Shortly after Samuel arrived home, Grace also came back from yet another tiring day at the children's hospital. She enjoyed the fact that she was able to work with children, but not only was it depressing to see the troubles children were facing on the day-to-day, but she also hated the fact that her 80+ hour work weeks kept her away from her own children.
The fact that she'd been doing it for as many years as she did without having experienced a true burnout- where her body wouldn't heal itself and she would begin developing medical problems- was a testament to her resilience and mental fortitude. But the growing guilt from the alienation she had experienced from her children in the previous year or two had begun to gnaw at her, leading to small issues and mistakes here and there at work. Mistakes that didn't have as big of a consequence as they could have, but had never occurred previously.
Especially since mistakes when working around children by way of negligence, forgetfulness, inattention and poor motivation could lead to improper or inadequate care. For children who probably wouldn't be able to express themselves as well as adults, the requirement for alert and attentive nurses was a must- so that healthcare professionals could interpret their behaviours and tells for a complete assessment.
The medical committee had carried out several performance reviews on her in just the past few years alone. Grace wasn't a woman who wouldn't take accountability for her misdeeds, but knowing what was on the line- her children's futures- and the fear of litigation and additional expenses, meant she'd had to cover up some of her faults just to make it through the rough patch that was the last few years. This had only added to the pile of guilts constantly gnawing away at her.
But, in a time when saving for her children's college tuition appeared to be impossible if her stable income was taken away from her, the young mother of two felt as if she had found the light at the end of the tunnel. A light in the form of a young man ushering her into the kitchen as he took her jacket off from around her shoulders and had her sit down on a stool.
Grace had fallen into a nice rhythm in her evenings, but she couldn't help but wonder how long such an atmosphere would last. How long until Samuel got bored of coddling his mother who wasn't as present in his life as she should have been?
While thoughts such as these were twirling around in her head, Samuel noticed her absentmindedly playing with the food on the plate. The pensive look on her face made Samuel slightly worried, so he decided to raise his concern.
"Mum? Don't you like the pasta?" He asked, trying to break her out of her depressed state.
"Hm? Oh no. No! It's really good! Sorry, I was just thinking about something." Noticing he'd seen her stewing in her own thoughts, she also became worried that he'd get the wrong idea and flailed around her arms in the air to emphasise her point. She didn't want to trouble her son with her depressing thoughts- especially if they inadvertently pushed him away again.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Asking her rather brashly about her thoughts given that she'd been awfully quiet since getting back home, Samuel decided to leave status-checking his mother for a little later. He wasn't against an action like that. Her privacy was of little consequence when her safety was at stake, and Samuel wanted to glean as much information from her as he could- whether or not it came out of her mouth.
"Ah. It's nothing, Sam. I was just thinking about… something from work, I guess?" Laughing nervously she brushed off his concern. While he understood that she didn't do it out of malice, he was still slightly hurt as he knew their relationship wasn't close enough to express their concerns to each other. Not only was there an apparent parent-child divide, but Samuel's past actions had been instrumental in furthering that divide.
'Well, I've already resolved myself to shorten that distance. I know it's just empty words with no substance for now, but I'll definitely be taking that burden off of her shoulders. There's no point regretting how I was before. System, status window mother.'
[Name: Grace Elizabeth Hayes]
[Age: 37]
[Sex: Female]
[Relationship Status: Single Mother (Abandoned Wife)]
[Body Count: 2]
[Obedience: 20]
[Favourability: 75]
[Lust: 1]
[Height: 160 cm]
[Weight: 48 Kg]
[Cup: DD (E)]
[History: Saving for her children's college tuition and the family's living expenses while worrying about losing her job because of mistakes. The isolation from being single and alienated from her children has made her fall into a pit. She is increasingly growing attached and becoming dependent upon the comfort that Host brings to her but is worried about losing it.]
