Nearly a week passed before my mother called me again.
Depending on what catastrophes are befalling my life, we may talk anywhere from once a week to a couple of times a day. Long distance is included on my cell plan, so I tend to use it willy-nilly as the need arises, but I felt her recent behavior necessitated a break for the both of us.
I filled her in on all the shit that was falling on my head. Issues at work, issues with the living situation, etc. Nothing in particular was going right, so in essence, everything was normal for me.
She related a couple of typically cute stories about my nieces, and eventually Gretchen came up in conversation.
"You understand why I was angry now?"
I replied affirmatively, then thought a moment adding "and by yeah, I mean no".
My mother explained how she was offended by the fact that she only saw Gretchen twice the entire time she was there. Her standpoint was that Gretchen should have made a bigger effort to spend time with her, rather then "hide" in my room the entire time she was there.
I tried to explain individual instances she cited, and how I thought she'd made some pretty trivial judgments, but we were both seeing the same issue from different sides.
My opinion was that she shouldn't give a shit either way, and that she should just be happy that I'm with someone. I neglected to tell her that she acted like a brat, but parents don't really want to hear those things from their children.
Her opinion was that since Gretchen was a guest "in her house", she should have made more of an effort to be social, and that whatever shyness a person suffers from is no excuse.
She ended the conversation by saying that she was willing to forget about the whole thing, and that Gretchen could come back if she wanted, but at this point I found it highly unlikely.
I doubt that I could ever get Gretchen to come to the house, much less stay over.
Our relationship is already troubled by excessive distance and short free time, and now we only have sleeping quarters in one state.
Complications do not serve my future plans.
Of course, I suppose you only have sleeping quarters if you have a place to live.
