We got in the car and Helen started driving us away from school. Since there wasn’t enough place in the back, I was sitting next to Helen in the front. It was interesting to see how different she handled the car compared to how Charles drove his vehicle.

“Is something wrong?” Helen looked at me when we were stopped at a red light.

“Ah, no. I was just looking at how you drive… Okay… that sounded wrong.”

“Want to be a driver yourself?” The light turned green, so she looked ahead of her again.

“No, I just know another driver and I was comparing your styles…”

“She probably doesn’t mean anything by it.” Em came to my aid from the back seat.”

“Hmmm, I am interested in hearing where this is going.” Helen replied and glanced at me. She was clearly expecting me to continue my reasoning. “So, what are those differences?”

“Uh…”

“Out with it or I’m stopping the car.” She glanced over at me, looking all serious, before she finally cracked a smile. “That was a joke, don’t worry.”

“Phew.” I wiped my forehead of imaginary sweat.

“I’d still like your comment, though. It’s interesting to hear what other people think of my driving. It’s professional feedback.”

“Hmmm.” I looked a bit closer at how she handled the clutch, gears and wheel. “You are very precise in your movements. I think…”

Helen nodded. “I can live with that comment. That other driver was different?”

“He seemed very relaxed behind the wheel. Not that you aren’t…”

“I know what you mean.” She nodded again, looking to her left as we were taking a turn. “A looser driving style.”

“Mhmm.” I nodded back.

After that, the conversation fell a bit quiet. I was just listening to my girlfriends discussing school stuff with Karin. They were about to start a discussion about German grammar when we drove through the open front gate of their mansion.

Helen pressed a button on the center console and then looked at me. “Just letting the lady of the house know the ladies have arrived.” She then parked the car in front of the front door and got out to open the doors for us. I got out before she did so for me. However, she did manage to hand my bag to me before I could take it out of the trunk myself. By the time we walked to the front door, Em’s mom had already come outside to greet us.

“Welcome back sweeties.” Karin immediately went in for the hug.

“Hey mom. Shouldn’t you be inside for your health?” Em just greeted her mom casually.

“I’ll be fine.” She smiled. “And welcome to you as well. Aurora and Corelia, it’s nice to see both of you again. Thank you for the sweets.”

“No problem. It’s definitely been a while.” I greeted her back.

“You should come over more often, we really enjoy your company.”

“I’ll definitely try.”

“Let’s head inside, before my daughter starts pushing me in.” Em’s mom led the way indoors.

“We have the sweets served in the Grand Salon, so we should head there.” She smiled at us once we walked inside.

“The Grand Salon…” Em whispered. From what I knew from visiting Em’s house before, the Grand Salon was a place where Em’s mom would meet her most esteemed guests. We’d not really been there before when we visited so going there, it must mean that this means a lot to Emma’s family. In the meantime, Karin had disappeared to her room.

When we entered the salon, it was as bright as it could be with the big, tall windows. Apart from the éclairs I’d bought together with Ria, a lot of other sweets had been placed on the salon table. Ria’s eyes were already big with anticipation.

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“Ria-chan, try not to overeat yourself.” I whispered into her ear.

“It’ll be hard, Rora, but I’ll try.”

“Please be seated.” Em’s mom stood next to one of the sofas. She was a bit more formal with us than she usually was.

“Thank you.” Ria smiled. I followed her lead.

When Em sat down on the other side of me, Em’s mom sat down as well on the opposing sofa. “Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee?”

“A tea would be nice.” Ria nodded.

“I’ll just have some water if that’s okay.” I replied. Em said nothing and was just nervously tapping her leg.

“Alright.” Em’s mom smiled and stood back up again.

“Mom, I can go and get it.” Em stood up at the same time.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll get it.” Em’s mom smiled and walked off.

“Is your mom okay, Em?”

“She just feels a bit weak lately.”

The sudden sound of china shattering on the floor the next room overtook our attention immediately.

