Next week their aunt comes for a visit

The following week, when James was coming home from school, he saw a car parked outside their house. James knew it was his Aunt Margaret visiting them. As James pushed open the front door and stepped inside, he immediately sensed a shift in the atmosphere. The living room seemed to hum with an unusual tension, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had interrupted something significant.

His mother and aunt sat on the couch, their heads bent close together in deep conversation. Their expressions were unusually serious, and they seemed utterly absorbed in their discussion. What struck James as even more peculiar was the closeness between them. They sat so near that their shoulders almost touched, and Aunt Margaret's hand rested reassuringly on his mother's thigh, lightly rubbing it.

The sight left James momentarily speechless. It was a level of intimacy and connection he hadn't witnessed between them in years, if ever. Their behavior was so out of character that he couldn't help but wonder what had brought about this sudden change.

"Hi, Aunt Margaret. Hi, Mom." James greets them and sees that he must have interrupted them. His mother's face is pale, contrary his aunt radiates an energy of youth…

"James, how lovely to see you," Aunt Margaret's eyes brightened when she noticed James, and she greeted him with a cheerful exclamation. She reached out and affectionately pinched his ear, a playful tease dancing in her eyes.

"My goodness, James! A young and handsome guy like you, and no girlfriend?" she exclaimed with a mischievous grin. "If you ever need any help finding one, you know Aunt Margaret is here for you!" Aunt Margaret was always an eccentric character, she liked to pick on others and James was no exception.

James couldn't help but chuckle, both at his aunt's spirited offer and the bewildering scene before him. He thanked her, his mind still whirring with questions.

His mother, on the other hand, seemed uncharacteristically flustered. She looked away from James, her cheeks tinged with a rosy hue while her face looked pale. Her breathing was slightly hurried, as if she had just returned from a sprint.

"Jessica's coming later today…" His mother inquired, her voice a touch breathless.

The shift in his mother's behavior only added to the enigma of the moment. It was clear that something significant was transpiring, but James couldn't begin to fathom what it might be.

"I'll be upstairs playing video games, Mom," Realizing that he might have intruded on something deeply personal, James excused himself, retreating upstairs to give them the privacy they seemed to need.

In the distance, he hears his aunt saying to his mother, "Hmm. He's so sweet… I believe you won't mind if…" James didn't hear the rest of the sentence because it was lost in the distance.

He closed the door behind him and sighed deeply... "That was strange! Aunt Margaret is acting out of character and mum..." James mused, but he suddenly heard strange noises coming from downstairs in the distance. "What is mom and aunt doing there?"