Perhaps an Intention
By: Ame-san
Chapter 2
" Do I look decent, Liz?" Lena straightened her white three-quartered sleeved cotton shirt for the third time and dusted her denim jeans for the fifth time. " What time is it, Liz?"
" Calm down mother, you look like you are about to meet your in-laws for the first time." Liz chuckled softly and looked at her watch. " It's three-thirty."
" I wish it were that easy." Lena chose a spot in the living room and sat down. Liz, who was lying casually on the couch laughed out loud. " What? This isn't funny, Liz."
" No, mom. It's not. You are a lawyer for heaven's sake. You should be incapable of being nervous. Besides, what are you so nervous about." She sat up straight and stared at her mother for an answer.
" I'm not nervous. I'm just..." She stood back up again then sat back down. " It's too awkward for me. I mean, it's already odd enough with the three of us. Just think about it, me, Heero and you. Now, there is a Clementine from France. Why can't we ever have a little normalcy in our lives?" She threw her arms in the air. " Why?"
" You are acting way too melodramatic. Stop taking it so seriously. Life sometimes needs that little extra to spice things up."
" But I don't like spicy food. I hate it."
" You are not making any sense now." Liz gave up. " Mom, Heero is finally making progress, don't spoil it for him. Give him a chance to live."
" Sometimes I wonder who's the mother in this house, Liz." Lena relaxed a little bit. She breathed in deep and said. " I'm not ready though. He might, but I'm not mature enough for this. That extra spice in life makes everything complicated, and I can't handle it."
" Yes you can. You have handled it for over 17 years. That's something there for you. 17 years is a long time." Liz looked down at the carpeted floor and rearranged the way her sock is worn on her left foot. " Meeting Clementine might not be something you take as a delight, but you'll get use to it eventually. I don't doubt the fact that you have no feelings toward Heero, and I know that that doesn't mean this will be easy on you. Still, give them a chance and just be happy for him."
" I do feel happy for him, and that happy feeling makes me question things."
" What things?" She asked her mother.
" I don't know, and I sound like Heero just now. Liz, I..." A car pulled into their drive way.
" Mom, I think they are here." Liz got up the couch and went to the front porch to greet their guests. " Tell me later."
She opened the door slightly and saw Heero walking up the steps with a woman she assumed to be Clementine Thierry. As they approached closer she opened the door completely and ran toward Heero.
" Heero! Hi!" She gave him a hug which he willingly accepted. A year of living can really change a person.
" Hi, Liz." He greeted her back. He had surprised everyone by start calling her Liz, including himself, and now, it seemed as if he couldn't call her anything else. Liz, however, stuck on calling him by his name instead of father, except on special occasions. Father was just not the word for both of them.
" Heero, Mom knew it already. Duo and I spilt the word. Sorry." She whispered at his ear.
" Well, it saves me the trouble of telling her." He sighed.
" Hello. Liz." It came from Clementine.
" Hi. Clementine, right?" Liz extended out her hand. Clementine accepted the hand shake. So far so good, she didn't seem to be a mean person. Of course not.
" Where is Relena?" Heero asked while all three of them entered the house. Yes, he still insisted on calling her Relena. Some things just never change.
" I'm right here." Lena emerged from the living room to greet the guests. " Hello Heero. How was your week? " Before he could respond, she sauntered up to Clementine and offered her a hand shake. Very business like but casual nonetheless. Only she was capable of pulling on an act like this.
" Bonjour, Clementine. Bienvenue chez moi. Ca me fait plaisir de vous voir. Ca va?" She spoke in fluent French.
" Ca va bien. Merci. Vous etes bien aimable." Clementine replied with equal courtesy.
" Alors, mettez-vous a l'aise." Lena motioned them to come into the living room and make themselves at ease.
" Mom, when did you know how to speak French?" Liz was speechless.
" Just something I learned when I was young." She watched Clementine and Heero sat together side by side on the sofa. Clementine, who looked just as perfect as how Duo had described her. Long brown hair ( a shade light than Lena's) cascaded down to her thin waist. She was a little taller than Lena and had less wrinkles on her face despite that they were about the same age. Her makeup was light but just enough to bring out the emerald green of her eyes. They looked like emeralds themselves, so pure and shiny and glittery. Clementine wore a button up black shirt and a pair of fit khakis with black boots. Certainly more fashionable than Lena. She didn't even wear any jewelries. A high class taste indeed. Physically, she was better looking than Lena, and intellectually, she wouldn't be anything less than smart.
