Greg startled awake when he heard the knocks on his van door. He shoved his blankets aside to open up the door. "Oh, Dr. Maheswaran! Good morning! What can I do for you?" Dr. Maheswaran sighed as she gestured to a spot in the van.
"Good morning as well. Can I sit? I have something that I need to address with you." Greg looked worried but moved out of the way for her. She sat on the edge and looked out at the beach, as though formulating a conversation in her thoughts. "I have an issue with your parenting style of Steven and Twoie. I think you give them too much freedom." Greg looked at her with raised brows.
"That was a little out of nowhere, don't you think? I'm not really sure I feel comfortable discussing this with you." Although Greg was polite, he was also a little annoyed. It wasn't like she knew why he chose to raise Steven the way he did, and besides, Steven seemed to be doing fine. The woman cupped her hands together and rested them on her lap.
"I know I probably sound rude. The thing is, children need to have rules and guidance as they grow up. It helps them learn how life and society function. It also gives them more security to know that someone is willing to enforce rules that are meant to help them, even if they disagree at times." Priyanka gestured to herself. She had only recently gone through her own changes in parenting style. "I am a strict parent. In fact, I was too strict. I realized that my parenting style was hurting Connie, though, so I am doing my best to change it."
Greg let out a snort. "Believe me, I know a thing or two about strict parents. Growing up in my house was like living in prison. Everything I loved was off-limits, and I was always being forced to do things I wasn't interested in." He sighed as he watched the rolling waves of the ocean. "It's why I wanted a different life for Steven. I want him to grow up with the freedom to be or do whatever he wanted."
Dr. Maheswaran smiled as she turned to face Greg. "It seems like we both tried our best to raise our kids by going to the extreme. I was too controlling, and you were too relaxed." Greg chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Dr. Maheswaran had contemplated whether she should tell Greg about Twoie's private thoughts. Hopefully, he would forgive her for speaking about this. She took a deep breath, "I've talked to Twoie about this before, and he admitted that he's dreamed of growing up similarly to a standard family."
Greg looked at her in surprise. "Twoie told you that? He's never mentioned that to me before, and I've always told him and Steven that they could talk to me about anything." He furrowed his brows in thought. It was weird for him to think that Twoie or Steven would purposefully not tell him about something that bothered them.
"It's because Steven doesn't know how to articulate his desire to you while Twoie thinks it would make him bothersome. At this point, it'd be hard to ever get the family life-style he wants, so he ignores it instead. And Steven has been trying to make it happen by doing whatever the gems ask of him in the hopes that they'll be around more often." The woman sighed as she leaned back against the wall of the van. "They're both going to go through some hard times in the future. And having the security of a lifestyle to get back to when everything is over would really help."
Greg stared at her in surprise. "I never really thought of it like that." He sighed and looked out at the sparkling ocean. He wanted the best for his sons, but if he was accidentally hurting them... "I really have screwed up, haven't I?"
Priyanka snorted and rolled her eyes. "No book could ever truly prepare you for parenting. It's trial and error with a strong emphasis on the errors." Greg laughed at her description, and soon, they were both laughing together.
Greg smiled as his laughs died down. "Maybe I'll wait till we're alone later and I'll tell them about my life growing up. I've never told them much of anything about my family. And I'll try to set some ground rules. Do you think you could help? I'd probably be too easy with any rules I come up with."
Priyanka started laughing again. "I may have already created a list of rules for Steven and Twoie to follow. I'm sorry if that was overstepping any boundaries for your family. I couldn't help myself. I care a lot about those boys, so I just reacted when I realized they didn't really have house rules to follow."
That brought a smile to Greg's face as he hopped out of the van and looked up at the beach house. "Why don't we go see how they're doing then? I think I could use some family time right now, and I'm sure you could too."
Dr. Maheswaran blinked at Greg as she stepped out of the van as well. "Family time?" She watched Greg close up the van. Once he was finished, they headed up the pathway to the beach house.
"Yeah. You really care about Steven and Twoie, and I know Twoie thinks the world of you. My boys don't have much family, just me and the gems. It'd be nice to add a little more to the group if you and your husband are okay with that." Greg and Priyanka stopped right outside the front door. Priyanka thought about it.
It'd be weird to just start thinking of the Universes as her honorary family. At the same time, wasn't she already treating Steven and Twoie as though they were her kids? "I'd like to have a couple of family-friend dinners first. This time without the Crystal Gems fusing together as one person. However, I think it would be lovely to be able to call each other family in the future. Maybe I can learn to be more relaxed by being around you."
Greg snickered at that. "And maybe I can learn to be stricter from you and your husband." He opened the door, and the two were exchanged a look of surprise when they entered the house.
"-ing fine. I'm not straining myself. I'm just standing and talking." Twoie narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Pearl. She was holding Twoie's arm and looked as though she was trying to guide him to the couch. Garnet and Amethyst were also in the room, watching Pearl as she fussed. "Can you please just let me finish the lesson? I know how to take care of myself."
