Cristina loved her mother, dearly in fact. Although she did not always express it in the best manners, the love was undoubtedly there. However, she always felt their mother-daughter relationship was at its best when from afar. The flaw in their relationship mainly boiled down to respect, and of course Cristina's unwillingness to share details of her personal life, or show interest in the girly-girl category. Her mother could not respect the fact that her daughter chose the path of such a high powered, time consuming career. In the end she felt it would lead to a miserable life alone and the only reason she was staying afloat was because of Owen. It troubled her that Cristina, her only daughter showed such disinterest in fine art, fashion, and decorating. She could never fathom Cristina's choice to pick science and medicine over them, considering she raised her daughter around those things. At the end of the day they simply would never understand each other.
Saturday approached with swift wings, and Cristina was not pleased about it. Owen left early to meet Mrs. Rubenstein at the airport. It was just like her to book the earliest flight arriving and the latest flight departing. Cristina stayed behind with the twins. As she waited for their arrival she paced nervously back and forth in her living room. Ethan and Evan watched their mother as they sat back comfortably in their bouncers. Cristina always dreaded the unwanted visits from her mother and felt she needed to give pep talks to her babies.
"Okay, first things first," she said gesturing with her hands, "aside from swooning over your amazingly good looks, ignore everything Grandma Rubenstein has to say. Let all her frivolous ideas for you two go in one ear and out the other."
When she finished her team talk, she took Ethan and Evan's little oo's and coo's as a sign that they understood.
The familiar sound of Owen's engine made her halt and take a seat on the sofa in front of her sons. "Brace yourselves. Grandma Rubenstein has arrived," she said as she straightened out their matching short-overall outfits.
Mrs. Rubenstein gracefully waltzed up the walkway to the front door and lightly knocked. Cristina rose and opened the door, revealing her formally dressed mother.
"Mother," Cristina simply said.
"Cristina," her mother acknowledged as she brushed past her in the direction of Ethan and Evan.
As Mrs. Rubenstein began swooning over Ethan and Evan's outfits and incredibly adorable looks Cristina held the door open for Owen, who was hauling her mother's Louis Vuitton luggage.
Cristina merely sighed, and as Owen brushed past her whispered, "Be nice." He went to set down her bags in the guest bedroom. Great she's staying here, Cristina thought as she exhaled with force.
Cristina joined her mother in the living room, sitting on the love seat adjacent from her mother.
"Oh my goodness," Mrs. Rubenstein said while caressing each of the twins faces, "I have the world's most adorable grandchildren." As Owen joined Cristina on the love seat she continued. "You know Owen it's a good thing they have your lovely feathered auburn hair, opposed to Cristina's wild untamable hair. It was quite the mission brushing it as a child. Save for you and these twins."
Owen lightly rubbed Cristina's back, whose lips were pursed together in attempts to not fire back a snide remark.
Mrs. Rubenstein ignored her expression and turned her attention back to Ethan and Evan.
"Now, grandma comes up bearing presents." She reached down into a bag she brought in with her, revealing four outfits. Four very preppy and pastel colored outfits that made Cristina cringe, and make a face in disgust. Owen nudged Cristina to fix her facial expression before her mother asked, "Aren't they lovely? They need a splash of Beverly-Hills fashion in their wardrobe."
"Oh yes, adorable Mrs. Rubenstein. Thank You." Owen said with a forced smile before Cristina could express how she really felt about them.
The back and forth chit-chat continued into the early afternoon, and Owen politely excused himself to start making lunch, leaving Cristina and her mother alone with the twins.
"Cristina, does he always do the cooking? Would it kill you to learn a few recipes and give him a break from the kitchen?"
"What?" A baffled Cristina said. Everyone including her mother knew she did not cook.
"It's about time you learn to cook. You have children now; they need to have healthy meals prepared for them when they're bigger. When Owen is not around you need to be able to prepare them. They cannot live off of Chinese take out like you."
"I know how to make a very healthy sandwich, thank you very much." Cristina said in defense.
"Hmph! All you know how to do is dial the numbers to your favorite take out restaurants."
Cristina rolled her eyes, "It's good enough for me. And Ethan and Evan look like they'll love sandwiches."
Mrs. Rubenstein simply shook her head before admiring her grandchildren, "Oh my Ethan and Evan you have beautiful hands to be pianists, or artists who paint lovely murals."
"Or talented rock star surgeons," Cristina interrupted. Her mother shook her head as to say "as if!"
