Chapter Fifty-Nine

Martha Miller frowned when she walked into the conservatory and found her youngest son sat amongst the blooming flowers, looking rather melancholic.

"Sean, what are you doin' here? Are you alright?" she asked concerned, not able to remember ever seeing him like this before; he'd always been the more positive and happier Miller.

"Yeah, I'm alright, ma," he said with a sigh, giving her a weak smile as he hoped she wouldn't make herself comfortable and force him to talk.

"Sure?" his mother asked as she sat down beside him. He simply nodded, at which she turned to him thoughtfully. Martha knew she wouldn't be able to get him to talk out of his own volition. "Ever since you were a boy, you've liked comin' down here," she started, looking around her at the blooms. He nodded with a small smile, not feeling like saying anything yet. "Your grams was always the one to find you, when you were upset," she added slowly. Her youngest son definitely was more sensitive than his brother, and he always liked spending time with her and his paternal grandmother. Sadly, the elder Mrs Miller was away on a cruise and wouldn't be back for another week or two; that was too long to leave him stewing over whatever was bugging him.

"Yeah, even when I thought I'd found a new hidin' place," Sean managed a small chuckle now.

"So… can I help in her stead?" Martha asked after a minute, giving him a nudge. "I don't like to see my boy upset," she added, reaching out to tussle his hair.

"Ma," he shrugged her off embarrassed, making her laugh.

"Come on, I'm a good listener," his mother offered a bit more serious, and she could see him considering it. "Is it about a girl?" she asked, actually sounding a little excited. Unlike her older son, she couldn't remember seeing Sean with many girls and she hoped that this meant that he was serious about whoever it was.

"Maybe," he conceded, looking away from her and focusing on his surroundings again.

"Then why are you lookin' so gloomy? Does she not like you?" Martha asked, sounding very protective and almost insulted; how could this girl not like her son?

"Ma, it's not like that," Sean quickly placated her, putting his arm around her shoulder for a hug. "She likes me too," he assured her, but the smile froze on his face a little.

"But…?"

At this he sighed as he leaned his head against hers. His mother always loved when he used to do that when he was little; it made her feel like they were sharing a secret. "But… it's complicated, ma," he added with a sigh.

"Does it have to be?" Martha asked, trying to get to the bottom of this. Love shouldn't be complicated.

"She's… great. I've never known anyone like her," Sean gave her a little more information now. "I'm just… I'm worried…" he tried to explain but failing to get his thoughts in order. "I know pa won't like her, so I… we… when we were in town, I was worried someone might see us together." His mother felt him tense up a little. "She told me she didn't want to see me again until I've told you both about us." They didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Sean, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your pa or I think. It's about the two of you, honey, and that you love each other," she gave him some advice as she hugged him closer. "And I'd like to meet her someday," Martha made it clear.

"Thanks ma," her son said with a small chuckle. At least he was kind of halfway doing what Tatum had asked from him.