The Affection Multiplier - Ch. 243 & Ch. 244. (Patreon)

Chapter 243: Meeting Katherine’s parents.

Katherine’s house is huge. Two floors, red tiled roof, a small archway at the entrance and a balcony just above it. It has a complex and elegant design with slight Victorian inspiration that speaks clearly of a rich family. Not a big surprise, considering Katherine has said before she has a maid, an indoor pool and she’s attending a prestigious and expensive private academy.

“Just how on earth do you stand hanging out at my place?” you ask her, looking up at the immense house from the porch area.

“I’m usually cooped up in my room,” she laughs shyly.

Katherine leads you to the entrance, and the moment you’re through the door, a young woman in a black dress uniform and a white waist apron greets you.

“Welcome back, Ms. Katherine.” She says with a polite smile.

“Hey, Chloe,” Katherine greets back. “David, this is our maid, Chloe. I told you about her, remember?”

“Of course,” you nod. She said she was like a sister to her.

“Chloe, this is David,” Katherine takes a deep breath, “my boyfriend.”

“I’m so happy to finally meet you!” Chloe says with a wider smile. “Please follow me. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are waiting for you in the living room.”

Chloe leads you through the house to the living room. The place is spacious and decorated with big potted plants and landscape painting on the walls. Katherine’s parents are waiting by the coffee table, sitting next to each other on a sofa.

“H-Hey mom, hey dad,” Katherine greets with some uneasiness in her voice. “W-We’re here.”

Her father stands up first and walks up to you. He’s just a bit taller than you, has short brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard.

“You’re David Walker, correct?” With the way the man extends his hand to you, you almost feel like you’re in a business meeting or job interview. Still, you shake his hand. “I’m Robert Brown, Katherine’s father.”

“And I’m Isabella Brown, her mother,” the woman introduces herself, also walking up to you to shake your hand. “It’s good to finally meet you, David.” It’s almost like looking at an older Katherine, if only with shoulder length hair.

“Likewise,” You nod with a polite smile. “I apologize for not making an appearance sooner.”

“It’s alright,” Mrs. Brown says. “we understand that Hayes Academy is very demanding. Please, have a seat.”

You sit across from Katherine’s parents with your girlfriend next to you, yet at a proper distance away. Chloe puts a cup of porcelain cups in front of everyone, offering tea and coffee. She pours the drinks while Mr. Brown starts talking again.

“We understand that you’ve been dating our daughter for a while now,” he says, sounding professionally distant. “She’s also been avoiding the topic as much as she can, so we are truly in the dark about you, David.”

“It’s just really embarrassing to talk about it!” Katherine argues.

“I didn’t expect that you’d be embarrassed to talk about me,” you say, scratching the back of your head. “I’m a little hurt.”

“Y-You know that’s not what I meant!”

“I know, I know!” you laugh softly. “Sorry.”

You see a small smile appear in Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s faces before they return to business mode. In a way, your first impression of these people is that they remind you of your own father. They have this cold, scrutinizing approach to meeting you that’s very similar to how your dad treats everything. Yet they don’t give off as nearly an oppressing vibe as he does.

With a small, wry smile, you turn to address Katherine’s parents again.

“I can only imagine how worried you must be to know your daughter is seeing someone you don’t know anything about,” you say, turning to Katherine again. “You could’ve at least told them a little bit about me.”

“There is one thing we got out of her,” Mr. Brown says. “We know she’s not the only girl you’re dating.”

A slight chill runs down your back, but being in the same mindset you are in front of you dad, you avoid showing it.

“Yes, that’s true,” you nod. “It’s never been my intention to hide that.”

“Can you guess our worries, then?”

“I can think of a thousand and one worries you may have, Mr. Brown,” you say. “They’re the same worries I’d have if I was in your place. So ask me whatever you need to ask.”

“Words are cheap, David,” Mrs. Brown says.

“That they are,” you sigh with a wry smile.

“Then how about this,” Katherine says, with her face burning red yet resolute eyes. “He’s the reason I got my confidence back and why I’m not getting harassed at school anymore.”

“W-What!?” Mrs. Brown flinches, her face twisting in horror.

“You were being harassed!?” Mr. Brown asks, his expression mirroring his wife’s.

The maid, Chloe, keeps quiet and her eyes closed. It seems that, while Katherine’s parents didn’t know, Chloe did.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Mrs. Brown asks.

“You sent me to that academy because you said I wasn’t mature enough to go to university yet,” Katherine answers, biting her lip in frustration. “I tried to fix things on my own… but couldn’t.”

“And you helped her?” Mr. Brown asks, turning to you.

“It’s a little complicated,” you say. “Her bullies started focusing on me. It took several months, but Katherine and I started to get along when I helped her with some debate-related stuff. Then, since I managed to fix things with those three girls, they went and apologized to Katherine as well.”

“Actually…” Katherine swallows. “David is dating them, too. And we’re starting to become really good friends now,” she admits with a small smile. “Lilian’s been really excited to talk to me about the shows I like.”

“Wait. So it was the same girls as the ones in high school!?” Mrs. Brown asks her daughter, who replies with a silent nod. “My God…” Her body seems to lose some strength and she sinks in her seat.

“And you’re going out with them, too?” Mr. Brown asks you with narrowed eyes.

“I am,” you nod unabashedly. “Turns out they’re people, too. They have their issues and insecurities, just like Katherine and I. It took time and effort, but we managed to understand each other and realized that we wanted to be together. Of course, I asked Katherine and my other girlfriends if they were okay with it, first.”

Man, talking to parents about “your other girlfriends” never gets any less weird.

“If I may, Mr. Robert,” Chloe interjects. “Have you not noticed how Katherine has changed since she started dating this young man? She’s far more cheerful, talkative and high spirited. Surely you’ve noticed.”

“…I thought it was because things were going well in school.” The man sighs. The cold air around him completely vanishes. He looks at his daughter with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, Katherine. We didn’t notice.”

“Well… I WAS trying to hide it,” your girlfriend says with a sheepish chuckle. “But it doesn’t matter. Because I’m fine now. No, more than fine. I’m happy.”

“Katherine…” her mother mutters.

“Not only did I find David, who I’m seriously in love with, but a huge group of friends that care about me just as much as my old ones do. Nothing but good things have happened since I met him.”

Katherine speaks with sincerity, pushing away her embarrassment with the intent of getting her feelings across to her parents. And watching her it’s like you’re falling for her all over again.

“She gives me too much credit, but I can vouch for her having good friends in the group. We’re all really different, but I think that helps us expand our views,” you tell them.

Mrs. Brown straightens up and her husband lets out a heavy sigh. He looks at you with a small smile. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”

“I like conversation,” you tell him, nodding.

“You’ll be staying for dinner, then?” Mrs. Brown asks.

“Only if it’s no trouble,” you say, sheepishly.

“Not at all. Isn’t that right, Chloe?” Mrs. Brown asks the maid.

“Of course not,” the maid chuckles. “I’ll have dinner ready in an hour.”

You stay the rest of the evening, conversing with Katherine and her family about everything and anything. School, hobbies and little tidbits about your relationships. And when talks turn to future plans, you have to subtly hint to her parents that you’re looking for a future with Katherine while also avoiding letting your near-future plans slip.

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 244: 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.

And after asking Mia, she apologized for not telling you before that both of her parents had passed away a 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.

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 tried to help.”

“Yes, it’s true that if she didn’t have the resolve, no matter what you did, her results would’ve remain 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.