Before they could continue with their 'commiserating' Owen interrupted with news that lunch was ready. Owen and Cristina laid a sleepy Ethan and Evan in their bassinets and joined Mrs. Rubenstein at their kitchen table.
"Owen," Mrs. Rubenstein said as she tasted some lemon pepper chicken, "this is delicious."
"Thank you," he said as him and Cristina took a seat.
"Owen you really should make Cristina learn to cook."
"Mother, will you leave the cooking alone."
"No, it's about time you started learning how to do things around the house. Now that you'll be staying home with the children you need to learn."
"Staying home? I fully intend on going back to work and soon," Cristina exclaimed as she popped a fork full of chicken in her mouth.
"Oh please don't tell me you plan on raising your children in a hospital," Mrs. Rubenstein turned to Owen," Please do tell her a hospital is no place for children."
Owen quickly shoved chicken and rice inside his mouth before muttering out his response, "The hospital has great day care. I think the kids will be just fine." And he quickly placed his eyes back to his plate.
"Very well, but it wouldn't kill you to become a little more of a domesticated housewife."
Taking her own advice she gave to Ethan and Evan, Cristina let the remaining conversation with her mother flow in one ear and out the other.
By the end of the day Owen had Cristina agreeing to let her mother decorate the nursery, and join her on a day of shopping tomorrow afternoon. He truly wished and hoped Cristina and her mother would come to tolerate each other's views.
- - - - - - - - -
It was Sunday afternoon and Cristina found herself in an elegant and expensive shop oozing with cuteness. Her mother was excited with the vast variety the store offered, giving her so many options to decorate the nursery.
"Ah, they have a lovely collection of paints," Mrs. Rubenstein said as she rummaged through pallets of colors, "What do you think of this shade of periwinkle?"
Cristina crinkled her nose in disgust, "That's an awful shade of blue."
"Cristina this is a lovely pastel indigo." Cristina merely shook her head in disgust as she sat down on a small chair facing Ethan and Evan who were fast asleep in their strollers.
"Fine," she said as she sifted in search of another color. "Hmm. How about this cream cheese or custard color? I think they're quite lovely. What do you think?"
"Seriously? Yellow? What boys do you know have a yellow room?"
"It's not yellow. This is cream cheese and this is custard. I'm leaning towards the custard."
"I see yellow mother."
"Oh Cristina, will you just work with me here." She said as she gathered a sample of animal border, and yellow and white stripped wallpaper. "I think this ties in together lovely."
Not wanting to argue Cristina agreed. She had only been in the store 20 minutes, which was twenty minutes too long. After all she could always change the nursery once her mother left.
When they arrived back home they were greeted with a note from Owen, stating the hospital needed him on an emergent surgery. It made Cristina jealous. It made her yearn to be back into the hospital. Rather than mope about it, she turned to Ethan and Evan to cheer her up, and her mother spent the remainder of visit getting to know her grandchildren.
Owen made it home 3 hours before Mrs. Rubenstein had to be at the airport. He waltzed into the living room to find Evan sleeping in Cristina's arms and her mother burping Ethan. He softly kissed each of his sons' heads before lightly brushing lips with his wife's.
As he nestled comfortable next to Cristina Mrs. Rubenstein took the opportunity to brief the both of them on specifics she wanted done to the nursery. Their only responses were nods of the head done in unison.
When the time came for Mrs. Rubenstein to leave, she held each of her grandchildren for a long time. Whispering to them in their sleeps, telling them of how she'll return soon, and tenderly kissing their foreheads. As she finished her goodbyes with Ethan and Evan she averted her attention to Cristina.
"Here," Mrs. Rubenstein said as she handed Cristina a shopping bag.
She opened it and pulled out its contents. She expected it to be another pair of preppy-goody-too-shoes outfits, but it was something else, something better, something that made Cristina fight back a smile.
"Thank you," Cristina said, as she admired the sets of baby size navy blue scrubs for Ethan and Evan.
"Take care of my grandchildren, and I expect to see that nursery finished by the time I return."
Cristina, still admiring the matching scrub outfits, "Of course mother. And have a save flight home." Mrs. Rubenstein nodded and gently brushed Cristina's curls behind her ear and said goodbye.
That night, Cristina fell asleep in Owen's arms thinking that the custard color for the nursery wasn't all that bad. After all she once read that those of high intellect were attracted to the color yellow. Very fitting for Ethan and Evan, she thought before drifting off to sleep.