Chapter 68: Learning about Rebecca’s Family (Part 3)
"Let's talk about your brother. I had no idea you had a brother! Is he younger or older? Do you have any more siblings that you haven't mentioned yet?"
"Oh, sorry for not bringing him up earlier. The reason I didn't is because we never had a close relationship. His name is Robert. He is my older brother by 8 years, so he is 30 now. Ever since I could remember, he was always busy with training to become the heir to the county. We never had much in common and we were both quiet kids, so we hardly talked to each other."
"Wow, he is already 30? Is he married?"
"Yes, he got married at 25 to the daughter of a baron named Fern, who was focused on blacksmithing. My father arranged for them to get married so he could strengthen his hold on the steel industry. They now have a 3 year old boy named Ron."
"You have a little nephew I never heard about?! He must be a real munchkin at his age haha."
"Actually, I haven't seen him much since he was born. I saw him when he was a newborn, but since then my brother and his family started to live in the detached building on our estate. I always would keep to myself and stay in my room studying magic all day, so I hardly seen them the last 5 years."
I took my time to try to figure out the best way to word what I was about to say. I took and deep breath and said, "Becca, I know you said that you felt really alone for the last 12 years since you got engaged. I am hoping to help heal some wounds and bring your family closer together as long as none of your family are bad people. I want us to have a supportive family we can lean on for emotional support just like how we support each other. The more people in our emotional safety net the better. They will be people we will need to give us the strength to keep pushing when the going gets tough. But to get that level of support from family and friends, you have to meet them half way.
You have to be proactive and support them too. The same way you have been proactive with me and made me feel supported. We have the bond we have now because we both put in effort into our relationship and it blossomed into the care we now have for each other. I don't want to come off as blaming or being critical of you. However, you resigned yourself to being alone without ever putting much effort into seeing how your brother felt. Maybe if you tried getting close to him in the past, he would have supported you and helped you out. Of course, before you were just a lonely girl with no support network, so you were justifiably afraid to put yourself out there. However, now you have me as your backup. Even if none of your family is willing to hear you out and support you, at least I will still be there for you. On this trip, I hope you will be proactive and put in the effort to come to an understanding with your parents. With them, you know what the problems are, so you just have to tell them honestly how you feel and hope they are willing to support you. On the other hand, you know so little about your brother and his family. I hope you will actively try to get closer to them and have your first real deep conversation with your brother. You might learn that he wanted to support you as your big brother all alone."
Becca had her hands clenched into fists on her knees. Her head was lowered and her voice trembled as she held back tears. "I'm scared to learn the truth. What if I put myself out there and get rejected? What if they come out and say openly that they will never accept who I am? It would crush the last bit of hope I have…"
Seeing Becca's distraught reaction, I quickly put up the table and moved to sit next to her. I put my arm around her shoulder and started to rub her arm with my hand. I wanted to tell her everything was going to work out the way she wanted, but her fears were very possible.
"Listen Becca, if your family is not willing to compromise and understand where you are coming from, then they don't deserve to be a part of your life. You should be the one to cut them out of your life, not the other way around. I know it would be sad to know your family is not willing to support you, but it is much better to confront them and learn it early on. If they are like that, then those people don't deserve your effort.
But don't worry, you can always meet new people who will come into your life and be like the family you always wanted. You of course have me, but you also have someone like James. He is about the age to be both of ours' father haha. He has been slowly warming up to you. I'm sure he would help support you if you ever needed it. Speaking of family, Linda actually reminds me of a younger cousin I used to have. She has always been nice to you right? She could be like a little sister you can tell your troubles to. So just remember that even if things don't work out and you need to move on from your family, the good people you met along the way will be there to lend you a hand."
Becca wiped a few tears from her face. Then, she looked up at me with a determined look. "You are right, Nick. I'm going to use this trip as one last chance to get through to my family. If it doesn't work out after my best effort, then it wasn't meant to be. Even without them, I'm a part of your family now. And as we go on this journey to change society, we will work with a lot of comrades who will be as close as family to us at the end. It will become a new chapter in my life."
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