Meeting Lilian’s mother.

The meeting with Jessica’s family was uneventful. They’re good, hardworking people that want to get her daughter through the best education they can afford. They accepted you with no issues, much to Jessica’s relief, and thanked you for helping their daughter get better grades in last semester’s finals and these past midterms. It really wasn’t much more than that. They're good, honest people.

And after asking Mia, she apologized for not telling you before that both of her parents had passed away four years ago. It had never come up, so she never mentioned it, but it feels like something you should’ve asked a long time ago. Though she apologized, you still think that one's on you.

So now, you’re going to Lilian’s condo to meet her mother.

“I haven’t told you this, but mom raised me on her own,” your girlfriend tells you on the way. “I know my dad, yeah, but neither mom nor I want anything to do with him. You don’t need to meet him.”

“Okay…” you say, raising an eyebrow.

“And before you start, this isn’t something you need to try and fix,” Lilian says, poking your nose. “This is a settled matter. My dad’s a good for nothing that lost his job, gambled away all our money and turned to drinking. I’m telling you this because I know you’ll ask and I’ll be more grateful if you don’t try to ‘fix’ my relationship with him.”

“Alright then. If you think that’s for the best,” you tell her, kissing her forehead. “Doesn’t stop me from feeling bad about it.”

“Of course,” she groans, but still leads you by the hand into her condo. It’s in the top floor of the building and has a very modern aesthetic, with white walls, glass tables and classy, hard plastic chairs with metal legs.

“Mom?” Lilian calls once you’re in the living room. There’s a large window with a nice view overlooking the town.

“I’m here,” a woman answers, coming from one of the hallways. She looks a lot like Lilian, her eyes and blonde hair specially. Though her figure is curvier and she has a more mature air around her.

“So this is the man you’ve chosen,” she comments, her eyes scanning you from head to toe. She remains stoic, showing little interest in you. “Come on. Let’s take a seat.” She motions to the glass table and sits down with you and Lilian following closely.

“My name’s Clara, Clara Reed,” she introduces herself. “And you’re David Walker, yes?”

“Yes, Mrs. Reed. A pleasure.” You nod politely.

“Hm.” She only nods back in acknowledgement. “Let me be clear about this from the beginning. I realize this is, more than anything else, a formality.” She waves her hand dismissingly. “I’ve raised my daughter to make her own decisions and deal with the consequences herself. She doesn’t need my approval to date a man, nor will she find any opposition coming from me.”

“M-Mom!” Lilian moans, voicing her complains.

“However,” Mrs. Reed emphasizes, looking at her daughter in the eyes. “I do appreciate that you’ve taken the time to come here. What’s more, it seems I have you to thank for the sudden improvement of Lilian’s academic results,” she says with a proud smile.

“She’s the one who asked for my help,” you chuckle modestly, “I only did the best I could.”

“Yes, it’s true that if she didn’t have the resolve, no matter what you did, her results would’ve remained mediocre,” she nods in confirmation. “Nevertheless, going from merely passing grades to scoring above the average in her midterms is no small feat. I’ve told her as much, but I needed to express my gratitude to you as well.”

Her honest smile gives you a sense of peace and lifts a weight off your shoulders. For a second, you were worried you’d find a situation similar to Emily’s and Julia’s mother. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“I asked Lilian and she tells me you’re scoring at the top of your grade in all tests. She also tells me you’re aiming for law school.”

“That’s right,” you answer. “I’m looking for universities that will allow me to keep in contact with our group as well.”

“I only have one question, Mr. Walker,” Mrs. Reed says. “What are grades worth? What is going to a good university for? Is it because it’s what’s expected of you or something else?”

Heh. And for a second you thought it would be a hard question.

“Everything is a path to my goals,” you answer easily and with a confident smile. “Getting good results makes achieving them easier. Grades are only a representation of the effort I’ve put into learning new skills, and law school is my attempt at securing my economic future for the sake of the people I care about. Everything is just another step forward.”

That earns you an approving smirk from Mrs. Reed.

“See what I mean, Lilian?” she asks her daughter. “Grades are not worth anything by themselves. But learning the skills that will be useful to get what you want is what you should strive for. If you can’t even put in the effort to get a good grade in school, how will you face the real world?”

“Guh…!” Lilian flinches. It seems her mother’s words, combined with your answer, touched a nerve. Yet Mrs. Reed’s words resonate strongly with you.

You nod. “I think so too. It’s not about the grades, but about proving to yourself that you can overcome a challenge.”

“Exactly!” Mrs. Reed grins widely. “I take back what I said, Lilian. You have my full approval to date this man.”

“W-Wha…?” Lilian’s jaw falls and her eyes widen. “First you say you don’t care and now you’re encouraging this?”

“What can I say? You seem to have picked a good one here,” Mrs. Reed chuckles. “In fact, are you interested in a part-time job, David?”

Switching to first name already? You didn’t think you’d win her over so quickly.

Wait! Did she say part time job!?

“W-What would that entail?”

“Do you know any other languages?” she asks.

“I’ve been getting better at Spanish and Japanese.” You got that language learning trait while in Japan on a whim, so you’ve been learning even more from Spanish classes and from talking to Anzu in Japanese.

“Oooh. Two very different ones. Good,” she nods in approval. “See, I need a translator. You already know I own a cosmetic chain, right? We’re shipping some of our products overseas and I need someone to translate instructions, warnings and safety measures. You can also work from home. Not a bad deal, right?”

Man, this is perfect! This is just what you were looking for!

“W-Wait! When did this turn into a business meeting?” Lilian complains.

“Another lesson, Lilian,” Mrs. Reed tells her daughter. “Never pass up a chance to scout talent. It’s rare enough as it is.”

You feel bad for leaving Lilian out of the conversation as you iron out the details with her mother, but you figure she’ll forgive you when she finds out what this is for.