“Mom!?” Em ran off towards the next room. I followed her immediately.

When we opened the door, we saw Em’s mom crouching down to pick up the broken pieces of what looks like a teacup. But it looked like she was having issues.

“Are you alright, mom?” Em immediately went to support her mother. I took it upon myself to start gathering up the shards of china.

“Do you have a dustpan somewhere around here?” I asked.

“There should be one in the cupboard over there.” Em nodded towards a cupboard in the far corner. I walked over to the appointed cupboard and took out the dustpan.

Meanwhile, Ria had joined us in the room as well.

“Is everything alright?” She asked Em's mom.

“I just lost the strength in my hands. I’m fine now, though. Thank you.”

“Mom, you need to lean on me more.” Em gently chastised her mom.

“I know, sweetie.” She pulled her daughter in for a hug. “But I want to do as much as I can by myself. It’s a shame for the teacup, though.” She said while I was wiping up the rests of the china.

“I hope it wasn’t too expensive.”

Em’s mom shook her head and smiled. “No, I got those from a dollar store, but I liked the way they looked.”

“We can get you a new set.” Ria said with conviction.

“Yeah, I think I know the store which sells them.” I said, having collected the last pieces of the broken cup.

“The both of you are too sweet.” Em’s mom giggled softly.

“Come, mom, let’s get you to sit down.” Em guided her mom back to the salon.

When the door closed behind them, I talked to Ria. “Ria, do you know what tea Em’s mom likes most?”

She nodded. “Chamomile, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I will make her some.” She’d guessed the intent of my question and got to work. I got a glass of water for Em and myself and then waited for Ria to have finished with the tea. Luckily, the tea kettle had already heated, so it didn’t take very long.

I opened the door for my girlfriend, and together we rejoined Em and her mom.

“Awh, thank you so much.” Em’s mom gladly accepted the cup of tea Ria had made for her. “Again, I’m so sorry for having you do it for me.”

Ria shook her head. “It’s no problem at all.”

We then sat down again, this time Em had opted to keep being seated next to her mom, which was quite understandable.

“I can tell why my daughter has taken a great liking to the both of you.” She smiled while slowly sipping from her cup of tea.

“Mom…” Em blushed.

“I am not going to say I am well versed in poly relationships, but as long as my daughter is happy, that doesn’t really matter at all.”

“She says she isn’t, but she has done a lot of research about it after I told her…” Em commented, still blushing, of course.

“I just wanted to know what my daughter was involved with.” She put her cup down and caringly rubbed Em’s back. She then looked back at us. “Would you like to tell me how this relationship came to be. Emma has been awfully quiet about it.” She then whispered behind her hand, even though it was still plenty loud enough for Emma to hear everything. “She’s always been very shy when it comes to love business.”

I chuckled and then nodded to Ria. Since we’d already told Claire before, it wasn’t hard to omit certain details while still telling her most of what had happened. From Emma’s confession to our ‘love contract.’

“I’m very proud of my daughter for finally having taken the step to confess to you.”

“Did you know she was in love with me?”

“Of course, it’s not that hard to tell. She was always so giddy when you came over. It was pretty cute to see.” Em’s mom nodded happily while Em buried her face into the palms of her hands. “And she’d then finally told me a couple of months ago. I wasn’t really that surprised though. She had liked you a lot from the moment she met you when you were little. Those feelings probably just evolved over time.”

“Mooooom!”

“I’m sorry it took me that long to notice, Em.” I said, scratching the back of my head.

“....‘s fine” She whispered back.

“She did tell me you were ‘incredibly dense’.” Em’s mom added another scoop on top.

This made Ria chuckle.

“Hey, you’re not much better.” I softly bumped into her shoulder.

Em’s mom giggled. “So, yes, I wanted to thank the two of you for taking care of my daughter. I know she’s a bit of a handful at times. And I hope your relationship will last for an eternity.”

At that time, she didn’t know yet how right she was by saying that.