— — —
When the pair finished their meal and tidied up, they went over to sit down to watch the tele. And before Samuel let his mother attach herself to his arm again, he reached over to move her in, so that he could have her snuggle up into his side.
'She's growing increasingly attached and dependant on me? Good. Grow more attached, mum. I'm going to be taking care of you in this life. You're mine. My mother.' While engrossed in borderline obsessive thoughts, Samuel reached for his mother's shoulder. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts, however, when he saw her wince, as his hand pressed on her.
"Mum? What happened? Are you alright?" Concerned and annoyed at the fact that her pain would have gone unnoticed had he not pressed on her shoulder, Samuel quickly asked her.
"It's honestly nothing, Sam. I fell on my shoulder when I tripped over a wire at work the other day. It's fine." She dismissively waved, trying to quell the worries of her son.
"A wire? Aren't they supposed to be tucked away or something?" Shaking his head, Samuel thought of how he could help her out. He knew his mother wouldn't get something like a bruise checked out at a hospital since she didn't have the time to do so- money wasn't an issue as Polaris's health service was funded by general taxation.
Suddenly, Samuel remembered the new skills he had earned from his system and quickly activated [Pleasure Point (Level 2)] while looking at his mother. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell where her erogenous zones were, not that he'd ever thought of wanting to see them in the first place, which he put down to the fact that they weren't having sex. But he reckoned the effect of the second level may still work on her since it was quite vague.
[Pleasure Point (Level 2/3)]
[Description: When active, will allow Host to be able to visualise the erogenous zones of the individual they are having sex with. Additionally, the value of an action Host does is quantified and displayed as a counter.]
"Hey, mum. I learned a thing or two about massages from the internet. Would you mind if I give you a shoulder massage or something? To ease the pain in your shoulder? I'll work around where it hurts if you point it out." Leaving no room for denial, Samuel got up behind the crusty, brown sofa which was in the middle of the room, opposite the tv.
"Hm… that'd be nice. Just please try to avoid touching around here." Pointing to a fairly large region of her shoulder, Grace heard Samuel clicking his tongue and grew warm inside, knowing his anger came about from his worry for her. Then she felt his large and firm hands wrapping around her graceful, swan-like neck and relaxed on the sofa as she allowed him to do with her body as he wished.
Samuel watched in awe as the number '4', in the typical luminescent-blue system font, just popped up on top of her head when he pressed down on the taut muscles of her neck. He continued to press and rub her shoulders in fascination, as he watched the counter change from lows of '1' up to highs of '11' and '13'.
When he found a sweet spot that produced the highest numbers, he would dig his thick fingers into the soft skin and rub the stiffness away for a time. But he soon found the counter began to decrease once more and realised the pleasure gained from carrying out the massage across the different regions would be more pleasurable than focusing on just one spot.
While concentrating on the massage, he hadn't realised that Grace, after the tedious 13-hour shift at work, had fallen asleep under his ministrations. He lightly shook her to see if she was just snoozing, but discovering she was actually in a deep sleep, he checked the clock and realised he'd been at it for about a half hour, just playing around and trying to get higher numbers. Treating his mother's shoulders like some sort of piano tiles game, he'd unknowingly put the tired woman to sleep.
"Jeez, what a blunder. Now… how to I carry her up the stairs." Recalling his experience from the other night when he had to carry his neighbour up the stairs, Samuel wasn't too fond of the idea of lugging Grace up the stairs too.
'But I wouldn't want her to remain sleeping on the sofa. It might be uncomfortable and result in back pain tomorrow morning. She already seems to have enough on her plate. I'd rather not sit idly by and watch as another issue is added to the list.' Samuel decided he'd go with the more troublesome option, as not only was his mother signifier lighter than Emily from what he could glean of their statuses- something he'd never express to his neighbour in person- but he'd also gained a modicum of strength since regressing. He was confident in being able to piggyback her up the stairs at least.
'Haa… Well then, let's get to work.'