"You were nervous? I was practically petrified," Grace giggled.

"My all powerful companion genie scared of my little mom?" Stephen teased.

"She can be quite fierce at times," replied Grace with a laugh.

"Yeah, she can. She's always been great, though. A really good mom."

"I'm worried about her, though, babe. She is very lonely."

"Lonely? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, silly, I can see these things," teased Grace, before getting serious again. "Your father leaving really did a number on her self-confidence. She really doubts herself and whether she would be a worthy partner for anyone. She also sees herself as getting old and with a lot of baggage, too."

"Yeah, but she's not ancient, though. She's only forty four."

"Yes, but she can't have any more kids. And she knows a lot of men might see the fact that she already has three kids as baggage."

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"Well, then they're losers who don't deserve my mom anyway," huffed Stephen.

"I know, love, I'm not saying it's my opinion. But it is the world we live in. She's just about given up on finding someone to grow old with, sadly."

"All because of my father," growled Stephen.

"What's odd is that she largely doesn't hate him for leaving her. At least not now. No, what she hates most about him is for leaving you boys without a father. She worries constantly that not having a father figure will impact you three."

"She's right about that. I wonder the impact as well, if he had been around. It would have been really useful to have him around in my teens. Sometimes, I wonder how I would have turned out if he never left."

Grace turned around to look at him, "If he had never left, you would never have been the man you are today. And I'm quite infatuated with the man you are today, Stephen."

Stephen shrugged, "Maybe I could have been a better man, regardless."

"There are no better men," purred Grace, contently.

"Part of me wonders though," started Stephen. "I wonder if I'm going to end up like him. I carry the same blood as he does, you know? What if I turn out the same way?"

Grace shook her head, fiercely, "No, you won't, Stephen."

"How could you know, Grace?"

"The heart always knows," she replied, cryptically.