" Bravo. Miss Dorlain. Your French is perfect. I almost thought that you were a Frenchman." She smiled kindly at Lena. " You are just as impressive as Heero told me about."
" Oh no. French was something that was required of me when I was young, but thanks for your compliment." Lena smiled back. " You can just call me Lena. I don't like all the formality. It's too impersonal. And by the way, your English is just as impressive."
" Thanks. See, business these days requires perfect English. I'm merely following the trend, not that I'm fond of it though, Lena." The hidden tension seemed to be under control.
" Dorlain. That name sounds kind of familiar. May I ask if you are related to..."
" Vise Foreign Minister Dorlain?" Lena picked up her question. " My father was one years ago, and I followed in his footsteps for a very short time. Then I found out that I wasn't interested in politics very much, so I quit."
" Heero seems to have neglected that piece of information when he told me about you. I can tell that you two are very good friends." She said while looking at Heero, who sat quietly as always.
" It's just odd to see someone as taciturn as Heero could get someone like you, Clementine."
" What do you mean..."
" Mom," Liz cut in. " It's rude to leave your guest dry like this. Why don't you come with me to the kitchen and prepare some drinks for them, ok?" Without waiting for a response, she dragged her mother away into the kitchen.
Once Liz was sure that no one could hear them, she spoke to her mother. " Why did you say that to her, mother?"
" Say what? I was only speaking of the truth."
Liz ignored her mom's complaint and began pouring tea in cups. " So, what do you think? Is she good enough for him?"
" Good enough? She's perfect. I have never met anyone so perfect as that woman sitting in our living room right now. " She helped her daughter by preparing the cookies for refreshment. " She's beautiful, nice, and I bet she's smart too. She knows her history well."
" Jealous?"
" No. Maybe as a fellow woman, but nothing else. Yet I'm just not comfortable around her. Maybe she's a little too perfect for me. Almost can't stand it."
" I say that you are jealous of her. You were always the perfect one, and now there is someone else who is better than you and who is also dating Heero. There has to be a little bit of jealousy going on." Liz finished pouring the tea.
" Elizabeth, be serious please." Lena put away the cookies. " Besides, I'm not jealous or I would have pull the ex-queen of the world trick."
Liz chuckled. " Fine. If you want to know what I think. I think she's nice except she looks too perfect. It sort of creeps me out. But I can't make any assumptions just from her looks, so I say why don't we get to know her first. Then you can make all of your judgment, mother."
" Maybe you are right, maybe I'm just being jealous of her." She picked up the tray that carried all the refreshment. " Liz, don't you think that Heero is awfully quiet today?"
" Isn't he always."
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" Do you think Liz likes me? Heero?" Clementine spoke softly.
" You'll have to wait on that." He answered.
" Well, I don't think Lena is very fond of me. It's already awkward enough for me to be here." She sighed. " I don't even know how to act around her. It's as if I'm meeting your mother, except she's your daughter's mother." She chuckled at what she just said. " Odd world we live in, don't you think? Life is sometimes too interesting for me."
" Yes." He said. I wonder just how I came to be in a situation like this one.
" Here, we've got tea and cookies for you." Liz emerged back out from the kitchen followed by Lena. She set the tray on the table and went back to her seat in the chair near the couch. Lena did too and sat by her daughter.
" So, Clementine. Tell me something about yourself. What do you do for a living if you don't mind the question?" Lena asked politely.
" No, I don't mind. I own a computer software company in France. Here, this is my business card." She handed out her card to Lena.
" T.I.S. corporation." Lena read it out loud then paused for a second before continued. " I think I've heard it somewhere before, but I can't remember where."
" It's a small company, I don't think you could have heard it." Clementine shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Then to everyone's surprise she put her hand on Heero's and he didn't refuse her action.
Well, this will be the longest two hours of my life. Lena sighed inwardly.
Finally after Heero left with Clementine and Duo and Hilde came to pick them up, Lena was able to breath in normally. She didn't despise Clementine, in fact she didn't know how she felt toward her relationship with Heero, yet something about that woman worried her.
" Duo, did you know the name of Clementine's company is T.I.S.corp? " She asked Duo while the four of them were in the car.
" No, not really. Heero never mentioned it to me." He replied.
" Is there something that matters?" Hilde sensed the underlying worry in Lena's voice.
" No, it's nothing. I think I remember that name from one of my cases."
***
TBC...
Note: Hopefully, the story will pick up the pace in the next chapter.
sorry about the delay. Next update will be on friday. two new chapters, I promise.
