Chapter 100: No Plans

Chris POV

I nodded while trying to keep my expression under control. Helen had just promised to answer the question I’d asked in the office, and now I was finding it difficult to think about anything else. I finally chose some popcorn and drinks, and once Helen finished paying, I turned toward her. “Can we go now?” She looked amused by my sudden eagerness, but instead of teasing me, she took my hand and said, “Of course. Let’s go.”

We headed toward the entrance, where an employee checked our tickets before directing us to the correct screening room. Finding our seats didn’t take long, and we settled down with our popcorn and drinks. About five minutes later, the lights began dimming, and the movie started. I leaned back comfortably while Helen placed her drink in the holder beside her.

For the first few minutes, everything seemed fine. Helen watched the screen quietly, occasionally taking some popcorn, but as the movie continued, I started noticing that she wasn’t particularly interested. She wasn’t openly complaining, but she’d occasionally shift in her seat or glance toward me before returning her attention to the screen. At one point, she reached for her drink, only to realize she’d already finished it. She looked at the empty cup for a moment before putting it back.

I watched her for a little longer before leaning closer and whispering, “Do you want to leave?” Helen turned toward me in surprise. “Why? Aren’t you enjoying it?” I shrugged. “Not that much.” She looked at the screen before answering quietly, “We can stay, Chris. You chose this movie, remember? Don’t worry about me.”

I considered that before saying, “Honestly, it’s getting a little boring. I thought I’d enjoy it more, but I think I already know most of what happens.” Helen turned toward me again, studying my face. “Really? You seemed pretty confident it would be good earlier.” I nodded. “Yeah, but I’d rather spend the time talking with you than sitting here staring at a screen.”

Helen didn’t answer immediately. She looked toward the movie, then back at me before asking, “You’re sure? We don’t have to leave just because I’m not particularly interested.” I smiled. “I’m sure. Besides, if I want to watch the rest later, I can. We don’t have to spend the whole afternoon here.” She thought about it for another moment before finally nodding. “All right. Let’s go somewhere else.”

We gathered our things and stood up, but unfortunately, we’d chosen a terrible moment to leave. Just as we started moving toward the aisle, a chase scene began on the screen. The sound of engines and crashing vehicles filled the theater, and several people became annoyed when we passed in front of them. Someone behind us complained that we were blocking the screen, while another person told us to sit down. I apologized quietly and started moving faster, with Helen following close behind me.

By the time we reached the exit, I could still hear a few people complaining. Once we were outside, Helen glanced at me with a faint smile. “We certainly chose a terrible moment to leave.” I shrugged. “There wasn’t exactly a perfect scene to leave.” She shook her head. “Still, we could’ve waited until the chase ended.” I thought about it before admitting, “Yeah, I guess we could’ve.”

I glanced back toward the theater before turning to her. “So where to now?” Helen considered the question for a moment. “How about a park? There’s a nice one nearby.” I nodded. “Sure. Let’s get the car.” I was about to head toward the parking area when she caught my hand. “We don’t need it. The park is only about ten minutes away. We can walk.”

I agreed, and then we left the shopping complex together. There were plenty of people on the streets, but nobody paid us much attention. Helen kept holding my hand as we walked, occasionally pointing out shops or places she remembered visiting before. I mostly listened, enjoying how ordinary everything felt. About ten minutes later, we reached the park. It wasn’t particularly large, but there were plenty of trees, walking paths and benches scattered around. Several families were sitting on the grass while children played nearby.

We followed one of the paths, and after walking for a few minutes, Helen suddenly asked, “So, what exactly happened yesterday?” I glanced toward her. “Yesterday?” She nodded. “With Gwen, Sara and Emily. I know you took them out, but I never got to hear everything you did.” I thought about it for a moment before answering, “Well, I picked up Sara and Emily first. We were supposed to go straight to lunch, but Gwen wanted to eat at that hotel we visited together before.”

Helen seemed to remember the place immediately. “The one where she had to borrow your blazer?” I nodded. “Yeah. So I took them shopping first. I chose dresses for them, and they chose suits for me. We even had to settle which suit I’d wear with rock-paper-scissors.” Helen raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?” I shrugged. “It worked. Sara won.”

I told her about lunch at the hotel, the horror movie we’d watched afterward and our visit to the arcade. She seemed amused when I mentioned how frightened the girls had been during the movie. I also told her how Sara’s feet had started hurting from wearing heels, so I’d given her a massage. After that, I’d done the same for Gwen and Emily. Helen raised an eyebrow. “You gave all three of them foot massages?” I nodded. “They’d been wearing heels all day.” She shook her head slightly. “Of course you did.”

“Anyway, Sara wanted to see an opera, Gwen wanted dinner, and Emily wanted me to wear her suit. So I arranged dinner and a private opera performance together.” Helen looked at me in disbelief. “You arranged an entire performance just for that?” I nodded. “Sara had never seen one before.” She sighed. “Chris, sometimes I genuinely don’t know what to say to you.” I shrugged before continuing, “After that, I dropped Emily home, then Sara. Gwen and I were alone in the car when things became a little complicated.”

Helen looked toward me. “Complicated how?” I hesitated before answering, “She got upset about how I’d treated Sara and Emily. She thought I’d given them the kind of date I should’ve taken her on first.” Helen’s smile disappeared, and she slowed down slightly. “And what did you say?” I explained how I’d stopped the car to talk with Gwen. She’d been crying, so I’d held her until she calmed down and promised to take her on a proper date where she could choose everything herself.

Helen listened without interrupting. When I finished, she asked, “Did that make her feel better?” I nodded. “Yeah. She also got me to promise I’d seriously consider her proposal about us.” Helen looked ahead for a moment before answering, “I know that part. You told me earlier that she asked you out.” I nodded before adding, “Well, there’s something else I didn’t mention. She kissed me.”

Helen stopped walking. Her hand, which had been loosely holding mine, became still before she slowly released it. She turned toward me and asked, “She kissed you?” I nodded. “Yeah.” For a few seconds, she simply looked at me before asking, “And what did you do?” I hesitated. I wasn’t particularly eager to tell her what happened next, especially considering that she was Gwen’s mother. But hiding it now would only make things worse if she found out later, and I didn’t want to damage her trust in me over something like this. So I answered honestly, “I tried to kiss her back, but she pulled away. She said I could only do that after giving her the answer she wanted.”

Helen’s eyebrows drew together. “You tried to kiss her back?” I nodded, and she looked away for a moment. Her hand moved toward her forehead before dropping back to her side. When she turned toward me again, her voice was noticeably firmer. “Chris, you told me earlier that you hadn’t given Gwen an answer because you wanted her to have more time to understand you. Now you’re telling me you tried to kiss her, and only a few hours later, you’re asking me whether I’d go out with you.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Helen continued before I could say anything. “And she’s my daughter, Chris. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable this position is for me?” She took a breath before adding, “Gwen has loved you for years. I’ve watched her feelings for you grow, and I know how much you mean to her. Now I’m listening to you tell me that you wanted to kiss her while also wanting something from me.”

I looked at her for a moment before answering, “Helen, I wasn’t planning to hide anything from either of you.” She raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t answer what I’m asking.” I stopped, and she continued, “What exactly are you expecting to happen? Do you think Gwen is going to be happy when she finds out you’re interested in her mother too?”