Conversations on a Balcony
58
Kara was standing at the living room balcony railing, a glass of wine in her hand as she gazed out over the city lights. It was Thanksgiving and the whole family was at the penthouse to celebrate together... mostly. Adam had been quiet all day and, while Carter had doted on his baby sister, the eldest of Cat's children had barely acknowledged her at all. Alex and Eliza had tried to engage him in conversation over dinner, but he'd been surly and standoffish, so they'd finally given up while Cat watched, sighing unhappily.
"Kara Danvers-Grant," Adam said as he stepped out into the balcony to join her. "So nice that you get the privilege of using her name."
"If you have something to say, Adam, don't be shy," the Kryptonian said after a moment.
He joined her at the railing, huffing out a long breath. "I have a question for you, KIERA. Were you already fucking her when I asked you out?" His tone was harsh and resentful.
Kara turned to face him, and her eyes lifted to meet his squarely. "No," she replied honestly. "I didn't even understand back then that I was in love with her."
He snorted derisively. "Love her... right… her money more like."
The hero took a breath as she felt her anger rise but she tried to stay calm for Cat's sake. Pitching Adam off the balcony would probably not be a very good decision. Instead, she just relaxed her shoulders. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," she said. "I never intended to."
"Fuck your apology," the man snarled. "I don't care that you didn't want to be with me… but my mother? She's old enough to be your mother too and it's sick!"
Kara slowly rotated her wine glass by its stem as she thought about his words. "I don't expect you to understand why I love her," she said. "Your anger comes from a place of hurt so I don't think you'll ever want her to be happy until you've dealt with that hurt. But the truth is, she IS happy with me, Adam, and I'm happy with her. We're a family: Me, your Mom, Carter and Abby and you can be part of that family too if you can just let go of your anger."
Adam let out a shuddering breath and shook his head. "I'm never going to be part of your family."
"Then why did you come?" Cat asked suddenly from the living room doorway. "If you don't want to be part of this family?"
"You know what?" the man replied, shaking his head. "I don't even know. I should have just stayed in Metropolis. It's where I belong. Goodbye."
He went inside to grab his jacket and then stormed out the door, leaving Cat and Kara to just gaze at each other.
"I'm sorry," the older woman said softly, tears welling in her green eyes. "I've made so many mistakes with him and now he's taking them out on you."
"I can take it," the hero replied gently. "Maybe, when he calms down, he'll reconsider." She was about to wrap her wife up in a hug when Abby started to cry. Cat smiled and wiped at her eyes. "Let me just make sure she's ok," Kara said.
"I'm ok, go," Cat replied, and she went to the railing, gripping it hard as tears trailed slowly down her cheeks.
"Kara's right," Eliza said gently as she strolled out onto the balcony. She put a gentle hand on Cat's shoulder. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I wanted to make sure you're ok."
"I will be," the CEO replied with a little smile. "I just feel like such a failure with him."
"I think all mothers do at some stage," Eliza mused. "When I think about all the pressure, I put on Alex to take care of Kara... I never meant for her to do it to the detriment of her own life. God, Cat, when I realized that Alex was afraid to come out to me because she thought I'd be disappointed, I felt like such a failure."
"Alex is one of the strongest women I've ever known," Cat replied. "And I suspect that her strength comes from you."
"I think Alex can take all that credit for herself," Eliza chuckled. "Kara too. They've always just gone their own way and most of the time it was the same way the other was going."
Cat nodded. "Their bond is amazing. And I hope Carter is going to have that with Abby. I just wish that Adam would..."
"Get over himself?" Eliza said wryly. "Someday, maybe. Just let him cool down. It's not something you can rush. He'll just resent you more for it."
"Thank you, Eliza," the CEO replied with a smile.
"Us old broads need to stick together, right?"
As they both laughed, Cat felt overwhelmed with thankfulness for her family and vowed to herself to fix things with her eldest son… even if it took the rest of her life.
