Twin Promises - chapter 53 of a work in progress

TO CATCH UP, here’s the latest rollup post (every ten chapters).

After lunch, back in the suite, Katelyn set up her phone to resume our conversation with her parents and got straight to the point.

“After some time to digest both lunch and what mom said earlier, Amelie is proposing a compromise – not on timing, mind you, but on dealing with the challenges of early marriages. Amelie?”

“Mom, we appreciate your concern, respect your research, and want to do everything in our power to protect our marriage and make it strong. To that end, we’re going to begin counseling immediately and keep it up for at least one year. I hope that conveys our seriousness. Also, we want both of you to talk to us about your own experience of marrying young – especially about marrying into wealth, which mom and John have in common, but also other aspects of your early years. Finally, we still want you to agree with the timing and location of the wedding.”

“Thank you, Amelie. Mom, Dad, your turn,” said Katelyn.

“We’ve decided to support the timing of the wedding, and the location is fine, too,” said Pam. “I’m very grateful for the couple’s counseling suggestion; it demonstrates a seriousness of purpose that will be an asset in your marriage. And I’m sure I speak for dad when I say that we’d be glad to tell a few stories about what it was like for us to get married right out of high school.”

“Thank you,” said Amelie, her relief obvious.

“That’s settled, then,” said Katelyn, smirking ever so slightly. “Thank you for your cooperation. You were all very mature, which made my job easy. Finally, I understand that there’s another topic of conversation, and that we are beginning with mom this time.”

“As you know, I struggled with marrying into a wealthy family,” said Pam. “In our day, the man was expected to provide, and Pete was doing that, so it was more natural. In your case, John wants to provide but lacks resources, and he will continue to be short on resources for a few years as he prepares for a career. So I think John’s challenge is sharper than mine was.”

“I needed to learn to see financial challenges from your mom’s point of view,” said Pete. “At the start, and until my parents cut me off, I saw any money problems as trivially easy to solve, which only ended up insulting her sense of values and even her dignity as a person. I indirectly accused her of being stubborn when it was me who was being cavalier about something understandably important to her.”

“To be fair, I really was stubborn,” said Pam, smiling at Pete. “But after a few knock-down, drag-out fights, we worked it through.”

“With that in mind,” said Pete, “I’d like to talk with John about work I need done on the Cliff House – nice name by the way. And before you protest, John, I know you would care for any house you lived in. This isn’t about caretaking. I need documentation on what is a very complicated feat of engineering with numerous interacting systems, and that’s best done by someone with knowledge of architecture and engineering. I need it in two forms: comprehensive technical documentation and a user-friendly how-to guide for visitors and possibly future renters. We can talk about payment, but this is something I was going to pay a professional team to produce, and I think you’d do it just as well or better. So what do you say, John? You in?”

I took in the hopeful faces of the girls. They had respected me and produced a compromise solution. Now they were watching me anxiously, obviously worried I might be insulted or stubborn, and desperately hoping I’d accept the compromise. I knew I needed to do this.

“I’d be glad to help, Pete,” I said, taking in the girls’ relief before turning back to the phone.

“Excellent,” said Pete. “I’ll be in touch about details.”

“John,” said Pam, “I found that compromising when Pete found a way to acknowledge my perspective worked well. I think this is a good solution for you, for what that may be worth.”

I thanked Pam and we wrapped up the call.

“Thank you both,” I said, making them both giggle despite the seriousness of the moment. “That was very skillfully, respectfully, and lovingly handled. If we can manage value conflicts like this in the future, we’ll be unstoppable.”

“You were dignified and flexible,” said Amelie, which made Katelyn nod her head. “You were kind to us, too. Thank you for compromising.”

“We really are impressively mature,” mused Katelyn. “Especially me, but you two are learning,” she added airily.

That led to a tickle attack as Amelie took revenge on her sister. I knew by then that tickling Katelyn had to be a high-skill activity, to avoid AD reactions, but Amelie made it look natural, and little sis was loving it.

“Oh right, pick on the girl in the wheelchair!” squealed Katelyn between gales of laughter.

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