2

About an hour after he left the Lawrence's home, he got a call from Mr. Lawrence. Instead of driving back to work, to turned around and headed over to their meeting place.

To no one's surprise, Mr. Strider was already there too.

"Hey dad, hey dad," he greeted both of his dads.

"I see you guys are in a good mood. Any good news?"

Mr. Lawrence poured him a cup of chilled beer and sat back with a happy smile on his face.

"I spoke with my mother in a sincere manner. I let her know how her attitude towards my family has put a strain on my relationship with them."

"So, she agreed to apologize and put everything behind?" Mr. Strider asked.

Mr. Lawrence shook his head.

"Not at all. She said she'd come over to my place less, and whenever she faced my family, she'd try her best to not say anything out of line."

Both father and son didn't know how to react to the solution that Mr. Lawrence and Martha had come up with.

"What do you plan on telling your wife then?" Jeff's father asked carefully.

"I'll tell her what I just told you. She won't have to deal with my mother anymore, and she won't have to worry about being insulted. I also don't have to choose between my mother and my wife anymore," he said happily.

He originally thought that his mother would be mad at him and scream and throw a huge tantrum, but to his surprise, she didn't. She compromised and was willing to hold everything in for his sake. Now, he just needed to let his wife know so that she'd be at rest.

While Mr. Lawrence was feeling pleased with himself, Jeff was a little angry on Mrs. Lawrence's behalf, as well as Tina's and Lina's also.

"What about all of these years when Martha had openly oppressed your wife and daughters? Every insult back then left several scars on them."

"When Martha brought different women into your matrimony home where your wife and daughters lived, she trampled on their dignities."

"Every time she looked down on Tina and Lina's ambitions, she left a hurt that left them psychological shadows. Tina evades marriage like it's a virus because your relationship didn't set a good example for her."

"Martha coming over less and not hurling insults at them isn't going to make anything better. The words she said for 30 years are constantly recycling in your wife's heart."

"Your mother hurt your family and your relationship, but you think everything is going to be okay if she doesn't see them? Which mother doesn't want to spend time with her grandchildren or her 'favorite' son's family?"

"I'm sorry to say this dad but you were better off not making the trip to Martha's home. I'm glad you didn't go home to tell this to mom yet, else she'd be so heartbroken."

Jeff could not wrap his head around his father-in-law's train of thought. Didn't he feel for his wife at all? Was he openly standing on his mother side that all she said was right and his wife was just overreacting?

"Jeff that's enough from you," Mr. Strider scolded him. Not that Jeff was wrong, but it didn't seem right for Jeff to scold Tina's father like that.

An awkward silence ensued.

"You think I'm wrong too?" Mr. Lawrence asked his friend weakly.

Mr. Strider sighed.

"Buddy, the solution you came up with is a disaster. What your wife deserves is an apology. With all that your mother said, you're just sweeping it under the rug like nothing happened."

"Your wife is angry, most likely because your mother doesn't see her wrong and you don't think it's the moral thing to do when they blame an elder, so you shield your mother. That's what you're doing right now."

"Your mother doesn't find your family pleasing to the eyes, and she's not willing to see them anymore, so it feels like she's taking a step back by going over to your home less, but that's not what it is."

"She's filtering them out of her sight while keeping you with her because she's confident that you're filial."

Was he really wrong? He thought what his wife wanted was Martha out of her sight. Once Martha was out of the picture, they could mend their relationship. Although Martha's words and actions were usually excessive, he had apleaded with Mrs. Lawrence to overlook them because that was the way Martha showed her care for him.

She would agree with him and that was the end, so he didn't think that his wife was just keeping it all in like that.

"I met with mom this afternoon. You and Martha have indeed hurt her too much. All she wants is for Martha to apologize to her and her daughters. You keeping Martha away is you secretly admitting that Martha was never wrong. That's going to hurt mom more."

Jeff spoke his final thoughts after calming down for a while. He could finally understand why Tina wasn't confident enough to take their relationship to the next level. Her father saw nothing wrong with the way his mother treated his family.

That moment, he resolved in his heart to never let Tina down. She was already let down by her father. As her man, it was his responsibility to protect her.

"So, what do I do now? I really don't want to lose my wife and have my daughters turn against me. I know my mother's words were excessive and hurtful, but do you really believe that she'd apologize?" Mr. Lawrence stated. He was clearly feeling remorseful, but still he knew how proud his mother was.

"Pick her up tonight and take her to your home. Have a 3-way conversation and let everything be aired out in the open. Let everyone speak their minds and hearts out," Jeff suggested.

Mr. Strider nodded agreeingly, patting Mr. Lawrence on the shoulder.

"The earlier you clear things up, the earlier you can mend your marriage."

Mr. Lawrence slumped back into his chair and imagined what a disaster that meeting was going to be.

Nobody said anything for a while, and soon afterwards, Jeff returned to his office extremely tired. He worried that the showdown tonight might be hard on Tina, so he decided to drop by at her place and be her pillar of comfort.

Once work ended, he stayed over some time to catch up on the work he missed. It was already so late when he was done, and he knew that Tina would call him soon, so he quickly made his way over. Mr. Lawrence had planned to talk with his wife and mother when his children were asleep. That was very impossible because Martha owed his daughters too.

He was so relieved when he saw the happy expression on his girl's face. She must have had a good day. Now it was time to reveal what he had up to during these past few days.

"I want to tell you some things, alright?" He said seriously as he raised her to face him.