Her comment stung, particularly because of how this conversation had started. Ben had gotten his sister's impression of him to go from the kindest heart of all of us to I don't know what to believe, which was an impressive decline in so short a time, even for a conversation where he'd set out to purposefully do just that. He didn't know what she would believe, either. Part of him hoped that she wouldn't take his words to heart, that she might still know him too well to believe the worst of him, but what else could she think when he'd just told her straight out that it was all true?
Her parting comment was striking, too, albeit for a different reason. His sister had made it exceptionally clear during this conversation that she was more perceptive than most, so her appraisal of his marriage had more merit than a similar pronouncement might have carried from another quarter. Ben relied on Art's advice frequently, but Art didn't know what Nova apparently did; Art still thought that this marriage had begun with at least a spark of love, however distant it had grown at this point. Ben trusted Aldous' judgements, too, but Aldous didn't know his own heart and mind so well as Nova apparently did; Aldous would have never hesitated to believe the worst of him — or if not to believe it, at least acknowledge that it was not far from the realm of possibility. November, somehow, seemed to have all the pieces despite Ben's best efforts to obscure them — both last year in the wake of their elopement and just now, in this conversation. When she said she does not bring out the best in you, then, it affected him greatly. And that last: it cannot end well.
Ben watched her go, feeling a little smaller with each step she took away from the tea setting. Both of their cups were still untouched. He wished that he hadn't pushed her away, and hadn't lied to her (in spirit — there had been no direct lies in his words but he'd very deliberately painted an incorrect picture of himself for her benefit). He was questioning everything, all of the sudden, and he wished he could have asked her for her advice, silly as it seemed to ask his delicate baby sister for advice about something so heavy.
But — was he making a mistake? Were he and Melody really that bad for each other, and would that always be the case? Was there no way to salvage this relationship enough that they could be good parents? He'd thought he was doing all of this for his future child, because he wanted them to grow up in a house that had love in it, but was he kidding himself? Was he making everything worse by just prolonging the inevitable?
Nova left, and Ben pulled his knees up to his chest and just sat for a long while. He didn't have the strength to go talk to Melody just yet, and certainly not to fight with her over that stupid Witch Weekly article.
MJ made this <3
Her parting comment was striking, too, albeit for a different reason. His sister had made it exceptionally clear during this conversation that she was more perceptive than most, so her appraisal of his marriage had more merit than a similar pronouncement might have carried from another quarter. Ben relied on Art's advice frequently, but Art didn't know what Nova apparently did; Art still thought that this marriage had begun with at least a spark of love, however distant it had grown at this point. Ben trusted Aldous' judgements, too, but Aldous didn't know his own heart and mind so well as Nova apparently did; Aldous would have never hesitated to believe the worst of him — or if not to believe it, at least acknowledge that it was not far from the realm of possibility. November, somehow, seemed to have all the pieces despite Ben's best efforts to obscure them — both last year in the wake of their elopement and just now, in this conversation. When she said she does not bring out the best in you, then, it affected him greatly. And that last: it cannot end well.
Ben watched her go, feeling a little smaller with each step she took away from the tea setting. Both of their cups were still untouched. He wished that he hadn't pushed her away, and hadn't lied to her (in spirit — there had been no direct lies in his words but he'd very deliberately painted an incorrect picture of himself for her benefit). He was questioning everything, all of the sudden, and he wished he could have asked her for her advice, silly as it seemed to ask his delicate baby sister for advice about something so heavy.
But — was he making a mistake? Were he and Melody really that bad for each other, and would that always be the case? Was there no way to salvage this relationship enough that they could be good parents? He'd thought he was doing all of this for his future child, because he wanted them to grow up in a house that had love in it, but was he kidding himself? Was he making everything worse by just prolonging the inevitable?
Nova left, and Ben pulled his knees up to his chest and just sat for a long while. He didn't have the strength to go talk to Melody just yet, and certainly not to fight with her over that stupid Witch Weekly article.
MJ made this <3