Chapter 72

Marcus hesitates outside his mother's office, wondering if he really should open this can of worms. Jeanette has not been particularly approving of Evelyn until very recently, after his father's poisoning.

He knows that she values Evelyn as a doctor, but perhaps she will feel differently if she knows that her son just proposed to the woman. Marcus bites his lip, reconsidering.

"Marcus, are you going to stand out there all day, or are you going to come in?" Jeanette calls from inside. "I can hear you, you know."

Well. There's no escape now. Sighing, Marcus opens the door and steps inside, closing it behind him.

Jeanette is behind her desk, reading glasses perched on her nose.

"Honestly, Marcus," she says with fond exasperation. "Sometimes I think my own children forget that I'm a werewolf, too. I'm not so old that I can't hear when my son is shifting and dawdling right outside my door."

"I'm sorry, Mother," Marcus says. He stands, not saying anything further.

Uncharacteristically, his mother waits patiently, watching him with a calm, assessing look.

For the first time in a long time, Marcus notices again what a beautiful woman his mother truly is. Her dark brown skin is clear and smooth for a woman of her age, and her black braids are wound into an intricate knot at the back of her head. Her brown eyes, so unlike his own, are deep pools of intelligence.

"What is it, darling?" she asks him at last, her voice gentle in a way it often isn't. "Something is on your mind."

"Yes," Marcus says at last, sinking into a chair across from her desk. "But I don't know how to begin. I'm afraid you're going to disapprove, and that's the last thing I want. I value and appreciate your opinion, Mother, and I –"

"Marcus," Jeanette interrupts, her voice still gentle. "I think that Evelyn would make a wonderful wife to you, and, what's more, an even more wonderful Luna once I'm gone."

Marcus is speechless - a rare occurrence for him. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, cycling through what to say until he lands on the somewhat inelegant:

"What?"

Jeanette laughs, her low voice rich and smooth.

"Darling, you can't possibly think that you're as subtle as all that. Of course I know how you feel about the woman. And it's like I said in the hospital that day - I was wrong about her. I was being prideful and foolish, I openly admit."

"Well, yes, but I thought that was just about her skills as a physician," Marcus sputters. "I didn't know if –"

"Marcus, one thing that every good leader must learn is the skill of how to be wrong," Jeanette says. "Now, I admit that I got a little stuck in my ways and forgot that lesson myself, for far too long, but your father's emergency opened my eyes.

"Evelyn's actions in that instance, and her actions surrounding her care of your father, have shown me that she has the true heart of a Luna: she is kind, and loyal, and devoted to this family.

"Those qualities are far, far more important than who her family is or how much money she possesses. If you're asking for my blessing, dear boy, you more than have it."

Marcus feels as if a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He slumps in relief.

"Mother – thank you," he says. "You don't know what a weight off my mind this is. But there's a slight problem…"

He recounts the details of his proposal to his mother, who sits thoughtfully in silence for a few long moments before responding.

"Well, your first mistake was proposing over dinner without a ring," she says, and Marcus grins. His mother does have a sense of humor - it's just a little buried underneath all the polish.

"When you propose again, you'll do so with my mother's emerald," Jeanette says, and Marcus has to stop his jaw from dropping again. As far as he'd ever known, Jeanette had planned to be buried with that ring.

"Yes, yes, well," Jeanette says, correctly interpreting the expression on his face. "I'm allowed to change my mind. Besides, it deserves to be worn - by someone deserving. Evelyn is the first person I've met whom I feel truly deserves that heirloom. My mother would love her, by the way."

"She would?" Marcus asks. He'd never met his maternal grandmother.

"Oh, yes," Jeanette waves a hand. "I was brought up to be a society lady, and I'm afraid I spent too many years of my life outwardly buying into a little too much. But my mother wasn't a society lady, not really. She was a brilliant scientist, actually."

"How can this be the first time I'm hearing this?" Marcus asks, baffled. Jeanette looks sheepish.

"Mama's career was cut far too short when she married my father and entered society," she confesses. "I've always downplayed that aspect of her - it was never something to be proud of, back in my day.

"However, I've always known deep down how wrong that is, and secretly admired Mama for her brilliance. Sometimes, I wish things could have been different for me. That I'd done differently by Daisy." She sighs.

"Evelyn has reminded me of that long-buried part of myself. Your marriage will be different, and if you have any daughters, they will be raised differently, too. I depend upon you to ensure that, Marcus."

"Of course," Marcus says automatically - that was never a question, anyway. It was only a question in how hard he'd have to fight his mother about it, which it turns out to be not at all. What an unexpected turn of events.

"But aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?" he asks. "We're not even engaged."

"Oh, yes you are," Jeanette waves her hand again. "She said yes, didn't she? It's just not going to be officially settled until she clears some things up. Life is rarely like a romantic movie, Marcus. Reality complicates things."

"I guess that's true," Marcus says slowly. "It's just not quite how I'd envisioned it…"

"Real life rarely is," Jeanette says. "The importance of all this isn't the perfect proposal or the correct engagement announcement. Oh, we have to play the little games, especially for public relations reasons. But it's never what's most important."

She leans across her desk, smiling gently at her son.

"What matters is the outcome, the marriage itself - which is a lifelong partnership, by the way, not just a wedding day. What matters is how you two are together, how you work together and support one another.

"You're already doing that, my love. Everything will work out, you'll see."

"And you're not worried about her secrets?" a voice asks from the doorway, and Marcus jumps. He hadn't even noticed his father had arrived and opened the door.

Jeanette smiles at Emmett, calm and serene.

"Not a bit of it," she says. "I learned my lesson that day I saw you lying, close to death, in a hospital bed. You know her story, Emmett, and you trust her. You say she has good reasons. That's good enough for me."

"And for me," Marcus says.

"Good," Emmett replies, coming inside and closing the door behind him. He takes a seat next to Marcus and pats his shoulder.

"Give her time, son," he says kindly. "And trust that everything will work out in the end."

"I will," Marcus says gratefully. "And – thank you both."

His parents look at each other and then back at him, expressions of love written across both their faces.

"That's what we're here for, son," his father says. "At the end of the day, what matters most is our family. Always remember that."

"I will," Marcus says again. "Thank you, Father, Mother. I will."