Pearl looked frustrated as she tugged him along. "I know you do, but you are just starting to get better. What if you get sick again? Or it worsens? You should just sit down for now, and I'll go make you some tea. You like the fruity ones, right?" Twoie huffed as he gave up and let Pearl force him to sit on the couch. Peridot and Connie were already sitting on the couch but scooted out of the way when Pearl dragged him over.
Garnet turned to look at them when they entered. "Good morning, you two. I hope you slept well last night."
Amethyst spun around at her greeting and cheered when she saw them. "Greg, Dr. M! We were just getting ready to go on a mission. Garnet says there are some more mutants in the Kindergarten that we need to take care of. Do you want anything before we go?"
Pearl set a mug down on the counter and poured some hot water in it. "Would either of you like a cup of tea? I've made one for Twoie with a little honey and lemon for his illness, but I'd be happy to prepare some for you if you'd like!" The two humans shook their heads no.
"Thanks, Pearl, but I'm not a fan of tea," Greg said nervously. He had no idea what he just walked into, and he'd rather not be involved. Priyanka was looking at her with a frown.
"No, thank you, Pearl. Are you going to be taking the others with you while you go on your mission?" She watched as Connie and Steven perked up. They were looking at Garnet with stars in their eyes, hoping to go on the mission with them.
"Well, if you're okay with Connie joining us, then yes. Otherwise, she can stay behind with you two." Connie turned from the permafusion to give her mom puppy-dog eyes.
"Please, mom? Can I go? I have my sword, and we won't be long." Priyanka sighed and nodded. The two kids cheered and hopped off the couch. They raced over to Garnet and Amethyst.
In the commotion, Peridot huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm staying here. I'd much rather continue learning from the Twoie than go on a fighting mission." She picked up the book she was reading and started rearranging her workspace.
Pearl set the mug down in front of a pouting Twoie. "I'm sorry, Peridot, but Twoie needs his rest. He's still combating the illness he got earlier. Why don't you two relax upstairs so that Twoie can be comfortable if he falls asleep again." Twoie propped his chin against one of his hands.
He watched them go back and forth as they talked about him like he wasn't there. The young man's eye twitched in annoyance. "You know what, I think I will go back to bed. I'm obviously not going to get anything else done today, so if you need me, I'll be sitting on the bed watching TV." The young man pushed himself to his feet, took the mug of tea, and walked away.
Greg could tell that Twoie was annoyed with Pearl being overprotective. "Hey, Pearl… Maybe you should back off a little. I think you're exaggerating it a bit."
Pearl waved his concern off. "I'm just making sure that Twoie is alright. He'll thank me later when all this rest pays off, and he's back to teaching and going on missions." She walked over to the others, and they made their way to the warp pad. "Please keep an eye on Twoie for me while we are gone!" Pearl called out with a wave. Connie and Steven also waved goodbye as the group warped away.
"Hopefully, they don't smother him while trying to show how much they care." Dr. Maheswaran sighed as she walked around the room. Peridot had gone upstairs with Twoie, and the two were watching Camp Pining Hearts. Priyanka decided now would be a good time to start packing up their things. Depending on when Connie got back, they'd probably be leaving, so they could make it back home before dinner. Her husband had promised to make dinner for them since he knew they would be tired from taking care of Twoie.
She grabbed their bags and set them by the door. "Are you getting ready to leave?" Greg asked he went into the kitchen to have a late breakfast. Priyanka nodded.
Twoie had overheard his father's question and muted the show."Wait, you're leaving already?"
Priyanka, sensing the sadness in Twoie's voice, made her way up the stairs. "Well, I have to go home eventually. I've got work in the morning, and Connie has school. I figured we'd leave a little after lunch, or when Connie gets back. Whatever ends up being later."
Twoie slumped a little in disappointment. "Oh."
Priyanka patted Twoie on the back as Peridot commandeered the remote from Twoie. "Everything will be fine. You can always call or text me if you need something, and we have one more Sunday meet-up before we have to move." Twoie's expression became almost panicked.
"Wait, you're moving?" Priyanka tilted her head at him in confusion.
"I've told you that Doug is going to be working at another beach in a couple of weeks, right? We're getting ready to move out there for the next couple of months." She patted his back as he looked at her sadly.
"Right. I forgot." He sighed and turned away so that he was facing the TV again. Peridot had found the closed caption button and had turned it on. Twoie watched as the caption read sad music as something happened on the show. Priyanka was a little worried about his reaction, but if Twoie didn't want to talk about it right now, she wasn't going to force him.
"Alright." She stood up. "I'll let you watch your show. Don't worry about making lunch today. Greg and I can take care of it." Twoie only nodded as he watched her head back downstairs to chat with his dad. Suddenly, the show had lost its appeal. Only one thought was going through his head. 'She's leaving too.'