TED-talk

"Actually..."

Madam Sheerin had been inquiring about Marguerite for a while now. The dinner is laid out on the table and the plates are half-emptied. Mister Sheerin is quietly listening on the side with his eyes drooped down, almost as if he anticipates the storm that is to come.

"Marguerite is fine and healthy now but..."

"But what? Did something happen?"

Madam Sheerin stopped her glass of wine midway from reaching her lips, she has a concerned frown and her wrinkles are deepening by the second. She had already noticed that her son was bothered by something ever since she shifted the topic to his love affairs. She only subtly hinted at marriage and teased him about children to make him flustered like she always does. However, today his reactions are far from normal. Madam Sheerin can feel in her stomach that what she is about to hear will not contribute well to her health and longevity at all.

"She had a strok-"

"A stroke!?"

"At her age??!"

This time, both madam and mister Sheerin exclaim in surprise. Who would've thought that something so serious had happened under their nose?

"When did it happen?"

"Just a few days ago. But she's fine now. The doctor told her to rest a bit but that's all."

With a relieved sigh, madam Sheerin was still a bit apprehensive. She couldn't trust her son to tell her everything in one go. If everything was really fine as he so well puts it, then why the long face?

After endless back and forth between the parents and child, the words finally dislodged themselves from Chad Sheerin's throat.

"She lost the ability to carry children as a consequence of her stroke."

Silence fills the room. The dining table is getting cold and the ambience is worsening. One can see at first glance that Madam Sheerin is not taking the statement very well. How can she, a perfectly conservative old-school family-oriented woman, possibly brush off such devastating news and swallow it silently?

The husband does not dare utter a syllable. Wife has so much to say she cannot seem to say a thing. Son is too scared to even meet the eyes of his parents. One does not know what it is that he is scared of, as he did nothing wrong. Nonetheless, not a word is spoken for several minutes.

The tension is building up in the room to a point where the husband cannot bear the asphyxiation. He decides that it is about time he uses the secret technique that has always gotten him out of a difficult situation with his wife, especially with his wife, as he has only used this secret technique passed down from generations against his marital problems and not his business affairs.

Son, seeing his father's sleight of hand under the table realizes what he is trying to do and gives him a sharp glare full of reproach and contempt. <You want to leave your son here alone and run away like a coward?>

The father obviously can see the words written in his son's eyes but chooses to act dumb and continues to text his friend under the table. <Apologies my child, I'll buy you ice cream...>

<Who cares about ice cream?!!> The glare in those dark brown eyes intensifies and the reflection of his jet black hair and his lashes in his irises makes him look especially fierce.

The husband looks up from his plate to glance at the wife and realizes that the look on her face is full of determination and calmness. With a shudder, his fingers seem to have gotten a sudden boost as their typing speed increases considerably. That ratchet next door who was born with a phone in hand doesn't hold a candle to those wrinkly but agile fingers of his.

{Stop stalling and call me already. Why are you taking so long Jesus! My grandmother's amputated dog could dial faster than you!}

{Your grandma hated dogs...}

{That's why he died in the Christmas box. And even then he was faster.}

Finally, a melody fills up the quiet room and breaks the suffocating silence. The husband stands up like the fire of hell is following his posterior and jumbles up a lie to accentuate how important the call is and how sorry he is to be leaving the table when such an important topic is being addressed.

With his wife's suspicious but understanding gaze and the sharp glare of his son following his trail, Mister Sheerin finally leaves the table to retire in the safety of the guest room.

——————————————————————————————————————————

"Did the doctor say anything about recovery?"

Woken up from his thoughts on how he was going to scam his father later on as revenge, Chad is startled and disoriented for a short while before processing the question and finally managing an answer.

"There might be a chance of recovery. But it is extremely low. I don't it is possible before a dozen years or so."

"Very well."

Madam Sheerin quietly stands up and begins to clean up the table. Chad doesn't know exactly what is happening in his mother's head and decides to keep his mouth shut for now. He goes to do the dishes and omits to comment on the dessert abandoned in the oven that is getting colder and colder. Mister upstairs had already hung up with his accomplice and perks his ears to listen for any inauspicious sound downstairs only to hear the calming running of the faucet water and the small tinkling of the plates colliding together. He doesn't dare go downstairs to find out what is happening and quietly sends a small prayer for his son.

After the emotional meal, Chad pours a cup of tea for his mother and himself and quiets down onto the relaxing sofa next to the fireplace. A moment ago he was seated on the same sofa listening to his father's crude jokes that made him laugh to no end. Now he feels like he is waiting for sanction at court.

"Misses Sonderegger, she's a very nice lady isn't she?"

Chad doesn't know how to take this sentence and quietly nods in acknowledgement.

"You know Chad, Marguerite is a wonderful woman. She is quiet but not meek, sweet and soft, pretty, talented, understanding, she may not know how to cook but she conforms to the traditions of our family. I grew quite fond of her over the years."

Seeing that her son isn't responding, she continues her little TED-talk.

"You know, our family is a very old one. Our ancestors go back to the 1600s. We come down from a lineage of nobility that has quietly but surely survived over the years. We have gone through numerous businesses and today we have left many patrimonies that make up our pride and love. Today we are the Sheerin family but in our archives, we were once called the Bultors Rothsnell Sheerin de Chages. I know you don't care about our family history. I remember I was exactly like you when I was younger. I didn't see why my happiness and future should be sacrificed for the sake of pride that has nothing to do with me and people that have died countless years ago."

To be honest, Chad has no idea where this is going. He wonders if she is planning on bringing him on a guilt-trip by talking about her tragic childhood or if she is planning on sparking a flare of patriotism or filial piety in him to get him to break up with his girlfriend. He still isn't quite convinced as he has no care for their family's history whatsoever. Today, their family is neither rich nor poor, they may have a rich history and incredible achievements in the army and business world but all of these people died with the appropriate honour and glory they deserved that has nothing to do with them anymore. Her mother has siblings that did not continue their family lineage. He is probably the only hope of their blood passing down into the next generation, however, he doesn't understand why it is so important in the first place. Since their family lived for 400 years already, he doesn't see why they must live for 500. Her mother was already happy enough when he didn't turn gay and did not force him to take after his father and study economy in university. She let him follow his dreams and the only condition she had for him was to follow her faith and to give her grandchildren. He never had a problem with those before and never thought that today he would be receiving this kind of lecture about a past that is no longer relevant.

Nonetheless, Chad doesn't want to be disrespectful so he decisively nods his head as if he cares and makes an "mh mh" sound to tell her that he understands. Even though he doesn't understand that much.

Satisfied, madam Sheerin continues her lecture with passion in her eyes.

"But you know as I got married and had you I realized how unfulfilling and incomplete life was without children. And as I watched you grow up I realized how important it is to continue the family history. You may not understand it now. And to you, my words may seem like an old grandma's empty tales of bygone times that have long since passed. But if you follow my advice in life, you will thank me later. I know that it may seem harsh today, but I promise you everything I do is for your own good. I am sure you will be happier with children. Marguerite is a gentle lady, but I can find you plenty of genial women in this far and vast world that can also make your life complete. I know you're in love, but love is a fleeting thing that will last during youth and fade with age. When you no longer love her and that you want to rest your old bones and leave it to the next generation, only to realize your house is empty and you have no one to take care of you, you will deeply regret having married Marguerite instead of listening to your old mother's words. So please, think deeply about your future."

Madam Sheerin talked a lot and Chad listened to every word respectfully. He was focused and serious as he does not take his mother lightly. After the madam finished, she silently left him to contemplate and went to join her husband in the bed to sleep.