Who: Nathan & Jen What: Comforting When: Backdated, sometime during the week of Nov 6th Where: The wake of the funeral Rating: Medium
Nathan couldn't really remember the last time he left the island for something other than work or to give Jen some time away from him...since she seemed to prefer when he wasn't around. At least...she used to. He would be lying if he said he wasn't stunned when she said she needed him after her mother died. Sure he knew it wasn't the same as want, but need was a good start and a huge improvement from where they were before. Now he wasn't sure if it was just the grief talking, that once the intense grieving stage passed they'd go back the way they were. He hoped not, having a relationship with his wife that was more than just a business arrangement was a nice change.
The funeral was over and they were holding the wake at her father's home where the family had been staying. Nathan was pleased to finally meet her family since their wedding was no grand spectacle and no family came. They didn't see any reason to make a big deal out of an arrangement made by the project. He could detect a hint of surprise from her father and brother when meeting him. He didn't blame them, he and Jen didn't seem like two people who would be compatible...and frankly they weren't, it always was strange to him that they'd pair someone as socially awkward as himself with someone like Jen. Not that he was complaining at the time, she was healthy and fertile and that is basically all he was focused on for a while. Also there was the fact that she was incredibly beautiful and clever, a plus in his book. However, he couldn't pin point the moment when his clinical approach to her changed into actually caring for her...in a more than a friend or colleague way...when he started to fall in love with her. Yes, he loved her, still does love her and that is why it killed him that she went to other...younger...men, but he let her...because he loved her and wanted her to be happy...and if they made her happy then...they were able to do something he couldn't.
Nathan glanced around the room, his eyes traveled over the faces of people he didn't know, people he never met. His eyes glanced to his daughters who were chatting with some kids who were around their age, distant relatives he assumed. One face he hadn't seen in his perusal of the room was the reason he was here. Jen. He hadn't seen her in a bit, last he had heard she excused herself to the bathroom and that had been a good while ago. He made off in the direction of the bathroom and the room they were staying in.