chesstotem | For dontthinkabout

Arthur held Ariadne’s hand as they waited at the terminal. He snuck glances at her, making sure that she was doing okay.

“Arthur?” He looked up as the passengers started coming through. His mother looked different somehow…happier even. “Arthur!” He could see the tears forming in her eyes as she quickly walked over to them.

“Mom?” He asked, unsure if this was the same woman he saw two years ago.

“It’s so good to see you—both of you,” she smiled at them.

"Hi," Ariadne said, a little startled by her greeting. "Do you have any bags?"

“No, just this,” she said, referring to her upright which Arthur took from her. “And my purse.

“Oh, Ariadne, you’re glowing,” she said with a smile.

"Thank you," she said, still not sure what to make of this new, improved mother-in-law.

"So, I hope your flight was okay? How have you been?" She stepped aside to let the older woman have Arthur's arm for the walk back to the car.

“The flight was okay. I’ve never liked flying anyways.” She clutched his arm as they walked out of the terminal and to the parking lot. “I’ve good…I’ve been seeing a therapist, actually,” she added.

"Yeah?" Ariadne was consistently more surprised. "I - I wasn't sure you would."

“When you left, I realized what I had done…I didn’t want to be that person anymore,” she said honestly.

"Wow, that's... I'm glad to hear you're doing well," Ariadne finally said as they made it to the car. "Hope you don't mind sharing the condo with my parents as well."

“I don’t mind at all,” she said with a smile as Arthur opened the passenger’s door for her. He went around and opened Ariadne’s door after.

Ariadne exchanged a look with Arthur, then got in carefully. "They're excited to see you," she said. "I'm so glad you came out. When I found out I was pregnant, I really wanted to let you know. I know things haven't been the greatest between us, but I know how much you care about Arthur."

He gave Ariadne at look before getting into the driver's seat.

"Thank you for telling me. I know I haven't been the easiest person to get along with and I know that I already missed so much. I just want to make things right."

"I want you to have the chance to know your grandchild, and be part of this family," Ariadne said. "I'm so glad you want that, now, too."

She smiled fondly at Ariadne. “Of course I want that.”

"I'm glad," Ariadne murmured, smiling a little as she leaned her head back. She pulled a sandwich bag out of her purse, with ginger snaps in it, and started nibbling on one.

Arthur was quiet for most of the ride. He only spoke when he was addressed, but other than that, he was focused on the road. It took almost an hour with LA traffic to get to their condo. He parked out on the sidewalk and shut off the engine.

When they got home, Ariadne gave him a kiss on the cheek, just a brief one, and asked, "Could you make me some more of that ginger tea?"

“Sure. Let me get my mom settled in,” he replied before lugging his mom’s suitcase to the other guestroom. His mother was in the foyer, looking around.

"I'll show you around," she suggested to the other woman. "If you want."

"Yes, of course," his mother said with a smile.

"This is the foyer," she said, gently taking her elbow to lead her into the living space, which had lots of big windows to let in sunlight. "Living room. Kitchen is right in here, and the dining room." The kitchen was equally lavish, with plenty of counter space and state-of-the-art appliances. The sunny nook off the kitchen housed Ariadne's drafting table and was quite cluttered with drafting tools and modeling supplies. "This is where I work. Arthur's office is where you'll sleep, we've got a bed up there. My parents are staying in the other guest room, then there's the master suite and the room that we're going to make into the nursery."

Arthur was in the kitchen getting the kettle on the stove when they came in for the tour. He glanced at them before turning back to the stove.

His mother listened closely as Ariadne pointed everything out.

Ariadne gave him an encouraging smile as they passed through, then took his mother upstairs, showing her where everything was, bathrooms and all. The nursery was bare, blank white walls making Ariadne think of a canvas to be painted.

Finally, they got to the room where she would be sleeping. Arthur had unfolded the sofa bed for her, and he'd deposited her bag as well. "I hope you'll be comfortable. If you need anything else, just let us know. We've got lots of extra pillows, even a feather mattress somewhere around here if you need something extra. That bed is really comfortable, though. I don't buy a bed if it's not one I can sleep on myself."

She laughed wholeheartedly. “You and I share the same sentiments about bed.” Mary went into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, bringing her suitcase close so she could open it.

She leaned against the edge of Arthur's desk, neatly organized in a way her workspace never was. She affectionately fingered an expensive enameled pen she'd bought him a few months ago for their third anniversary. "My parents went grocery shopping. My step-dad is insisting on cooking dinner for us all tonight," she murmured.

“What’s on the menu?” Mary asked as she looked up at her from her suitcase.

For dontthinkabout

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