It warmed Rena's heart to hear Thomas speak of her so kindly but at the same time it invoked a sort of ache to know that there would be no easy way to settle this matter. Obviously, someone would end up unhappy and the fact that she was distressing Thomas upset her a great deal. As Thomas had indicated, they had grown close over the years, something that had only made the past few months more difficult for her.
"Thomas, whatever you wish to be true, she practically told me herself that my presence here upsets her," she said quietly. Rena wasn't prone to tears or excessive emotion but she felt that emotion like a not in her stomach.
Rena took a deep breath, gripping her apron with one of her hands as she tried to get herself under control. "I'm not volunteering to leave, not yet anyway," she assured him. "You and Bridget are my family, I don't want to cause you any pain and I can't imagine life without you. It's just..." she sighed, "I don't know how to reconcile the fact that my mere presence is so upsetting to her..."