Everything but this !!!

There is no better awakening in the world than the one when one emerges from the arms of Morpheus, the head curled up in the hollow of the neck of his beloved ; and that, it is not Tiana who would say the opposite.

In this Monday morning, waking up next to her man and feeling his reassuring presence, she felt lucky, better still, happy.

She undertook to get out of the bed, with difficulty it was necessary to admit it, taking into account its particularly cosy installation which she was reluctant to leave. Moreover, it was necessary for her to escape from the embrace of the arms of the beautiful sleeping man without waking him up.

Ruddy woke up a few minutes later, an empty feeling taking him. He didn't have time to wonder longer about the absence of his beautiful one when she came back into the room, a well-stocked tray in her arms.

-Good morning my darling. Did you sleep well?

-Well my sweet. To what do I owe this breakfast in bed?

She deposited the tray delicately on the bed and settled down at his sides.

-No particular reason. I just wanted to give you a gentle wake-up call.

Ruddy laughed softly, and despite the angelic smile on his sweetheart's face, he wasn't fooled.

-As sweet and lovely a wife as you are, my dear, your breakfasts in bed are never completely random. You try to make me pass more easily a pill, but which pill exactly?

She didn't answer right away, letting a mischievous smile answer in her place.

-You read me like an open book, honey. I can't hide anything from you.

-An open book written in runes, but open all the same.

She giggled, and Ruddy smiled tenderly as he looked at her.

-I'm listening, my sweet. What unpleasant news do you bring me so early in the morning?

She took a deep breath before speaking.

-It's today that mom is coming. And she's going to stay until Christmas.

He did a quick mental calculation. It was mid-November, so logically...

-More than a month!?

-I'm afraid so.

He pretended to go back to sleep.

-I'm going to hibernate for a while, wake me up when she's gone again.

Pushing back the meal tray at the foot of the bed, Tiana settled back under the sheets.

-Don't overdo it either, honey, it's my mother after all.

-I know it well my sweet, but you know our history.

She sighed. This complex situation between her mother and her man put her in a delicate position. It had been going on for several years now, and it seemed that the passage of time had not improved it in any way.

Beyond the almost selfish desire to have Tiana all to himself, Ruddy had many other reasons that kept him from enjoying the presence of his mother-in-law under their roof. Their relationship had gotten off to a bad start, and it only got worse over time, for one reason or another. Let's just say it was approaching a sine curve, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Negative predominance, of course. They kept a cordial but tense relationship, for love and for the sake of what they had in common, Tiana; but the resentments of the past never really faded.

Ruddy sighed soulfully.

-What time is the dragon stepmother due?

Tiana rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder.

-How many times have I told you to stop calling her that?

-And how many times have I told you that I would never stop calling her that affectionate nickname? I did make one concession though, I don't say it in her presence.

She rolled her eyes but didn't add anything. She calmed down more comfortably in the hollow of his neck, surrounding it with her arms.

-Honey?

Tiana laughed, guessing in advance what would happen next.

-Do you remember that day? That day when your mother came to my house screaming, calling me names. She had accused me of ruining the happiness of her beloved daughter by pushing her away. At first confused, I took a minute to think. Which daughter was she talking about? Then I looked at her face, and I realized that I still didn't know who she was talking about. She didn't look like any young woman I knew.

-You couldn't have known that I was adopted. And yes, I remember that day. It was right after I went to her, crying my eyes out. I had told her about my unrequited love.

She had said to me: "If this ungrateful young man refuses to answer the calls of your heart, know that there are plenty of others who will gladly answer them. The solution is simple, look for comfort elsewhere. I had answered her by saying: "But I love him mom, you don't seem to understand it, I haven't even fought yet that you ask me to give them back. For the time being, let me cry, cry again and again" She answered: "It's been days that you've been moping around. Whoever he is, he doesn't deserve that you shed so many tears for him. He does not want to recognize your value. So be it. He doesn't know what he's losing. Pull yourself together my daughter, life goes on.

She just didn't want to understand how much a hurt heart hurts, how much a hurt pride hurts. She couldn't understand what I was feeling, she just couldn't imagine my pain, my inner torture; she couldn't imagine what it feels like to have your vital organ painfully squeezed.

-That day, I thought I was dealing with a hysterical madwoman who was confusing me with another person. A former lover that had abandoned her, perhaps. I could not place one. She was shouting, even screaming. She was babbling in an uninterrupted stream. At one point, what she was saying was no longer intelligible, and I was frankly ashamed of the neighbors. In any case, one could not take away the merit of being a particularly attentive and devoted mother.

-You couldn't blame her too much. Her reaction was completely understandable and proportional.

Ruddy arched an eyebrow.

-Proportional, really?

-Yes, proportional. Considering the context.

- Explain yourself.

-Put yourself in her shoes for a few seconds, and analyze the circumstances from her angle, not just yours. I was her only daughter, her only child. And of course, she only wanted me to be happy and above all, to be protected from everything that could make me unhappy. And, at that time, you were an obstacle to my happiness.

-Anyway, you will always defend her no matter what I say.

-I'm not on either side. I analyze the facts in an objective way, putting myself in the place of both of you, to understand each of you better.

-If you say so.

He then turned his back to her, sulky.

-My dear...

He did not answer.

-Sweetie?

Still no answer.

-It's a shame, imagine what we could do with all that honey.

He smiled, and turned to hug her.

-I'm not mad, honey.

-I know you're not.

-But I'm not happy either. -I know.

-You know it pisses me off when you do that?

-I know.

He smiled fondly and stroked her hair tenderly.

-You know we have to get up, right? Mommy will be here soon.

Tiana rolled her eyes.

-You'll have to get used to it, sweetie.

-Oh honey, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be able to handle it just fine.