Episodio 4 – The Threenager
Alejandro has pictured his future wife many times in many ways, but never did he picture her with a child.
He imagined that he would meet her, fall in love, get engaged, get married, go on a honeymoon and then have her for himself only. For himself only, because he didn’t want children.
The fact that Maria had a son obviously changed his plans. But the young man wasn’t entirely disappointed.
He didn’t want to be responsible for bringing someone else in this world. That was a choice he made years ago, but he knew that most women, especially observant ones, want babies. It would definitely be an issue.
Having already a son, Maria was a good candidate for marriage. Alejandro thought that she would be more likely to accept his position on the subject. Having already a son, it would be easier for her to renounce to have more children, comparing to someone who was never married.
Alejandro met Juan (Juanito, as he likes to call him) the same night he met his mother. The little boy didn’t say a word the whole time. The young lawyer found that rude. When he was a child himself, his parents would never have allowed this kind of behaviour.That was the first sign that made him think the little boy was spoiled. This selective mutism went on for a few weeks. Juanito wouldn’t speak to Alejandro when he was coming over. The threenager would go in his room and slam the door. In the car, he would pretend to be asleep and fake snore.
Once, the three of them went to the beach. The little brat refused to say please to get a candy. What kind of child does that, Alejandro asked himself. The problem was more serious than he thought.
And then, there was the first tantrum. Juanito didn’t want to leave the park they went to. He started to cry and call for his mother.
‘Let him cry. He’s a kid. That’s what they do. That’s their weapon!’
‘Mamaaaa!’
‘I can’t. I can’t stand him calling me like that.’ She picked him up and held him to the car.
This episode scared him. Could he date a single mother after all? How was he going to deal with this little prince?
Feeling guilty for divorcing, Maria couldn’t discipline her child. She’d rather give him whatever he asks and let him do whatever he wants, in order to compensate the absence of his father. But the little prince was not only spoiled by his mother. His grandmother, too, was part of the problem, his uncle, his mother’s cousins… Well everybody. And that’s something the young man cannot stand. There is something about fake crying and tantrums that pushes his button.
The young lawyer had to take a decision: break up, stay and suffer or defy the little king’s authority. He chose the latter. One day, it was too much. Juanito refused to eat, again! It had been going on for days now and Maria was not going to help.
‘I don’t have the energy any more.’
Alejandro was baffled. It was time to bring back some old-fashioned education and send him to his room. This evening, the young man fully understood the expression ‘to scream bloody murder’.
‘I want my mama’ was screaming the threenager. But, to Alejandro’s surprise, Maria didn’t interfere. The spoiled brat stayed in his room, stopped crying and finished all his food. That was a first victory. But the king wasn’t defeated. It took many other time-outs and a lot of disciplining for Juanito to have a bit less attitude. And you know what? He even started to like his new ‘uncle’.
Victoria gone, having a three-year old chaperon most of the time, made the couple feel that they’ve skipped the dating phase, the engagement, the honeymoon and the first years of marriage altogether. They were already a couple with a child. Without the foundation of a long-time relationship, that was very challenging.
Plus, the young man wasn’t sure of how to treat Juanito. He made Maria’s son call him uncle but was he more than that? Should he start to treat him like his son or should he wait to be married? Did he have the legitimacy to do it anyway?
Alejandro was hoping that with his boss/mother-in-law coming back, things will be easier.
Well, he was wrong. After the king, he was about to fight the queen.
Continuará…
daysinhadistan 